Il Presidente!

On my dad's birthday, I was on a train with 20 classmates at the crack of dawn in what felt very much like a middle school field trip. Our professors met us on the train platform, having ridden in first class, and led us through the streets of Rome. Twenty minutes later, we approached the Palazzo del Quilinale, passed through security, and entered the palace to be greeted by a garden boasting palm trees and other tropical plants. I was reminded why I love this city. Passing by guards who were never under 6'5" and who wore gold metal helmets with a horn on the top boasting a long black horsehair tail, we wound up a stairway to the private office area of the palace where we were granted a private meeting with the Italian President, Giorgio Napolitano. He is a balancing force in the government, being a very proud communist, to Prime Minister Berlusconi, and has a soft spot for John's Hopkins because our institution sponsored his travel visa to the United States when his communist affiliation barred him normal travel admittance. He spoke for only a few moments, all in Italian (thanks to our Director who told him we all understood!) and then shook our hands.

Hottie

Following the meeting, we got a tour of the beautiful palace, which was built for the pope in the 1500's. It is like many other palaces with walls ordained in silk upholstry, intricate chandieliers, beautiful moulding, and tons of beautiful furniture you can't sit on.

Here is the picture which is today on the homepage of the President's website. He's shaking Donatello's hand... mine is that blonde/foreheady bump in the background!

After this, Melissa and I scooted uptown to try to drop off visa applications at our respective embassys (Thai and Russian), only to find that they all close before noon! Oh well, we enjoyed seeing a new part of Rome and had a lovely lunch before heading back with the group on the 2:30 train.

Back to reality. I loved my little mid-week escape and felt refreshed to work on a paper, sitting on my desk so i could be right by my giant open window, before making strawberry shortcake to take to a potluck dinner that evening... can you tell someone has spring fever?

It's all in the timing...

13 classmates, a script, and an empty theater dominated my week following Spring Break. With our meager props, ideas, and hard work, we transformed the rented empty theater into a set, even constructing a curtain, in about 6 hours. Together, we became characters as diverse as Rosenbaum’s typing monkeys and Trotsky as we went onstage on Thursday for opening night. It was a smashing success.

The play was “It’s All in the Timing,” six one-act plays written by David Ives, modified by SAIS’s Rational Actors to be appropriate to our audience (mostly SAIS’ers but open to the public). For example “You’re in a Philadelphia” became “You’re in a Bologna.” The plays are all comedies, some darker than others, and all very detached from reality- perfect for stressed grad students. My role was Dawn, a shy, stuttering young woman who falls for a con to learn a new language called “Unamunda.” In our play, “The Universal Language,” I was fortunate enough to act opposite a professional actor. His natural talent made learning lines comprised of a gibberish language much easier. Because the production was made up of six individual plays, it worked perfectly for busy schedules. Everyone was in a play with one or two others and could rehears their little play as their time allowed and the whole group only had to get together occasionally to put them all together. We worked under the direction of Johanna, one of the best friends I’ve met here. She’s German too, so there was no room for mistakes or tardiness! She whipped into shape a diverse group made of people who haven’t acted since high school (like me), pro’s, and those who have never before stepped onstage.

The first night went flawlessly and we all celebrated at a bar afterwards, basking in opening night glory, and enjoying some chocolate (it totally goes with beer!). The second night had a hitch or two but the audience never knew that some people left out a few lines. Before each show and at our group rehearsals, we learned to let our guards down around each other by screaming, doing animal impressions, and meditating as a group. The result was people who, after spending every waking moment for the past week together, were able to completely let loose and work together to put on a production that reflected the genuine affinity we had for each other and for the show itself.

The other plays were “Sure Thing,” which found a couple in a café who can't quite connect until the end. The same scene set itself over and over with the ringing of a bell until the couple gets their timing just right. Next was “The Bologna,” where two friends exist in alternate worlds where one has everything going her way (she’s in a Los Angeles) and one can’t get anything she wants (she’s in a Bologna). In the end, she learns to embrace her current metaphysical locale and finds it’s not so bad. Also, “Philip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread” was a surreal act in which simple lines are spoken, then at the ringing of a bell, the same lines are repeated in a sing-song manner over and over until the bell again brings the group back to reality. "Variations on the Death of Trotsky" boasts different scenarios occurring if Trotsky didn’t realize he had an axe buried in his skull (well, smashed actually- you can still see the handle), and finally, "Words Words Words" examined the interactions of three monkeys given typewriters to see if they could produce Shakespeare.

After closing night, we had to strip the theater and afterwards, headed to a dance club to boogie our little butts off. Italian men (who, I am sorry, don't deserve at all their debonair reputation) tried to be part of our group, meaning we didn't close down the club but still stayed a good while. I had forgotten how much it takes to do theater, but it is completely remunerated in the bonds you forge with your cast members. You all suffer together from stress, anxiety, you help each other with lines and direction, and all share the jubilation when all that hard work pays off. Saturday had us all feeling a bit empty as we didn’t know what to do with ourselves (and knew that it was time to hit the books again- eep!). A cocktail party thrown by some friends helped with this last night, and today Student Government is hosting an International Food Festival. In a rare act, I will not be cooking anything for it, giving myself a free pass after the last week plus the 5 hours I will spend setting up the event today.

Believe it or not, I only have three academic weeks left and then two weeks of finals! The time here is winding down eerily quickly. The springtime sunshine makes it hard to want to concentrate and gelato beckons constantly! Hope you are all having a wonderful day, wherever you are!

No Earthquake Damage in Bologna!

Hello- Just wanted to drop everyone a quick note to make sure you know that the big earthquake that hit Italy occured far south of Bologna and, while this region did experience a more mild quake last night, it was away from buildings and no one was hurt nor was any damage sustained. We are all fine up here, but do keep those who have suffered in the southern one in prayer and thought!

Thank you all for your concern!