It has almost been two months! Ahh. I ask myself each day, am I fully living, connecting and engaging? I think those are good questions to ask ourselves whether we're in our hometowns or thousands of miles away. Each day is precious and valuable. It may not always be pleasant, but it's precious and valuable.
I'm going to have to keep this week's post a little bit shorter because I have an archeology quiz tomorrow that I'd like to study for!
I'm going to have to keep this week's post a little bit shorter because I have an archeology quiz tomorrow that I'd like to study for!
The format of my Art History class is super cool because we have class in various places in cittá (in the city). This past week we had class inside of Saint Mark's Basilica on Tuesday and at Gallerie dell' Academia, a gallery with early Venetian paintings that we're studying, on Thursday. It's especially nice because we get to enter the locations for free, and because we're a class, we can avoid the long lines and get up close to the art. We huddle near pieces of interest and scribble down notes as our professor explains the significance. Our professor also does a good job of keeping the lesson interactive through asking us for our opinions or speculations about the artwork. Tomorrow we're going to S. Zaccaria and SS. Giovanni e Paolo.
Check out the ceiling of the Gallerie dell' Academia! The gold circles inside of the green diamonds are faces, and each one is uniquely designed. Whoa!
Check out the ceiling of the Gallerie dell' Academia! The gold circles inside of the green diamonds are faces, and each one is uniquely designed. Whoa!
I saw an opera for the first time this week! That is a surprising fact to some given that I am a classically trained singer, and I've sung a number of arias from operas; however, I am sooo grateful that my first experience seeing an opera was in Italy, the birthplace of opera.
The theater pictured below is called La Fenice which means "the phoenix." It was given this name because it burned down in 1774 and again in 1836. The theater hall was also set to fire in 1996! After the first fire, however, the theater was named the phoenix because it "rose from the ashes."
We saw the opera called Tosca! I thought that everyone did a really good job. I came in with really high expectations, so the set was much simpler than I had imagined, but the singers and instrumentalists performed their music very well.
The theater pictured below is called La Fenice which means "the phoenix." It was given this name because it burned down in 1774 and again in 1836. The theater hall was also set to fire in 1996! After the first fire, however, the theater was named the phoenix because it "rose from the ashes."
We saw the opera called Tosca! I thought that everyone did a really good job. I came in with really high expectations, so the set was much simpler than I had imagined, but the singers and instrumentalists performed their music very well.
The TV in our apartment rarely gets turned on, but I took some time this weekend browse through the channels. I watched a couple of performances on the Italian X-Factor (LOL) and the end of The Karate Kid II dubbed in Italian! It's funny because earlier that morning I decided that I wanted to treat myself to watching the new Karate Kid from 2010 with Jaden Smith. Then, I turned on the TV later that day and the original version was playing in Italian, so I got to practice listening as well!
Coming up next week: We have a three-day weekend, and a friend and I are planning to take a trip to Athens, Greece! It will be our first trip out of the country since we arrived!
I hope that each day this week we each live fully, connect, and engage!
Best,
J McKoy