Flying

Lots of flights on this trip. There's a joke on 30 Rock about check-in at Italian airports. I can't remember the details, but it's something to the effect that it's a disorganized and confusing process. And how! It's a little daunting to think of going through that process four more times in the next week. Maybe once I've finally caught up on sleep it will be less stressful and more amusing.

Hello, Rome!

Today was a good day. I was trapped in the haze of jet lag for most of it, but the kind people of arcadia let me sneak in a little nap before dinner. Dinner was actually aperativo with 3 students and the Arcadia director, Tina. That's where you go early (7 pm is early for dinner here), buy a drink, and get a big selection of appetizers. The food here does not disappoint. Lunch was pasta with tomato, pancetta and sage. Yum. And the cappuccino! I can't understand why it's so much better than coffee back home, it just is.

I had dinner last night at the Hotel and fell into conversation with a couple of gentleman who were also eating alone. It was kind of awkward because we were all sitting relatively close together but at separate tables. Once we started talking it was more natural. (come to think of it, the seating arrangement reminds me of Thanksgiving this year. What was the quote? Too close to ignore, too far away to engage?). They were both in town for business - Andy from England and Anders from Sweden. I love getting the chance to speak with people from all over the world. I also love the fact that I'm also here on business, technically speaking, but it doesn't feel like work. Yes, i had meetings today, but it's all interesting and the people are wonderful. Plus, part of my job is to learn more about Rome and they help me do that. Tina knows an amazing amount of the history and people.

Tomorrow morning i fly to Sicily. I'm really excited to learn more about that area. From what i understand, it's essentially a different country from Italy. Something tells me they've got food figured out too, so let the culinary adventures continue! By the way, I forgot my camera today but will most definitely be taking pictures tomorrow.

Off to Rome!

Hello, friends. I'm excited to be headed back to Italy and continuing the travel blog. I realize now I should not have named this one "Italy Site Visit 2009." Chalk it up to my pessimism--I really didn't expect to be getting another site visit, what with all the gloom and doom talks about budget cuts.

But here I am! Ticket in hand (in the electronic sense) and almost ready to go. I had a scare last night when I couldn't find my passport. What a rookie move. I can't tell you how many times every week I warn students to make sure they know where their passport is. And then I go and wait until the last minute to find mine.

This is my itinerary:

Nov. 28 - arrive in Rome

Nov. 29 - visit Arcadia Rome Center

Nov. 30 - Fly to Sicily

Dec. 1 - visit Arcadia Center in Siracusa

Dec. 2 - fly to Lecce (through Rome; apparently all flights lead to Rome)

Dec. 3 - visit Arcadia Center in Lecce

Dec. 4 - fly to Rome

Dec. 5 - fly to Athens

Dec. 6 - Visit Arcadia Center in Athens

Dec. 7-9 - vacation in Santorini!!

Dec. 10 - fly home

Since all of the programs I'm visiting are through Arcadia, this itinerary is much simpler than last year's. And I finally got smart and tacked some vacation time onto the end. You can't be in Greece and not visit one of the islands, right??

My layover is in Frankfurt so I should have time to post from there. Otherwise, you'll hear from me in Italy. I can already taste the coffee!

Home

Home at last! It's wonderful to be back. I got a solid 12 hours of sleep last night. When I woke up, I was confused about where I was and my first thought was "Where do I need to be today and how am I going to get there?" It was a relief to realize the answers were "church" and "drive."

I played bass this morning, which normally wouldn't have been a problem, but it was the kids Christmas program today so there was an unusual amount of activity and preparation before the service. Instead of having 45 minutes to practice, we only had about 10. I wasn't feeling very confident about the songs, so I just turned down the volume on my amp and figured the kids would be cute enough to distract everyone, and nobody would care very much about the bass.

Oh, I wanted to share a couple of pictures from London. It ended up being a really fun night! Reed was an excellent tour guide. I got to ride in the top of a double-decker bus (what?! no driver on the top?), see some famous works of art in the London National Museum, which is free and open to the public (and fortunately, open late), ride the tube plenty, see Big Ben, and walk and walk and walk. Part of the walking was due to Reed's quest to find a particular pub he wanted to visit. It was a little tricky to find, but in the end we made it and I got to experience some rowdy British nightlife.

I was amazed by the number of people. You can kind of tell by the photo above how packed the sidewalks were. Part of it may have been the season and partly that it was a Friday night, but there was a non-stop, heavy stream of people everywhere we went. And walking so fast! It was like Rome on speed.

One thing about the abrupt cultural change made me laugh. I had gotten used to the Italian way of never forming any lines, just pushing ahead until you get to the counter or ticket booth or whatever it is you need. When I got to the hotel from the airport shuttle bus, I waited at the front desk and suddenly realized there was nobody around me. Confused, I turned around to see where everyone had gone, and lo and behold they were lined up behind me! I've got a picture to prove it.

I suppose this is my last post. Thank you all for joining me on my travels! Ciao!!

London, eh?

Ahh, the adventures of travel. I was so pleased this morning to make the train on time that runs from downtown Milan to the airport. The flight boarded on time, and everything seemed to be fine, but once we were on the plane, things changed . . .

Fog in London was causing delays, and they estimated we had 2 hours to wait before taking off. Three-and-a-half hours later, we finally left, but arrived too late for me to make my connecting flight to Denver. After that I stood in the customer service line for 2 hours waiting to see what they could do. Fortunately, there was a man from Denver in front of me in line who was pleasant to talk to and let me use his phone to call BA just in case something opened up more quickly that way. The best part, though, was when I heard my name and turned around and saw Reed! I was sure he had made the flight and was comfortably on his way home, but it turns out his flight from Glasgow had mechanical problems, so he missed it too. So good to see a familiar face, because I've about had it with traveling alone and navigating new transportation systems every day. BA put us on the same flight back tomorrow that leaves at 12:30pm and arrives at 3:30pm.

Now we're at a hotel near the airport. Since Reed is familiar with London, the plan is to go downtown and see some of the sights. He looks pretty tired, though, so I'll see if he's still up for it.

Wish I were home, but glad I'm not alone!

Ciao, Italia!

One last entry (at least from Italy). This one is from the lobby computer of a hotel that is not the one I booked. The room I booked for 3 nights turned out to only be available for 2, and they didn't have any more space so they sent me to another hotel. This one is even nicer, though, so I'm not complaining.

I visited Bocconi University today, which is a presitigous business school here in Milan. I thought it might be a little intimidating, but the people were very friendly. Our official meeting was in a room that was totally white with a long glass table and tile floors. Very cold, unfeeling, and business-like. I had coffee afterwards with 3 DU students. It turns out to be a good thing I chatted with them, as I was able to disabuse them of the notion that their grades from Bocconi will come back to DU as pass/fail. Darren in particular looked a little nervous upon hearing the news and kept asking clarifying questions. Since they are directly enrolled in an Italian school, the assessment is very different from the U.S. version. Their entire grade is based upon one final exam. I think Darren will be studying a little harder for the rest of the semester!

Early flight and long travel day coming up. Wish me luck!

P.S.

I do not think that what some people do counts as travel. When you take a taxi everywhere, stay at nice hotels where everyone speaks English, eat out at restaurants where everyone speaks English, and in general use money as a buffer between you and the rest of the world, can you really say you've experienced a place? Haven't you just shifted the geographic location of your bubble? A change in scenery does not constitute a change in experience.