[P]izza, [L]ayovers and [C]affè

The times and trials of Andrew Nash Rader during his weeks in Arezzo, Italy. PLC Class of 2014.

[drewraderplc]

25 May - Greenpeace and the Secret Police

According to the schedule, today was supposed to be pretty boring.  That being said, it was one of my favorite activism presentations yet (we have one more with The 5 Star Movement tomorrow which I’m probably more excited for than I should be).  We heard from Greenpeace this afternoon and I’d be lying if I said they didn’t keep my attention.  While it may have been just one guy sitting in front of a group of students in a small (air-conditioned this time, thank you) room, I had nothing less than intrigue.  The speaker, whose name escapes me, had a PhD in evolutionary biology and having Drs. Gaffin and Hoefnagels (spelling? Sorry if that’s wrong Mariëlle) in the room called for some very interesting discussion.  

“It’s good to be radical, no?” -Greenpeace Guy

Greenpeace is an international organization based out of Amsterdam in The Netherlands with offices in around 40 different countries.  The company director, who joined the organization in 1999, spoke to us today in a very informal question and answer session.  Since they are an international group they can only actively intervene in pressing global issues -- no local issues.  The top priority, he said, is climate change.  He talked about capping the emission of greenhouse gases and how the melting of permafrost in Siberia will cost trillions of dollars in damages by around 2025 or 2035 (seems a little pessimistic to me, personally).

The five campaigns he mentioned in his fairly well-spoken English consisted of Forest, Ocean, Agriculture, Toxins, and Textiles, if I’m not mistaken.  The point he mainly elaborated on, however, was the emissions.  He said that CO2 emissions were the main issue, as opposed to methane emissions which aren’t as severe or detrimental.  I could just throw facts at you here and there but I’d much rather get around to what caught my interest the most: Hydrogen fueled cars and GMOs.

Dr. Gaffin asked about the car engines and Dr. Hoefnagels mentioned the GMOs.  Interestingly enough, the two biologists in the room besides the speaker had the coolest things to say.  One of Greenpeace’s main objectives to begin the process of an emission-free world includes more use of public transportation instead of personal transportation.  Dr. Gaffin raised the point that cars, or just vehicles of all sorts, have the ability to run on hydrogen by harnessing solar energy to split atoms of water.  The speaker didn’t seem to like this because of the danger of hydrogen (i.e. the Hindenburg, lol) but at the same time he seemed a bit naïve on the topic.  I’d like to look into this more because I know that if this were to work the emissions given off by such vehicles would be water: harmless to the environment.

“We are not a religion.  I don’t tell you what to do.  I give you information and you decide for yourself.” -Greenpeace Guy

Greenpeace Guy definitely tried to make it undoubtedly clear that they were all about providing information and that’s it.  But this also makes me wonder where the money from the 75,000 donors in Italy alone that Greenpeace has from social media alone goes to.  That has the potential to be a lotta guacamole, people.  Maybe I’m just an unaware spectator of this organization and just speculating what I think to be the case, but that’s neither here nor there.

“What one person can do depends on who that person is.” -Greenpeace Guy

Hydraulic Fracturing, or “fracking” as it is better known, was also a hot topic of discussion in the room this afternoon.  This practice is a well-stimulation technique in which rock is fractured by a hydraulically pressurized liquid made of water, sand, and chemicals [1].  I won’t go into this subject being that I would be nigh completely ignorant on the information regarding this topic, but it seems to cause quite the stir with environmentalists around the world.

GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, were mentioned concerning Greenpeace Guy’s view on them, being that he is an evolutionary biologist.  He made it blatant that he was completely against them.  Seriously, that’s what he said.  This is crazy to me and I think he said it this way because he didn’t exactly think it all the way through.  Mariëlle and I talked afterwards about it and both wondered why he was so against them, considering insulin is produced in large quantities through the use of GMOs:

“The way he’s putting a blanket statement on GMOs seems irrational.  It’s like saying that a pencil is a bad thing because it can write bad things, or a hammer is bad because it can smash things.  Even though they have the ability to do these things, they can also write wonderful things and build structures.” -Dr. Hoefnagels

I agree with her completely and think Greenpeace Guy was a little out of line, but if that’s truly how he feels then I respect his opinion.  This evening is our last group dinner of the trip.  I have had such a blast getting to know this group of great students and faculty at a deeper level; this trip makes me wish I had done it sooner when I still had weekly meetings.  I fly out Wednesday morning while a good amount of PLCers head down to explore Pompeii and much of southern Italy but I’m pretty excited to be home with my family and friends.  Hope you’re still enjoying the reads!

Best,

Drew Rader

PS The title about the secret police referred to a conversation I had with Kirk today about how the majority of officers here in Rome are undercover.  I just enjoyed the way it rhymed.

Sources: [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydraulic_fracturing

[drewraderplc]

23 May - The Vatican is Pretty Tight

It was crowded, but so worth it.  St. Peter’s Basilica was the most amazing sight I’ve seen on this entire trip.  There’s a rule in the Catholic church that states the Basilica in the Vatican has to be the largest, and it’s true to this rule.  This place put me in shock with how large it was.

Also, the Sistine Chapel ceiling.  Michelangelo’s masterpiece done from 1508-1512 was magnificent.  We had our hopes up pretty high for this part of the tour because we had seen so many ceilings already.  Close to the end we figured the Sistine Chapel was just a myth because of all the walking.  Consequently, it did not disappoint.

The ceiling tells the story of the book of Genesis through 9 separate spots.  The Creation of Adam is by far the most famous, but the flood and the drunkenness of Noah are also very well done.  On the far wall in the picture is Michelangelo’s depiction of the Day of Judgment.  This part of the commission was done 20 years later, around 1530.  On the side walls are timelines of the lives of Jesus and Moses respectively.  We weren’t supposed to take pictures in this room, I think because with how many people were crowded in the room they wanted us to just walk through, but nothing is wrong with a quick shot, right?  I couldn’t help myself.  At least I’ve never gotten kicked out, shout out to Kirk 😜.  Kirk explained how this piece is famously known to be one that Michelangelo had no desire to do, but according to his financial records and letters, he wanted nothing more than to be commissioned for such a project.  I personally believe he wanted to show the world that he could not only sculpt like a master, but that he could also out-paint Raphael, his arch-nemesis.  I think the Vatican as a whole has been my favorite place we’ve been.  I thought about trying to get into the very popular Sunday morning Mass tomorrow but it’s Pentecost in the morning, so the crowd will be enormous.  Instead I’m going to sleep in and probably read a little.  I can’t wait to see my family and friends in a couple of days! 

Best,

Drew Rader

[drewraderplc]

22 May - Torn to Shreds; Still Incredible

So today we got to visit the amazing Colosseum and trust me, we were not disappointed.  Standing there in awe of the size and presence of this arena while Kirk told us stories about its history and condition was the best part of my day.  One thing I found interesting was that there is no visual documentation of what it looked like in its full glory.  What it would have been like.. Man.  Ornate sculptures, marble seating, capable of holding a maximum of around 70,000, gladiators battling it out until the end; some say viewing the events held at the colosseum was addicting.

(back right; peeking over Clark; barely visible)

Yes, this landmark had been stripped down to its bones.  Kirk gave us two reasons why: 1. An earthquake had hit the area awhile ago. 2. When people needed brick and stone to build houses and sheds after the Colosseum was shut down by the Christians they would just come here to scavenge what they needed because why wouldn’t you instead of going to find it?  It was cool trying to imagine where things were because, according to Kirk, historians believe different things based on written accounts from spectators.  For example, some believe that there were 5 sections of seating, others believe 7, things of that nature.

I had pizza again for lunch, naturally.  With so many different named pastas, it’s hard not to choose the non-risky option of delicious pizza.  And I was not disappointed!  It was the best pizza I’ve had yet.  After lunch and a nice jog through the rain to get with the group at 3, we headed to Upter University up the street to hear a presentation from a group called Libera.

