Bad Travel Experience: Rain in Croatia

Running on little sleep is enough to make anyone completely miserable. Add long hours of traveling and lots of rain, and the trifecta of lousy travel is complete. In the beginning, the trip to Croatia seemed like it was going to be the least favorite of everyone in the group. Starting off the trip was an overnight train, which meant that a night of uncomfortable sleep was ahead. Not only are the train beds hard as a rock, but also the particular bed I was sleeping in was angled toward the wall and forced me to lay against the cold, hard, fake wooden wall. Arriving in Zagreb, Croatia, at five in the morning, was anything but pleasant. The weather was cold, dark, and damp when we stepped off the train. The tracks and cars of the train station seemed outdated compared to those that our group had previously traveled on, and the surrounding area was dark. Immediately, everything I had stereotyped of Eastern Europe during communist regimes flashed into my mind. Having no plan for the day other than a walk around the rainy city, I found myself sleeping on the couch of a coffee bar inside an empty shopping centre. As we got some sleep and the rain began to lift, so did our spirits. In the late afternoon and evening our group enjoyed an eight-course meal as well as a local band up in the hillside of Croatia. The night ended up being one of the most memorable parts of the trip, and we were all able to fully appreciate the cool and finally dry weather. Although the weather patterns of Croatia were not under anyone’s control, we learned to accept it and control the way we reacted to it. For future travelers, I would advise packing for the weather, and being prepared to face adversary weather conditions.

Journalism Assignment 3: Interview

Sitting behind the Manaoni desk everyday, Francesca Salvadori of Florence, Italy sees the Miami University students pass by on their way to class, dinner, or personal free time. The faces are recognizable, but not often is there the opportunity to get to know one another. At age 24, Salvadori is still in the middle of her schooling, and working at the Manaoni to earn money. She is a communications major at a local college. Her program is broken up so that she studies for 3 years, takes a break, and then has 2 more years of schooling. She is finishing up her last months of work before she goes back to school. Before her university studies, Salvadori studied French, English, and Spanish. She has been working at the Manaoni since August of 2009, and before that worked as a gym teacher for children. "I worked as a gymnastics coach from age 18 to 23," Salvadori adds before clarifying that she taught volleyball, swimming, and other athletic games. In the past, she played volleyball in leagues but has recently ended her athletic career. From September to March of 2008 she was able to enjoy world travel by visting Grenada, Spain. Although she has never been to America, Salvadori hopes to visit sometime in her future. Salvadori adds in broken English "I would like to go visit a big city... maybe New York."

Classes.. yes, I actually take them

Today was our first midterm in Art History class. It was a combination of essays and recognizing paintings, buildings, and knowing the artists and dates they were created. It wasn't too bad, and I felt like I studied a lot for it (this is for you mom).

During the week, here is my schedule during Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays:

Tuesday

8:45-11:00- Art History Lecture

11-1:30- Art Tour

Lunch

2:30-4:30- Film class

5:55-6:55- film class discussion

Wednesday

8:30-10:45- Journalism

11:15-1:30- Art tour

Lunch

2:30-4:30 film class

4:45- film discussion

7:00- dinner

Thursday

9:00-11:15- Journalism

Lunch

12:45-3:00- Journalism

Observation: Assignment 2

Sitting on the Carraria Bridge on Monday around 9:30pm, it is not hard to appreciate my surroundings. Looking down the Arno River, I see the remnants of the setting sun, leaving behind a pink-streaked sky. The night air is much cooler than the intense heat of the day, and a light breeze invites the Italians to venture outside. Locals climb out onto the cement passageway, that juts into the Arno to join many others who are sitting in solitude. The sounds of the city are created by the hustle of cars and motorcycles, with a constant humming of conversation in the background. The passersby are sitting outside the gelato shop, One-Eyed Jacks, sitting on the bridge, or just walking. The people on the bridge are loners looking off to the distance and couples enjoying the night together. I sit near what I assume is a late 20’s Asian couple on the bridge, speaking an unknown dialect. The man sits on the ledge while the woman stands between his legs. It seems to be an in-depth conversation that is continually interrupted by his hiccups. The woman tries to give him her lip-gloss, and at that, the two turn to leave.

Weekend in Venice: Assignment 1

Our first weekend trip was with the whole group to Venice! Despite the record-breaking heat and lack of air conditioning, it was incredibly beautiful. Compared to Florence, there were so many more flowers and window boxes throughout the islands. As can be expected, there were also many visible custom changes in Venice and Florence than compared to the US, or even Cincinnati. For one, every time you go to eat at a sit-down restaurant you only get one check. This makes it hard when going out to dinner with a group. Another dinner custom that is different is the ritual of looking into someone's eyes when toasting instead of the glass. We learned that in Venice it is considered bad luck to break this rule. One of the most prominent custom differences is the style of dress (which can be expected because Italy is the land of Armani and the US is the land of Wal-mart). When speaking with Alessandro, one of our group guides, he told me that they were raised under the influence of the Vatican, and so they dress in

pants, long dresses, and other long clothing in the middle of the hot summer. It is very obvious to tell the tourists based off of how they dress. For example, our group wears a lot of j.crew style shorts and the basic nike running shorts with a t-shirt. I have not once this trip seen any Italian dress even close to these descriptions.

This dress code holds true with tourists from other countries as well. While on the Rialto bridge in Venice, I saw an older couple from another European country that were dressed in typical tourist attire: shorts, fanny packs, cameras around neck, and looking completely clueless. When listening to their conversation, I heard the older man ask to go back to the hotel while the woman wanted to stay and look at the shops. Then, this turned into a disagreement about which was the fastest and correct way back. I guess this conversation really showed me that all tourists, no matter where they are from, are similar in the fact that they get lost and don't realize when they are standing in the middle of a bridge blocking street traffic.

One of my absolute favorite places that we visited on the weekend trip was the island of Burano. The colors of the building im

mediately caught my eye. There were so many colors that ranged from light to dark purp

le, royal blue, turquoise, light pink, hot pink, and lime green, to name a few. By looking at the houses, I imagine everyone inside being perpetually happy, because how can you not be when you get to look at those beautiful colors everyday? The combination of the sparkle of the sea combined with the colors of the homes reminded me of a magical place that I would have loved to have visited during my childhood.

On our second day of touring, I had some very interesting experiences with Italians in their natural settings (the local market). It was so crowded with people that I forgot to look where I was going and completely ran into this old man. I immediately started apologizing but I am pretty sure he responded with some unkind words due to the tone of voice he was using. After that I was walking past a fish stand and got splattered with fish juice all over my white shirt as a guy was cutting open a fish.

First Weekend: Venice!

This is the view out of my window at the Manaoni, where I am staying with my 2 friends clair and claire!