melissa grace kreider

     I took this photo at the beginning of February on a Canon EOS 3000V with Kodak 400TX film. I was trotting on my way to class when I passed this minisule book shop that you see in the photo. In this photo, I was right inside of the door and there was maybe two yards between me and the front of his desk. Italian treasures, I tell ya. 

    I developed the photo a couple of times so I decided to stop by today and give this man a copy. Simply doing so literally made my day. I walked in, pointed at the photo and asked a different man, "Dove?" or Where? My Italian is very broken as I've mentioned before and even the Italian man who was not the subject started gesturing and smiling and pointing behind him to confirm that this photo was indeed taken in this shop. A woman happened to walk in at that moment, saw the photo and immediately explained, in English, that he had gone to fetch her a book and would be back soon. 

    In the meantime the man and the woman who spoke English were discussing the photo and I was standing politely by (I wish I knew what they were saying-gah!) waiting. He finally arrived and the minute he saw the photo his face lit up and he said "Grazie, grazie, molto, molto, molto!!!" which are all happy things. There was much rejoincing, the Italian way. 

    He was very happy and gave me a kiss on both cheeks and I went on my way. I should have taken a photo of him holding it, but I didn't have my camera on me. Perhaps I'll go back in the hopes that he will keep the photo in the shop. :]

     There are always the obvious cultural differences that I have to deal with on a day to day basis. I mean, there's a bidet in my bathroom and the key to my apartment looks like something out of Kingdom Hearts.

         Little things that make all the difference in fitting in as a local are what have my head spinning. For example, Cappuccinos are never drunk after lunch or dinner. Never. In fact, it's frowned upon. A Caffé Marocchino, Caffé Latte, or Caffé Macchiato are for morning. Caffé  Freddo and Granita di Caffé con Panna (iced coffee with whipped cream, only more like a slushie) are for the afternoons. Finally, Caffé Coretto and just plain Caffé are only drunk after dinner.

      There are so many coffee combinations I go for the gold and typically order a plain espresso. I'm a lady who loves her caffeine, so this is perfectly fine for me. For the day when I decide to order something different, though, I better have this memorized.

     Italians take their coffee very seriously. Check it.

     You can say hello/goodbye four different ways (Buongiorno, Ciao, Buonasera, Arrivederci) depending on the time of day or relationship with whom you are speaking. Gum-chewing or eating while walking on the street is unacceptable (gelato is the only exception!), and one must be careful how they move their hands. In Italy, there is a long list of gestures that mean all something; it could be something offensive unless you're careful!

     Regarding the language, it's getting frustrating not to be able to talk to people on the street, cashiers, etc. Back home, I found joy in having small snippets of conversation with people I encountered throughout my day and here I just can't do that yet. I plan on cracking down on my Italian tenfold! I want to speak! 

     Other than those small things, as long as you are polite, respectful and openminded, you'll fit into a foreign country just fine. 

Ciao for now!

-m.

                I experienced a huge perk of traveling through Study Abroad Italy this past weekend: All-Inclusive Trips! I was lucky enough to travel to Verona (yeah-the city where Romeo and Juliet took place), Lake Garda and Mantova with my roommates and other students in my program! Included was transportation EVERYWHERE and a huge breakfast, included dinner and “pointers-in-the-right-direction” for drinks and light lunches.  We were all also VERY lucky to have an unbelievably gorgeous weekend weather-wise. It made everything that much sweeter.

                Our first stop was Verona, which I seriously underestimated. Verona, to me at least, is a very soft and sweet city. It might be the charming marble walkways, adorable Piazzas, or

 JULIET’S BALCONY; but just being Verona made me feel like I was being romanced. I might have fallen in love with everything I looked at.  There are love notes in the cracks and locks with messages written on them locked to the gate near Juliet’s house, and the wall leading up to the balcony are covered in scribbles proclaiming everlasting love. The walls are adorned with wads of gum: people will write notes and fasten them there with their gum. Later on, the notes are taken down by “the city” and the gum is left.  It is literally like a movie there.

Our next stop was Lake Garda: the largest lake in Italy. My roommate, Saya, is from the University of Tampa and she said it compared to Florida: palm trees and all. The beautiful day didn’t hurt either!  Here I had the best glass of wine I’ve ever had in my life…so far!

I was exhausted when we traveled to Mantova on Sunday. It was a lovely city; but what really stood out to me was the fact that Ed Westwick was there, filming the new Romeo and Juliet movie. He’s been cast as Tybalt. I didn’t have the pleasure of seeing him; but I saw the set!!

All-inclusive trips are a huge plus side to traveling abroad. This might have been one of the Best Weekends Ever.

This year from February 11th to February 21st, Venice (and all of Italy) celebrated Carnevale! Annually, this  festival is held in San Marco Square and has been dated back as far as 1162. As you can imagine I was completely thrilled to have the oppurtunity to go this year, and actually ended up going twice. Thursday the 16th I went with my Fashion Photo class and Saturday the 18th I went again with a tour group for students called bus2alps (Recommended for anyone traveling in Europe right now-transportation was 58 euro!). I was completely shocked that I was there; both times. At the Venice Carnevale.

Venice itself is a city that does not disappoint. It's constructed completely out of canals and built on the sea. Instead of buses, cars and taxis, they have boats. Which was one of my favorite things; no traffic in the streets!

My first trip to Venice was photography-related,  we all split up to do some work on our own. I got horrifically turned around at least twice! It is really easy to get lost, and this is coming from a girl who takes pride in her sense of direction. I know how to ask to get somewhere in Italian, and take directions as well...thankfully. After the fact I made my way to San Marco Square where it all "takes place" and got some wonderful photographs of the Carnies! They will literally spot your camera, stop for you and pose. 

The second day I traveled to Venice I didn't take many pictures just so I could take it all in (that's a lie-my camera battery died). It was still the most perfect of perfect days and I  can't believe I got to go to Carnevale! Traveling to Europe is so rewarding because of the abundance of places near you, easily reachable by train. The more I go to different places within Europe, the more I want to travel all of the time. Uh oh..

What did I do on my Valentine's Day in Italy, you ask (nobody asked)? I retaught myself how to do this:

It's stupid-easy!

Step 1] You need to take no less than two photos of yourself. The trick is not letting your camera move in between shots. Not one millimeter. I set mine on a table and used my quick-response button in order to achieve maximum stillness, but you can use a self-timer just as well. If you can, shoot in manual. When photographing things in auto, the camera will often pick up light differently in each shot and it will cause your final product to look campy and obviously 'shopped. 

        Step 2] Alright; you've taken your pictures and you've put them onto your computer. Open both of them in Photoshop (I use CS3) separately. Switch to your first photo and click Select>All. Copy and Paste that beaut onto your second one with the most stable background so it creates a new layer. 

Step 3] Select the History Brush and begin painting on your background layer where your absent clone should be and watch them appear! You might want to toggle the light/contrast, etc to make the two more unified if something went wrong with your light in the process. 

Simple, right? Now go do it. There are endless possibilities and endless amounts of times you can clone yourself. Get creative!

Ciao, ciao!