Now this was an interesting activist group.  However, I would’ve been much more engaged if the environment hadn’t been forcing me to doze off.  We were jam packed in a room with a shortage of chairs, battling the musky 80 degree thermostat atmosphere, and the presenters spoke with broken English, strong Italian accents, and denial for Kirk to translate for them.  Basically they’re doing whatever they can to combat the mafia.  They started by asking us what we thought of when they said the word mafia.  So, naturally, answers flowed such as organized crime, family, corruption, or, in my mind, Vito Corleone, Tommy guns, and Marlon Brando.  Libera has accomplished its first goal of creating a law (Law 109).  This law provides for the granting to third parties—private organizations; cooperatives; municipal, provincial and regional administrations—of all property acquired through illegal activities.  The third parties then return them to the community by converting the properties to socially beneficial uses.  Now, let’s think about this shall we?  I’m not high up on the idea of conspiracy theory ladder, but here’s one a couple of my friends and I produced.  Knowing that they are in danger of someone trying to shut them down, wouldn’t his organization be the perfect front for the mafia?  Like seriously.  Some citizen of Italy thinks to himself/herself that someone should do something about the mafia presence in Italy, then they see Libera.  They instantly think, ignorantly, that someone is getting the job done, all the while the mafia is having its goods “confiscated” and given right back to the “community.”  These pieces fit quite well together even if I do sound like Nicholas Cage from National Treasure.  It’s just fun to think about.

Tomorrow we get to visit the Vatican and I am beyond excited!  I’m not Catholic or anything, but the history of this place will be incredible.  Peter is buried here, guys.  Peter.  I’ll let you know how it goes.  Hope you enjoyed the read/potential conspiracy theorem.

Best,

Drew Rader

[drewraderplc]

20 May - Last Night in Arezzo and a Barbecue on the Countryside

Well, it's our last night in Arezzo and it's been a great one thus far. This morning Kirk showed us around this wonderful city and explained the history of a few of the cathedrals around town. We started outside a church built in the Romanesque style which Parker Randels and I had already explored a few days before. It was a little bland on the inside because the mosaics along the walls had been stripped because of their difficulty to restore financially. Although the walls were blank for the most part, the church itself was pretty jaw dropping. We then visited a church that was built in dedication to San Donato, the second Archbishop of Arezzo. Parker and I had been to this church that same afternoon but could not enter, but Kirk got us in today. It was beautiful just like the others! This one had a nice display honoring Mary with the Madonna of Comfort. It was an amazing adorned tribute to Mary and Baby Jesus that told the story of how dedicated the people of Arezzo are to Mary.  

After the tour we had a short class session with Dean Ray about he economy of Italy.  Most of the people in class were dozing off during the lecture but I was alert as can be.  This topic interests me more than most of the art, no offense to Kirk because I love his art lectures, because my major is political science.  The 5-Star Movement, a social movement, not a political party they say, led by Beppe Grillo who is a comedian here in Italy was discussed during the lecture.  This group will give us a presentation later in the week.  I’m very excited to hear what they have to say because even though they are a young activist group they have a good chunk of the seats in the government that express the amount of influence they have on the public.

Tomorrow we are headed to Rome on a 4 hour bus ride.  Before that though we get to visit Siena and the Duomo there.  My first exam went well I think!  I wrote about The Tomb of Giuliano de’Medici and feel like I addressed the prompt pretty well, but I’m not sure what kind of a grader Kirk is 😳.  I’m not too stressed about it though.

