Yesterday... 1st Day of Classes (PG-13) & Zebras

Yesterday was my first day of classes.  Tuesdays are my longest school days because I go from 8 am in the morning until 8:30 pm at night.  Hence why I am writing yesterday's post a day late since I came back exhausted!  I do get about a 3 hour break in the middle of the day to eat and relax.  


So my day began at about 6:30 am... I know, early right?  Despite what my brother might tell you, I CAN wake up early on a consistent basis on my own.  (love you Chris).  The usual breakfast for me will probably include eggs or cereal [basic brands of corn flakes or special K] along with some type of fruit [apple, banana, orange].  Most of the breakfast shops, aka pastries and cappuccinos, do not open until 7:30 or 8 am.  Since my class starts at 8, it is just too close of a call at the moment, plus I think it is cheaper and healthier my way.  A pastry for breakfast EVERYday... I really wonder how so many Italians stay thin with that eating habit?  


My Italian language class starts me off for the day and I think it will be the most difficult one of the five that I have since I have not taken an Italian class in about a year.  It will definitely be one of the most rewarding in the end.  


As soon as my Italian class ends on Tuesdays, I have to hustle to my cooking class at 9.  Our first class we made a three course meal: antipasta, pasta, dolci.  My group was responsible for the pasta.  The whole meal was delicious and super easy to make... Good news, we are required to make recipe books!  

Thanks to this class I also now know how to say 'I am full' in Italian.  I am pretty sure I won't be needing to eat lunch on Tuesdays after this class.  Mmmmm


My last class of the day is Concepts and Strategies for Design (Retail) and it is 5 hours long (already subtracting the 30 min dinner break).  This class is my main design studio class and it is taught to us by a native of Firenze.  He is very sweet and wears Aladdin pants! :D  They look sooooooo comfortable.  Anyways, this class will consist of a few field trips, one of which will be to MILAN!!!  We actually went on a field trip at the end of class to a modern art exhibit.  Now I have never been the hugest fan of modern art, but the Modern Art Museum is my favorite of the art museums in Fort Worth, so I figured this couldn't be too bad.  Modern Art is definitely different.  


At this exhibit, there were things I never could have imagined in an art exhibit.  Some things were very cool to see with one piece looking like a car was coming out from the center of the earth to a log cabin type house entirely made of bread.  (yes you could even walk inside it!)  For us Interior Design Majors, this piece was our favorite, even though it did have a slightly depressing take on home life with the bread crumbling everywhere.

There was also an inflatable naked man that used to be floating over a park in Milan.  Since it had to be contained in the exhibit, it required slight deflation... 3 guesses on what part they decided to let the air out of.  No wonder he looks so sad.

The two most shocking pieces (in my opinion), I did not take pictures of.  

[PG-13 WARNING]

So as we were wandering through the exhibit a women dressed in a uniform shoo's us to the right because a live modern art piece is about to begin.  The 6 of us (girls) and our teacher walk over to where a few giant photos are displayed.  Another woman, dressed in the same female exhibit uniform, throws her orange scarf on the ground.  She then proceeds to SEDUCTIVELY take off her jacket, shirt and skirt while slowly walking in circles. Yes, gentleman, we witnessed a woman strip down into just her black bra & tights and was called living modern art.  I am not sure the difference of this living art and a strip club, but I guess the art exhibit was free.  As we to walk away in efforts to avoid watching her put all her clothes back on in the same slow and seductive manor, Sarah asks Teal to pose by an opening in the wall so she can get a cool shot of her with one of the art pieces in the background.  I suddenly realized what the art piece actually is.  Quickly, I run over to Sarah and go, "You know what that is right?"  She looks at me confused.  I inform her that it is a giant peptobismal colored sculpture of G.W. Bush f*#^@$% a pig.  She adjusts her camera angle and takes the picture.  Whew!  THAT could have been awkward.  

There were also videos and projection screens of very different styles of film-making.  One of the dark rooms had 3 screens playing at the same time.  It seemed to be the same film at 3 different parts or at least with the same characters.  

It was an interesting concept, yet the video itself was creeeeeepyyyy.  The 2 characters seemed to be in gas masked animal costumes.  One was a panda and the other one was either a bear or an elephant.  

In one video stream, the two seemed to be tracing the floor patterns with their hands, where as in another they were wandering around a giant room that had glass cases which contained motionless gas masked animal costumes.  It was very eerie.  The right video stream would show a gas masked animal slowly being lowered from the ceiling motionless overlooking the other two on the floor.  At this point, I was holding on to Teal's arm saying, "ok this is SO CREEPY, it could be a horror film!"  Tealy then turns to me saying, "Veronica, you are going to wake up to me wearing one of the gas masked animal costumes over you at night..."  Not cool, not cool.  

We ended up leaving the exhibit, after passing the woman undress another time.  Overall the exhibit was an experience.  Not sure if it was a good or bad one, but an experience nonetheless.  I wonder if the people exhibition staff get a kick out of watching people like me {awkwardly} experiencing the artwork.  Probably.  We rode the bus train to and from the exhibit with our teacher which was helpful since we have already been warned about the consequences of not validating your ticket when you get on board.  Supposedly, if you fail to validate your ticket, someone will kick you off and walk you to the nearest ATM to make you pay them 200 euro CASH.  

After getting off the bus/train (it basically looks like a modern trolley), our class started to cross since we got the green walking person light when an old lady on a bicycle almost hits my friend.  Our design teacher (with the Aladdin pants) tells us, "You always have to be careful on the zebras."  I just go, "the zebras?"  All confused because I am not sure if that is a bus line or a name for a type of bicycle.  He then motions to the next crosswalk and goes "you know, the zebras."  I just about died of laughter!  It is official, our studio design teacher is so cool!  He reminds me of an Italian male version of Julie.  I love it.  

1st day of classes in Italy.  I must end with the sign at the entrance of art exhibit,  :)

because we all have to remember...

Just a reminder, more pictures can usually be viewed under the Flickr Gallery!