monthly emails: ottobre 2021

Ciao tutti! Familiga e amici...

Firstly, I'm sorry it's taken me this long to write, but I think a monthly update will do the trick!

At the moment, I'm writing with mostly-chilled fingers from the fireside. The Piemonte region of Italy is notoriously humid and rainy on account of being in proximity to the Alps and the Ligurian Sea. Besides dusting off the majority of my "winter clothes" from Florida and bringing them here, I still seem to be lacking the warm blood that keeps the Piemontese active during the day. I'm building up my tolerance, though! The walk down the hill from my home in the San Michele neighborhood gives me a good warmup before school, though it's the cappucinos that really do the trick.

I arrived here on the 4th of October in weather just like this, getting drizzled on at the train station with my three duffles. Gianmarco, one of my three roommates, was contacted through my friend Callum (thanks Callum) and told him I'd arrived. We zipped to the tabacchi, then zipped up to San Michele. When I say we zipped, I really mean we zipped. Gianmarco is from Rome which is apparently home to some of the craziest drivers. As a Floridian, I can relate.

The house is on the side of one of the hills that overlooks Bra on the NE side. The hills sort of ripple, so while I can't directly see Bra, I can see across two valleys, my own neighborhood of San Michele and a deeper ridge that provides views of Pocapaglia and San Giacomo. We have fruit trees, vegetable gardens, a bocce court, a homemade sauna, and two bonfires. We had chickens and rabbits until an incident as of late which may have involved a hungry badger or fox. Let's just say I had to change my rabbit name suggestions from Bonnie and Clyde to Lone Ranger.

Getting to school is a breeze even though we live a bit out of the city center. By bus is my secondary option to a free ride with one of the guys - Gianmarco's little Fiat, Niccolo's Brixton motorcycle, or Jonas' scooter. The options! We take a beautiful back road that starts just behind the Chiesa di San Michele and winds through farmland and little outskirt towns on the way to Pollenzo, once a Roman village named Pollentia. The Battle of Pollenzo took place in 402 between the Visigoths and the Romans, and later served as an important seizure by the Sardinian King Savoia. We casually have Roman ruins on various parts of our campus, including in the Banca del Vino and in our gardens, all which encompass a palace built in the 1800s that now serves as the University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo.

My cohorts in the Master's tracks (just two this year so we've become close - Culinary Arts and World Food Cultures and Mobility, mine) come from all backgrounds - Canada, Malaysia, Japan, India, New England, Mexico, Israel, Sicily, Milan, France, Germany, Switzerland, West Coast, Texas, and even Florida among others. Everyone brings their unique story and interest, though the large majority come from industry/service background like restaurants, bakeries, suppliers, farms, etc. Some are fresh out of college while others chose to continue their passion before retiring with plenty of variety between.

I've already completed two courses, one on Philosophy of the Environment and Sustainability and the other in Food and Environment. The former explored the way we see and feel about ourselves and nature, focusing on how we've assumed a separation from that which is nature - we are animals after all. The latter was a frightening and much-needed look at the reality of current food production, consumption, CO2, and our generally declining state of sustainable existence on Earth. Talk about ripping the bandage off the warm-fuzzy feelings of philosophy the week prior. We as humans have some work to do...

This month takes us into our Food, Taste, and Sensory Analysis courses, specifically on olive oil, wine, and cheese as well as Italian Language courses and some Mediterranean and Seminars from visiting academics. One student from the Culinary Arts program has offered to host a Thanksgiving (Ringraziamento), so I have that to look forward to among other interesting activities. Niccolo, one of my roommates from outside Venice, is an avid forager, and Jonas, the other roommate from The Netherlands, works directly under Carlo Petrini, so we get insider-access to events and ongoings (like the Fat Ox Fair).

Though there aren't many boring days here, chores are still ongoing. I've been practicing my fire-making skills for our fireplace in our kitchen, which will heat this room and serve for half our cooking during the winter months. Our house is also palace-like and constantly needs cleaning, not to mention sorted trash and composting. It's helped build a routine I can appreciate, no matter how tedious. Going to the market is interesting and a great opportunity to practice what little Italian I have, though my roommates have been a tremendous help with my vocabulary. In exchange, they've gotten a few Midwestern and Southern sayings down along with a few token American meals. Chicken fried steak was an absolute hit, and they're looking forward to gumbo, jambalaya, chili, Thanksgiving, and casseroles. I have found a place that sells yucca and plantains, so a Caribbean dish is definitely in the works.

Though it's been a big life change, I haven't really yet felt homesick. I'm sure on cold winter nights I'll be craving a cooldown dip in the Gulf, or after busy days the creature comforts of home and family and friends. For now, this is life, and it's pretty darn neat!

Sending each and every one of you warm wishes and hugs from afar. I'll do my best to get back to you via email if you'd like to talk or send an update back (or ask to be removed or don't want updates - no problem here!)

Until next month's update! And please feel free to share with any friends or family that I may have missed. I'll be sure to add them to the next month's :)

Ciao!