Prima Settimana: Week One

So far my study abroad trip in Bologna, Italy has been tremendous and is everything I hoped it would be.  I began my travels from Little Rock to Denver to Frankfurt, then to Bologna.  Once I reached my destination, after a couple mishaps and flight delays, my body didn't recognize jet lag any longer and I was numb with excitement.  When I arrived at the Italian student dorms I dropped my things and headed out to a local bar with the other five students, was able to buy a drink and recieve a free meal, sort of an antipasti  (appetizer).  This is one of the great benefits of bars in Italy, the delicious food.  In the mornings they cook mountains of pastries; everything from nuttella filled brioche to canolis that are deliciously displayed in windows.  If you buy any kind of drink throughout the day, even non-alcholic, they serve you a little something to munch on.  Around five pm they bring out the antipasti displays.  All you have to do is spend five to seven euro and you gain access to a buffet of Italian appetizers, which is very economical for any college student.

On Monday we got a run down of what our classes were to be like, took a tour of Bologna, and went to the Bologna Cineteca library that specializes in restoring film.  When we walked in you could see tables filled with production and post production materials from past films.  On one table there were original drawings, notes, etc. from some of Charlie Chaplin's films, it was such a surreal experience.  That night we went to the house of an Italian chef and mingled with other Italians while eating a tradition Italian dinner.  In Italy they serve several courses; the first is just an appetizer, then comes the first course (usually pasta), the second (usually a meat dish), and then dolce! (dessert)  Definitely a great start to the week.

On Tuesday we began our classes, in the mornings we have Italian survival classes and in the afternoons we have film class.  This week we've learned the basic concepts of Neorealism and Documentary film (because they are closely related).  So far we've watched Uomini Sul Fondo (S.O.S Submarine) by De Robertis, Roma Citta Aperta by Rosellini.  We also had a short workshop on how to use production equipment for our documentary assignments.

On Friday we visited the town of Ravenna and started our first documentary.  In the morning we had a tour of the city, then we ate some lunch at a a local winery famous for their ravioli and caramelized figs, and in the afternoon we shot all of our footage.  Ravenna is famous for being known as a sinking city, and creating beautiful mosaics.  The city was originally built on the beach, but the sea level has decreased since then and the beach is about ten minutes away.  Underneath the city there is sand and water, which obviously is unstable, and thus the city is gradually sinking.  Every couple of centuries new floors are built, new doors are created, and you can see the outline of past doors on various churches.  Every once in a while the city has to be drained of water.  Throughout various churches, mosaics can be seen on the ceilings, the walls, and the floors looking as they did centuries ago because they are the eternal paintings.  At one point during our tour we visited a studio where mosaics were being made, and saw various completed modern pieces.  We also had chance to visit Dante's tomb.

the original floor in one of the churches, and the delicious food at the winery!