Idiosyncracies and such

Florence is boring and there is not much to do.

I could be in NYC right now, and that bothers me a lot.

I miss you all so much more than u could imagine.

:'(

-Edgar

Hmm…its been an interesting set of days.

My Italian Professore is named Carlo, and I love him so far. He’s very friendly, pretty interesting, highly interactive, and oozes of his nationality, which makes him wonderful! He asked for a presentation from us in Italian for today, so I will get working on it in a bit. I have it all written out, I just want to make sure I memorize it as best I can.

My professore for US/EU relations since WWII is very interesting as well. He is hardcore about his class, and taught last at Stanford. The syllabus gives a pretty good judgement of what I think I can expect this semester from him. The final will be a 14 to 16 page research paper on the topic of our choice that deals with the class. I want to tie in communications to whatever I decide to do, so that I not only enjoy it, but can dwell on my expertise. I’m thinking the privatization of the media as compared to government controlled media angencies could be explored. It may not be specific enough for the class, but if given the chance, I could mold it to make it work. Certainly there is a difference between our news outlets and the BBC, for example,. What that means at a global scale is unknown to me…but I would be eager to find out. But eh, this the first day, I hope a stroke of brilliance hits me with a wonderful idea. Damn, I wish Aurora was here, I could make her proud. The class though is 3 hours long…

I’ve realized that making lunch for myself is the most stressful part of my day, I will dwell on it another day as I want my Italian presentation to be top notch, but let me just say that four flour tortillas should not cost 3 Euro 60 cent, nor should the closest equivalent to muenster cheese be a blue/green stinky colored cheese. That is all.

-Edgar
ps- Oh Drea, Aurora is my communications teacher from last year. She is wonderful, just finished her first book (which Danny Tolli has assured me he has ordered…I’ll wait for the paperback) , and is the best dressed teacher I’ve ever had. She is Sex and the City personified, and she’s Canadian, which makes her even more awesome.

As I walk to class, converse with the locals, use public transportation, and eat gelato I notice life in Florence is not dissimilar to what I am accustomed to in NYC. Both city centers are generally similar, not in the aesthetic sense, but nice calf muscles are the reward of dealing with everyday urban life for a lengthy extent of time anywhere.

Piazza Mercato Centrale is not a huge change from Third Avenue at 11th Street. I don’t know if I was awaiting a huge alteration, but I guess I underestimated the power of my beloved urban landscape. I guess even the laidback Tuscan lifestyle can be lost in chaotic city streets. The energy between the East Village and downtown Florence is comparable, though I feel the East Village stays alive longer. Both are inhabited by everyday individuals during the day, only to be replaced at night by bar crawling American college students. I hear every language spoken on the street, and see people of all walks of life when I close my door and step unto the piazza, but as I recall the same could be said of New York.

There are differences, yellow taxi cabs are now motorcycles and vespas, and the odd porn shop in the west village is the odd gelateria in Firenze. But again, they are aesthetic differences. The culture is not that different, perhaps it seems similar to me, as I’ve been brought up with Mexican culture just as much as my American one. But whatever doesn’t add up to my American standards makes sense when I turn on my Mexican side. I sometimes think Florence smells like Mexico (not like Juarez or Chihuahua, but real Mexico), and surely there are some visual similarities.

This might be why the transition to Florence has been so swift and without much consequence. All my past experiences have been adding up and preparing me for now.

Its not like I’m a suburbanite thrown into an urban jungle for the first time. I guess I was ready to come, and this was a gradual transition for me. So everyday life in Florence is not that different than being a New Yorker, but there is enough history, beauty and just enough of a cultural difference to make it all worthwhile.

Peace, Spice, and Adventure,
-Edgar

Chris and I spend about an hour each day and night watching episodes from these two terrific shows. I brought Will and Grace with me to Florence, while Chris is providing multiple seasons of Sex and the City for our enjoyment. Our laptops take turns being our primary source of entertainment.

I had never gotten into Sex and the City until earlier this week. The only episode I’d seen was when Geri appeared in one of the last seasons and provided a pretty awful minute-long performance. The show is great, and I wish I had seen it before I moved to NYC, as A LOT of what the characters deal with is true and does happen in the city. A person’s love life in the city is nothing like the story book romances preached about and witnessed in the south or more traditional America. I remember when Liz and I had one of our first heart to heart conversations at 3rd north near the beginning of my NYU career and how we related to how conservative we felt being from Texas, in that sense. I guess it can happen when u move to any big city or are thrown into the real world, but being wee lil Texans thrown into Manhattan was pretty extreme, yet the greatest thing that could have happened to both of us.

