A Sustainable Train of Thought

Not a long post tonight…tired after about 14 hours at school. Here’s a shot of the lake:

It’s about a forty minute walk to the lake from school. There’s a dock that’s open to the public, and you can sunbathe on it or jump off of it into the water. The water is pretty warm, I’m told.

The weather is getting decidedly cooler as the days go by. There’s still the odd hot day, but I’ve been grabbing my sweater or jacket on the way out on most mornings. The air smells of Fall.

Today we had our first taste of work at IDII. In the morning it was Italian class as usual, but in the afternoon we began a week-long project to develop a 30-second video clip explaining what interaction design is.

The two guest speakers advising us during the creation of these video clips are Simone Muscolino and Marcello Lago. Both are famous in their respective fields. Marcello is a professional advertising film director, and can give us much advice about the structured, intentional method of making commercials and video clips. I believe the technical term is pre-production.

Simone is an architect who makes videos that blur the line between cinema, advertising, and design. He has worked extensively with IDII on some of their publicity videos and has documented several projects at the school. He specializes more in the post-production end of things. Simone and Marcello offer different perspectives on essentially the same topic: how to go about making a video clip.

This brief is difficult because it is hard to summarize anything in 30 seconds, much less a field that is still developing. my group worked on some ideas this afternoon, and tonight I’m working on some story-boards for tomorrow’s meeting. We definitely want something simple and easy to create, as our time is limited. Better get crackin’.

On Sunday afternoon I hiked up to a lake on the outskirts of Ivrea with Victor. It’s in a beautiful setting, right at the foot of the Alps and surrounded by mountains. It was a very nice day today: sunny and not too hot. I didn’t swim, but just lay on the pier. We were supposed to meet some friends there, but we left Talponia much later than we wanted to and they left about ten minutes after we arrived. So I just lay on the pier and sunbathed and reflected on things while eavesdropping on conversations in Italian. All-in-all a relaxing way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

After we left the castle, we drove to IKEA. This is the only IKEA in the Torino area, and as anyone who has shopped at IKEA before knows, an IKEA store on the weekend can be a madhouse. Now imagine that it’s Italy, and people are parking on the grass medians and generally driving like insane people, and the excitement gets taken up a notch. Add to this mix the fact that the bus driver decided it wasn’t possible for him to drop us off in the parking lot and instead pulled over to the side of a busy, three lane road to drop us off. I had visions of Frogger dancing in my head as we sprinted for the relative safety of the median and then to the sidewalk beyond.

After making it to the entrance safe and sound, we proceeded directly to the Swedish Meatball section (AKA the cafeteria), as nobody had eaten for a while. Sadly, the hot food section was closed down (no meatballs for us), so we were stuck with expresso and sandwiches. Thus sated, we embarked on an epic journey through the halls of IKEA.

The only rule that seemed to be in effect was the general flow of traffic through IKEA, which surprised me. In IKEA, there is a definite path one follows that winds its way through the various sections and delivers you, eventually, to the check-out stands. Strangely, the Italians obeyed this traffic rule. Other than that, all bets were off. Let’s just say that asking people to move can be accomplished in one of two ways:

a) saying “mi scusi.”

b) taking whatever bag or heavy item you have in your possession and leveraging it against any vulnerable or exposed soft-tissue exposed by the party or parties blocking your way.

I caught on rather quickly, and equipped with my messenger bag, a yellow IKEA bag filled with various items, and a comforter wedged under my arm, I became a formidable obstacle, a foe to be reckoned with. People were apologizing to me for getting in my way. It was wonderful.

The original plan was to meet the driver at the same place he dropped us off. None of us had paused to consider the implications of this arrangement at the time, but after we checked out it became obvious that this trip was far from over. Hauling bags of IKEA items across three lanes of traffic in either direction was…an interesting experience.

After we arrived back at Talponia, one unfortunate bag fell out as the driver opened the storage compartment. Inevitably, it was the one full of drinking glasses. I had a lot of fun assembling my lamps and washing the various kitchen implements I’d purchased (a cutting board! a knife! a frying pan!). Aside from the lamp that inexplicably required a wrench, everything was pretty easy to assemble.

