Returning Home (to Italy!)

Two days ago I flew home to Italy...this was the view from the puddle jumper that took me from Munich to Trieste as we passed over the Dolomites.  What a difference three weeks away can make!  The mountains were covered with fresh snow that fell just a few days ago (there was no snow three weeks ago).  It made me excited to think about skiing this winter, something we plan to do since we have world class downhill skiing within a couple of hours from home.  This is about the same distance we traveled from our home in NJ to the icy slopes of the Catskills to ski last winter.  I think we'll like the fresh powder in the Alps a little better.

Another big thing that changed since I was last here in Italy is the bird diversity around Duino.  With the first snowfall of the year in the mountains it seems like many birds finally migrated down to the coast.  Birding has been really good the past two mornings as a front approached from the Adriatic to our south.  In fact, this morning was the best birding since we moved to Italy!  There were huge flocks of birds, mostly various species of tits (birds in the Paridae family...like our Chickadees and Titmice back home), mixed together with lots of new species that we hadn't seen yet in Italy.  A few of the notable ones were Blackcaps, Icterine Warblers, Goldcrests and Firecrests.  Not a tremendous amount of diversity, but more than we've seen before and there were just huge numbers of most species.  Looks like our coast could be a good migrant trap for sure, just like I suspected!

E 'bello essere di nuovo in Italia!

Ciao,
Tom

Proud to be an American?

This morning I went to a student-organized meeting to discuss the video posted this week on YouTube that is blamed for the attacks against American (and other) Embassies in Libya, Yemen and Sudan.  If you haven't heard about it, read more here and here.  A Muslim student organized the meeting to discuss the video and it's repercussions and to show support for all religions and promote tolerance within our small and very diverse community.

I have not seen the trailer, but I understand that it is ridiculously offensive to Muslims.  I do not plan to watch it;  I feel that every time the video is viewed, it only adds fuel to the fire.  The origins of the video are hazy--depending on your source, it was either a Jewish or Coptic Christian person--but what isn't hazy in the minds of the people in the Middle East is that the video came from America.

This was my first brush with just how strongly America is disliked by other parts of the world.  I'm sure it won't be the only one.

Listening to students from all countries and all religions talk about how upset they were by the video, and, in turn, by the killing of people during protests, was a bit reassuring.  I think that through education we can and will change the world, and hearing young people speak of peace and tolerance of differences gives me hope.

Many students were in total disbelief that the US government couldn't "do something" to the person who made the video.  Put him in jail, they said.  He is horrible and doesn't deserve to be with his family.

I never truly understood how the fundamental right to free speech, taken for granted in the US, is completely foreign to so many people.  These are smart kids, who like to learn and chose to come to school here, and they really didn't understand that "doing something" to the producer of the video, who was clearly morally wrong but had broken no laws, was simply not an option.  I was proud to be one of two Americans at the meeting who, while certainly not condoning the message of the film, explained the concept of completely free speech and how it was fundamental to who we are.

I also realized that with the right to free speech comes a tremendous amount of responsibility.  Just as I am fully aware that the actions of a few people against the US Embassies is not indicative of how everyone in those countries feels, I hope that they also realize that the free speech of one American is not representative of how everyone thinks.  And that we will not change our fundamental rights as Americans even though people do stupid things with those rights.

I realize was a bit heavy, compared to the usual posts regarding food and sightseeing.  But I'm just exercising my free speech.  And you have the right to read or ignore as you see fit!  :)

Venezia!

It was so appropriate to approach Venice for the first time on a boat!  I went with a group of about 50 students and we rode on a bus from Duino to Punta Sabbioni and then it was a 20 minute ride on this ferry to Venice.

I knew that there were no cars in Venice, but until you are there, you don't really understand that.  Everything is on water.  Roads are not straight, they are often narrow and windy.  Because everything is on the water, the water is of no use if you try to use it as a landmark to get around (I'm used to an ocean being either West or East).  I didn't have time to see too much but I got a nice taste of the city and I'm looking forward to taking Tom back when he gets here!  Here are a couple of highlights from the day. . .