In the past few years I’ve been asked which of the four main characters of Sex and the City I was most like, and as I was generally unfamiliar with the show, I had been unable to answer. With only a week’s viewing, I can give a preliminary answer. I think I’m most like Charlotte, in the sense that she is a bit more traditional than the other three, and a stronger believer in love and romance. She however is not blinded by romance, she is still a strong independent woman, but with a dream of a future filled with love and companionship. I also identify w/ Carrie, as I write my feelings and reach conclusions, or more often new questions through my writing. While I don’t have a weekly column, I did use to write in a similar style during my younger newspaper days at Franklin. My livejournal, as banal and childish as it may seem, has been my almost-daily column on my view of the world (much of which focused on love, its strengths and weaknesses) for well over a year. Carrie many times sees the world in the way that I do, but I feel she is more logical than I could ever dream to be, and less like a string puppet controlled by the threads of emotion that govern my movements.

Sometimes I wish I could be more like Miranda, as she is everything I am not. However, I think I’ll just quietly appreciate her sometimes violent comments and unrestrained demeanor. Edgar is a lover, not a fighter, and that will never change. At the same time I do have the little known and limited devilish, bitchy side. It rarely makes an appearance, and I can usually keep it at bay, by releasing some naughtiness through playing jokes on people, but it has seeped out before. I think Gary has been a witness, or maybe he just calls me a bitch out of love…regardless, sigh, I miss my fave gaysian. Have fun whoring it up at 3rd North, Gary! lol, I kid.

As for Samantha, she’s just slutty, but I love her self confidence!

Speaking of whoring things up. I think my playful nature leads many people who meet me to initially think I am inclined to such ways. Those who know me well know I am the complete opposite. I may be playful, I may have a bit of a dirty mouth, and a somewhat crude sense of humor at times, but alas, Edgar keeps his goodies in the jar. I feel people have a much worse idea of me. Within the last two weeks I have been asked by two people if “I’m a little whore?” (once in El Paso, and once in Florence). I am being absolutely serious, and while I think its funny, I can’t help but wonder what people really think of me. Not that I care, but it leads a mind to wander. If there is a link people make between a “jizz” joke and sexual perversion, I’m curious to study the implications. Hmm…perhaps a thesis is in order. Though I am unsure as to what forms of research might be necessary.

Now Will and Grace has been a staple of my life for several years now, but it is new for Chris, so he is even more excited than I to see the episodes, which is fun. Its been a fun culture sharing experience, but not exactly the one I was expecting in Florence. Either way, I’m happy and love it all.

Peace, Spice, and Adventure,
-Edgar

Sorry I took ages to get u this Ape the Snake, but as u know very well, i suck at life. Here it is though!

Edgar Casillas
Villa Natalia
Via Bolognese 106
50139 Firenze
Italy

That is NYU in Florence’s mailing address. If you all want to send me letters, presents or surprises in the mail they can be done at that address. It would probably drive me wild, and would HAVE to mean a damn good spooning upon my return, in gratitude. No pressure though. Ooooh, thanks to Shawn for sending me something already, w00t! Knowing him it’ll be something either uber sketchy or Jewish, but regardless I’m excited. I’ll even forgive him for waking Chris and I the other night through his text messages. Just don’t do it again bitch!!!!

Yay ape, I finally did it! Keep snapping them fingers!

-Edgar

We arrived like superstars. One of the managers greeted us at the door, welcomed us, made us all VIP, gave us free shots and offered us a one Euro discount for every additional drink we would want. It was pretty glamorous I’m not gonna lie. Its one of those cases when u arrive at a place, stroll in and all eyes wander to you and your friends. For a brief moment all is good in the world. This is the reception being an American can offer you when u enter a Florentine dance club. The Euro may be worth more, but the dollar is still king.

The clientele of the club was mostly semi-drunk American college students and Italian men and women who were there to take advantage of their visitors. I don’t mean to attach “take advantage” with a negative connotation, as that is not always the case, but it is not infrequent either.

The girls in our party had not even stepped on the dance floor when there were Italian men all over them, dazzling their alcohol disoriented minds with a soft Italian accent, and being notably aggressive to make sure their prize would not escape. It took a good pull from Kate and I both to get Liz back from her dance partner.