Best,

Drew Rader

[drewraderplc]

19 May - Michelangelo Had My Jaw on the Floor(ence)

The sculptures and pieces of art we had the privilege of seeing today were ones for the books.  They took my appreciation of art to a whole new level. We focused on the masterpieces of Michelangelo today, one of the very first modern artists.  He sculpted his most famous piece during a span of three years from 1501 to 1504, which was David.  This massive structure sculpted from one enormous piece of marble.  Many unfinished sculptures by Michelangelo surrounded this incredible piece that honestly blew my mind.  Kirk went into the anatomy of the muscles of David as well as his blood flow to his hands and things of that nature.  It was very intriguing the amount of knowledge Kirk had on this topic (but when is that not the case).  

As you can see in my artsy-ish photo taken this afternoon, it is a very prominent figure in the Acedemmia of Italy.  The hallway filled with sculptures ends with the masterpiece of David who, in my opinion, is standing victorious on a field of battle.  Kirk had very good reasons to believe that this pose was sculpted to display David as he sees Goliath across the battlefield, but even though his diaphragm is sucked in he still seems to be in a relaxed state, which conveys a since of a hard fought battle.  The lighting in this display was nothing short of perfect.  The sunlight on a quite sunny day was adequate to shine a gentle light on the magnificent figure.

We also visited the Uffizi, which is a museum started way back by the Medici family in the 16th century. which was amazing as well.  the paintings inside were done by artists like Giotto, Da Vinci, and Raphael.  Our tour guide gave us great examples of how artists like Giotto had apprentices who took after his style with certain ways to paint fingers and ways to show perspective. 

I wish we would have been with Kirk during the explanation of The Birth of Venus because of his vast knowledge of the history of it and why certain things were painted how they were.  Our tour guide basically just gave us a quick summary of the characters and what their names were, not really why it was painted.  Kirk seemed a little upset that we didn’t go deeper into the subject of why it was painted.  The painting was done by Botticelli and was very amazing in itself.  This was one of the most valued paintings in the museum and was covered by glass.  I had seen this before when I would go to written competitions in junior high and take humanities tests.  I remember studying Botticelli and seeing The Birth of Venus as one of his most important.

Tomorrow we have our first exam of the course.  I am unsure as to what to expect but I’m sure I have enough material to make a great essay.  We finally get our tour of Arezzo in the morning which I will write about tomorrow as we spend our last day in this incredible place.  It has been my favorite place so far and it will be tough to leave, but Rome and Sienna will be up to par I’m sure.

Best,

Drew Rader

[drewraderplc]

18 May - Art in the Flesh

So, today was extremely tiring.  Florence is such a bustling town of commerce and culture, covered in tourists, and (maybe just today) extremely hot.  This past weekend, which I didn’t blog during if you hadn’t notice, was a couple of free days that consisted of a great hike in Stia, Italy, and a brief look around the quaint town of Cortona.  I have a ton of pictures that I could post in this blog from those experiences but I don’t think this wifi will allow it, so I’ll have to share them later!  

The main reason today was so great was because of the actual pieces of artwork we had the privilege to see in person as opposed to just mentioning and hearing stories about them.  Yes, today we entered the Duomo of Florence which is arguably the most fascinating piece of architecture I have seen in my life, and also the Basilica di Santa Croce, which is also beautiful in its own way. one of the greatest parts of the Duomo was the facade.  Beautifully decorated and sculpted, the time and effort put into this place is jaw dropping to say the least.  Our tour guide on this section of the tour, Daniella, was extremely knowledgeable on the dates and sculptors of each door on the baptistry and on the structures individually which was just cool to see.  

What I mainly focused on today was the history Kirk had to tell us about the Renaissance culture in this beautiful city.  The importance and expression of individualism is an important aspect of this era and it was clearly shown in what we saw today.  Kirk shared with us the history of a clash between the two major political parties in the early 1200s: The Ghibellines and the Guelfs.  The Guelfs, or the “Party of Merchants,” shifted the power into their own hands because of the strong merchant presence in the Florentine population.  Slowly but surely, the Guelfs would edge out the Ghibellines almost completely.  The Ghibelline party would continue on to die in Arezzo.  Because of the division of the ideology in the city of Florence almost 25% of the population never went across town.  However, after the Guelfs finally take over, the party unifies the city with one tax, one currency, one people.