Narrow canals!

Beautiful churches

Narrow streets

Above the Grand Canal

Gondola Factory (they don't make them here anymore, but they fix them)

St. Mark's Basilica-I want to go inside next time!

So many sun-dried tomatoes!

The train station (I think. . . maybe a church?)

Another view of the Grand Canal

Good bye, Venice! 

First Bike Ride!

Since we arrived in Italy, I have made an effort to accept every offer to do something.  A trip to the grocery store, a cup of coffee, dinner, a walk, anything.  I know we will only be comfortable here if we meet people and get out of the house, so I just don't say no.
At about 6:30 tonight, I had an invitation for a bike ride.  I hadn't had dinner and was about to go for my own walk, but I couldn't say no.  I have a bike borrowed from our new neighbors and I was excited to take it for a spin.
One of my colleagues rode over and we were off.  I was a bit worried when she had full biking gear--shoes that snap into the pedals and everything, but I figured I'd do my best to hold my own.  And I'm so glad I did!  We took a wonderful trip up into "the Carso" (more about the Carso in another post), which I've recreated as best I can in this picture.  I really have little idea where we actually were, but I caught some village names and did my best to show you the route.  Our path was approximately H-G-C-D-E-F-G-H.  (Or it could have been entirely different)

The villages were just as I'd imagined, but I've been here long enough to have a little context.  Crumbling stone walls overgrown with vines, small farms with vineyards, orchards and gardens, and little restaurant/bars set among the few houses.  There was almost no traffic, and we could have ridden into Slovenia if we'd had a bit more daylight (I would have liked gears that I trusted for that too).  The G-C stretch was all uphill, and I finally got some of the cardio work I've been missing since our arrival.  Upon returning to G, we agreed a stop for gelato was in order and I enjoyed Chocolate and Strawberry.  That gave me just enough energy to get back to Duino.
I can't wait to go back and explore more, and I'm happy that I have a friend to ride with!  She promised to let me tag along whenever I want so hopefully by the time our bikes arrive I'll know my way around a bit better.  Although I can certainly think of worse places to get lost. . .

Tomorrow I'm off to Venice.  I've only heard great things about it, and I'm pretty excited.  If you've been waiting for pictures, I'm sure there will be plenty after tomorrow's trip!

Birds of Duino

I was just looking at our blog and realized we haven't even mentioned BIRDS yet!  By our posts so far you'd think all we were doing was eating, but we've actually gone birding around town quite a bit (mostly on our way to get food).  We haven't seen that many species yet...there aren't that many birds in Duino right now.  It may be due to the severe drought that they are having.  If we get out of town and find some water maybe we'll find more birds?

The very first bird we saw in Italy was not new to us...it was the Eurasian Collared Dove.  While this "should" have been new to us, this bird was introduced to North America and is now very abundant in many parts of the US (especially down in FL).  Besides this species, most of the other birds were completely new for us.  In fact, we still see at least one new species just about every day.  This makes birding in Duino very exciting despite the lack of diversity right now, but this will change as soon as migration gets into gear (our area should be very good during migration).

Here's a list of the birds we've seen in Duino so far:

Collared Dove
Rock Pigeon
Shag
Yellow-legged Gull
Common Gull
Moorhen
Peregrine Falcon
House Sparrow
House Martin
Barn Swallow
Alpine Swift
Magpie
Blackbird
Great Tit (maybe the most common bird in Duino)
Blue Tit
Coal Tit
Long-tailed Tit
Jay
Willow Warbler
Wood Warbler
Hooded Crow
Green Finch
Chaffinch
Hawfinch
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Collared Flycatcher
Black-eared Wheatear
Pied Wagtail

Hopefully Kristen will add to our list while I'm back in the US!  When I get back to Italy I'll start posting some bird photos...I've had some requests already but just haven't had much time to do any photography yet.

Ciao,
Tom