Martina's Book

It’s weird to be considered an “expert” in English when I’m used to being surrounded entirely by English speaking people. In my architecture class on Thursday, the professor (Martina) asked me if I could come back to her office and help her out with a project; She is an innovative, accomplished young architect and one of her firm’s projects was being published into a book. Unfortunately, the translator that was hired did a “less than professional” job. Martina is proficient enough in English to recognize that it did not sound correct, but didn’t have the ability to change what needed to be fixed. She was so upset that the years of effort, that went into the project itself and then also into the publication, were going to be wasted by an embarrassing subpar translation. She later told me that she was sitting in class completely frazzled by it, when she heard me presenting my architecture project so articulately and knew that I was the person to “save her project” (her words, not mine). I felt so bad for her; on the drive to the office I could tell that she was really upset about it all. Understandably so, for when I read through the text it was an obvious direct translation from Italian, meaning sentence structures, ordering of words, punctuation and even word meaning were done incorrectly. It was helpful that I have a background in architecture so I was able to understand the ideas she wanted to communicate in the book. In some cases it was an easy fix and in others Martina would wordily explain to me the idea she was trying to express in order to help me choose the right words, adjectives, and phrasing. It was actually a really cool experience to work with her and to understand her project in such depth. They are also going to add my name to the “special thanks to…”-page in the publication. Isn’t that cool?! Martina said she would bring me a copy to class (done by the middle of April). And it was rewarding to see what a big change we made in the quality of the work, although they had to submit it for printing THAT night, so we couldn’t spend the time to make it absolutely perfect. (There was also the problem offending the publisher who had suggested the translator. We didn’t want to completely change around the wording if it could be avoided since the decision to bring me in on the project was Martina’s and not discussed by the publishing manager). I worked at her office from 2pm until we finished at 9:30, but the time flew by. Martina told me that she was just going to have me look at a few of the big things but then when she saw what a difference we were making she asked me look at everything! It was a good experience and I’m glad I could help her out… she was so appreciative and as I was leaving she kept telling me that I had “saved the book”.

Spring Break: Greece!

Spring Break: this is going to be a long one so sit down and buckle up!
It started off on a shaky note; the girls (Jena and Amanda: two friends from college) were supposed to land in Torino Friday morning and then take the airport shuttle to the downtown area where I would be waiting to welcome them. After waiting 2.5 hours at the bus stop without seeing them, I had reached my maximum worry point (they don’t have phones so if we didn’t meet as planned how would we find each other?!). I texted my parents who were able to call Jena’s mom and find out that their flight out of the states had been delayed 8 hours. So 8 hours later I stood waiting at the bus stop again… But they apparently arrived earlier than I had planned and were wondering around the train station, thinking I would meet them there. Luckily, they were able to mime well enough to a janitor/train worker/Italian man and he let them borrow his phone to call my number. So we ended up meeting just fine (with only a few more gray hairs).

Saturday afternoon we visited my cute little neighborhood café before heading downtown for delicious gelato and shopping at the central open market. On the walk, I showed them some of the notable buildings and piazzas of Torino. Then we came home and made yummy pizza and packed for our “overnight” train to Rome. Basically everything from here on out went so surprisingly smoothly (you can stop holding your breath now). The train was fine (and not scary)… we arrived at 6am to Rome so we decided to sit at the station (outside a closed McDonalds) for the sun to rise before we ventured around the city. Our hostel was nice (with computers too). In the two days we were there, Jena and I showed Amanda all the famous attractions of Rome: Trevi fountain, Pantheon, Vatican, Roman Forum, and Coliseum (I went inside this time! It was great to see… very impressive. We even listened to the corny Rick Steve’s audio tour on our ipods while we wandered through the ancient stadium).
With our fingers crossed and our parents worried, we then headed to Greece! We landed at the Athens airport but then took a regional bus two hours outside of the city to Nafplio. It is a quaint little town and was a perfect first impression for Greece. There is a castle perched atop a cliff that rises directly out of the downtown area. We climbed the 999 steps (no we didn’t count, but that’s what the legend claims) to the top where we were rewarded with some great views of the bay and town. It was fun to get out and do something rather than just visit historical sites all day!