One of the churches we got to see today but not go inside was a church believed to be founded by the great Charlemagne.  Kirk enlightened us, however, that this legend is mainly believed by the locals even though it was considered not true soon after.  The theme of this era was death because of the very high death rate.  50% of children would pass away between the ages of 1 and 5.  These children were buried under the ground of the piazza in front of the church as it was believed that the closer you were buried to a church related structure, the more likely you would be given the opportunity to go to heaven being unbaptized.  I think this is a little crazy and believe that maybe this was just a slight superstitious way of thinking on the peoples’ part.

Today we also went into the work of Giotto, who would begin to inspire the western world of artists with his work.  We got to see his painting in a cathedral that was much more simple than the others but exemplified the Proving of the Cross at the front like many Francescan churches around Italy.

I realize today’s thoughts were a bit short and that might be partly because I’m not able to post any pictures tonight due to the awful wifi.  It seems to have gotten even worse, which I didn’t think possible.  We return to Florence for more touring tomorrow and we have our midterm on Wednesday.  I’ll be sure to take some great notes but also try to get some pictures on here if I can.  Excited to see what the rest of the trip has in store!

Best,

Drew Rader

[drewraderplc]

15 May - Some Real Vineyard Vines

Wow.  Today has got to be my favorite day so far.  Not only was the activist this morning extremely passionate about fixing a problem in the Italian government, but the people I’m getting to know more than before, the food, and the culture of this amazing place are kicking my summer off in the best way.

There was a dilemma causing Oxfam, an international activist group, not to make it to present today, but we did get the privilege of hearing from a representative for a movement known as Comitato Acqua Pubblica (Committee for Public Water).  The man, whose name escapes me, was quite well-mannered and certainly driven to make a difference here in Arezzo.  He was an older man, probably mid-to-late 60s who worked in the gold and silver industry until recently retiring to focus on this continuing problem around Italy.  Coming down to brass tax, water in Italy is privatized instead of owned by the public as of 1999.  There were many proposals and questions during the late 90s as to who should manage the supply of water and distribute it fairly and efficiently.  A private, French-based company called Suez won the right to sign a contract with the federal government that gave them the power to oversee the water supply for a span of 25 years.

Suez has projects all over the world and water, while usually being a public good, has the ability to rake in a huge profit when you control the supply.  Most money is made by private ownership concerning water in developing countries because not only is the supply scarce but the demand is increasing every day.  This constant profit gives Suez even more desire to buy out contracts to control water supply in more countries in south-central Europe and Northern Africa.  The company is very skillful in keeping this right because of its Masonic and political connections in Italy to gain more ground.

The situation is intriguing to say the least.  This activist group that wants a change in the ownership of public water took the initiative and acquired over 10,000 signatures in Arezzo calling for a new law to restructure the company and how to manage the water.

referendumacqua.it

In 2010, the CAP started reaching out to more groups with the same interests and goals to collectivize.  The government required them to receive at least 1,000,000 signatures for them to even look at the proposal and consider putting on the ballot -- they got 1,200,000.  Out of the 76% of Italians that voted in the election, 97% of them voted for the reconstruction.

“We want public water ownership.” -CAP

in 2011, after the vote had been recorded and collected from the referendum, nothing happened...  When citizens would receive their taxes, and ignore the tax assessed by the government that went to Suez, the government would mail letters threatening to shut off their water.  

What is the government thinking, you ask?  How can even they disobey the law?  Well, here’s the issue... If the law was implemented, it would be a breach of contract between the feds and Suez because of Suez’s span of 25 years still in effect.  Ergo, the government has decided to put off the implementation until 2024, if even then.  Between now and then, Suez can gain even more financial strength with the Italian government and we all know the power of the private sector when it comes to influencing politics. In 2011, as a result of the harassing letters threatening to shut off water, the 3,000 families refusing to pay the tax has reduced to around 1,200.  Out of the 120,000 people living in Arezzo, this number is miniscule.  The activist speaking to us this morning has decided to run for mayor in order to gain political ground to change this ugly crisis, but until then he is working with around 15 other activists to get the word out about what needs to be done.

