As most of you already know (and the rest of you have by now figured out), I am about to embark upon the adventure of a lifetime - studying abroad for about 3 1/2 months in Orvieto, Italy. I will be living in a monastery owned by Gordon College and studying Italian, Renaissance History, and Literature, while taking in a completely new culture with 23 other students. I’ve made this website to share my adventures with those who would like to read about them.

Here’s the basic info straight from the school’s website:
Gordon In Orvieto
VISION
The Gordon-in-Orvieto semester program takes an experimental approach to learning in the landscape of our contemporary post-culture. The intent of the program is to foster in our students an attitude of responsive looking and listening for signs of new life in the traditions inhabited by artists and poets, saints and mystics, of the past, especially those of pre-modern Europe in Italy. With a discerning eye neither nostalgic nor ironic, we wish to explore the disintegrated fragments of the classical-Christian civilization of the West, raiding the past in order to rebuild the present. For a brief, interactive tour covering the program location and its missions, please visit the Gordon In Orvieto Tour page.
http://www.gordon.edu/page.cfm?iPageID=611&iCategoryID=59&Global_Education&Gordon_In_Orvieto

**All of these pictures are taken from the internet and will be replaced once I’ve been able to take some of my own

giovedì 3 settembre 2009

Gelato!

...or my first experience as the awkward American tourist

So, last night I had my very first taste of gelato and it was pretty much amazing! A group of us went after cena to get gelato at the reputed best place to get it. It's a very small shop next to the Duomo, so we decided they might not take credit cards, and we might want to stop and get some euro just in case. Well, it's a good thing we did because they definitely do not have any way of accepting cards. Unfortunately, late at night the only place to take out money is at the ATM and double unfortunately the lowest amount you can take out is 50 euro. Gelato costs about 2,50 euro...I had a 50 euro bill...problem. Well, needless to say, entering the building our group is obviously foreign and we definitely stand out - awkward situation number one. Then, I only had that 50 bill to pay for my 2,50 gelato, meaning that the lady had to go and find me change, which she did by asking some of the other people in the shop to see if they had change - AS #2. Finally, I know next to no Italian, so I couldn't even explain my situation or apologize for the inconvenience - worst AS. Now, I do realize that the Orvietani are used to tourists and having a shop next to the biggest sight in Orvieto, the lady had doubtless encountered this situation numerous times before, but for me it was a new experience. Not necessarily all bad, because it definitely taught me some lessons (A - ensure that you have small bills when going out for any type of snack, B - learn some more Italian), but one that I would not like to revisit any time soon.


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