Nafplio offers many authentic “worry bead” shops. It is Greek tradition (in the ancient days probably started with a religious purpose, such as the rosary, but now is a secular habit). The beads are “clinked” together along the string and with each unique sound of the beads the owner thinks positive thoughts (“peace, protection, strength…”). After continually doing this (weeks?), the subconscious recognizes the “clinking” and the mind and body receive positive energy from the calming thoughts of “peace, protection, strength…” I liked this explanation the best (others merely described the beads as a way to relieve nervous, worry energy by playing with them). It was really cool to see so many local people actually using worry beads; sometimes I feel like I hear of “traditions” from other cultures but they don’t seem to be practiced anymore. Also, it used to be something that only the males did, but now it has expanded to be used by the women as well.

We also began our “good food” campaign in Nafplio… Greece treated us well when it came to food! The gyros (like pita wraps with grilled meat) and the baklava (pastry made from thin phyla dough layers, nuts, and a sweet honey sauce over the top) were probably my favorite, although the cream pies and Mousaka (dinner dish layered with eggplant, meat, potatoes, and probably some other stuff that I don’t currently remember) deserve an honorable mention. The place we stayed here was so cute! It was like a little bed and breakfast (by far the best “free” breakfast I have ever had… maybe even the best breakfast period). We were only there one night before taking the bus back to the city.

Next was Athens! You’ll be glad to know that we saw no rioting and no strikes. In fact, everyone was extremely helpful and most spoke English (which we were worried about before). We saw all the sites, but of course the Acropolis was my favorite! The view from the top of the hill is incredible and makes the impressive structures even grander. Unfortunately, our time got cut short on the Agora (why would they close at 3 on a beautiful, sunny afternoon?! I’m still confused) but we saw all the big stuff. AND at the hostel Jena got shocked by the electrical plug. She was unplugging her camera charger from the adaptor when it happened (and all the electricity in the room when out). Never had that happen before! (no worries, she took it like a champ… ). We liked seeing Athen’s ancient ruins, but the city itself was nothing special. In fact, it felt like an overcrowded, busy, dirty city (I think the population is something like 4 million, but don’t quote me on that. I know from our view on the Acropolis, the buildings were incredibly dense and stretched out over the hills and out of sight.) Interestingly, there were stray dogs wandering ALL over the city. They’d keep following us for blocks so of course we had them all named.

We ended our trip in Santorini: a perfect, relaxing destination to contrast the site seeing of the other locations. The island is very quiet this time of year, which we were thankful for. This meant fewer shops and restaurants were open, but it also meant that we were surrounded by locals and were able to enjoy the calm of the island without crowds of tourists. The first night we went to the neighboring town on the very tip of the island that is known for its beautiful sunset view, Oia. The views in Oia were absolutely amazing; I felt like all of my pictures should be postcards! We explored the town for couple hours in the warm sunshine before we settled on the cliff edge with a handful of others and watched the sun sink into the ocean. This was probably my favorite moment of the whole trip; the play of light on the ocean, the white washed structures of the town that clung to the cliff edge, the contrast of the buildings against the intense blue of the ocean and sky… it was great.