After the presentation, the amazing Dr. Ray led a discussion concerning an idea to incorporate the genius idea put into the Rondine project and use the same premise to integrate the different nationalities on the campus of OU.  Many students raised great points in favor of the idea but to form it into more of a discussion, there were also many downsides voiced.  I personally think an idea like this would be great; it has potential to make incredible steps in the fight to alleviate stereotypes in terms of race on our campus.  Many PLCers know, as well as most of the faculty if I’m not mistaken, that I am an SAE.  While I don’t seem singled out because of this, I do know the repercussions that stereotyping can have in our society.  Now I realize that completely ridding the campus of prejudice because of someone’s appearance is nigh impossible.  I get that.  However, the steps need to be taken not just because of the recent incident, but because it they are long overdue.  My main concern, that I voiced to the Dean and to my fellow students, is making sure that the opinions on how this plan would operate need to be given and considered by not the administration but predominantly the students.  If the opinions of the people participating are not voiced and the administration implements this mandatory integration method, it seems sort of phoned in.  This would make it look like the administration is doing it because they’re saying, “Hey everyone, look what we’re doing to fix this.”  All in all, the idea has potential, there just needs to be much more analysis and plotting to make it happen and last.

The vineyard we visited today was nothing short of incredible.  If I had to choose a place to live anywhere in the world, it would most likely be this awesome winery.  We had the opportunity to tour the vineyard, the cantina, and also try a variety of different wines made here at this specific vineyard.  I ended up buying a nice bottle of Chianti for the ol’ ‘rents back home cause they’re pretty intelligent wine enthusiasts now that all the kids are out of the house (Mom, Dad, I know you’re reading this 😉).  I know they’ll love this homegrown, organic bottle of wine and I’m glad they let me go on this amazing trip!

Tomorrow I’m getting to go on a hike with some of my friends in Stia, a part of Arezzo with mountains and hiking trails.  I’m not sure if we have actual class time tomorrow but my blog is sure to be filled with pictures, so prepare yourself.  Tomorrow night we also get to watch Life is Beautiful, as it was filmed here in Arezzo so that will be awesome!  Ciao and I’ll try to take tons of pictures for my readers’ sake. Best,

Drew Rader

[drewraderplc]

14 May - “Local Color” -Lucy Ricardo

Allergies are starting to act up but I get by with the fresh air and amazing weather.  Today PLC had the privilege to hear from an activist organization known as Rondine (rahn-dee-nay) that recruits students from countries around the world to live in an historic village in a community of different cultures while attending school in either Florence or Rome.  One of the most interesting guys we heard from was named Sultan.  He is a native of Pakistan and was a suite mate with an Israeli student, which we all thought quite ironic at first.  One of Rondine’s rules is to pair each student with a student from a country that is in conflict with their own nation.  As you may or may not know, Israel and Pakistan have a deep history of hatred towards one another, as do many nations concerning Israel.  

http://rondine.org/en/

Hearing the stories of how Sultan and Raz, the Israeli student, learned to respect each other as people and not bring any preconceived notions about one another to the table was amazing.  They have lived together for 2 years now and are what seem to be the best of friends.  Today made me want to delve a little deeper into the conflicts going on in the Middle East and around the world, so let’s talk about that for a bit!

The conflict between these two countries is nowhere close to as severe as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a problem.  Basically, since around 1947, Pakistan has decided not to recognize Israel as an actual country, like many other Arab countries do.  The reasons behind this state of disgust are very complex.  Many reasons have to do with general tradition of dislike which has a sort of trickle-down effect on the population of each nation throughout generations.  Sultan and Raz both elaborated on their own experiences with the propaganda throughout elementary and high school in their respective nations and how it hating certain nations was just a part of the culture.