Much to my disappointment I was not approached, harassed, and cooed to in an Italian accent, as the bar did not cater to my “scene,” aka: my people. The dancing was fun, overcrowded, a bit sweaty, but that is everyday life in Florence. No one escapes the summer sweat and grossness, especially in un refrigerated apartments. It is, however, less warm and humid than Manhattan was last Monday.

Ok, back to the club, the situation will be fixed as soon as I can get people to go with me to a Florentine gay bar. Apparently the scene here is vibrant, especially for a city its size, but alas Florence has seemed everything but gay to me. But yeah, I NEED to go to a gay club. This anomaly of not getting noticed even once freaked me out. Sure I complain about the occasional molestation at the OP, but Edgar likes his attention. A gay club should do the trick. I mean every time I’d give someone “the look” they’d move their eye’s to Kate’s breast instead. I cannot compete with such wonderful teats. Le Sigh
Chris and I have decided to ask the Director of NYU in Florence, the ever amusing and we believe gay himself Eric Canny(ie). He gives us directions to grocery stores, internet cafes, we figure, why not gay bars? Maybe he’d like to come along.
In any event, Chris and I have decided to go to London in a few weekends, stay in the SoHo area and experience gay London together. This will probably happen at the beginning of October.
It must be said that Edgar and Chris are pretty much the best roommates ever. We cook up a culinary storm every night. Yesterday for example we fed ourselves spinach and ricotta tortellini, with a tomato and provolone sauce, with grilled chicken house salad we made for ourselves. We are pretty awesome!

Today is the fist day of school, but I don’t have class until 6 this evening. It’s my Italian class that I’m super excited about. I hope my teacher is like Lucia, or else I might transfer out and get into her class. She is pretty much an Italian language goddess. Oh, I will have school supplies for my books! After initially forgetting the fact I came to Florence, to study abroad, study being the key term here, Chris and I found a 99 cent store, where true to US style, the dollar (Euro) store didn’t disappoint. I got 4 colorful little girl notebooks. One, I think, has a purple dinosaur with little floating fairies, or something like that. I’m set for NYU today! heck yes! I also bought pens, pencils, and a bright belt I thought was pretty funny.

Oh, I’ve been shopping a little bit! Or maybe a bit more than a little bit, but so as to keep the parentals from getting upset, I won’t go into much detail. Lets just say that European jeans fit better, new messenger bags are never a bad thing, and LEATHER is awesome. That is all.
Damn Americans have a ton of disposable income.

Oh and LOL, I got a call the other night at 2:30 in the morning from American Eagle in El Paso asking if I wanted to pick up some hours. I laughed…kinda made fun of Zenia and hung up. I thought I’d made my exit clear to everyone…guess not, or Zenia is just dumb.

Peace, Spice, and Adventure,
-Edgar

Today has been pretty fun. I was 3 hours late to orientation, but at least I went. Not many people bothered today. lol

Oooooooh! Today I ran into Yanel on the street. She’s my friend from El Paso who I worked at American Eagle with this summer. She’s only in Florence for 3 days, so it was uber lucky that I ran into her!

Ok, I’ll save ur time and not write out my long stories of the day (though there is much to tell) so that everyone can get to the pictures.

Here they are! ENJOY!
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Yay for the the first full day in Firenze. I have to say, it didn’t take even a full day to get pooped on by a bird. Yay for me! I guess that was my big welcome to the country.

I’m loving Florence at the moment. Today was our first time having to get to NYU’s campus outside of the city center, so that was quite the adventure. We all found which bus we had to get on, and when it arrived, a mob of probably around 40 NYU kids ran in, scaring the wary Italians inside. We had all assumed we would pay the bus driver while on our way in, but as we entered in the back and the bus was packed, we were unable to make it to the driver. We then shrugged our shoulders and didn’t think too much about it. Now campus is quite far from my apartment, so after a 10 minute walk to Piazza San Marcos we board a bus that takes about 15 minutes to get us up the hill to Villa Natalia, the entrance to campus. After mistakingly getting off one stop before our actual destination, we noticed that none of us had paid our fare. Again we shrugged and didn’t think too much about it. Twas not until orientation when the NYU staff was giving us tips for finding correct bus routes were we informed we each could have been fined 70 €. Yeah…that wasn’t good. But on the way back, we bought tickets and since there were no undercover cops, we didn’t get them authenticated (dated), which means we walked out with a ticket we can use again tomorrow. I need to stop being Mexican and actually pay for such things before I get arrested by Italian police. But if I recall, that was one of my list of goals during the trip, so whatevs. lol, the American embassy might ignore me in such time of need. But image conscience NYU will come to the rescue. Haha, I kid.

