Final Homestay #WalshGlobal

Final Homestay 

Walsh Global 14

Noah Drlik 

This entire week with the help of Italidea and Walsh global has been an experience of a lifetime.  This week I got to experience something most Americans can not say they have done, and that was live a true Italian life.  This week was the homestay week, planned out by Walsh in order to let us students understand the culture and way of life of a typical Italian.  Most groups stay with Italian families, but my group was given the opportunity to stay with 74-year old Maria Grazia.  Most might think that this week would be boring staying with an older woman like Maria, but that was not true, she is full of energy and life that is equivalent to a 20-year-old.  She reminds me a lot of my grandma, always on her feet and doing something.  I have learned that Maria is very intelligent, loves to read historical books and the newspaper.  Something that really caught me off guard about Maria is how athletic she is.  She loves to walk everywhere she goes, she said she got rid of her car because she would rather walk around Rome.  Its inspiring hearing that from a woman of her age. She also likes trekking, which is another term for hiking, I learned that this week.  We had to say goodbye on Saturday night because she was leaving early on Sunday to go hike in Abruzzo, she is 74 going on 24.  Maria is also a great chef, she makes some of the best pasta I have ever had, and it Is all handmade.  My favorite night was when she made carbonara, top 5 plates of pasta I have ever eaten.  The noodles were cooked perfectly, the cheeses and egg were the right mixes and the sauce topped off the delicious dish.  She would follow up all the pasta with a second course, being meat. The meat was okay, it wasn’t anything special, the pasta is where her cooking made a difference.  Our dinner conversations were a little boring, I mean what are three 20-year-old guys supposed to talk about with an old lady?  We mainly just listened to her talk about her time in the United States and when she studied economics at Georgetown.  She would also talk about her sons a lot, mainly the oldest son that lives in the Dominican Republic because he is the most successful of all her kids. We really did not converse with her that much other than at dinner because of how busy we were.  Our schedules did not match with hers at all, anytime we would be home she would be at work and anytime she would be home we would be out in the city or sightseeing. It is unfortunate we did not get more time to talk with her and hear more about her life, but I have her WhatsApp, so we will stay in touch.  Maria having WhatsApp surprised me because she does not seem very tech savvy, but she knew her way around a smartphone, unlike my grandma.  Overall, my experience living with Maria for a week was very enjoyable.  I thank Maria for opening her doors with welcoming arms and giving us a great experience.  I would highly recommend this experience to any American student because you really experience Italian life.  The traditional culture of an Italian which Maria showed us is very different from American culture.  If given the opportunity I would like to see Maria next time I visit Italy.

Tivoli #walshglobal

Tivoli 

Walsh Global 13

Noah Drlik

As we near to only a week left in Italy, we are really getting to the last site visits of the 2 months.  Of all the site visits we have made this semester, from the Vatican to Milan, today was the most beautiful place I have ever been.  Today we visited the Tivoli Gardens and Villa D’Este, which was absolutely stunning.  We arrived in the city of Tivoli around 11 o’clock and grab a quick lunch.  We stopped at a pizza place and ate for about an hour.  We then walked approximately 15 minutes to the Tivoli Gardens and Villa D’Este.  The Villa D’Este is a 16th-century summer home of a cardinal, the property is massive and could easily be the size of a small village.  We arrived at the property, got our ticket and went exploring.  The property is now a museum and very well taken care of.  I could tell what was original and what was restored but that did not matter.  The museum company separated the property into two separate tours, one being the villa itself and one being the gardens. I liked touring the villa, it was full of large rooms, beautiful murals, and historical statutes.  I am not sure about the number of rooms but there has to be over 100.  It blows my mind to think that this is the summer home of a cardinal, a summer home! To me, I find it disturbing to see a cardinal have so much money he could build a property like that.  Aren’t Cardinals supposed to take a vow of poverty, not flaunt their wealth?   However, that is beside the point, the property is still beautiful and needs to be treasured for future generations.  After walking through the villa, I made my way through the gardens which we massive. The gardens were full of shrubs, trees, and fountains.  The fountains were stunning.  A few were small, but the rest of them are huge and full of details.  The fountains mainly had statues with water coming out of them which were very beautiful.  However, my favorite fountain had no statues at all.  It is my favorite because it was the biggest and included a waterfall.  I could see it from the villa, but I wanted to get closer.  To get to it I had to walk throughout the entire gardens, passing all the other fountains and statues, then passing the three pools and there it was.  This fountain had to be over 40 feet tall and was stunning, in the back was a waterfall with water spraying upwards in front of it to fill a few small pools. After those pools filled up the water overflowed into more waterfalls and then collected in a huge pool.  I could get so close that I felt water hit me, it is a sight to see.  I got some really beautiful pictures of this waterfall, the rest of the gardens and the magnificent view of Italy from the Villa. The trip to Tivoli was by far the most beautiful sight-seeing trip I have been on and would love to go back.