At this point, I’ve got just the right amount of stuff: just enough to make things pleasant and comfortable, but not so much that my room becomes cluttered and annoying. Now I just need to have some people over for dinner.

Saturday afternoon we went to Castello di Rivoli and IKEA, courtesy of a bus trip arranged by the school for the first-year students. The Castello di Rivoli is a castle near Torino that used to belong to the Savoy family. It was turned into a barracks at one point, but it is now an art museum.

The bus ride to the castle was an adventure. Getting onto the highway and to the correct exit was not a problem, but once we were on the regular streets, the signs to the museum suddenly disappeared. So there we were in this huge tour bus, driving all over the back roads of this town. We were going down small lanes, through the parking lots of apartment buildings…we stopped three times to ask for directions.

The first person was a pedestrian who walked over to the bus to talk with the driver. He was almost run over by a car that decided to pass the bus, and I think we all learned some new Italian words from him. After the second person gave us directions, one of the students asked the driver, “Is this a famous castle?” with the implication that if it were, there would have some signs for it somewhere. The driver’s reply was, “In Italia…” and then made one of those hand gestures that conveys so much more meaning than mere words ever could.

The third person we stopped to talk to was another bus driver. The hand gestures and extended conversation were unsettling, as was the driver’s comment upon coming aboard of “piu piccolo.” At first we thought his “very small” reference was to the size of the parking lot at the top of the castle, but it soon became apparent as we drove further along that the streets were becoming narrower and narrower. Finally, we reached a point where they actually had traffic lights controlling traffic in both directions: we had about two or three inches on either side of the bus as we squeezed through this exceptionally narrow portion of the road. Once we were past that point, though, it was smooth sailing all the way to the castle.

The building itself is very interesting because it’s a fusion of the original castle with some really new and modern architecture. So you see old bricks and then suddenly an external staircase made of steel and glass. Or a mirrored window recessed in a castle wall. Inside, the rooms were magnificent in and of themselves, but then they had these pieces of art installed in them – it was pretty incredible to see the combination. Unfortunately, only one floor was open (out of about 5 or 6) due to reconstruction, and I can imagine the other floors were just as interesting.

The collection consisted of modern art, but I like to think I’ve gained some appreciation for it and that it wasn’t completely lost on me. Since we were only allowed on one floor, and we had an hour and a half scheduled for this stop, I ended up exploring the grounds of the castle, taking lots of photos (not yet added to the gallery), and just generally enjoying the fall day.

Today we went to the market in Ivrea. Every week a huge market is set up in one of the large parking lots and all sorts of things are put on sale. We’re talking underwear, shoes, tomatoes, garlic, garden tools, power tools, blankets, fabric, jeans, lettuce, fruit, cheese, meat, plants, bicycles, ducks…

I got some onions and garlic, some parmesan cheese, some brie, some strawberries, and some olives, and I pretty much decided that as long as the market’s around, I’m going there instead of the super market. Some of the stuff was a little sketchy, like the fish, but as far as vegetables, fruit, and cheese go, they looked fine to me. I’ll let you know what happens when I cook dinner tomorrow night.

Tonight we went to aperitivo again, although it wasn’t as crazy as last time, where we came home and had another party. To explain: aperitivo is a Friday custom where you go to a bar and get a drink, such as wine or beer, and then they have all kinds of snacks laid out for you to munch on. The earlier you get there, the better the selection. There’s pasta salad, tomatoes and mozzarella, bread, olives, grilled eggplant, potato salad, and more. So for a 3.50 Euro glass of wine you can basically have dinner. True, you can buy a whole bottle for 3.50 Euro, but you get to stand outside on the street and chat, eat, and drink, all while listening to a DJ (the funny thing is that the bar has lots of photos of jazz musicians hanging on the wall, yet the DJ is playing decidedly more modern music). It’s a great way to end the week.

I just finished the strawberries I got at the market. Mmm.

Tomorrow we’re off on a class trip to a museum and then to IKEA. Better get my shopping list ready!

I’m sure this won’t be the last post related to food, so let’s start with this morning:

On my way to class this morning I stopped by a cafe for a chocolate croissant and an expresso. The croissant was still warm and the chocolate was still semi-liquid. Mmmm. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it!

The expresso was like rocket fuel: I’ve been getting expresso from the vending machine at school, but they tide me over for only a couple of hours. After the expresso this morning, I was good to go until lunch. Strong stuff!

