Italy Post #9

Dear Readers,
Yes, this is the 2 week anniversary of my journey to Orvieto. Exciting, no? Well, to celebrate, I'd thought I'd let you all in on a little bit of normal Orvieto life just to get a feel for the program. The directors and many of the teachers advocate a pseudo Catholic/monastic life here. No, they don't cloister us (I know that's what you were thinking) but they do encourage us to spend more time than usual in contemplation, in church, in regular daily activities that constitute a very steady life. A monastic life. Sort of.

So, here's the basic schedule of events in the day of a pseudo-Catholic/monastic student:
7:30 - Anna wakes me up
8:15 - Optional prayer and praise in the chapel
9:00-noon - Class, right now a Renaissance art history course which is turning me steadily more Catholic
12:45 - Lunch at Locanda del Lupo
2:00-8:00 - Free time; exception: Weds. Italian class from 2:15-whenever Alessandro stops talking

All of this time is peppered with breaks and the occasional cappuccino (which I can make now!!!). The people on the program are all pretty motivated, and its a nice change to have a whole environment dedicated to a steady stream of events. I'm also beginning to learn the quirks of this place. For example, the best gelato in town can be found in the piazza of the Duomo and the park right down the street has a secret fig tree where you can go when you're hungry. I know there's lots more to discover and learn about this place, but for now I'm taking my time to do it. One of my favorite things to do so far is to go to the refectory and play the old, beaten down piano in there (seriously, the thing is SO out of tune); its not the greatest sounding thing in the world, but the acoustics are amazing and the whole fact that I'm in a monastery singing in a great room just makes the whole thing that much better.

Well, that's all for now. Classes are going moderately well, we only have one more week after this of the Renaissance class. The homework load is a lot though for something I don't care that much about; it's a great subject and its great to learn, but there is a part of me that just wants to save my energy for the poetry class......

One more thing: I'm so sorry about this, but I don't think the picture posts are going to be happening. The internet is sketchy as it is right now, and I don't think that an hour would be enough time to upload a few photos. You'll all just have to come visit me once I get home and I can tell you ALL about them!!!

Love!