And time ticks on here in Macerata at pretty much the same rate as other parts of the world, though it's a little more relaxed here and I feel like I have more time on my hands. However, this doesn't mean I am sitting around doing nothing. By far the most common question I am getting from people is "But what are you doing with yourself there?" as if there is actually nothing to do outside the sprawling metropolis of Melbourne. So in this post I will attempt to inform people what I have been doing since I arrived in Macerata.
1. Enrolment, administration, paperwork & registrations ad infinitum
Make no mistake, there is enough of this when you come to a different country. I’ve had to enrol in the university, apply for a bus pass, apply for a “codice fiscale” (don’t ask me what that is in English, some social security number), apply for a university canteen pass (well I haven’t actually done this yet, I took one look at the application and gave up) and go through the traumatic experience of applying for residency. And the bureaucracy here is quite astonishingly sluggish; it appears to be impossible to get anything accomplished at one location. You arrive somewhere, take a ticket and wait in line for an hour, then you get a form filled out and stamped and are told to go somewhere else. And of course, when you get to the next place, it is probably closed, because Italian office hours are the most unpredictable of any I have ever seen. One place is open from 8:30-12:30, the next one from 2:30-5:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and etc. The residency application is a story in itself, but I won’t put it here, it’s rather long and I wouldn’t want to bore you guys. Anyway, the point is, I’m glad I’ve had time on my hands, because it hasn’t been an issue for me. I’ve been able to just go home and come back the next time the office is open, no stress :-)
2. Soaking up the sun in preparation for yet another winter
Since I am probably going to miss most of the Australian summer, I feel justified in getting as much sun as I can now. So I’ve been chilling out on the terrace reading, and I took the train out to the beach last weekend and got suuunbuuurnt. But it was a beautiful day and a lovely beach, though not as nice as those I saw in Sardinia.
3. Finding my way around the rabbit warren that is Macerata
I found the labyrinth of streets, particularly in the old city, to be quite daunting at first, but I’ve been taking walks there almost every day, in the hope that when uni commences next week I will be able to find my way around and get to classes without my nose stuck in a map. See, the University of Macerata isn’t like La Trobe Uni, or indeed any other university I have seen in Australia, where you have campuses, and everything you need is located on the campus. It’s basically just buildings scattered around the city, with classrooms, lecture theatres, faculty offices, and at least 8 different libraries strewn all over the place.
I’ve also been checking out cheap places to eat, since I hate cooking, and buying groceries from the local supermarkets. Grocery shopping is actually a huge project, because none of the brands are familiar (except Nutella) and so I have to actually read what all the products are before I buy them. And I have to say I have yet to discover a shop that sells edible bread, apparently it’s not a staple here unless used in pizza.
I discovered the most gorgeous public gardens here at the end of last week, and have been heading down there almost every day since. I think they must be the only flat place in Macerata, because practically the whole town seems to go jogging there in the evenings.
4. Practicing my Italian
In many places I have been giving out that I am Norwegian, so that people won’t automatically start speaking English to me. It has worked fairly well, and I feel like I’m getting quite a bit of training. The subjunctive tense has, however, been nothing less than a disaster for me. Every time I open my mouth with this tense, the locals gape in shock and either give me this huge thumbs-up or start to laugh. It’s really embarrassing!!! One Italian girl said to me after I had used it (and I quote): “I giovani in Italia dicono che il congiuntivo è morto.” #Nicky #Luigi #Michele: well that was three wasted years of blood, sweat and tears learning it... :-)
Ahhh this post was supposed to be a short one, but it ran away with me again. I’ll keep you guys posted on other stuff that happens here, particularly when my classes start. Ciao for now!
LE11