The bike dudes came to school today, peddling (groan) their wares. Actually, they came in a van crammed full of bikes, and I mean full of bikes: there were close to 30 bikes somehow wedged into this perfectly normal van. It was definitely a clown-car experience watching them extricate each bike, somehow locate its matching wheel, and then reassemble the whole thing.

After examining the offerings they had laid out, I settled on a nice blue and white bike. It fit me, and it didn’t have any disturbing mechanical issues like some of the other bikes in the group that I’d tried. I was all set to buy it when I lost it to a professor who also had his eyes on it. We agreed to draw coins from a third party to determine who got the bike: he drew the more expensive coin and I lost the bike. This experience just serves to reinforce my belief that any student who makes a bet with a professor is bound to lose that bet. It’s just how it works.

So now I’ll have to check out the local bike store. Sadly, when I walk into the store I will have to ignore the shiny new bikes hanging in the windows and make a beeline for the used section. But it’s not an impossible task. I briefly checked out the store this afternoon and the selection, while not expansive, is promising. I’m going to see how well I continue to get around without a bike. I’m sure as the year progresses and I have less free time I’ll probably want the convenience of a bike, but right now walking everywhere is not a huge hassle and I’m enjoying the exercise.

The second project for today was to go to a supermarket and find prices for certain items on a list the professor had drawn up. This is the second useful project we’ve completed since starting Italian classes last week: the first useful project was to take a bus to Bennett, a K-Mart-esque store in the general vicinity of Ivrea. I use the term “useful” in an earnest sense, because these projects have exposed us to real-world, useful situations. Taking the bus somewhere and (more importantly) getting back. Comparing prices for food between different supermarkets and the weekly farmer’s market. These tasks fall into the “basic functionality” category of life in Italy, but they’re important stepping stones. Conjugating verbs is a useful skill, but gaining exposure to these life skills in this manner leads to very immediate rewards: I got back from Bennett in one piece! I can now determine if I’m getting ripped off! They’re definitely confidence boosters.

As I walked around the old part of town this evening, the sun was setting and the light was just right. The few clouds in the sky turning pink, the mountains looming in the background, the sound of tires on cobbles…it’s very picturesque. I am definitely getting used to living here, in a very good way.

Tomorrow: Aperitivo!

Just to reassure those who were wondering: I filled out my overseas voter registration form today and faxed it in. I just have to put the hardcopy in the mail, but the wheels should be in motion and I should (should!) receive my overseas ballot at Talponia for this year’s elections.

Reference: http://www.overseasvote2004.com

Generally speaking, I’ve always been a stickler for proper grammar and spelling. I was a technical writer, I play Scrabble, and I find mistakes in menus and signs. I’ve never considered it more than a personality quirk and certainly not a problem.

However, ever since I arrived in Italy, my sensitivity towards typos and the general misuse of language has risen to a point just shy of “obnoxious even to me,” which in laymen’s terms is the same as “pretty bad.” I was at a loss to explain this behavior until this afternoon.

In all languages there are certain nuances that are very hard to master. Because I’m learning Italian and in the process bumping into these nuances (for example, there are different verbs for “watch” and “see”), I think the attention I’m paying to nuance in Italian is translating into excessive sensitivity to nuance in my mother tongue, which in turn translates into “annoying.” It’s not something I’m consciously doing; rather, it’s like my brain has gone a little haywire.

Another situation that’s a little strange is that I sometimes come up with German words that have absolutely nothing to do with the English or Italian words or objects at hand. My completely unscientific explanation is that my brain is aware I’m not supposed to speak English and is searching in vain for any words that are NOT English. So what comes out is this mishmash of languages.

My friend Rory told me of a similar situation he encountered while in Japan. Not always knowing the Japanese words for things, the odd Spanish word would slip into his speech, utterly confusing the sushi chef or whoever he happened to be talking to. Again, my explanation is that the brain is in “NOT English” mode and considers any words NOT English to be valid. Of course Rory is a neuroscientist and is probably laughing at my explanation. Then again, maybe I’m not far off the mark…

I’m sure things will get better the more practice I have with the Italian language, but right now it’s getting pretty hard to put up with myself!