Thursday, May 24, 2007

Minus ten Wisdom

So, I went into one of the computer labs to jet off a quick e-mail, but the girl behind the desk there told me that I had to register to use the computers. I've been coming to this lab for about three months now, and that's the first time I've ever been asked to sign in to the computer lab. Anyway, I did, and now I feel too awkward to get up and leave after using the computer for five minutes, so I'm going to blog! Beati voi!
So, I have pretty much failed at taking exams. No, I haven't failed any exams (yet! someone knock on wood for me - there isn't any in reach) - I've just failed at taking them. In fact, I have not taken a single exam yet. I had thought that I would be half done by now, but alas, that did not happen. I thought that my linguistics exam was Tuesday. So, on Monday I went to the library, checked out the book on Morphology that we need to read, and read the entire thing in one afternoon. Okay, not the entire thing, I skipped like two chapters and glanced over the material that I already knew, but still! I was so productive! I return the book, and go upstairs to check what time the exam is. That's when I find out that I wrote down the wrong date, and the exam is actually next Tuesday. Oops. Well, I like to think of it as getting a head-start on studying.
Now today was a whole other fiasco. Taber and I were all prepped up for Etnomusicologia. On the boards where exam dates and locations were posted, it had only said that the exam would be in the "studio", so it took a bit of asking around before I figured out which studio. He had told us in class one day, so luckily while I was reviewing Arabic suites, I noticed the note I made to myself: "24/05/07 11,00 studio Fabbri" Excellent! I'm so there. So I get there early to reinforce some learning ("reinforce learning" sounds a whole lot better than "cram," don't you think?) and text Taber, letting her know where the exam is. We're there. No one else is. We worry. We ask the guy in the studio next door - he knows nothing. I go down to the portineria and Taber goes to the other facoltà and calls the tutor. A whole lot of nothing. Everyone's perplexed, and no one can get in contact with the professor. Then the man behind the desk at the portineria (who I swear doesn't actually speak Itailan - it sounds like some sort of dialect, which I'm sure is totally comprehensible to Italians, but does not make things easy for me!) shows me on the online registration page for the class that the appello is in June. I try to explain to him that yes, there is an appello in June, but this one down here, the one under "appelli trascorsi" is today.... ... .. . oh, cavolo. It's yesterday. Our professor had told us in class 24 maggio, and on the boards in the facoltà it was written 24 maggio, but online, it was 23 maggio.
Well, fortunately I can make it to the June appello. Taber is going to have some more difficulty, because she's going home before that, which just plain sucks. Hopefully she can get in touch with the professor and they can arrange something. As for me, it's possibly going to affect my travel plans, and I might be doing Calabria and Sicily in the middle of June in stead of the beginning, but we'll see.
In other news, Ferrara is getting hot! It's a little bit on the oppressive side, but the smell of the trees is somehow still amazing.
OH! Before I forget, new pictures have been added to Shutterfly! I'm lacking on the descriptions, but I think they're still fun to look at!
Okay, peace out, y'all

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Tibfucius

People who use cellphones with small, nearly invisible headsets sometimes startle me. They are speaking out loud in public, but, at first glance, I can't figure out whom they are addressing. It's even more perplexing when they are walking the dog. Reflect on this.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

*<8-)

The minute I walked out of the apartment today, I knew that it was a good day. I didn't know why, but I knew that it was good. The sun was shining, it was warm, and I had a smile on my face. I bike to class, thinking that maybe all this biking actually is having a positive impact on my health, and get to class on time. An Italian that we call "the Fonz", because he has a certain swagger and audacity that falls gloriously short of our American icon, was in class today for the first time in what seems like a month. He's flirting with the French girl, and when it's time to get things started, he saunters back towards his seat by the open windows. Which he didn't notice were open, resulting in a sharp thwack as his forehead hits the glass in front of him. He shakes it off jokingly and Professor Cherchi starts the lesson, explaining various aspects of the syntax that Boccaccio uses. He's talking about pronouns, and how their position in the time of Boccaccio was much more variable than today. Boccaccio could write "lui me lo disse", "lui lo mi disse", and various other structures. -Ma oggi, 10 maggio, 2007 - he writes the date on the board - sapete che cos'è oggi? Oggi è il mio settantesimo compleanno! - ...wait, really? Yes, really. Today, our professor turned seventy. And he brought us pastries, potato chips, coke and juice to celebrate! I didn't believe it as I watched it happening: this grand old man pulling out bags and baskets of food and drink from under the desk, then all of us students timidly going up to get a slice of cake and a glass of ace. We eat, drink, and are quite merry. We sing "tanti auguri a Lei". After a while, things settle down, and Cherchi says that he's clearly not going to be continuing the lesson where he broke off. But he does go off into another one of his usual orations, where it sounds scholastic, so I take notes, but it's really nothing more than Cherchi musing on what it means to study the history of the Italian language. I love listening to him. He jokes - chi vorebbe mai avere settant'anni? Chi ne ha già sessantanove. - Quite the class to remember.