Sultan also addressed how he is completely against American intervention in foreign affairs but then lightened up a bit as the discussion went on.  His point was well put and the same way I view the idea of American intervention.  America has an amazing military.  It’s like saying the sky is blue.  But using that brute force to change a nation is not necessarily the correct answer for every situation, in my opinion.  The idea of “realism,” which involves using this force to change, is practiced by the U.S. on many foreign nations.  The idea of “idealism,” on the other hand, promotes a more diplomatic approach to these situations by assisting the governments of conflicting nations with ways to adjust their legislative systems in a positive way.  While America does do this, most of the time they do it with the intent of transforming each government to a democratic republic like our own.  While this may sound great on paper, not all nations function or even should function like ours because they are just different circumstances.

I could talk about that stuff all day long.  If you want to grab coffee let me know,  but for now I’ll save you some time and talk about what’s up for the rest of this fine Thursday.  I’m in Group B and we are going to make pasta this afternoon.  I have no idea what is in store but Lindsey assured me it’s “so much fun, Drew!” so I’m not worried.  Group A is going on a tour of a vineyard here in Arezzo that my group and I will get to visit tomorrow after noon while they spin some noodles (I’m guessing that’s how pasta is made, maybe that’s just my own naïveté speaking).  I posted last night before I went to dinner and I’ll have you know that it was off the charts!  My family group and I dined at a place called Ristorante Mariano and I destroyed some pizza and a side salad with a tiiiny bit of wine to end the night (don’t worry, there was adult supervision thanks to Dr. Gaffin 😝). All in all this trip has been incredible.  The food is delicious, the views are breathtaking and getting to know these people I used to see every Tuesday on a deeper level has been just sublime.  I’m hoping this short post finds you well and you didn’t suffer too much with the foreign history lesson.

Best,

Drew Rader

P.S. I was going to quote Ricky for the title but I wasn’t sure how to get his dialect across over text so thank my “old-fashioned” upbringing and enjoy this video: https://youtu.be/g10jFL423ho

[drewraderplc]

12 May - Italian Art & Governmental Contrast

For our first class session here in Arezzo, Kirk Ducleaux, our art historian/professor here at the OU campus in Italy predominantly touched on the appreciation of art.  It seems he was asking us along a trail of ideas concerning the concept of art and helping us realize how modern our take on art is because of how we are socialized back home in America.  One of the obvious displays of our modernity was the way we questioned art in general; we asked why the artist did this or who did he do it for and what is the meaning behind the image? Kirk explained how this process of questioning the art would be absolutely unheard of during the Italian renaissance.  I feel he’s right about this because, first of all, I trust his judgment being the art genius that he appears to be, but also because it seems that in that time of “rebirth” it wasn’t just art for art’s sake but each piece contained a certain interpretation as opposed to our modern view of everyone having the privilege to interpret it personally.

“The essence of being a great leader is creativity.” - Kirk Ducleaux

Creativity was polled as the number one answer when 60 CEOs were asked what the main attribute is that they look for when choosing a person to fill a leadership role.  Honestly, if I were to guess, I would’ve said attributes like confidence, wisdom, or maybe even honesty would be near or at the top.  Creativity in my opinion seems a bit childish at first -- then you think about it.  The software industry, inventors, scientists, engineers; these professions are just a few that rely heavily on a sense of creativity.  People who have unique ideas that stand out from the crowd like making something more efficient or finding a more interesting way of doing things are coveted by companies around the globe because with such a fast-paced society, that’s what we need.

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) is someone that Kirk admires in a very serious way.  One of the first modern artists, Michelangelo was a man of great variation in his style and a very famous artist even today.  However, his use of art isn’t the only one by a long shot.  Today we went into categories like Political Critic art, Anti-War Demonstration, and Art as Communication.  Many students spoke on the importance of the way not only the artist communicates what the goal of the art was but also how we as viewers communicate what we see.  The many perspectives of a single piece of art are definitely a modern take on viewing the beauty.

