blog Archives - Laura Cerrone

July 2, 2014

See you later…

It is often mentioned that goodbyes are permanent, which is why I chose to entitle what is to be the last installment of me blogging about my Italian travels with the phrase ‘see you later.’

When I first arrived in Italy, the stalks of corn were just below my knees, now my head is tilted back just to see the tops.

When I first arrived in Italy it was an American holiday, Memorial Day, and I return on the eve of another, Independence Day.

I have been shown a piece of Italy that is often looked over in the travel books and in the account of passerby’s. The house that my father grew up in still stands, but only as a shell of the home it used to be. The island where my mother’s family hailed from enchanted my mind.

What had started out as a semi-spontaenous trip to Italy, with plans to explore the alternative life of organic farming under WWOOF, took a turn, and instead I learned what it is like to live day-in and day-out in the suburbs of Italy. There’s hard work to be done but it was always rewarded with spending time with the people who matter in life, eating and drinking delicious foods, and trading stories and ideas into the late nights.

I did things that I do back at home, like bowling and billiards, but also did things I would have never done back in the States such as riding on a scooter and mixing my beer with Coke.

Moments of reflection each day were spent with a fresh cup of hot espresso in hand.

I saw a nation propelled with excitement for the World Cup, and witnessed their devastation with the failure to advance out of group. I made friends with people I could only hold small conversations with. I did and saw so many things that it causes my heart to ache just thinking that it will be a long time before I get to feel the same way again.

Today we visited the Abbey at Monte Cassino. It was a very fitting place to visit on my last day.The abbey has a long history, but in the more recent span of its life it is known for a large World War II battle that took place there.

It was a 20-mile drive which gave me plenty of time to stare out the window and think about the ‘last time.’ With every chapter marked by some big change, usually the end of a year or the time I moved back home from college, I think about the ‘last time,’ I do or see something special or unique. The things I was thinking about had me crying again. It’s the littlest things too, like going to the Conad supermarket or admiring the neatly placed bales of hay on a hillside…

The abbey sits atop a mountain, and the road there had plenty of hairpin turns and overlooking cliffs. But the ride was worth it with the view at top.

We got there a bit late, about a half hour before they close the abbey during the week so we didn’t see everything. What I did see was beautiful. The courtyards were mostly white stone accented with a green garden. There were a few doves perched on the rafters. After our mini-tour of the abbey we went to the nearby Polish cemetery. As mentioned before, there was a big WWII battle here, which you can read all about on the Wikipedia page.

And so, tomorrow I believe before dawn for the airport. Through the next couple of weeks I’ll be editing my blog posts about my trip and probably adding a few posts reminiscing about my time here.

June 2, 2014

A full week!

I left for Italy from America on the States’ Memorial Day Holiday, a full week later and I am still here on an Italian holiday. Today was Festa della Repubblica in Italy. We celebrated by pretty much doing the same thing we did yesterday, so as far as recanting a magical experience in the bucolic countryside, well, none of that today. But as long as your concerned, it feels magical to be up here in the mountains, under the Azzurre sky, and enjoying the company of family and new friends.

I helped with chores, sat in the sun, changed my Facebook and phone language to Italian, and overall had another restful day.

One thing I really love about life here is the informality of it. A lot of Italian food is messy, and you know this if you’ve ever sat down to eat a bowl of spaghetti and slurped the strands of sauce covered yumminess so that half of it ended up on the corners of your mouth instead. No one judges you for using your hands to help grasp a piece of meat. It’s relaxing.

Anyway, that is all for tonight, I’m aiming to wake up at a decent time!

June 1, 2014

Sunday Snoozeday

I love how in most countries Sunday is the day for ultimate relaxation. Sundays always have a quietness about them, the timid day of the week. And in Italy, a quiet Sunday after a late night Saturday was well received.

Few people who travel get to actually experience it like the locales. Travel guides will always tell you to check out the local spots and visit local places, but that is not the same as returning to a home filled with family. Oftentimes, we romanticized the places we dream about going to. We imagine them as fairytales and as we wander through the storybook streets we miss out on our individual experience.

This trip, thus far, has given me a great insight to the lives my family here live. It’s not always that romanticized version, it’s similar to my life at home, the house chores and errands. And that’s what mostly this Sunday was about.

I woke up late again since my cousin, his friends and I had a late night. We went bowling, which is something a tourist (especially from America) would never do in Italy. As explained to me, Italians do like to bowl, especially in the winter when there’s little else to do. I’ve noticed my family spends a lot of time outdoors, which makes perfect sense since it is ridiculously beautiful. The wonderful (meraviglioso) thing about going bowling is that there is no explanation needed and the universal enjoyment precedes the language barrier. After a game, we went upstairs to the arcade. I played foosball which is something I’ve maybe played twice in my life. My skills were pretty bad but I started to get a better grasp at the end of the second match. We moved on to air hockey and to be honest I am quite dope at it. I can handle an air hockey table like no one’s business.

My cousin and his friends played a few other arcade games, from a sorry attempt of a DDR-like game and also a shooting game. I noticed all the arcade games were in English. Take note Italian companies, create Italian-language arcade games could be an untapped market!!