Speaking of which, NYU never seizes to impress me, not content with being the second largest land owner in Manhattan (second only to the Catholic Church…who would have thought?), it is in fact the largest landlord in Florence. Another random factoid I found interesting today was that our La Pietra campus here in Firenze was actually offered to Oxford before us, but for whatever reason, they decided not to take on the ambitious effort.

Its funny how being in Florence Americans are so easily set apart, not only from locals but from other foreign tourists. Chris and I play spot-the-American-games everytime we walk the streets and likewise, people approach me speaking English instead of Italian. They say it is largely by how we dress and carry ourselves, but I think mostly, as our advisor said, it is because we are loud.

Ironically, I started conversation with two elderly Spanish ladies who were looking for a meat market at like 5 in the afternoon. I warned them that at such a late hour, more than likely, their chances were not good. They asked me where I was from, I told them the United States, and they were like, oh we thought u looked Mexican. To which I replied, yes I am! My whole life I’ve gotten the opposite comment.

I have been told that about 40 of the upperclassmen students here at NYU are visiting from Duke. Now while I’m sure most Duke students are fine, nice, and probably contribute (I’m mean Iza goes to Duke, and she’s pretty alright) to our campus…this one Duke student, however, caused mayhem on our plane that was anything but a contribution.

The guy, who was flirting with another American girl, decided to run up to first class and steal a bottle of wine. He wasn’t sneaky or secretive about it, and boasted to all around him of his accomplishment. In addition to the 3 free small bottles of wine he was given in the regulary economy class, this huge, more expensive bottle was enough to get him and his lady pal drunk. His steal was so successful he went back to first class and stole a bottle of whiskey. About 20 minutes later the flight attendant comes in, starts yelling at him, and he begins a 2 hour battle w/ flight crew saying he didn’t steal anything, and that they were being ridiculous. He was being an abnoxious American prick who was belittling the French Air France crew. The girl then began screaming, ‘I don’t speak French’ to the crew, while they were speaking clear English but with a French accent. She then started saying ‘Senor, yo no hablo Frances’ just to aggravate them more. Luckily when the plane arrived a police report was filed, and hopefully French police will give him what he deserves, but he really upset me (in addition to the fact that his 6 hour flirting fest kept everyone from sleeping) I hate people like that, and they give the rest of our country a terrible reputation. We are all walking ambassadors, and he clearly wasn’t giving the country any help. A sweeter and nicer French crew could have not been had. I hate to stereotype, but i think that students who go to school in Manhattan and are immersed in a multitude of cultures everyday would not be so ignorant, though he is probably just one bad apple. There are dumb ass NYU students as well, but in different ways. Culture and diversity, I think, is something my school, and to a much greater extent, NYC prepares and shares with its students and inhabitants. In any event, such trash sould not be allowed to pollute our study abroad program. I saw this loser on the bus today, and I wish he, not I, had been pooped on by a Florentine pigeon.

I appologize for the randomness of my updates, but sooo much has been happening in such a short amount of time that my mind is a bit scattered trying to take it all in. I promised pictures, and they are on the way, but I am unsure as to how to get them all uploaded and online considering I don’t have internect access in my apartment. I don’t think they allow me to bring in my laptop and connect it at random cyber cafes, so if I have to go to NYU to do such a thing, I will do it. The pictures will come and they will be absolutely stuning. Our La Pietra campus is breath-taking and more like a post card it could not look.

In the greatest shocker of my life, I have been here for alomost 2 full days and I have yet to indulge in gelato.

Since I got sick the night before my flight, and I was feeling mildy miserably during my travel, I decided to go to a pharmacia yesterday. Tylenol cold just doesn’t cut it for me anyone. So anywho, I walk in and am greeted by a friendly Italian lady, and before I can try out my Italiano, she begins ‘what can i help you with?’. I tell her I have a cold, and she asks what type of treatment i would prefer. Meaning, pills or dissovleable tablets, or anything I would like. I tell her it doesn’t matter, and she replies, ‘you want the dissolveable tablets’ to which i reply, OK. Well lo and behold, I have been feeling perfect since. I’m thinking this Italian lady is my new best friend. I had my dumbest moment of the day with her though. While I was saying goodbye, and wanting to thank her, I said ‘Merci’…I hated myself for a little while after that. I guess I was still in Parisian mode from a few hours before, but there is no excuse. Bows head in shame.

