Bologna's Political Climate

It's no secret that the Bolognese, "the red," lean towards the left on the political spectrum. In fact, all of Emilia-Romagna, the province in which Bologna resides, is fairly liberal. In contrast to Rome, one would be hard-pressed to find a political conservative in the city. Though the "Partito Democratico" functions under the name of the democratic party, Americans may quickly discover that this party does not resemble the Democratic National Committee of the United States. While the group as a whole acknowledges exclusively democratic principles, the ideas of a significant number of its members align more closely with communism. The party regularly organizes "public gatherings," in which Bologna residents may congregate and share in their similar negative views of the current political system in Italy. These "gatherings" usually include a guest speaker, such as a political science or law professor from the university, a similar political group, or a live band.

Other evidence of Bologna's current political climate may be easily found on the graffiti that seemingly spans every wall of every building. Italians are a straightforward bunch; it is common to see a handful of extremist political messages scrawled on buildings on a walk to or from class. These writings have simply become a part of the scenery, because as soon as a wall is repainted, it is tagged within days.

For more information about the Partito Democratico, click here.

Le cose che mi mancano dagli Stati Uniti

After living here for one month, I am starting to miss certain things from the United States. This short post is a list of the things I am missing most (besides friends and family, because that is a given):

1. Dogs: While there are quite a few dogs in Bologna, I don't get the same regular contact with dogs that I do in the United States.
2. Culinary Diversity: Bologna is known as the gastronomical capitol of Italy, and quite possibly the world. While the food here is absolutely delicious, the only non-Italian restaurants I've seen are Chinese. As such, I'm craving other cuisines, specifically Mexican and Indian.

Italian Culinary Diversity: an American pizza on the left, and Italian one on the right

3. A Centralized University System: The University of Bologna is the oldest in Europe, founded in the 12th century. Partially because of its medieval beginnings, and partially because of the laid back Italian mindset, the University is structured as a collection of departments, independent of one another. Students don't register for classes until right before the final exam, meaning that there is no way of determining how many students are in a class. This results in lots of last minute changes of course times and locations, making the beginning of the semester difficult to handle.
4. Accessibility to Basic Conveniences: There are two basic things Italy seems to have a lack of - water and bathrooms. While water can be purchased at low prices in markets around town, water at restaurants usually comes at a high price - almost as much as the cheapest bottle of wine. As such, it is easy to become dehydrated when without a water bottle of your own.  Additionally, stores, cafes (which is referred to as a bar in Italian), and even many restaurants do not have bathrooms available for customer use. Therefore, one must always be sure to use their own bathroom before going out in order to avoid being stranded without anywhere to go.
5. American Idioms: This summarizes English language exposure in general, but idioms are specifically difficult to translate. However, this can also provide for some easy entertainment. For example, the other day I was watching Modern Family (with Italian subtitles), and one character told another that she was "hotter than the sidewalk in Los Angeles on the 4th of July." The subtitles read, "Sei piu' appetitosa di un panettone farcita di mascarpone e nutella," which translates to, "You are more appetizing than panettone (a Christmas sweet bread) stuffed with mascarpone and nutella."