Dr. David Ray, the Dean of the Honors College at OU in Norman, spoke to us this afternoon about the similarities and differences between the vastly different United States Government and the Italian Government.  Dr. Ray’s portion of the course focuses on the idea of “Activism.”  This non-governmental change in society portrays routine politicians as artisans and activists as artists.  Mateo Renzi, the current Prime Minister of Italy, is quite young to be at such a high position in the government but Dr. Ray seems to be quite interested in him as a person and a government official.

One of the main points we discussed in this section of class focused on self-centeredness.  Dr. Ray touched on the general idea that the practice of being completely self-centered in everything you do is universally considered the “wrong” way to live.  The Life You Can Save by Peter Singer, one of the books we read to prepare for the course, talks about how the right way to live involves giving to others in a very generous way.  As this isn’t a post about the book, I just wanted to touch on how that specific part related to the discussion today.  Dr. Ray also related the self-centered way of living to the economy in the U.S.

“The U.S. economy seems to work in a way that says: ‘Pursuing self-interest will produce the greatest results for the greatest numbers.’” -Dean David Ray

While this may sound like a great plan for the higher-ups, to me it seems like a plan that pretty much says, “This is probably the best we can do, so let’s just stick with that.”  I’m extremely excited to go deeper into this discussion about how the government works here in Italy compared to in the states because I’ve always wanted to learn about different ways of running a country: the processes, the outcomes, etc.

Other than class, today was absolutely gorgeous.  After a quick lunch at a hole-in-the-wall pizza place, Parker, Jack and I explored the northeastern side of Arezzo and got quite a few great pictures.  The scavenger hunt was pretty short but we got to see some great architecture in the plazas and fountains.  Dinner was at, as Kirk claims, “the best restaurant in town.”  With a three course meal to end the evening, he might be right.  I’m excited to see how tomorrow plays out because we are having the opportunity to meet with an activist group to see what it’s really like to fight for a self-motivated cause in such a governmentally different place.  Hopefully all of my blogs won’t be this long, but I appreciate the read!

Best,

Drew Rader

[drewraderplc]

D(el)ay Number 1

Let’s just say the flight from Charlotte to Rome didn’t quite go as expected.  Looking at the math I can tell you that the original departure time from Charlotte was 6:25 pm with an arrival time of 9:45 am in Rome.  After a couple hours of flying time (we did leave on time) my fellow passengers aboard US720 noticed a couple abrupt turns.  Some then looked at the GPS to see that we had definitely just did a complete 360 and were heading right on back to good old North Carolina.  About an hour into the confusion we got a brief announcement from the pilot: 

“Hello, this is your captain speaking.  First off I just want you to know that everything is fiiiine... One of our flight attendants had a minor accident and spilled a hot liquid on her neck.  Although her burn does not require immediate medical attention, her emergency contact thinks it best if we return to Charlotte to receive the help she needs.”

Simple turn around after only being airborne for around an hour and a half, right? Nope..

“In order to be light enough to safely land we need to burn quite a bit more fuel.  To do this, we will be taking 40 mile stretches and turning to basically fly in a circle for around 3 hours or so to get to the weight required to land in Charlotte.  So, sit back, relax, and enjoy the entertainment provided.  We appreciate your patience.”

Now I’m proud to be one of the few people on board that did not complain about the circumstances.  After calling my parents around midnight (when we landed back in Charlotte) I was just ready to watch another movie and sleep, which is exactly what happened.  However, 16 of my fellow PLCers and I missed the fun tour day because we didn’t actually end up meeting the group in Italy until around 4:30 in the afternoon.

Looking past all that hassle though, I had an all-around great day! Kirk Ducleaux, one of the head honchos here at the OU campus in Arezzo, bought us dinner at an authentic Italian restaurant and I got to walk the beautiful streets and get gelato afterwards with David and Jack.  Now I get to post this around midnight on the spotty wifi while my friends read it at home around 5.  Can’t wait to see what the rest of the trip has for me!

Best,

Drew Rader