And Now Ya Know! .... A Little Bit About Viterbo!

Just writing about Viterbo was a little complicated, so I covered probably a little bit more than necessary.  No person is an island, and no city is either (well, figuratively, that is).  So I wrote up a brief little summary of Viterbo, and a brief description of where and whom I will be staying with.  I leave on the 29^th of August… oh wait, that’s Wednesday.  So, I guess I leave on Wednesday… goodness how time does fly.  My flight departs at 7:53 a.m. from the Boise Airport (and yes, the time was that specific… I’m surprised they didn’t add the seconds…) Anyhow, let’s cut to the point… here is a brief summary of Viterbo!

Lazio, one of the 20  regions of Italy.

 One thing that I thought was especially interesting about Italy was that it became a unified country only in 1861, which makes Italy as an established country relatively new in comparison to the United States.  The significance of this fact is that despite the Italian’s robust stereotype of national patriotism, many of the customs and heritage of its people are more so regionally based.  This made me all the more excited to find out exactly what sets the region of Lazio, and more specifically, Viterbo, the city that I will be staying in for four months, apart from the rest.

Though I can’t point it out from research alone, I expect it to have something to do with its unique and diverse array of historical architecture and cultural antiquities that Viterbo hosts, one of the more famous cities in the region.  Viterbo was the center of the ancient Etruscan civilization, and later, a Roman town.  And coming into the middle ages, it became a refuge for popes during the disputes over Papal authority in Rome.  This is when the construction of the Papal Palace was commissioned to house the Papal Curia, the official governance of the Roman Catholic Church.  Surprisingly enough, during these Papal disputes, Viterbo was a much more prosperous city than Rome.  Though I could probably write an entire book on the history of Viterbo, as its history spans all the way back to the eighth century, this blog is unfortunately not cut out for such an endeavor.

Today though, the city is simply a relic of its diverse and oftentimes complex past.  From fountains and palaces to churches and the famous San Pellegrino quarter, one of the best preserved in Italy, the city is not one to disappoint. It has all the character of Italy: narrow lanes, arches, towering medieval buildings, yet a small town vibe and liveliness.  And if the man made isn’t enough, right outside of the city walls you can visit an array of natural hot springs that were famous even in ancient times.

And the funny thing is, I haven’t even been here yet.  Let’s hope it’s all it says it’ll be… though my doubts are somewhat miniscule.  Well, before I forget, let me do a brush up on the geological location. 

       Italy!  You can see Viterbo is located right to the
Northwest of Rome.  Just click to magnify.

If you have no clue where Viterbo is (which I at one point had no clue either), you can find it by first locating Rome, which is in central Italy.  From there it is just 40 miles Northwest, which translates into about a 2-hour train ride.  It isn’t on most maps, because the city is fairly small, only home to about 65,000.  It is surrounded by a stone wall, and is a part of a historical region known as Tuscia.  Tuscia is a loosely define area which includes southern territories of Italy that were under Etruscan influence.

In Viterbo I will be living with a host mom in an apartment just a 10-minute walk from the school I will be attending, Tuscia University, along with another American student.  I have heard my host mother is a superb Italian cook- something I can’t be more excited about!  I was able to communicate with her a bit through e-mail and she even has a little dog that she says is just like a daughter, now that her two children have moved out of the house (though they live just 2 hours away in Rome).  I’m excited to meet my small Italian family and to taste the best of Italian cooking. 

The reason why you have no clue yet where I'm going in Italy

Hey everyone.  I'm excited to share my journey with you to Italy!  I'm crazy busy trying to get ready to go, but I have been working on a brief history of Viterbo, which is quite challenging, given the history spans all the way back to BC.  But nonetheless, it's all worth it and not to mention, quite interesting to say the least.

I'm also planning on posting some brief information about the Gilman scholarship that I received, and Reach the World, a program I was accepted into that connects me with a classroom in NYC so the students can follow my trip to Italy in accordance with their teacher's curriculum.  So keep posted, because I will get this up as soon as I can!

I'd also like to send my thanks out to my boss and coworkers at Edwards Greenhouse who set up a little get together yesterday wishing me well on my trip to Italy.  I can't really say how much it means to me to have such a good group of people that I can count on for support and some good laughs when I need them.  I can't wait to see you guys again when I return!

Predeparture Worries

I’ll just admit it. Gearing up for a 4 month long trip is not the most exciting thing for me right now. From trying to book plane tickets for a flight home the week of Christmas to trying to scan every sheet of paper ever given to me that confirms my existence on this planet, I feel almost that I’m walking around with a 30 pound backpack, trying to escape the weight. But I decided to begin to take it one thing at a time. Today: simply two things to do. Apply for the internship teaching English at the local elementary school and hmmm… let’s see… book the ticket home. My mother isn’t too enthralled at the idea of me staying overnight in Chicago because I can’t book a ticket directly home the same day so she settled on the idea of me staying at the only hotel within walking distance of the Chicago airport: a Hilton Hotel. Now, who can complain about that? Certainly not me, a suburban middle class girl whose most fancy venture landed her at a spunky SpringHill Suites. Not the fanciest, but hey, no judging. It had a pool.

Anyways, I was all bogged down in this list of to-do’s that’s been floating around in my head until today, when I sat down, trying to find a copy of my resume after my computer had crashed a week earlier from a water spill incident (whoops). The funny thing is, it happened right after I found out about my Gilman scholarship. I was so excited that I had received the scholarship my hand whipped right over to grab a pencil from my pencil mug to write down a student ID number that I needed in order to accept the scholarship money when my glass of water plunked against my wooden desk and before I knew it the water snuck its way to the back of my lap top. That’s when the screen went blank and well, a trip to the mac store and $800 dollars later all I’m left with is a story to tell for a sometimes comforting yet annoying look of pity and empathy.

But that’s beside the point. I reached over to my 3 inch high pile of USAC documents kept neatly on the right hand side of my desk on the floor and sleeping quietly in the large manila envelope was two bright red USAC luggage tags. They were slipped in a plastic bad, and stapled to it is a note: “Save these luggage tag holders to attach to the bags you will be checking in for your flight to your program site.” I’m not sure if it was a combination of the word luggage and the feeling of the light plastic tags that fit perfectly in my hand, or maybe it was the fact that it all hit me at once: I will be leaving home and traveling across the world in only a matter of months. And these luggage tags are going to mark my way for me. They are little symbols against the stress, the overwhelming to do lists floating around in my brain, the documents that still lie sleeping on my computer awaiting it’s $800 dollar repair. But in spite of it all, all these things will come to and end, just as the moment I attach the luggage tag on my bags will begin my 4 month journey to Viterbo, Italy.

Here I come Italy. Here I come.