The next morning at the “hostel’s” breakfast (I say hostel loosely here… it was so nice! They even picked us up from the airport and dropped us off again at the end of our stay) we meet 5 other girls who are originally from the eastern United States but are currently studying in Florence. They were so fun and friendly; we all really hit it off. So that morning, we all (8 of us) climbed down the thousand-some stairs of the cliff to reach the old port. From there we took an afternoon boat tour on an old-style sailboat. Our first stop was the nearest island; it is a newly formed (within the last 500 years) volcanic island. We hiked 40 mins to the top and had an expansive view of the Aegean Sea and the surrounding small, uninhabited islands. Back on the boat, we headed to a hot springs located on the nearest of those “baby” islands. In order to reach them, you have to swim in the ocean from the boat to the spot where the warmer water dumps into the sea. We were told the water was 15 degrees Celsius, but being 8 adventurous girls on spring break, we took the plunge (notably, the only passengers of the boat crazy enough to give it a try). The water was such a cold shock! I started swimming frantically in hopes of reaching the warmer water faster. However, the water was so cold it kept my heart rate down and forced me to breathe in short wheezy gasps. We all made it to the “hot springs” (although I would classify them as “luke-warm-springs”) and back to the boat successfully. What a memory! AND… (Yep still more to this crazy boat adventure) When we docked in the old port, we all rode donkeys back up the thousands of stairs like they traditionally did to transport goods. It was a little nerve racking at first to trust this animal on such a steep and relatively narrow pathway, but it was a fun novelty to have experienced. The whole day seemed like it was straight out of a travel commercial. The next day was a little more low-key. We visited a wine museum where we also did a wine tasting. Then we relaxed on the black sand beach (although the day was not as warm as the others, so we didn’t stay more than an hour).

All in all, I left Greece wanting to go back again soon! It was so much fun to travel with my two good friends and to see such beautiful sites.

Working Woman

I am working this week! It’s exciting to see money coming in instead of always just going out! The USAC advisor asked me if I’d be interested in working for a company that needs English speakers to edit their sound bites and make sure they sound “right”. It was a vague description, but the 23 Euros an hour payment hooked me! I rode the tram there yesterday afternoon (45 min tram ride!). I had to get through two security check points because the work takes place inside the Italian Telecom headquarters (or something like that). The two people I worked with were really nice. They are working for Fiat to develop a car media system that allows you to control USB media devices through voice commands while driving in order to keep your hands on the wheel (I think he said it was called “Blue and Me”). They’ve already introduced the product in Europe, but now they are “localizing” it for release in the states. They played sound clips of what the computerized voice system would say in reply to a command by the user. I had to tell them if it was most importantly, understandable (right wordage) and then play with the computer input text to see if we could make it sound more “natural”. For example, in some cases, the words would come across rushed or mumbled, so by adding spaces or commas or extra letters, the computer read it differently. It was actually pretty interesting (like a puzzle: “how to trick the computer”). Plus it felt pretty cool to feel like and “English expert”! I work three days this week for three hours in the afternoons. It’s a busy week! I don’t know if they’ll need me any more after spring break, but either way it is nice to earn a little pocket change.

Ps. It’s a running joke/common knowledge that I am not a good speller. Twice he was typing a word in English and asked me if it was spelled correctly! O boy… Little does he know…

Weekend in Torino (Cirque de Soleil)

A relaxing weekend spent in Torino: I basked in the guilty pleasure of doing nothing! Friday dawned bright and sunny so Kate and I walked to school along the park that boarders the Po River (like the green belt!) A little exploring and curiosity led us to meander off route and turned it into an enjoyable hour stroll in the sun. We finished off the journey with tasty gelato and a much needed trip to the grocery store. Sixty Euros later my shelves in the fridge and cupboard were finally stalked again… It was a good weekend of homemade meals. I even made steak! (For those of you who know me well enough will notice that I was having a STRONG desire for American food to drive me to such extremes!). It was alright; I’m still not in love, but it did the trick. Tonight I was back to pasta.