Nettuno #WALSHglobal

Nettuno

Walsh Global 12

Noah Drlik 

Today I got the opportunity to experience the day in Nettuno touring the city and the American World War 2 cemetery.  Nettuno is a small coastal city and is about a 70-minute train ride from Rome.  The weather today was beautiful and gave me the chance to walk on the sand barefoot and even put my feet in the water of the Tyrrhenian Sea.  Being a coastal city means most of the cuisine is fish based. Being that I am allergic to fish so finding some food that I could eat was a challenge.  I found a place that made sandwiches and I was able to enjoy it outside with the view of the water.  It was much more peaceful than eating lunch in Rome, I was not harassed by a person trying to sell me something and there was less noise. Nettuno is a better vacation spot compared to Rome.  After lunch, the group and I walked inland to visit the American cemetery of World war 2. The official name is the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and memorial, owned and operated by the United States of America.  There are over 7,000 men and women laid to rest in this cemetery, a majority of them are known and have names on their gravestones.  However, there are 490 unknown soldiers buried here, which is sad because we are not given the opportunity to pay respect to them directly.  Those soldiers died just as noble as the rest, it’s a shame they aren’t able to get the recognition they deserve. The Cemetery reminded me of a mini Arlington, the graves were all cemeterial and had white Latin crosses as gravestones.  However, some graves had the star of David instead of the cross honoring the Jewish soldiers who died fighting for our country.  Other than the graves themselves, the cemetery also had a visitor center that had a miniature museum, explaining the how the Americans captured Italy.  The museum also had artifacts from the war such as helmets, pistols, and landmines, a majority of them were replicas but it was still interesting to read about them. The cemetery also had a chapel where the names of over 3,000 missing soldiers were. The chapel was erected to remember those who were missing in action and have still yet to be discovered. The cemetery is a closed cemetery and is not open to any more burials, the last one taking place in 1946, it is truly remarkable of how well kept the property is.  The really interesting part of the cemetery is that it is owned and operated by the United States, an American organization hires all the grounds crew, guides, security and so on.  The perfect upkeep goes to show how much the American culture respects those who lost their lives fighting for our country.  I would defiantly like to visit the other cemetery in Italy designated for American soldiers as well as the others scattered across Europe. I felt a sense of pride walking through the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery.  The pride came from being in an American owned place in the country of Italy, I’m not how to describe it any further.  With that being said, I really enjoyed the day trip to Nettuno and would go back if given the chance, not only for the beach but the cemetery as well.

