4-26-06

For those of you wondering why there was no update yesterday, it's because it was Independence Day here in Italy and everything was closed. Which was great, because I needed to use the computer lab at JCU to put together a statistics project that's due in two hours. I wouldn't mind the school being completely closed for holidays if we had internet access at the apartment, but, no, we have to walk all the way to school or pay to use an internet cafe (which are also completely closed on the holidays).
This is my last update for the week... possibly... I leave for Catania this evening and I won't be back in Rome until Monday, which is another holiday so I will probably not have internet access then. So, unless there is internet at my hostel, you will not hear from me again until Tuesday.
Hopefully, by Tuesday, I will have pictures from last weekend in San Remo and Milan along with pictures from this upcoming weekend. I might also have some more video footage as well.
Ok, they have opened the lab now, so I can try and load all of my info onto excel and get ready for class. Ciao!


4-24-06

I'm back... for a whole three days! I will be flying down to Catania in Sicily on Wednesday night and staying there over the four day weekend. I'm excited about this trip not only because I'll be hanging out on the beach and possibly returning home a little darker than an albino, but also because I have been informed that Catania is famous for its blood oranges. So, it should be a good weekend for me.
San Remo was fun. There wasn't a whole lot to do there, but it was very pretty and the weather was gorgeous. My hotel room in itself was worth the trip, though. I also came across the best dried pineapple I've ever eaten.
Milan was, as expected, a very expensive town. It was huge, but there wasn't much to do aside from shopping. I did see the duomo, which was crazy. They actually let you climb onto the roof and just walk around up there. You get a great view of all of the designer stores surrounding the church.
On Sunday morning, I left Milan and returned to Florence. I hadn't really intended on going to Florence again, but all of the trains going directly to Rome were completely booked. So, I wound up hanging out in Florence for about two hours before I could catch a train back to Termini. When I returned to Rome I discovered why all of the trains were sold out, it was packed with tourists. I thought tourist season was in full swing when I got back from Spring Break, but I guess that was just a warm up. As my bus went through Piazza Venezia on its way to Trastevere there were massive amounts of people swarming around the Campidoglio and the tomb of the unknown soldier. The streets were thick with awestruck tourists and their cameras. There were more people there than there were at the Vatican on Easter.
Alright, today I have put up a special epsiode for the Roma Independent Film Festival. I'm heading out to the fesitval director's office this afternoon to turn in my video footage. There is also a new song up. It's not the Kaiser Chiefs, but it's still pretty good. Now, I have to get ready for class... and my ear hurts...


4-19-06

Ok, it's Wednesday. I have class this morning and then I'm off to catch a seven hour train to San Remo. Hopefully, San Remo will be worth the trip. I will be spending two days there and then on Saturday I will be heading on over to Milan for a day. From what I hear, unless you have millions of dollars and love designer clothing, there's really not much to do in Milan. The duomo is supposed to be mighty impressive though.
It's beginning to dawn on me just how much time I don't have left here. It's rather sad. I'm also rather upset at how finals are planned out here. We have to be cleaning and packing and studying for finals all at the same time. Also, finals start on a Saturday, how awful is that! My last Saturday in Rome I will be taking finals!
I have all sorts of papers and oral presentations and projects to do before finals even start, and that's rather upsetting as well. I had hoped to take a day trip out to Tivoli, but I don't think I'll have the time.
I need to get back to work now. I've got statistics in about an hour.


4-18-06

Easter was good. I walked up to the Vatican and watched the massive amount of people attempt to pack into St. Peter's. Later that evening I made lasagna and cake-in-a-bag for dinner over at New Ian and Lindsey's apartment.
It's going to be a very short week for me. Yesterday was Easter Monday, which is a national holiday here, so nothing was open. I basically sat inside (because it was raining... again!) and edited a large chunk of video footage for RIFF. The head of the festival noticed that I had been filming everyday of the festival and has asked me for a copy of my footage. So, who knows, maybe some of my video footage will wind up on the RIFF website.
Anyway, today I don't have class because my morning class was cancelled and tomorrow afternoon I will be heading off to termini to catch a train to San Remo. Next weekend I will be flying down to Catania in Sicily. And then I have finals... yay!
Ok, as promised, there is a new episode up. I will be leaving up the song from last week since I posted it late.


4-15-06

Last night was a lot of fun. For the most part I agreed with the winners, but there were a few films that I felt should have done better.
Tomorrow is Easter, which should be an interesting event in Rome. I will be getting up very early to walk up to the Vatican. I have no intention of actually going in, I just want to see the crowds. In the evening I will be heading over to New Ian and Lindsey's place for a potluck dinner with a few other friends. The school will be closed on Monday, because Easter Monday is a national holiday here, so I will not have internet access again until Tuesday. But, I should have another episode up then if I can get my homework done. You'll just have to wait and see!


4-13-06

Today is the last day of film screenings for the Roma Independent Film Festival but tomorrow night is the exclusive Award Ceremony and After Party, which, through my new friendship with a film group called Art Park, I will be able to attend.
Once again, if you would like to know my opinions pertaining to the films I have seen at the festival, go over to Through a Glass Productions where my guest posts are available for all to see and to laugh at.


