Arrival in Italy

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Twilight view of the bay from our room

 Today our NEH group arrived in Italy after a 20 hour journey that involved an emergency change of buses because the first one was too small, an insane ride by a chastened (?) bus driver weaving up and down the New Jersey Turnpike at high speeds, and all the extra security measures of an international flight out of Newark. 

In Italy we went on a bus directly to Castellammare di Stabia, a very ancient city along the coast. We will stay for two weeks at the Vesuvian International Institute, a small study center and hotel atop a hill. Locals know it as the Institute Salesiano because for a long time the building was inhabited by priests and brothers of that order. Because of how some cars were parked and due to the narrow and twisty nature of the ancient streets to the center, the bus could not make it to the door of the center, so we had to quickly unload the bus amid city traffic and walk uphill toting our bags or rolling them over the cobblestones behind us. By the time we arrived we were hot and tired, but we made it.

The Vesuvian Institute: Our Home Away From Home!

Positives: beautiful view of the bay, accessibility to the trains if you don't mind the steep, twisting ascent upon return, excellent food, NICE staff.

Disadvantages, many common in Italy: a rather Spartan room for two, sharing the room key with someone half my age who wants to have a nightlife, hanging laundry out the window although they'll do it for you for a price if you are willing to wait; no outlets in the room for computers and electronic devices except in the bathroom ; VERY spotty wi-fi internet service and not enough connected computers. The keyboards are also different in Europe. I could barely get a message out to Don that I arrived safely and that my phone won't work for outgoing calls. 

The hotel is not particularly quiet and the town is quite noisy, even more so on the sea-side, between groups enjoying the view and celebrating into the night with fireworks, which are commonly set off by family groups for special occasions like weddings, I'm told. And they're not just the little firecrackers that are commonly sold around the Fourth of July in the U.S., but the kinds that require a special license and training to handle in our country. 

The hotel itself lacked some important safety features. There was no evacuation-plan posted in our room, a fire extinguisher on our floor was missing, and a fire hose was missing between two other floors (not ours). In retrospect I probably should have complained, but I didn't. It was not until we checked in at the Casa la Salle in Rome two weeks later that I realized such lapses aren't necessarily normal in Italy. For a video I made of the accommodations, click here.

I would like to take a moment to thank the National Endowment for the Humanities for making this portion of my trip possible.