Chocolate Easter Eggs
Pizza di Pasqua Aquilana
Casatiello- traditional Neapolitan Easter bread made with cheese and salami
The flowers I smelt
On Tuesday my sister, Deidre, is arriving and on Thursday we are packing our bags and leaving for Naples AKA home of Italian pizza AKA hold onto your belongings and your life. I’ve been hearing quite the horror stories from other Italians about Naples. I’ve decided to leave all of my jewelry at home and I was told to stay away from anyone on a motorino who is wearing a helmet. Apparently the only time Neapolitans wear a helmet is if they’re about to steal something or do something worse...so let me tell you all now that I love you very much because we might not make it out alive....just kidding. There’s an Italian saying vedi Napoli poi muori, see Naples then die, meaning that it’s so beautiful you can die after seeing it. Although the way people have been talking about it makes it seem that you’ll die while seeing it. I’m sure it will be beautiful, and it’s a place I’ve been wanting to go to. I’ll just blend in and enjoy the beauty. After Naples we are going to Capri. I envision silk head scarfs blowing in the wind while laying out in the sun. Except it’s supposed to rain so I might have to envision something else. Rain or shine we will have a blast.
Cultural Notes: 1. With Easter only a week away all of the bakeries are ready. Some Easter traditions: La Colomba (the dove). It is a cake in the form of a dove and all the Italians I’ve spoken to don’t like it. It’s more like something you buy because it’s traditional even though it’s not necessarily enjoyed. In L’Aquila there is a traditional pizza di pasqua which is a sweet bread eaten for breakfast. In Rome, their pizza di pasqua is filled with cheese. In all of Italy it is traditional to have a large Easter breakfast with both sweets, meats, and hard boiled eggs (uova sodo). In some parts of Italy, the family goes into the mountains to roast meat. Lamb is the traditional meat eaten for lunch or dinner and coratella which is a warm mix of lamb innards and artichokes may also be seen at the Easter table. Huge chocolate eggs filled with a surprise and small chocolate eggs can be bought in supermarkets. Some cities have a religious procession, but since I will be in Capri for Easter Sunday I will miss the procession in Vatican City.
2. Today I went to one of my student’s field hockey games. Some of the things I noticed: the referees were wearing jeans. I was thinking how uncomfortable that must be to run in jeans. Some of the athletes were smoking after their game. My student told me that there is a greater number of male field hockey teams in Italy than female teams. I was surprised to discover this, because field hockey is not common among males at all in America.
Highlights of My Week: 1. While I was grocery shopping I heard one of my favorite songs by Tiziano Ferro from one of his older albums. I used to listen to that song while on my way to Italian class at SBU, and I remember one specific time sitting alone in my car reading the lyrics and wishing I were in Italy. I guess I still can’t believe I’m here...I’m really living here.
2. I had time to kill before my book club this past Friday so I sat outside in the sun at a caffé. A light breeze was blowing, transporting a delicious sweet smell from these purple flowers that were growing nearby.
3. On Saturday night I went to my friend Natalie’s house for dinner and a movie. We ate pizza, drank Peroni, and discussed how we are going to cry when we have to leave.
Impara con me! 1. sigillato- sealed
2. passeggino- baby stroller