4-12-06

I am soooooo tired! I was out at the film festival until 11pm and then had to work on a Shakespeare paper when I returned to my apartment around midnight. It's now 8am here in Rome. It's been so long since I've pulled late hours like this that I've lost my tolerence for it. Normally, back in Kansas, I'm working on homework, working on a stop motion project and working at my minimum wage fast-food job, and then, sometimes, I sleep.
The festival continues and it is still awesome. My guest correspondence over at Through a Glass continues as well, but I'll leave the awesomeness factor up to the readers.
Alright, I'm tired and I have to get ready for statistics. Oh joy!


4-11-06

Ok, sorry I'm a little late with this, but there is now a new song up. It's been rather hectic out here with the film festival and all. There are generally about 8 hours of films playing everyday and, even though the 3 bus goes from my apartment all the way out to the theater, it still takes an hour to get there. Yes, Rome is huge!
For those of you eager to find out about my take on the Roma Independent Film Festival and the films playing there, head on over to the website for Through a Glass Productions where I am a sort of "guest poster". I thought that they might paraphrase my responses, but, no, they are posting my reviews in full, spelling errors and all! I will still be putting updates on SammyApplegate.com, just not on the festival. So, enjoy my witty critiques on Through a Glass and maybe look around at all of the other stuff that they have to offer.


4-10-06

We had two really nice days, and now the rain is back yet again. It's rather aggrivating.
Ok, I don't have much time, so I'll just leave up a quick post saying that the film festival is great. The films from the US aren't all that good, but overall, the festival is great. I'll be heading out there this afternoon to catch the animation short program.
Ok, since I don't have much to read for you all, you can go over to the video section and watch four more episodes. Enjoy!


4-6-06

I spoke too soon about the wonderful weather in Rome, the cold and the rain have returned. It's like being in Kansas again, the weather is gorgeous one day and then drastically changes the next. I was baking in the sun at the fountain in Piazza della Santa Maria on Tuesday and last night I was baking a cake in my apartment in an attempt to warm it up.
RIFF starts tomorrow afternoon, the opening line up looks very interesting. I'm especially looking forward to seeing the film Short Order from Ireland, but I will be ducking out before the documentary The Happiest People in the World, I have a feeling it's not as happy as the title makes it out to be.
I will be sending insider information on the festival to my friends at Through a Glass Productions. I don't know how much of it they will be posting on their site, but whatever they don't put up will be available here. So, next week's updates may be a bit scattered. Fair warning.
Ok, have a good weekend y'all.


4-5-06

It's 4 5 6 today! I don't know if that actually means anything, I'm sure there's some sort of Armageddon theory about it though, there always is.
It feels rather strange to not be going anywhere this weekend, I'll be sticking around Rome for the film festival, which should be awesome! I won't be going anywhere next weekend either because it will be Easter and I want to hang around Rome for the madness of it. Some home institutions have emailed their students studying abroad warning them not to be in Rome for Easter because of possible terrorist threats (i.e. a lot of Christians in one place is a good target). KU has not sent me any such warning and I highly doubt that Rome is in any more danger on Easter than any other day.
After Easter weekend I only have three more trips. First, I will be going all the way up to San Remo and Milan. The following weekend I will be flying down to Catania in Sicily. It will be a four day weekend, so I'll have plenty of time to climb Etna, visit Syracuse and lounge around on the beach. Then, it will be finals week and once I have finished with my last test I will be hopping on a plane to Cagliari in Sardegna. I will return to Rome the day before I have to fly back to Kansas.
Ok, I've got to finish up an Italian paper on Le Conseguenze dell'Amore.


4-4-06

I saw a wonderful Italian film last night called Le Conseguenze dell’Amore (The Consequences of Love). The film was screened at John Cabot and was followed by a Q&A session with the director. It was a very pleasant evening.
After seeing the film last night I’m all pumped up about the Roma Independent Film Festival which starts this Friday. I don’t go to the movies out here. You can see American movies in English at certain theaters but they don’t show Italian movies with English subtitles. We don’t have a DVD player in the apartment so I can’t rent movies. I also can’t bring back any Italian movies from the video store because they won’t work in the DVD players in the States. So, my cinema intake has not been up to par and I’ve been going through withdrawl.
Anyway, RIFF starts Friday afternoon and then it’s a full week of about 60 films from all over the place. You can look at the schedule on their website, there are films from Norway, India, Canada, Germany, France, Iran, Spain, Brazil, the US and, of course, Italy. I’m very excited to see the films and the turnout. Maybe I can make some connections with some international directors. Who knows!


4-3-06

Oh boy! It's April! I hope everyone back in the States remembered to set their clocks ahead this weekend, at least you guys had some warning.
The weather is beautiful in Rome! I'm wearing a T-shirt right now. That's right, I'm actually wearing short sleeves! Yesterday I spent the afternoon sitting at the fountain outside of Santa Maria eating gelato and watching all of the tourists getting pestered by the gypsies. It was a good day.
On Saturday I took one hell of a day trip. I left very early in the morning to catch a train to Assisi. I wandered around Assisi for a few hours, it was a very pretty place and the church for St. Francis was crazy. Then I returned to the train station and noticed that Perugia was only 20 minutes away, so I went to Perugia. I spent a few hours in Perugia and when I went back to the station I saw that Siena was only about an hour away, so I went to Siena. After walking around Siena I found out that the only way back to Rome was to change trains in Florence, so I decided to just go up to Florence for about an hour, I had been craving one of those warm waffle gelato treats all day. After Florence, I returned to Rome. I had left that morning at 7 and I arrived back in Rome at 11pm. Needless to say, I was very tired.
There are pictures up from Assisi and Perugia. There is also a song up from Dracula for those who are curious.