l'uve, calcio e cibo!

Ciao Tutti!

So my finals are over for intensive italian. It is a relief and even though this week was very stressful with the whole 'Italian only' thing, I feel acomplished. Going out with the uscita guides was great experience using the language because last night I was able to talk to a native about the soccer game that occured only a few hours earlier that day.

Saturday, which was yesterday was a very eventful day! The day started out with getting up at 7:30 and leaving at 8:30 to go grape picking at a vineyard. About 45 minutes later and a beautiful ride through the country side, we arrived to the villa where we would be helping out picking the grape harvest. Our first instructions we to pick gloves and scissors and then to head off to the vineyards. The first vineyard we went to was smaller than I expected, but it was so amazing to see clusters of grapes growing up and down the individual aisles. Kate, Bud, Jody and I set to work on our aisle. The cluster that we would cut were so picturesque. The colors were so vibrant with shades of light lavander or dark violet. There were shades of blue even. The clusters grew so big that they would wrap around the vine or the wiring of the fence and you had to pry them off. After about half an hour we were done with that part of the vineyard.

Next the owner of the vineyards and his two sons led us to another part of their land that had a larger vineyard. This vineyard was beautiful. It grew along a hillside and there were just tens even a hundred rows. So all 58 of us, Pepperdine students, set to work. While Kate, Bud, Jody and I were working on an aisle, an old man (one of the workers for the owner) came up to us with a bushle of white/green grapes. He motioned for us to take one and when I popped the grape in my mouth, it made me smile. It was probably one of the sweetest grapes I have ever eaten. The man told us that these grapes were for the desert wine (dolce) and to eat the seeds because they helped with digestion( I never knew that).

Every harvest takes a full year to mature. So what we picked was their only harvest to make their wine. Each harvest produces 6,000 bottles of wine. 90% of those bottles are sold for profit and 10% is saved for family and friends. Because we helped out with picking the harvest, each student will be given a bottle of their wine (Chianti Classico).

After we were done picking the grapes harvest we were given lunch. We walked back up to the house to find the backyard set up with picnic tables and chairs. It was an idealic view of eating at a Tuscan backyard with vines, bushes, vegetables and trees growing everywhere. Right next to the picnic table was a pomegranite tree. Lunch was delicous. We had sanwhiches with turkey, cheese, olive oil, mustard, olives, tomatoes filled with tuna, salami, and grilled peppers and eggplant. While we ate lunch, we got to sit a visit and enjoy to ambiance of the Tuscan villa.

Around 1:30 we packed up and left for the villa to head off to our next event. At 4:30 we met back up to go to a Florentine soccer match. When each of us in our soccer jerseys, we walked to the stadium. It was about a 35 minutes walk from the villa. Once we all got there, what we came to find was a sea of purple. Florence's team color is viola (purple). It was crazy. Our section  in the stadium was perfect. We were surrounded by native Italians who were so into the game. The next section over from us was the so called "student section". They were the Florentine fan club and witnessing them cheer was the most incredible thing I have seen at a sporing event. It was like looking into a sea of purple with syncronized chants and wave flagging. The fan clubs mascot is a indian warrior so they had a huge portrait of him on a flag that was being waved around. When they chanted and sang they were so loud, it was unbelivable. One thing I learned is that if you whistle that means you are displeased. So whenever the opposing team had the ball or made a foul the crowd would errupt with whistling.

It was a slight disappointment because Florence lost to Lazio, the opposing team. It was shocking to see how angry the crowd got. Soccer is like part of their soul, or like a contrata. Also, on the way home there was a downpour of rain, but all in all it was a great day.

Today was a pleasant day. At 12:30 everyone met up to ride the bus to Elizabeth's house, our program's director. It was about a thirty minute drive into the country side. When we were getting closer, we turned onto a narrow side street that led us into a wood part of the country side. It ended up leading us to her house. When we pulled up we saw about 20 people dress up in old Renaissance clothes and lined up on either side of the driveway, waving flags and drumming on drums. After each student walked under the flags that were raised out to us, they put on a show. Each person with a flag, Elizabeth included, put on a performance of flag twirling and throwing. It was amazing to watch.

After the performance we sat down to have a five course meal! Each course got better and better, if that was even possible. The meal started out with appetizers like bruschetta and chips and salsa! Then pasta arrived after that. We had penne pasta with pesto and penne pasta with tomatoe sauce. Procceeding the pasta was homemade brick oven pizzas. They were delicous! The man cooking them made all different types of pizza. He made magharitta, pesto, salami, and pepperoni(which in Italy means peppers, not meat). Next came grilled meat which included chicken, ribs and steak. After the meat we had desert. The last course was probably the best because we had homemade chessecake and homemade chocolate flourless torte. By the end of this meal I had hit capacity.

When we were all done eating, we were able to roam around Elizabeth's property and visit with one another. Some of us played badmiton, bacci ball, crochett, or some of us walked down to a little creek that ran along Elizabeth's house. My friend Bud and I walked down to the creek and we found a path that led us to a open meadow that was full of wild flowers and olive trees and it had this incredible view of the Tuscan hillsides that surrounded us. The sun was so welcoming and Elizabeth's house was so beautiful and ideal. Today was a perfect day.

Hope all is well with everyone!
Ciao!