Al’Academia Italiana & Carnevale
Buongiorno!
Here we are in Salerno. A walk along the Lungomare in our first few days here was all we needed to reassure ourselves that our favourite things to see and do are still here! This should come as no surprise since many of them are probably just the same as they have been for the last 1000 years!
In this post, we want to cover a bit of what’s been going on at l’Academia Italiana (language school/scuola) and to introduce you to the Italian festival known as « Carnevale ».
Prior to coming to the Academia this year, we asked to have our lessons designed for practical situations, such as grocery shopping, dining in restaurants and choosing fresh fruits and vegetables in farmers’ markets. So we are learning the words and phrases for ordering in a restaurant or bar, and doing the grocery shopping in a supermarket or haggling in an open fresh market. Our homework is to use these phrases in conversation with waiters, baristas, cashiers, butchers, bakers, market vendors, etc., to place orders, ask how to prepare certain foods at home and to pay the bills in each type of situation. What a blast! We have taken this on with gusto!!
Our first assignment was to go for an Italian style breakfast at « il bar ». We were challenged to try something other than what we are comfortable ordering. In my case, I decided to try un caffe’ lungo with a « ciambella » (basically a chocolate-stuffed doughnut! Mmmm). Vince stuck with his regular cappuccino and tried a cornetto al cioccolato (rest assured, Antonio, that it was before 11:00 am when we ordered!). We sent these pictures to our instructor Rachele…
…and we passed!
Our second assignment was to try the next level of difficulty and that was making a reservation in Italian at a restaurant and ordering from the Italian menu!
We decided that we would go for lunch to Mama Rosa - one of our all-time favourite seafood restaurants in Salerno. I am proud to say that we confidently ordered a seafood minestrone zuppa to share and then I had the seafood risotto while Vince had a pasta with ‘frutti di mare’.
Ok, let’s move on to our second subject for today’s blog. This year, we’ve arrived in time to enjoy all the pageantry surrounding Carnevale. It is a traditional festival that has deep-rooted origins. As in most places in Europe during the Middle Ages, superstitions were widespread. People would dress up in costumes and masks and make loud noises to ward off evil spirits. Today, it is called Carnavale and most people we have spoken with have said it is essentially a farewell party to eat, drink and have fun before Lent! It is celebrated over many weekends in the month before Lent with parades, masks and lots and lots of confetti (or, as we learned in scuola, coriandoli)!
Hahahahahahahaha!
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