Caritas #WalshGlobal

Caritas 

Walsh Global 11

Noah Drlik 

Yesterday was my third time Volunteering my time at Caritas.  The day started at Termini, where the group meets so we can walk to Caritas.  Its only about a ten to fifteen-minute walk to Caritas from Termini, and we needed to be there by 11 so we left around 10:30 from Termini.  We got to Caritas and sat in the Cafeteria listening to the manager of Caritas give a 20-minute background story of Caritas to a group of Italian students.  He gave the lecture in Italian, so I had no idea what he was saying.  It is always nice having other students there because they usually get the gross jobs and us Americans get the cleaner jobs.  After the lecture was given, another man started a prayer.  Again, the prayer was in Italian and I had no idea what was being said I just followed the leadoff the other people in the room.   After the prayer we given our jobs, I got the job of working the sign in booth again.  I like this job because it is clean, and I am behind glass which makes it feel safer. My Job is to take the Caritas Identification cards from the people and look for their number in a book. Once I find their ID number I have them sign the box with that day’s date on it and give them a lunch ticket.  Once they get their ticket, they leave my station and get in line to receive food. It really a simple job but is needed to know how much food was given out that specific day.  Caritas does not want to run short on food, so they use the sign-in sheets to make sure they always have enough.  The hardest thing about this job is the language barrier.  Most people that come to Caritas are Italian speaking people, therefore I cannot hold a conversation with them.  All I can say is “Buongiorno” and “Grazie”, which mean “good morning” and “thank you”. Other than those two words I don’t have any more human interaction with these people.  However, there are a few people here and there that come in and speak English, in which they ask me questions like where I live and what my name is.  I usually lie to them and tell them I’m from Chicago or Los Angeles and give them a new name every time.  I do this to protect myself because I don’t know these people, they are still strangers to me, I don’t want them to know where I live. I feel bad for some of these people, they come into Caritas, with their whole life on their back shoulder.  One man who came in yesterday really made me hurt for him, he looked like he just got beat up.  His face was all beat up and his hands were covered in blood, I don’t know what happened, but I do know it wasn’t positive.  To brighten things up, another man came in dressed as Santa Claus, he was dancing around and acting funny to cheer up everyone in the room. The day goes quickly at Caritas, especially on Tuesdays because we don’t need to help clean up.  On Tuesdays, there is a cleaning crew that is hired to really clean the place and keeps Caritas up to the sanitary standards of Italy. With that being said, we were finished around 1:30 and went and got lunch. It was another successful day Volunteering at Caritas.

Homestay part 1 #walshglobal

Homestay first impressions
Walsh Global 10
Noah Drlik

This week starts the homestay with an Italian family/person.  Walsh, with the help of Italidea, gives us the great opportunity to truly experience the Roman culture by living in the household of a Roman.  I have the great pleasure of staying with Maria Grazia a 74-year-old lady that does not act a day over 20.  Her apartment is located in the in the piazza of Santa Maria Maggorie, a five-minute walk from Termini.  The location could not be more perfect, everything I need is within walking distance and is in a very safe section of Rome.  When I found out I was living with a 74-year-old lady, I was under the impression that she would be slow and always tired, that is so far from the truth.  She is one of the liveliest persons I have met, considering I hang out with people around 20 years old.  She reminds me a lot of my grandma, on the outside she looks like a typical 70-year-old plus woman, but on the inside, she has the heart of a 20-year-old.  She is always doing something, whether it is working at the bank, cooking, cleaning, or talking.  Maria always finds something to do, she cannot sit still for more than ten minutes.  She is a very kind lady as well and is open to everyone.  It would be hard to let some stranger in your house for a full week.  However, Maria let us in without any hesitation and that speaks on her great character.  Her apartment is very historical, it is very old but full of character.  She has paintings and sculptures all around the apartment, it really brings the apartment to life.  I knew going into this homestay week that I would be enjoying typical Italian cuisine, that is very delicious, and I was right.  The food Maria has prepared for me thus far has not disappointed.  She is a phenomenal cook, as most Italians are.  The dinners she made were typical Roman diners, I forget the names of the dishes she served, but all I know is that they were absolutely phenomenal.  Aside from being a great cook and an even better host, she is also very smart.  Maria told me that she has her Ph.D. in economics from Georgetown University.  However, it was not just an ordinary process of gaining a Ph.D., Maria went straight from obtaining her bachelor’s degree to obtaining her Ph.D.  She got to skip the master’s part of the process because of her high grades and test scores.  The dean of Georgetown personally excused her from that process which goes to show how smart she is.  Overall, my expectations of the food were spot on, the food she prepares is amazing and I could not get enough.   I was defiantly wrong in my expectations of her as a person, I was not expecting Maria to be the high-energy lady she is.  She is so fun and a blast to be around, I cannot wait to see what the rest of the homestay week entails.