Martedi Grasso!

When I walked in to the middle school I teach at this morning I was asked by a suspicious office worker in a rapid flurry of Italian where I was going. The fact that I understood her shows that my Italian is getting better. But I was most proud of the fact that I gave a response that she understood. "Insegna inglese con la professoressa in primo piano."

Though I had a rough lesson plan for the day, the students had a slightly different idea. Last week, I had shown them pictures and labels of American foods, and described all of them to the students. This week, they created the same activity, but with Italian foods. I can never resist learning about food. But to learn about Italian food from a group of very excited middle schoolers just makes learning so much more enjoyable.

Among the items they discussed were standard fare like pasta carbonara, torta Fiorentina, Florentine steak, minestrone, and pasta al ragu. Cappuccino was also on their list. When they came to this item, the teacher jokingly asked if I would like some cpapucino. Jokingly, I replied I would. So she ran out of the room and returned with a very creamy, very rich cup of the frothy beverage.

Also, since today was Martedi Grasso (or Mardi Gras en francais), I also got to learn a bit about their customs and traditions for Carnivale, the grand celebration leading up to Lent. The students brought in a number of local Carnivale specialties, including Chiacchiere (pictured second- literally translates to "rags"- fried dough with confectioner's sugar) and Fritelli (pictured second; similar to a jelly doughnut but double the cholesterol and triple the flavor). Both are heavily fried, liberally sugared, and imbued with the very richness of flavor that one might imagine from seeing these images.




Martedi Grasso is very different from the images one imagines of Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Instead, it is a family holiday where relatives gather to eat from a grand selection of fried, fatty, and scrumptious local delicacies. On the weekends that bookend Martedi Grasso, smaller towns have parades that include large floats caricaturing major political figures.

Anyway, as I write this, I am stuffed with delicious Italian fried food. I'll have to postpone my mountain run- don't want to throw this up!

Off to study more for an exam this afternoon, then planning for England/Ireland!