In Which We Learn to Make Italian Food

Daniele and I were pouring over the list of field trips and experiences we wanted our Miami University students to have while in Firenze.
This was several months ago, still in Oxford, Ohio.
Uffizi Gallery: Yes.
Galleria dell'Accademia (The David!): Yes.
San Miniato al Monte Basilica, with its extraordinary vista of the city: Yes.
"What about an Italian cooking lesson?" I asked him, hopefully.
As a Florentine, Daniele is understandably proud of the world-class institutions for which his city is known.
But I teach an entire Advanced Storytelling class framed around food writing, and I love how food can teach so many sophisticated journalistic techniques.
Still, was my request too... crass?
Daniele stopped, considered. "Certainly," he replied, waxing poetic about his wife's own pasta-making talent.
***
And so here we are at In Tavola, near Firenze's Piazza de Santo Spirito, mesmerized as Chef Fabrizio energetically instructs and then prods each student to roll, roll, roll the pasta; pinch the ravioli edges; stir, stir, stir.
Here's one scene -- featuring (left to right) Kara Pietrowski, Abby Kelly, Annie Lynch and Lindsay Clark -- making ravioli and fettuccine.
I'll link to some of the students' own writing about this experience as they post them on their Foreign Correspondent blogs.

Ah, sì. Mi Sento a Casa in Italia

The River Arno at sunset June 9, 2015.

When I left Italia after the summer of 2010, I was relieved. I found myself constantly telling people, "Go as a tourist. But don't try to live there."
The Amanda Knox case was in high gear then.
The summer in Florence had been hot and complicated.
I missed my husband, children, friends.
I missed my garden and Friday night barbecues at our swim club and my dogs.
Never will I return to Italy, I vowed.
And I meant it.
***
But here I am, teaching journalism again in Firenze.
This time, I feel... comfortable.

On the Bright Side...

While sifting through the 50 photos my Italy students sent from our trip to Venice, one person kept re-appearing, a chameleon with a charming, genuine smile.
La vie de la partie.
In fact, you'll find him dancing with a street musician in my own post below.

Justin Russikoff is not a Miami University guy, but joins us from Penn State.
If I ever am privileged enough to receive the url to his blog, a requirement for my class, I'll share it here.

This week, my students are crafting scenes observed in quiet moments (and some rowdy ones) while traveling. Read them via the links at right.

I could have written a scene including Justin, but doesn't this visual - taken on a Venetian river taxi - say it all?
UPDATE: Link to Justin's blog. Someday, you may see this link on Comedy Central.

Ciao, Summer 2010!

Just learned that I will be teaching in Miami University's summer program in Florence again in 2010!
How cool is that?

One of my favorite Miami students, Louisville native Kaitlin Walter, will be joining the group. Guest No. 1 for my Thursday night dinner-at-Annie's events.

If you haven't seen the video short that Summer 2009 Journalism student Lauren Doyle produced about the program, you can find it here.

Meanwhile, the Berlusconi government in Italy is on the defensive again, this time accused of paying off warlords in Afghanistan to protect its troops stationed there. Check it out. No surprise that they did it, but the French troops who eventually took over the Italian area apparently did not know about the payoffs and were attacked.

Extraordinary Academic Experiences

The Miami University class I am teaching in Florence, Italy, this summer - Journalism 350 Reporting on European Culture and Travel - already has had its share of extraordinary speakers.

Nick Verreos, the L.A.-based principal of the Nikolaki design house and a beloved Project Runway reality TV contestant, visited for two days earlier this month.

The feisty Verreos accompanied the 22 students to the Polimoda International Institute of Fashion Design and Marketing for an insider look at the role of fashion in Italian business and culture. Then he inspired them with a talk about his own life and business.

The following week, Noah Charney, an expert on global art crime, talked to Miami students about organized crime's role in the theft and trafficking of art pieces. He's been the subject of two New York Times pieces; find a profile here.

Now comes word that Rachel Donadio has accepted an invitation to speak to Miami journalism students here. Donadio is the Rome-based New York Times/International Herald Tribune correspondent. The class already has reveled in her reporting on media mogul cum Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and his alleged sex scandals, especially a recent piece when Libyan leader Muammar el-Quaddafi came to visit.

And in the days before she visits, journalism students will get an insider view of the Catholic church's role in present Italian society from local religious figures.

Wish I could take credit for these incredible visitors to an already unusual journalism class. But most of this was brainstormed by Miami Florence Program Director Mark Bernheim, who conceived and has run this summer workshop for many years.

Bravo, Mark Bernheim! Would that all journalists could rub elbows with such interesting figures in a six-week span. This journalist has rarely had such luck.