My Days

Oh, what days they've been.

Let's start with Sunday. I woke up early and went to Padova with a group of friends. I was the only American, the rest were Portuguese, Spanish and Chilean. We tried to speak mainly in Italian but sometimes it was easier to speak in English. I'm constantly amazed at how many English-speaking people I've met - especially young people - from all over the world! It's a shame that it's not the same when my Portuguese friends go to the United States. Odds are they won't meet many Americans who speak Portuguese...

I have, however, officially added Portuguese to my list of languages to learn. It's so beautiful, and the more I hear it spoken, the more I want to learn it. Hopefully Marta will teach me something!

Anyway, I spent all day in Padova with my worldly group of friends. It's a really beautiful city, very quiet and peaceful. In a lot of ways, it's similar to Nice (which makes sense because Nice was an Italian city for about 500 years). The architecture is very similar, as is the layout of the city. There are wide, open piazzas filled with flower and fruit merchants, and the narrow streets are lined with beautiful pastel-colored buildings. There was no beach in Padova (like the beautiful pebble beach in Nice, where I think I could have stayed forever) but there were small canals running through the city.When I chose to study in Italy for a year, I had to choose between Bologna and Padova. I didn't know much about either city, so I chose Bologna based solely on its central location and larger student population. While visiting Padova, though, I realized how completely different my experience would have been if I'd decided to study there instead of here in Bologna.

I'm not saying that I made the wrong choice or that I wish I'd chosen Padova. I don't, at all. In fact, it's impossible to say that I'd have a better experience in either city, because they're so different. Literally everything that could be different is different. I could see myself living in Padova just as easily as I see myself living here, but for entirely different reasons. Luckily, my lovely and wonderful friend Heather ("Etter") will be studying in Padova next spring so I can spend as much time there as I want... assuming she doesn't get sick of me.This was my favorite place in Padova, a giant circular park with a view of the basilica. It's hard to tell in the photos, but the weather was very strange while we were there. There was a very thin layer of clouds but it was still very bright outside. This created a kind of surreal glow which just added to the charm of this already-beautiful city. I'm really glad that I had the chance to spend a day there!

Yesterday, I had 6 hours of class and returned home exhausted - just in time to watch "Taxi Driver" with my housemates. I've wanted to see that movie for years, and just never got around to it until last night. It was definitely a strange movie, made even stranger by the fact that it was dubbed in Italian. I was so confused. In fact, I'm still confused! There was relatively little dialogue in the film, which makes me think that those few lines were pretty important. I might watch it again in English but I'm honestly not sure if would be any easier to understand! :)

I'm not a big fan of dubbed films, and not just because they're more difficult for me to understand. I just feel like an actor's voice is so important - the tiny subtleties in the way an actor delivers his lines is part of what distinguishes a good actor from a terrible one. To me, taking away the actor's voice is taking away an incredibly important part of his or her performance! I just don't think it's fair to watch a De Niro movie without De Niro's voice... .and what about Sean Connery?! I can't imagine watching a Sean Connery movie without that incredibly awesome accent. It just seems... wrong. Oddly enough, the entire population of Italy disagrees with me. All of the movies here are dubbed, as well as television shows. I guess I'll just have to get used to it! (Amusing side note: I've heard that Keanu Reeves is actually considered a great actor here, probably due to the performance of the Italian voice-actor!!)

Well, there is more I could write about but I had 8.5 hours of class today... so I think I'll call it a night. I love and miss you all, very much. Write me, tell me things about home!