Degustazione Vini (Wine Tasting!)

Last night I partook in an activity much associated with Italy... wine tasting! We headed over to a little osteria in old Ferrara at 8 pm and sat and ate and didn't leave until 2 am! It was organized and payed for by our program directors and the wine theme for the Evening was Sicily. Apparently, Sicily has a climate quite comparable to California and perfect for producing wine. But until the last 20 years they never really developed the quality wine industry that they have the potential for...lucky for us, now they do! Sommelier Nicola took us through the brief history of wine production and explained how to taste wine to appreciate it with a more trained mind than to just drink it!
First, Appearance. Look at the color of the wine, if it is a white wine, the darker and cloudier the color, the longer it has aged. The opposite is true of red wines which as they age get lighter in color. Next one must look at how quickly the wine settles down after swishing the glass, quicker is better... it shows that the wine is going to have a softer taste on the palate. Like every other aspect of life in Italy, appearance played a big role in lasts night's festivities. From the presentation of the dishes to the pressed white shirt and apron of the cute waiter to everyone dressing up for the occasion. There are many a girl in my program who very deeply identify with Italy's love of image... don't worry, I played my part, I actually showered!
Second, the Bouquet. There are three things to think about when smelling your wine. 1, is it a 'delicate' smell, does it smell appetizing. I know this sounds kind of like a given, but is still important! 2, how long does the aroma stay in your memory, chances are, the more complicated the flavors and the more flavors there are, the longer it will stay with a person. 3, what are the things that you smell. This is slightly subjective, some people will smell different things than others, this idea is true in the taste as well. There are also three things that effect the smell and taste of a wine and they are, what grapes are used and how they are grown, The fermentation process of the wine, and lastly the aging process. As is true with everywhere I go in Italy, there were many a interesting smell in the 'bouquet' of the evening. Sitting next to me was the program avocatto (lawyer) who every once in a while would move and I would get a lovely whiff of BO... then to counter act that the crazy, obnoxious, flirty lady across from him sent out a overly perfumed odor. There was the musty smell of broccoli in the air, one of old socks from the weird cheeses we got in course number 5, not to mention the smell of fish... course 2 was a wild, tasty assortment of shellfish on toasted bread. Plus the building we were housed in has this really comforting smell of old, used, polished wood. That alone is enough to overstimulate the nose without adding trying to identify smells in wines on top of it!
Third, Taste! As with smell, taste can be very subjective. One wine we had last night, a chardonnay reminded me of peaches and white flowers, very fruity, another, a nero d'Avola merlot had the tastes of preserved currents, cinnamon, and a touch of licorice... The one thing that the sommelier did tell us was that the longer the after taste, the better the quality of wine. I tell you, the game of describe that taste is very fun!!
I had a six course meal last night and seven different wines... unfortunately there were many a person in attendance that had too much to drink, and it would have been easy to do! There was SO much wine, but our director had explained at the beginning of the evening that it was a bit of a marathon and not to drink to much of the whites in the beginning because the heavy reds came at the end and could hit you hard if you'd already had plenty to drink. So those of us with a head on our shoulders did absolutely fine! (No, the obnoxious random woman across-ish from me did not so much follow this advice which made her even more obnoxious!!!!) I probably never again will have a 6 hour meal, nor do I necessarily want to, it was so long! But as you can see I learned a lot and I'm definitely glad I got to do it!

Sono Stanca

I know, I know, me blogging two days in a row... this is unheard of! I'm just feeling overwhelmed right now, I have really bad contact with everybody, which is horrible, because I need all you all's support and love now more than ever!!! Life here no longer has the 'new and exciting' feeling to it... now its just hard, its school, its across the world, and I still can't speak Italian well enough to really feel comfortable.
I've been wondering why there are only a select few people that I hear from on a regular basis. My roommate pointed out to me that maybe you all think that I am in a new place and the one with an exciting life, why would I have time to here about the old lives of those in Kenai or at PLU... So, this is my plea to you... I want to hear from you! Everything! I care just as much or more now what you are up to! Please, even just a comment on my blog every once in a while or a comment on facebook... I'm not asking for a novel length email, I know how much work that takes!
Love you all!

La Bella Figura

Italians are obsessed with image an image that we refer to as 'la bella figura' or 'the beautiful figure'. They constantly are well put together, fashionable, friendly without being overly outgoing, and they never do anything that would make them look foolish or in bad taste...ever. However if you talk to an Italian about la bella figura, they probably wouldn't quite understand what you mean... I've decided their obsession with la bella figura comes directly from their conscious obsession, la brutta figura. In Italy everything is probably done for some image reason, not to appear 'bella' but rather to not appear 'brutta'.
For example: Italians don't work out... they just don't do it, not in public, not the way Americans do. An Italian wouldn't go running for a great workout, to be sweaty is brutta, to have physical exertion show is brutta. On occasion I do see someone running or at the gym, but it hardly ever a woman and whoever it is always still looks great and is wearing a cute little 'workout outfit' of spandex.
Another example: Last month I said that one of the things I had learned was that Italians do not drink in excess, they don't get drunk, its frowned upon. I now realize, there is no ethical or moral reason behind this, but rather, to drink to the point of walking and acting funny is brutta, the image and control is gone. It is brutta to be out of control.
There are of course smaller things that are never done because they are brutta, one never wears short socks and long pants, one never wears sweat pants in public, one never eats mushrooms and cheese together, and the one I personally always break and get stared and pointed at for... one never wears flip flops between the months of October and April!
Of course these judgements are not as harsh on foreigners, it is weird if I break a 'bella figura' rule, but it is horrible and stupid if an Italian does so. The ironic thing to me is that Italians may follow crazy rules and norms when it comes to esthetic, but when it comes to ethics, they believe they are up to interpretation... thats why you find Italians cutting in line, and running red lights. I just think this is so fascinating, probably because it is such a foreign concept to me! I don't do something nice for someone to APPEAR nice, I just want to be nice. I definitely value ethics over esthetics, who am I to judge other people based on their appearance! Maybe what this should be teaching me is, who am I to judge people on anything, even their actions, they could have a perfectly logical reason for doing something like cutting in line, like a cultural imposition!

Beatles and the Choir

For fat Tuesday most people drink, dance, party... go to Venice. One girl in my program even fell in a canal while she was there! Oh but not me... I had a very irregular end to my carnival.
I recently joined a university community choir with two other girls. After my first evening there Francesco, the director, asked if we wanted to join them the following week in performing. I was the only of the 3 to show up, which was initially nerve racking, but in the long run it was perfect. Without the other girls at my side not only was I more approachable, but I needed to be approached. Everybody took such care of me!!! People would link arms with me to get me to come with them. I am now officially called 'Miss Alaska'. I was wearing knee length shorts, and for me, it was a little chilly, but nothing to complain about. Everybody was shocked, this apparently is scandalous! But I would hear people saying, 'oh remember, she's from Alaska, its hot here for her!' Yeah... its not hot here, but I just love that they all think I'm too hot!
The concert was in a very fun theater in Bologna, 40 minutes from Ferrara. During the concert we sang back up for a band. We sang and danced and clapped all during the concert. It was a good time I just kept laughing, I couldn't help it! The choir sounded...not so good, but because I don't really feel tied to them I didn't care!
Among the many good things to come of the evening were one, that Francesco asked me to sing in the other choir he directs as well... I don't know what kind of choir it is, but maybe its more exclusive than this one, or at least balanced. And two, last night I was walking down the street with a few people and Jacamo from choir recognized me and called out to me! People in town know me! I'm no longer completely a stranger! What a fabulous feeling, I can't even tell you!