Nutella, Aranciata, and Italian quirks

So today I really don't have all that much interesting to report about as far as my daily journey went. I got up, went to class, and sweated profusely on the walk. It was only (ha) 87 degrees today, but with the humidity about 80%, I was really, really feeling it. My skin? Never looked better. My metabolism? Doing fantastic. My comfort level? Low, for the most part. Personal hygiene is a big deal to me, and having to shower twice a day and apply deodorant all the time is fun. But not.

But yes, I only have 4 days left of the practicum, and that makes me really excited. I got my test back from Friday and I got about an 83 on it, which I wasn't too excited about. Combine it with my total test scores from the day, it was closer to an 86, but that leaves me at a high B, close to a low A. The final exam, as always, will bear that difference, and I really want to check out of here with at least an A-. Italian is tough, and the tests reflect it, but I can do better than I did, so I will.

But yes, after that I trekked back home for a bit of relaxing and escaping the heat. Everyone is feeling it right now, so it's easier to just hide a bit and go out later in the evening to do things. Plus now, having been here three weeks, sightseeing takes a bit of a dip and homework, studying, and life-living really picks up. I'm really getting to know a pretty diverse group of people here, and it's pretty cool to have lots of choices of people to go to the store with, for example.

Which really brings me to my next idea to discuss today: Italian food and drink differences, along with a bit of a cultural thing that really kind of shocked me. But first, the food. Chocolate here is popular, as it is everywhere in the world, but with that comes not caramel (haven't seen it since I've been here) or peanuts (also, very limited), but hazelnuts. Nutella, aka paste of the deities, is fantastic, and it's pretty much hazelnut chocolate in a creamy peanut butter paste. Since peanut butter isn't really a viable option here--they have it, it's just really expensive, and it's creamy, I mean honestly, who wants creamy?--Nutella, or Crema alla nocciola (hazelnut cream) is the popular spread.

And boy is it awesome. I mean, breakfast has really evolved since I got here. Since milk is about a 1.50 Euro a liter, or roughly 5.50 a gallon or about 8 U.S. dollars a gallon, I drink a lot less of it on a daily basis, and so I drink Orange Juice instead of milk for breakfast, which is just better for me anyway. Along those same lines, I am hungrier due to the diminished proteins and fats from milk--stepping up to fill that void recently has been either eggs or toast with Nutella and a banana to boot (I know I know KK, eww bananas). So it really is a balanced breakfast: two servings of fruit, a whole grain with my bowl of corn flakes and a serving of dairy, and some good fats and proteins from the Nutella and/or eggs. It's actually pretty cheap in relative terms, about 2-3 euro a breakfast after buying all the supplies in bulk.

And it's tasty. Can't forget that.

Another big thing here is Aranciata, or a sparkling orange beverage. It's soda-esque, but lighter. If you've ever had the Orange San Pelligrino drink, that's exactly what it is. And it too is very, very good. It's light and sweet, and totally refreshing. I get a cheap one from Todi's for about 50 cents for 1.5L, which is about 4 days worth of thirst quenching refreshment. There's no beating the San Pelligrino type though at the store, and I had some authentic, homemade stuff the other day, totally rocked my world. I often have it with my lunch / snack (I eat two meals a day with a snack in between usually. . . I have breakfast, come home around 2, eat some salami, cheese, and crackers or an apple, banana, maybe all of the above. Who knows?) and often I make like pasta of some sort; I make about 4 different types of noodle with like 4 different sauces (Funghi, Pesto, Pomodoro, and of course, alfredo). I'll toss in some fresh pepper, sausage, or salami depending on what I've got, and it makes for about 16 different combinations. All delicious. And relatively cheap if you can just budget correctly.

Finally, I just wanted to touch on something that really surprised me about Italy. A little did-you-know moment if you will:

Did you know that Italy has the lowest birthrate of any country in the world in 2005? It's lower in Germany, Japan, and Hong Kong now, but it's still the fourth lowest in the world today, with only 8.3 births per 1000 people, as compared to 15 per 1000 in the U.S. Its' population is actually shrinking here in terms of Italian people, but with tourism and people moving here, it's pretty constant. But still, the average couple has .8 kids, as opposed to 1.5 in the U.S. Most people have just one kid who lives with them until they're around 28-30 when they get married. Most never own a home either, but an apartment. Rome has near zero houses in the Aurelian Walls, so most just have an apartment or suite in an old building, which they get when they get married and rarely, if ever, move. If you don't marry, you ofter just live with your parents forever.

Just struck me as weird that that's normal and acceptable, not societally frowned upon. People are starting to get worried though in government that the number of true Italian by heritage people is dwindling everywhere in the country, and they can't seem to find a way to stem the tide.

Cool stuff, right? I thought so anyway.

But yes, I am going to be on a plane to Athens 4 days from this very instant, and I couldn't be more excited if I tried. I'll probably break my everyday of posting streak once I'm there, but I might get a post or two in. I am going to take a billion pictures, worry not, and post like you wouldn't believe after the fact. Plus, after that, it's less than 3 weeks until KK and I head to Interlaken and Milan, which will bear many, many more pictures I'd imagine.

I also found a way to get to Marrakech for pretty cheap, and I'm thinking we're going to head out there in November, along with a Munich venture thrown in there potentially and ending in Barcelona, not to mention my intended trips to Venice, Florence, Paris, and London.

So there's reason to stay tuned, worry not! Feel free to contribute to the Craig-goes-awesome-places fund (or my next-Tuesday birthday, / Christmas / really just about anything present) and you shall be rewarded with your wildest dreams coming true, that is, if your wildest dreams are for me to take a bunch of pictures and report back with a total book's worth of travels to talk about.

Oh! And that was something I was going to say: wouldn't it be cool to get my blog done as a book when I'm all done? Maybe I can figure out how to do that most efficiently after I get back, but I think it'd be pretty awesome if I could make a book or something in commemoration of my journey. Maybe if you contribute to my fund you could have a special mention in the forward (just kidding. Sort of).

And that's it and that's all folks. Hope you have a great Monday, and until next time,

Ciao.