The All Important Food Post

Gelato Flavors I’ve Tried So Far:
• Pistachio
• Coffee
• Mint chocolate
• strawberry
• peach
• apricot/pear
• nutella
• cherry
• chocolate
• tiramisu
• hazelnut
• lemon
• yogurt

Favorite Flavors:
• pistachio
• coffee
• mint chocolate
• strawberry
• peach
• apricot/pear
• nutella
• cherry
• chocolate
• tiramisu
• hazelnut
• lemon
• yogurt

I’m mostly kidding. Pistachio, coffee, nutella, lemon, hazelnut, peach, and apricot/pear are the best so far.

To Try Next:
• Raspberry
• Banana
• Caramel chocolate
• Orange
• Blackberry
• Vanilla

The best gelaterio in Arezzo is on the corner about two blocks from the train station. In addition to supplying possibly the most delicious dessert I’ve ever put in my mouth, the people who work there are wonderfully kind and patient. The man who owns the shop knows us now, and is coming to our concerts! Sometimes he refuses to take money for the gelato, just smiling and shaking his head. He doesn’t seem to mind ugly Americans hanging around his store.

Subjects Unrelated to Food:

I have a bass now! It’s a pretty nice bass, too. It’s carved and has a rich sound, even though it’s brighter than my bass at home. The action’s really high, but I figure that will be like practicing baseball with a donut on your bat. You know those weights you put around the end of your bat to swing, and then when you take it off in the game your swing is so much stronger? Maybe my hands will be stronger when I get back to the states? Hopefully? Please? Anyway, it’s not that big a deal. The bigger deal is the fact that I still don’t have a stool. Hopefully Mr. Vitek will come through on that, but I don’t hold high hopes.

Daniel, you’d be so proud of me! I watched a whole soccer game that you weren’t in, and I didn’t even crack a book! I even got to watch the game from the steps of a medieval church! A few nights ago some of the girls from the convent decided it would be an interesting cultural experience to watch the Italy/Netherlands soccer game (Euro championship?) in a pizza bar with Italians. As we’re heading to the bar, we hear what sounds like a very large, very excited mob. As we get deeper into the old city the noise gets louder, until finally we turn a corner and almost plow straight into a giant TV screen. The soccer game is being projected on both sides of this screen at the edge of the old square, drive-in movie style, and hundreds of Italians are running back and forth with drinks, or sitting with their gelato, waiting for the game to start. The excitement is palpable. Once the game began, it became surprisingly quiet, adding drama to the drawn out “NoOOO!”s and cheering that startled pigeons from their roosts with disgruntled squawks that were lost in the din.

Apparently soccer is a big deal in Italy.

Between the contagious excitement and several bottles of vino rosso, our group was shouting “Forza Italia!” right along with the Italians. It was a great night.

My roommate, M, who plays bassoon, turned 20 yesterday. To celebrate, the city of Arezzo held a parade in her honor. A small group of us were sitting in a fancy restaurant, eating pizza and pasta (and other delicious things staring with p), when we heard this loud emphatic drumming. The drumming was quickly followed by the sound of clanging church bells (from the cathedral tower), and crowd sounds. Looking out the window of the restaurant, we can see the first drummers in their bright green medieval garb (complete with multicolored tights) march by. The waiter explains that these are the marchers and dignitaries involved in the Jousting festival, doing a practice run/parade around the city. We rushed out of the restaurant and stood on the stoop to watch the parade go by. There were little kids strutting around in medieval uniforms carrying family flags. Dignified men in helmets bore the flags of each neighborhood of Arezzo and their jousting champions. The mayor, judges, and other dignitaries were surrounded by knights in chain mail and brightly colored uniforms. It was spectacular. We quickly paid for our meal and followed the procession up to the cathedral at the top of the mountain. It felt like the whole city was packed inside, and we could barely see the bishop and the mayor at the front. What a night!

In Other News:
-This Sunday we take a day trip to Florence (Firenze). When I learn the Italian word for “so frickin stoked” I will tell it to you.
-One of my roommates is sick. This is gonna sound terrible, but I’m hoping it’s because of some bad meat she ate, and not the stomach flu like she thinks, because we’ve all been sharing drinks and living in really close quarters…
-The septet rehearsed today, I love this piece, it’s a lot of fun. The bass actually gets really cool parts, and since I’m by myself I get to play with it a bit more. Chamber music is the bomb.
-Daniel: have fun at GSP! I’m so proud of you. If you get time send me an email (something along the lines of “I am alive,” and maybe some stories you can’t tell mom and dad?)!
-I miss you, and I love you.

