Sicily: A Melting Pot

Written by Sam D'Anna, Student, CET Intensive Language and Culture Studies in Catania.

One day I was taking a quick break from my run just outside Piazza Falcone near the seashore. Because of its vast open space and well-preserved concrete, this piazza is a prime spot for pick-up basketball games. Though on this particular day a group of young men were playing a cricket match. As I caught my breath, I leaned up against the fence to get a better view of the action. Within seconds one of the players hit a pop fly out of the fence. The ball landed about ten feet from where I was standing. Quickly, I ran to grab the ball so that I could return it. I approached a player, but he showed no interest in meeting me. The only thing he was looking at was the ball in my hand.

Absentmindedly, instead of using my Italian, I said “Here you go!”

Immediately the man looked up at me. After realizing what I had just said, I corrected myself and said “Mi dispiace, ecco."

He continued to stare for a few more seconds, as if he still did not understand what I said. Loudly, he shouted out to his other friends in what I believe was Hindi. They came circling around me.

I introduced myself and told them where I was from in Italian. The first man understood. He told me they were from India and asked if I wanted to play. My eyes lit up. I was not expecting this to happen.

Within minutes they were throwing me their side-armed pitches that bounced in the dirt coming at me at what seemed like 100 mph. I swung away at every pitch hoping that was the right thing to do. I never could quite get the hang of swinging that awkward, flat bat, but I was able to hit a few that traveled no more than a mere 20 feet.

I probably had close to 30 strikes when I finished batting. Maybe there is no strike limit in cricket. Maybe they were just letting the rules slide a bit for me. After ten minutes I was exhausted.

The first man approached me again, this time he handed me the ball. He pointed to where he had been pitching and said “Go there!” So I went and stood at the artificial mound they had created out of old blankets and waited for him to signal that he was ready. I was nervous.

Even after all my years of playing football and baseball, I knew this probably was not going to be something I was good at. Even though I didn’t know what I was doing, I tried to imitate his actions.

After another ten minutes, he came up to me again, put his hand on my shoulder and just laughed. Probably at my horrible play.

There was not a moment that went by during the game where I didn’t learn something new.

The same goes for everyday life in Catania. It’s possible to meet someone from virtually every corner of the world in this unique city. Anyone you meet, whether they are Sicilian or an immigrant, has an interesting story and shares an equal interest in who you are.

Edited by Janet Lawrence, Resident Director.

Southern Hospitality

Written by May Bayer, Student, CET Intensive Language and Culture Studies in Catania.

Southern hospitality is not only an American phenomenon. In Sicily, you may be cut in line mercilessly at the post office or pharmacy, but you will also find some of the most open and hospitable people I’ve ever met.

My first night in Catania, I stayed in a hotel before moving into our apartment. I was tired, jet-lagged, and nervous to be in a new place all by myself. Online reviews had said I would have to carry my suitcase up three flights of stairs to get to my room, but I couldn’t even open the front gate of the hotel.

The hotel manager Oscar came to my rescue. He explained that to open the gate, I had to first pull, then push (a method which everyone else seemed to already know. This information would come in handy for other gates I encountered in Catania). He also dragged my huge suitcase up the never-ending flight of stairs.

In my room, I immediately passed out from exhaustion, but when I woke up the next morning, the hospitality continued. Oscar served me a huge breakfast—a crème-filled croissant, an entire loaf of bread with jam or cheese, cappuccino, and fruit juice. When it was time for me to go, he gave me directions to find my apartment, carried my suitcase downstairs for me, and offered to give me a ride. I thanked him and declined his offer—surely he was just being polite.

But as I lugged my suitcase along the sidewalk, I got confused and wondered if I had missed the correct street. Suddenly I heard someone behind me. “May!” It was Oscar. I had gone the wrong way, and he had run after me to tell me. He insisted that I let him carry my suitcase, and he led me to my new apartment—which turned out to be right next to the hotel! I thanked him again, hardly beleiving how much he had gone out of his way for me. He told me to come visit the hotel anytime for a coffee.

Again, I assumed this was just a polite formality. But after living in Catania for two months, I now understand that Oscar was not an exception, but an accurate representation of Sicilian hospitality. I really am welcome at his hotel for coffee anytime.

Since that first day, I have witnessed all sorts of kind acts that would be unheard of at home. For class one day, another student, Sam, and I had to interview a person in the street. The person we found insisted on buying us coffee while we asked our questions. We ended up sitting at a café with him for half an hour and he promised to take us on a tour of Catania.

I soon forgot about his promise.

That Friday, though, he called and took all six CET students on a perfect tour of the city—buying us gelato from his favorite gelateria (which is now our favorite gelateria), showing us a historic castle on the sea, and a cool restaurant where you can eat underground in a grotto.