Friday night Kate and I went out dancing and tried some new trendy bars we’d heard about. Saturday was full of cleaning: my bedroom, my laundry, my sheets, the bathroom, the kitchen, bedroom floor… Let’s just say all my traveling had left my area a little “neglected”. This afternoon (Sunday), I met Katie and we ventured to a new part of town in search of Cirque de Soleil! One of our classmates had told us that it was in town and tickets could be had for only 35 Euros (a steal of a deal compared to the $90 I paid two years ago in California). Today was the LAST showing so thankfully after a little blind bus navigating, we arrived with plenty of time to buy tickets at the door. It was a great show full of feats of flexibility, strength, and odd talent. The costumes, set, and music are always unique and add a heightened level of entertainment to the show. The great thing about Cirque de Soleil shows is that they communicate the “story” with their bodies, so I wasn’t even frustrated by not knowing Italian.

Side Note: Beautiful, warm and sunny on Friday. Bright and blue sky-ed on Saturday. Woke up today to a BLIZZARD! It snowed ALL day. Nonstop. Not even kidding.

Side Note #2: Coming home from Cirque de Soleil tonight I waited 30 mins for bus #34 – it is supposed to come every 11 mins. I finally gave up and walked to a different bus route. When I came home to vent to Kate about the unreliable bus system she informed me that bus #34 doesn’t run on Sundays. Oops. Maybe after my 4 months of living in Torino I will finally figure out public transportation. Did I mention it was miserably cold and snowing that whole half an hour?!

Side Note #3: I finally watched Gladiator for the first time. I think it will add a whole new level of reality to my imagination when I actually go into the Coliseum next weekend. Spring Break Adventure 2010 begins Friday with the arrival of Jena and Aerosol… I hope you’re excited! Rome, Athens, Santorini (pray for sunshine!).

Side Note #4: I just wanted to point out the very real fact that I am half way through my stay in Italy. Didn’t I just get here?!

In Memeory of Grandma Caroline

I read this poem at her Vigil on Sunday night. I'm glad I could be there and say something. It's so hard to accept how things have changed - it doesn't seem real yet. Please keep my family in your prayers.

Grandma Caroline
For me, Grandma Caroline was many different things:
She was family Christmas gatherings and warm crackling fires.
She was warm summer nights on the patio with owls hooting in the trees.
She was old-time music from a radio that seemed even older and a simmering pot of potato soup that was always ready for you when you arrived.
She was a removed pool table because family dinners were more important, clean laundry when college days demanded it, and a haircut to all the boys.
She was homemade apple sauce and perfectly seasoned coleslaw.
She was an apple pie to a hurting friend and the listening ear at the end of the phone line.
She was a shoulder for tears, a prayer for strength, and an embrace for comfort.
She was a story re-told every time a new family member entered the room, the inventor of "sick tired!" and the tenderness in the endearment “doll baby.”
She was the exclamation "Isn’t that amazing?" at the end of every spiritual story and the beacon when you’d lost your way.
She was freshly brewed coffee – anytime of night, and early morning conversations in her rocking chair while the others still slept upstairs.
She was the counter of the shades of green and gold as the fields turned, and on Memorial Day, she was flowers for the loved ones who’d passed on before her.
She was a card in the mail, a lunch at Taco Time, or a thoughtful gift when encouragement was needed.
She was the pride for every one of my accomplishments and the cherisher of each sketch, poem, and project.
She was the worrier that got us home safely and the phone call at the end of the journey.
She was a mother, a wife, a grandma, a neighbor, a friend.
And even now, though we are left with just these memories, I continue to see her all around me:
For TODAY she is the selflessness I see in my aunts and the humor of my uncles.
She is found in the love for a friend, the compassion for a stranger, and the kindness in the giving.
She is the strength I find in her children and the passion of her grandchildren.
She is the faith when I’m discouraged and the encouragement to never stop seeking the Lord.
She is the moral that keeps me doing what’s right when wrong is so much easier and the lesson in life when I’d rather not even look for it.
She is found in the bond of a family that values time spent together and in the support of a community that holds each other up.
Today, she is a loving memory that will never lose its beauty and the living strength carried on in the kindness of every life she touched.
-Megan Dobroth