Here is something I wrote while waiting in Rome for a flight to Catania:
"This has been the craziest day I’ve had in quite some time. The fact that I am sitting at the Aeroporto di Leonardo di Vinci waiting to catch yet another flight, is a clear indicator of how far I’ve stepped out of my normal routine.
I took an overnight flight from Seattle-Tacoma to London-Heathrow. For those who have not flown across the Atlantic, but are thinking about doing it soon, I can make no better recommendation than British Airways. The highest level of courtesy, the utter care and respect that the staff showed me, all makes me want to tell everyone to fly BA. The other passengers, however, a different story all together.
For nine and a half hours I endured knees in my back and a woman’s head in my lap. I didn’t sleep at all—which, by the way, was the whole point of taking the overnight flight! I ended up watching the movies they had available, movies which amounted to a selection of American “entertainment.” I watched “Hellboy II.” There I said it. I was delirious, so please avoid making any judgments please.
Continuing with sequels, I watched the latest installment of the MUMMY movies. While it has no bearing on my travels, I would like say that I was completely upset that they changed actresses on me….
So then I thought I needed something…lighter. Looking through the comedy section I found nothing of interest, but in the TV Comedy section, I found a gold mine. Several episodes of Frasier, Flight of the Concords (including my favorite episode with “David Bowie”), Big Bang Theory (which was actually amusing. I am so going to watch it when I get back to the States.), and, because it’s British Airways, Faulty Towers with John Cleese. Then we could see the British countryside. Immediately, the Thomas Tallis setting of Psalm 23 came into my mind, and the opening sequence of “The Vicar of Dibley” played in my mind as I heard “The LORD is my Shepard, I shall not want, he maketh me to lie down in green pastures….” sung by a boy soprano. It really was a sight to see. With no sleep and way too much television, I arrived in London.
My boss, Tony, was absolutely right when he described Heathrow. IT’S GIGANTIC. I got so turned around trying to find the right passageway for those taking another “international” flight that I found myself in the middle of the biggest Mall in the World. This was like the Mall of America in Minnesota, only with Airplanes and baggage carousels! There was freaking “GUCCI” story right there… too bad I am a starving student, otherwise cute purses for all my friends would surely have been the end result.
I did buy some Cadburry Eggs, though, to snack on during the rest of my journey. They are not diamonds, or high quality leather goods, but they taste wonderful and I’ve always had a weak spot for them.
I then proceeded to the gate, waited in line, and then found myself on a bus that was ferrying us passengers to the actual plane. This was the first time I heard “real” Italian. My flight from London to Rome had a number of people returning home from holiday in the UK, and a family of 6—mom, dad, grandma, and three kids—sat behind me and chatted in enthusiastic tones that were completely lost on my poorly honed ear for Italian. Still, it was these happy voices that brought the realization that I am actually going to be in Italy soon.
The flight was short from London to Rome. Well, I thought it was short. Since I had overdosed on television and stayed up all night, I sleep the entire way to Rome. I woke up when the cute Brazilian girl tapped my shoulder and asked, “I want to go the toilet, please.” It was more of a statement than a request, but I understood the urgency and promptly got up to let her out. Ten minutes later, we could see the ground. Ten minutes after that, we were on it."
The flight in from Rome to Catania was uneventful save the stewardess asking me IN GERMAN whether I would like a salty snack or sweet snack. I said "salzig." I'm guessing she still thinks a German tourist is walking around Sicily like an idiot...
The first few weeks of classes have been insane. We still have 3.5 hour long Italian lessons 2 and 3 times a week, so my Italian is getting somewhat better. Still, I am learning more Italian from sitting in my room playing on Rosetta Stone, watching Italian television, and hanging out at my favorite cafè, Cafè Umberto. Filipo makes a mean cup of coffee, and isn't scared of talking to the only blond man in Catania.
Today we went to Megara Hyblaea. The "colony" was founded early in the Greek expansion to the west, but was destroyed in 483 BCE by Gelon, a tyrant of Syracuse, and then again in 231 BCE by the bloody Romans. This means of course, that the site had layer upon layer of building foundations. We were primarily concerned with finding a rare "pastas" or Corridor House. We were successful in the end, but we also walked around and viewed a number of Hellenistic temples that were built over the original site. I must mention, that the site is next to a refinery of some kind, and the entire time we were there we breathed unknown petrochemicals. That this was the first time we had been to a "dig" and that the air was filled with the stench of industry might explain why I look so lost in this picture:
All in all it was wonderful day. I'll write more soon about Pindar, Medieval Literature, and this amazing place. But for now, I am off to eat a little dinner....okay, dinners are HUGE in Sicily. Primi, Secondi, Contorni, Dolci, Caffè, then Sigarette...
Okay one more picture. This is the Piazzolo Museo Biscari....where I go to school. It's amazing! It was "THE place to be in Catania" according to our guide and trusted friend Alan who coordinates our program. This claim was substatiated by Gaetano Luca--a Catanian native who then told me all about the 1700's in Sicily.