We left the arcade/bowling alley and headed back to Sora which has quite an abundant nightlife for young people. We grabbed a table in a piazza, ordered beers, and people-watched. There was a lot of people-watching to do because there were, of course, a lot of people. If there’s any generalization I can make accurately about Italians it is that they are born with two things: natural impeccable fashion sense and a built-in GPS for traversing the multitude of narrow windy roads.

Our drive last night was lovely. It was a bit foggy (nebbioso) and the clouds masked the mountains, but you could still see the little villages (borghi) lights. They looked as if they were floating in the night sky. A little piece of heaven.

We got back to the house just after 2 in the morning and even though I tried to wake up early, I couldn’t.

Sunday was spent meandering around the house, helping with laundry and other small chores, and plenty of time playing with the kittens. I also Skyped with my dad to wish him a happy birthday. My aunt and uncle took me to visit some other family, their house was even higher on the mountain. I regret not taking a picture but I’ll probably be back there in the next few weeks anyways.

Two things about this Sunday: No church and we had 3 meals. Now, personally I’m not very religious and consider myself more spiritual, but I know religion is big in the family so I was surprised when we didn’t put on our Sunday best and be on our merry way. And also, I ate 3 meals today, which every Sunday of my life I’ve had 2 because “that’s what we Italians do.” Well, perhaps no. I had breakfast; cereal, yogurt, and of course an espresso. Lunch was fettucini with mushrooms (i fungi) and meat, and for dinner we ordered pizza.

I want to wrap this post up because it’s getting too long, but I did want to make a quick mention of a conversation I had at lunch. Now, at every meal it is insisted that I just keep piling food on my plate, so today when I tried and failed to communicate that I was full and I didn’t want to gain weight, my aunt told me not to worry. She told me no one is going to judge you if you gain weight. That was nice. Hand me over those seconds (and thirds!).

Italians have welcomed the sport with open arms. My cousins tell me they bowl often in the winter when it's cold and there's nothing else to do, sounds familiar. — Italians have welcomed the sport with open arms. My cousins tell me they bowl often in the winter when it’s cold and there’s nothing else to do, sounds familiar.

November 8, 2013

Still excited….

I’m still excited over NaNoWriMo, so I decided I just need to share my Facebook photo/cover photo. This is on my personal account. If you’d like to follow me, please follow on my professional public page, Laura T. Cerrone.

Look how glorious this is! I have a crown! And the infamous British wartime motivational saying fine-tuned to feed the needs of a NaNoWriMo-er (that is getting to be a doozy typing out constantly, haha).

And now, back to the story!!

June 14, 2013

=D

My brother, the computer genius, is in town and did some tinkering on the back-end of my WordPress. Finally it is easier to use and allows me to manuever more on the site. While my knowledge of WordPress is functional, I definitely needed a re-instruction on a few parts.

I’ve definitely been checking out different outlets to write for. There’s a story in my head that I’ve been trying to get down for weeks but every time I sit down with a pad of paper the thoughts evade me. I may have to turn to my app Dragon Dictation to get it down for me. Sometimes just speaking out loud unfilitered and unhinged is the best way to extract ideas. Dragon Dictation is a pretty good app for that. It converts speech into text, although not perfectly accurate, and you do have to speak slower (I’m a NYer it’s hard to slow down and keep my thoughts afloat), it saves time and protects artistic liberty.

I’m also working on branding myself, creating a logo and template that really describes the essence of who I am and the talent I have to offer. I have a few designs in mind but nothing has come to fruition, I’ll keep you all informed with how it comes along.

January 27, 2012July 19, 2012

German Newspaper Layout

I love this new layout, and I think it will be something I can handle.

Especially with how full my semester will be. I’m taking six classes, 17 credits worth. I’m also on the e-board in two clubs. Not to mention I go to the gym and try to have a bit of a social life.

I just got done with my first week of classes for the new semester. One my classes starts next week so I haven’t been to all of them.

My classes are:

Text Me! – This class is about computer mediated communication. I’ve found this topic really interesting especially with my fascinaition (and addiction) to social media. But now I get to learn the history of all of it, like how the Justice Department and ARPANET are two major factors in me being able to write this on my laptop.

Literature of Journalism – My professor speaks the truth in this class. Literary journalism is something I’ve never had the chance to do, and it will be fun to add a flair of creativity to personal narratives while social commentating the way I see things. Love it already.

Arts Writing – Writing about music, film, art, dance, theater… and the whole rest of the gambit. My professor was a editor of the Rolling Stones magazine. Cannot wait for her anecdotal stories and report on some of my biggest interests with integrity and the tools I need.

Investigative Journalism – Probably my favorite so far. Taught by a New York Times reporter, I learned more in the first class than I ever did before. This was the perfect class to take, I can’t wait to take the knowledge I gain and translate it into real impactful stories.

Advanced Editing – This class runs an online newspaper. We are in charge of everything, assigning the stories, editing, fact-checking… we’re pretty self-efficient. Getting a taste of ‘the real thing’ should brace me with a little more backbone for actual (and virtual) newsrooms.

Intercultural Interaction – This is the class I start next week and have once a week for seven consecutive weeks. It’s my one credit modular course and all I know is that I will be working on some sort of project that involves a student from a foreign university. Sounds pretty exciting, pretty stoked!

So, with all that said, most of these classes are upper division. Which means the workload is…is… scary. I’m looking at my homework list from this first week and don’t know how I will pull it altogether