I am still surprised every time someone follows through on an offer like that. It happens all the time—when we accidentally became part of a birthday party that was happening in the Piazza, when our professors insisted on taking us out for coffee in the middle of class, when the doctor gave me a ride home after my appointment. Sicilians may seem tough at first, but they take hospitality to a whole new level, in a way that seems completely natural for them. It’s hard for me to get used to.

What does it say about our culture that I am so shocked every time I witness this kindness? Maybe the rest of the world needs to take a lesson from the Sicilians. As for me, I am going to take Oscar up on his offer of coffee at the hotel.

Edited by Janet Lawrence, Resident Director.

Top Alterna-Picks for Roaming in Rome...

Written by Janet Lawrence, Resident Director

Make the best of the Traveling Seminar to Rome! We'll cover the absolute must-sees like the Vatican, the Colosseum, and the Borghese Gallery as a group, but in your free time check out the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, Castel Sant'Angelo, and the Capitolini.

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE! Here's a very short list of my Roma alterna-picks:

All museum-ed out?

Climb the hill to Giannicolo park for an excellent panorama of the city below. The lively neighborhood of Trastevere lies at the foot of the hill. Reward yourself with a pasta dinner. Sample the Roman specialties Bucatini Amatriciana or my absolute favorite, Cacio e Pepe.

Love English literature?

Try out the city's metro system and visit the Protestant Cemetery, where Keats and Shelley are buried. I believe I once got some students to recite poetry there...I promise I'll spare you all that.

Wanna get outta the city?

The fabulous (really) sites, Villa D'Este and Villa Adriano, are just a bus ride away!

The Mount Etna Miracles

Written by Janet Lawrence, Resident Director

Mount Etna may be best known for its eruptions, hot lava, and destruction, but it also has a niche in the miracle department.

This Saturday, CET Catania united with CET Siena and CET Florence for a tour of Catania's mistress from above, Mount Etna. It was a rainy, misty day and our guide Sandro worried the fog would obscure the view of the summit.

During our tour, the group traced the oldest vestiges of Etna's volcanic rock on the shores of Aci Castello to its newest output at the volcano's summit.

The 500,000-year-old volcanic rock on the shore has been smoothed and rounded by the

Mediterrenean water so that it interlocks

like cobble-stones. Quite different from the brand new, flinty charcoal-like substance that we would find on the volcano's summit. It erupted from the volcano just a few weeks ago.

As we made our way up the mountain, we learned about Etna miracles. The veil of Sant'Agata was said to have shielded sacred objects from oncoming lava at various moments in history. Then, during the 1991-93 eruption, the town of Zafferano was nearly overtaken by hot magma.

Our students visited the site where the lava flow miraculously stopped--just a few short kilometers from the city center. Of course, Etna's inhabitants haven't always been so lucky--we also saw the rooftops of homes that were swallowed up during eruptions.

Then our very own miracle--the thick fog parted as we made the final ascent to the Silvester Craters, near the summit of Etna. A corridor of blue sky emerged through which we had an unobstructed view from the craters to the Mediterrenean shoreline far below.

Sandro, a man who has made a career of studying this feisty volcano, said he had never seen the view look so particularly beautiful.

Carnevale: Video

By Janet Lawrence, Resident Director.

Masks! Confetti! Chocolate-covered treats! Just when we had recovered from Sant’Agata, it wa

s time for Carnevale, Italy’s equivalent of Mardi Gras.

CET hosted a Carnevale Party for students, Language Partners and Italian Roommates. Folks turned up in fabulous masks, costumes and make-up.

I

taly’s largest Carnevale celebration takes place in Venice, where the masks are meant to

liberate citizens from social class and

inhibitions and just let loose!

Down here in Catania we let loose alright – with some serious snacking and line

-dancing!

Are You Hungry Yet?

Written by Ariel Goldenthal, Student, CET Intensive Language and Culture Studies in Catania.

First of all, let’s be honest. The reason for the large number of students who choose Italy as their study abroad destination is the food. Sure, the weather is heavenly—especially here in Catania—and the history, art, and architecture are beautiful, but Italian cuisine is legendary.

Having been here for a month now, the five other CET students - Tess, Sam, Angela, Julie, May - and I have gotten to experience quite a range of pasta. The pasta that dreams are made of. Admittedly, our first night cooking was not particularly successful. For a few of us, this is the first time living in an apartment with other students. We quickly realized that cooking for eight people was going to be a challenge. We started out simply, just pasta with sauce (or salsa, as it is called here) and spinach (spinaci). Our table was set, we had bought bread from the local panificio (bakery) and we were quite proud of ourselves.