XOXO
Erin

How do you say, in english?

I hear a shriek. Somewhere nearby someone is screaming their poor heart out. Perhaps a woman is being robbed, or a child beaten? I roll onto my back and confirm I am not dreaming. Fast on the heels of my first thought (Glasses, glasses, where are my glasses?) comes another: Perhaps I should scream too? In my head I give an experimental shout. What comes out sounds more like “whuh?” In my jet-lagged well-travelled state I am slow to realize that these strange calls are not “help!” or even “aiuto!” In fact what I am now hearing are overlapping two octave arpeggios, descending chromatically. I am relieved to find that what I’d mistaken for a distress call is actually musical rapture. Oh joy.

I am currently living in a convent. I have the best roommates in the joint, H (clarinet) and M (bassoon), neither of which are nuns. We get along well, and our room is very comfortable and “cute.” Our neighbors scattered along the hall are all opera singers. Sopranos and mezzo sopranos, to be specific (I’ve been assured the distinction is very important). These dear neighbors have been “warming up” since we arrived. I imagine they are quite toasty by now.

My computer thinks it is 12:16 right now. That is because my computer still believes it is with you, in Kentucky. It doesn’t know is that both it and I are currently an ocean, several countries, and six hours from “y’all” and “g’mornin’.” I am writing you from Santa Catarina in Arezzo, Italy. It is raining now, and I have the window slightly open to let the pigeons in, and also to hear the Italian rain hit the ceramic tiles and metal gutter outside. Funny, it sounds just like Kentucky rain. If I close my eyes, there’s nothing to tell me I’m not lying in the grass under our big oak. Well, except for the distant tolling from the bell tower of Arezzo’s cathedral. And the catty rapid fire Italian exchanged between two maids downstairs. And the echoing of multiple languages trapped in high ceilings and hardwood floors.

Ok, so it’s not exactly like home.

The town of Arezzo is beautiful. It is beautiful in the evening, with golden warmth slanting across the cobblestones. It is beautiful at night, with bright globes outlining meandering streets and laughing couples weaving through the bustle. It is beautiful in the morning, and when it drizzles. It is beautiful when the cobblestones dry in the sun and the shop awnings glint with droplets.

You might have gathered that I like it here. Yesterday I went on a walking tour that gave me just a taste of the history and culture. As Abby would say, I’ve eaten one pistachio (it was delicious, and now I want more). I think I will have to get lost, reveal myself as a foreigner, and fall on the cobblestones many more times in the next 5 weeks to fully appreciate Arezzo. I plan to shirk responsibilities whenever possible in order to do so (just kidding).

Said “Responsibilities” Include:
-8:50 to 12:35 Italian lessons
-3 to 4 or 5, chamber group rehearsal (Beethoven Septet, Barber Adagio)
-6 to 8 orchestra rehearsal
-The Marriage of Figaro, and all associated performances and rehearsals

My Italian teacher does not speak English very well, but she’s very excited about all the various feminine/masculine/asexual/plural/singular/multidimensional/transmutational articles of Italian. She’s also excited about the English word for hiccups, which, if you think about it, is very fun to say.

I have not yet tasted gelato. I feel this is an egregious error that I must now correct. Ciao!

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Practical Stuff:
-I have internet (obviously), but it’s currently inconvenient to use for an extended period of time (long story, work in progress). I’m typing blogs offline, and then only getting online long enough to post them and send the standard “I am alive” email to my family. Expect contact, but not regular extensive contact.
-No cell phone.
-Food/money is holding out all right. The convent isn’t letting us use the kitchen, and doesn’t have laundry facilities.
-Digital Camera=awesome. I take back all the bad things I said about technology (until it breaks).
-I have converters for charging appliances (like this computer). I have not killed anyone or anything yet. Knock on wood for me.
-I’m still your graceful glamorous girl (Tide will get chocolate out of cotton, right?), and I love you. A lot. Hugs all around.

XOXO
Erin