Today we met one of the professoressas that teach Italiano at NYU. I fell in love. Our teacher for the orientation session was a wonderfully vibrant Italian lady named Lucia. She was amazing. I told Chris mid class that I wanted to spoon her, to which he just chuckled in a very Chris way. I learned quite a bit in the short session and she was most impressed by me, as she would ask questions or ask what a word would mean, and using Spanish I could usually decipher it before anyone else. She caught on a little later, and spotted me on it, but she loved me nontheless. Oh Lucia! le sigh. She made me want to learn Italian like no other. However I’ve come to the conclusion that Florence is a terrible place to learn Italian, but probably a good place to learn English. I think I want to visit rural Italy and really try there. Here it is kinda pointless, you cannot finish a phrase when the Florentine is already switching to English.

This morning Chris and I had breakfast at a lovely cafe where we ate pastries and had cappuccinos. It felt like a movie, and much like Little Italy, but with more of a Giovanni vibe, than a Guido one. Also, tonight Chris and I cooked pasta for each other, and it was delightful. I am a pasta master, and Chris is a good cook himself. We are quality roommates. We do most everything together, so it has been good so far. In the friends department, it is going sensational, i’ve befriended more people than my brain has been able to register names for.

All in all, things are splendid for the time being.

Pictures will come as soon as I can get them, I PROMISE!!!!!!! I have some great ones to show.

Peace, Spice, and Adventure,
-Edgar

First of all…scheise, the keyboard is different. It took me about 5 minutes to find the @ key. This was uber frustrating and kept me from checking my facebook, email and myspace. Luckily a dear worker at this rather inexpensive Firenze internet cafe came to my rescue. I shall spoon him to repay him.

Before beginning to gush about the beauty and dream world that is Firenze, I will describe a rather odd similarity between arriving in Firenze and arriving at Newark airport. Both have IKEAs that are clearly visible while landing. A friend, Bea, gasped with me before we both shrieked “what!…are we in effing New Jersey?”
Well it was funny for us at the time.

Firenze is nothing short of spectacular. I won’t go into too much detail in this update as I haven’t slept in probably 22 hours, but I will give a bit of a teaser.

My apartment is right in the center of town, and I have a plaza and market right outside of my window. In addition, my apartment is one of the largest and nicests living arrangements I have seen in my life. Its a 3 bedroom apartment, for 6 of us. The hall corridor is extensive, and looks like something out of a multi million dollar manhattan pad. The kitchen is a separate and rather large room as is our fully adorned living room w/ pimp dark blue couches. My kitchen has a new full size fridge, oven, and a washer and a dryer! w00t!| Did I mention we have 3 bathrooms? The apartment itself is fully renovated and everything is brand new. The building itself is probably half a milenia old and I have to walk through a spooky layer, and climb up 2 flights of stairs to reach the uber chich pad.

Firenze itself is breath-taking. It is more beautiful than any movie could portray and the streets breathe so much life they rival the busiest Manhattan has to offer. I’ve only been here but a few hours, and already I wish to call this home for ages to come.

The one set back is the fact that every local I speak to responds to me in English. I’ve yet to use my Italian at all, which while very limited, I was hoping to test out. Once I start my legit Italian schooling at NYU, I’m sure things will change. It is reassuring that at the 3 establishments that I have explored everything has been accomodating for Americans. I was expecting to use my Spanish skills, but alas English is king.

NYU’s campus in Florence looks just like the pictures in the viewbooks. It is one of the most beautiful campuses I have ever seen, and trust me has this beaner toured many a college campus. It is nestled between the rolling hills of Tuscany, the architecture complements the natural lush vegetation, and the yellow orange buildings shine with the sunlight.

I am in love with the city, its beauty, and most importantly its energy. I may be drained physically, but with Firenze rooting me on, I could keep my energy going full force!

Picture updates to come, I just need to figure out the internet situation before I get started. Take Care everyone, and don’t fret there will be a Manhattan update as well. It was nice to visit my past home and see the faces that made it so warm.

Peace, Spice, and Adventure,
-Edgar

I recently noticed that to many of my NYC friends, and especially to my friends abroad, El Paso is more foreign a place than Paris or London could ever be. With that in mind, and having to say goodbye to this warm, humbling city in 3 days, I decided a picture update of my home land was in order.

El Paso doesn’t have much of a reputuation outside of its immediate region, and that reputation isn’t very favorable. But around the Franklin Mountains are a people filled with culture, flavor, and enough spice to have kept me around so many years. Ironically, these pictures focus more on the aesthetic than on the people themselves, but imagery inspired me today. People have inspired me my entire life.

Enjoy the picture tour:
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