Bruno was adorable. He showed me how to enter the residence and gave me all of the codes. He was beaming with pride at this residence that he and his brother are managing. He gave me the tour of the lobby and breakfast areas and listed all the amenities they offered. He showed me my room, with a window and terrace and pointed out all the new fixtures, all the while repeating, “beautiful, yes?”. ⚡️Bruno told me that he “has 23 years” and he is in charge of all this, and his dream is “to come to New York at Merry Christmas”. What I was most impressed with was ⚡️Bruno‘s bravado as he demonstrated his English, clearly doing all he could to connect with me, his guest. It made me realize how cowardly I am, not attempting to use what little Italian I have.

After I settled in, I decided to walk around the neighborhood. I was out for about an hour and a half. I had only intended to walk for about an hour, but I got lost. No worries, though. I always tell myself when I get lost that I will find my way back and I did. When I got back to the residence, I decided not to take the elevator since it was only two flights. As I approached the first landing, I fell flat on both knees, tripping on the last step. It just so happened that the door was open to the hairstylist on that floor. Three people came running out to help me. I was fine, but incredibly embarrassed. However, today I made it a point to stop in and say thank you. As I entered, the gentleman came up to me and I said, “ Mi scusi, grazie per avermi ieri. Sono la donna che e caduta.” Then, in Italian he asked me if I was OK and I pointed to my shoes saying I had better shoes on than last night. In English. But, I had made my first attempt and it was OK.

PS I can’t figure out how to use the accent over the e for essere. I don’t think it’s possible.

Jean

I am very excited to spend a wonderful week in Umbria with 23 amazing travelers and language lovers from AIS-Phila. We have someone who never studied Italian before and others who are very familiar with the language, people staying with host families and others in hotel. We will see beautiful places, learn Italian and eat great food.

I know everyone has been doing the most important thing to get ready for Todi: walking and getting excited!

Todi arriviamo!

On the way back to the bus, Leonardo and I (Elisa) led the entire group to the wrong escalator line. When we got out and could not recognize were we were! Just a couple of phone calls and some map orientation were enough to have our bus driver kindly pick us up on complitely different spot in the city.

A really neat bit of Spoleto is the features built by the Romans which are still visible today. One is the aqueduct which is in the valley next to the castle and can now be walked across. But in the city itself, many arches and walkways are labeled with plaques illustrating their construction at the height of the Roman Empire. It feels in many ways that as the city evolved in medieval times they absorbed much of this Roman architecture into its bones as more buildings were constructed and the streets became narrower. It’s a testament to quality work of the craftsmen of the ancient world as well as the care of the people of Spoleto that these have survived to be in use today!

If one looks closely at many of the important buildings of Spoleto, they can see some really cool Spolia! Spolia is the use of old architectural materials in a new building. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the logistics and technology involved with quarrying, carting, and carving new stone became prohibitively expensive in many areas. As a result, the stone found around the ruins of former Roman- era buildings got reused when new buildings went up in the Middle Ages and one can see a lot of extremely awesome examples of this practice in buildings around Spoleto. Thus, the cities’ Roman period lives on through the ages and can be glimpsed by those who look closely! One can spend a day in Spoleto looking for just these details alone, it is a truly spectacular place

But shortly into this immersive trip, I had no other course of action but to abandon my rigidity for the following reasons: 

1. a foreign country readily presents new, unexpected scenarios that require relying on the kindness of strangers 

2. truncated sleep from the PHL–FCO flight diminishes that firmly guarded sense of bravado; you’ll find yourself plainly speaking your mind before you even realize it (in both English AND Italiano) 

3. the generously warm temperatures will force you to sweat off your “emotional walls,” if the previous reason didn’t take care of that already

4. a sense of psychological safety becomes immediately apparent—in the classes, while bopping around with classmates on the field trips, and from yourself as you untangle your Italian

   
   

The results of letting my guard down?

1. A mini class field trip in farmacia during our pausa where my teacher helped me navigate a conversation with a pharmacist to get me the medicine—magic—I desperately needed; yes, the entire class was there

2. A just-in-time wet wipe from a classmate when Baci-flavored gelato began cascading down my hands

3. An offer to get me a pizza slice da portare via (or even a few bites of theirs) because they knew I was pressed for time

4. A pep talk from classmates who genuinely cheer for you

5. A well made, ready-to-use circle of kneaded and rolled out dough for tagliatelle fatte in casa

6. A collection of new friendships that I was truly craving (even more than that pasta)

   
   

Nicole in the US not only would have wanted to deeply and repetitiously edit this blog before posting, but she also would have never asked for and accepted help. She also would have never had the beautiful interactions that followed.

Nicole in Todi, however, is going to post this working draft anyway as a reminder that giving in to vulnerability is just…worth it. Now, dimmi, is there anything more Italian than that?

We saw how Italian cuisine is simple and flexible. All unwritten recipes she shared were based on Sig.ra Ivana's children and grandchildren taste.

Grazie Ivana! Abbiamo imparato e mangiato divinamente.

Each night soccer teams from each Rione played each other in this very competitive tournament. Teams had to respect strict rules on the age of players: the majority of players were over 40 with some over 50yr of age.

The nicest discovery of the Torneo dei Rioni was the Sagra (food festival) connected to it.

After the stunning visit to Assisi, several of us went to have dinner there experiencing great local food and wine on a very informal atmosphere. Tables were set up inside the gorgeous medieval cloister which is today Todi's classical high school.

Everything was so fun and special!