The pasta wasn’t perfect; there was a bit too much spinach and just not enough sauce. We gobbled it up anyway.

But we have improved since then. Our resident chef, Julie Hooper, maintains that cooking is relaxing, therapeutic, and, simply, what she wants to do. And try as we might to keep up, the rest of us can’t compare. Several conversations regarding dinner have consisted of us trying to explain to Julie that we don't know how to just throw something together! But we keep trying, and hopefully soon we will soak up Julie’s culinary knowledge through our stomachs.

Over the past month, we've moved beyond pasta and sauce. We are trying new things; after all, that’s what study abroad is all about! Our first step was to branch out and start buying food the Italian way: at one of the outdoor markets in Catania.

On a recent Saturday morning, we decided to brave the famous fish market. True to the stories, we started to smell the fish market as we began to cross the Piazza del Duomo and head down the steps into the extremely crowded mercato.

We tried to dodge the puddles of questionable, fishy liquid on the cobblestone ground as our minds reeled from the crowd. Although we couldn’t quite understand what the fishermen were shouting in Sicilian dialect, we did understand that, much like learning to cook for eight people, this too, was going to be a challenge. As we eyed the abundance of fish: skin, bones, eyes, and all, we all wondered how on earth we were supposed to cook it.

While we considered what we would cook that evening, we split up and wandered through the meat, fruit and vegetable sections of the market.

Finally, we rendezvoused with a plan: artichokes and swordfish for dinner. Since the cuts of swordfish available were in steak form, we felt confident that we could cook them.

Well, the other students felt confident. I keep kosher, and so I was exempt from the swordfish venture. I assigned myself to artichoke duty.

About an hour later, we were all sitting happily at the table. Our neighbors probably heard the compliments that filtered out of our kitchen: the swordfish was a hit. It turns out that while learning to cook in Italy, it’s best to take Miss Frizzle’s advice: “Take chances, make mistakes, and get messy!”

As long as we don’t end up inside a swordfish, I’d say we’re doing a pretty good job.

Edited by Janet Lawrence, Resident Director.

See ya Starbucks, Wine and Book is the place to be

Posted by Tess Raser, Student, CET Intensive Language and Culture Studies in Catania.

As a college student, I am used to grabbing my books and heading to Starbucks when I desire a social studying environment. I can cram for the next exam, write that final paper, or meet with friends and chat over our favorite java beverages.

In Catania, it’s a little different. Of course there are more cafes serving delectable espresso drinks than I can count. However, the place where I go with fellow CET students to study and reflect on our Sicilian days, is called Macondo Wine and Book Cafe.

The first time I saw the small shop’s name, just a block away from the Residence, I was intrigued. It stood out among the panificios (bread shops), pizzerias, and gelaterias. And it seemed that every time we passed by, the shop was closed. That is, until one Wednesday night when May, another CET student, and I walked past it and saw the lights on. Excited, we ran home and grabbed our compiti (homework) and returned with painted grins.

When we arrived the door was locked even though minutes before a man had been standing inside. The lights were all still on. All we could do was stare through the window and watch a computer’s screensaver, a fake flickering fire with candy corn in place of flames and pretzel sticks in place of logs. A couple minutes later, a hip-looking couple arrived on a Vespa and casually said, “He probably just went for a walk or something.” At that moment, May Bayer (middle, pictured with Julie Hooper and Angela Pisoni, CET 2011) and I remembered that we were still in Sicily. This was not unusual.


Eventually the man returned, and we were finally able to enter the mysterious shop. The walls are bright orange and covered in tall, wooden bookshelves, which hold hundreds of books—some old, some new, some tall, some short, some green, some written by Spanish authors, some by Japanese. The only book we could focus on was the wine menu on the table in front of us. There are wines from all over Europe and Sicily in particular. We got generous-sized glasses of wine and a plate of fresh bruschetta; the perfect accompaniment to Italian language homework. Of course, we couldn’t do homework forever and soon were distracted by the shopkeeper’s dog.

Since then, every time we’ve returned to Wine and Book, there has been a different dog there. On our first visit, we played with what I think was a very chubby pitbull, pictured above. That day, while we smiled, smitten, at the dog, an older man sitting across from us was also smiling at the dog. Perhaps because of our mutual love of dogs, he asked if we wanted to play with the checkerboard set on his table. Instead, we challenged him to a game. Embarrassingly, May and I lost. It was a two-versus-one game, but he was a particularly tricky opponent.

Still, the defeat has not stopped us from returning to Wine and Book, and we have gone back several times with our other housemates. We hope to get through the whole wine book. After all, the only thing more embarrassing than losing that checkers match, would be returning home from Italy and not being wine connoisseurs.

Edited by Janet Lawrence, Resident Director.