Day 6

One word for today. LOOOOONNNNNGGGG. But fun. We woke up, breakfast, and dressed and ready to go to Tolfa by 10:30. Since we were performing there we were having our tech there earlier. The drive to Tolfa was really pretty. Windy roads in the country,and so many hills and rolling valleys. We saw a small town, which I can't remember the name, but it was basically built into the side of a very large hill (maybe a mountain then? I'm not sure what would be considerred smaller than a mountain but bigger than a hill.) It was beautiful. It was just like the post cards or pictures you see in books or videos about Italy. It was all older buildings with that light peach color and orange, clay shingle roofs. I tried to get a picture but since we were driving and there was a very large amount of greenery on the side of the road it made it difficult. On the way to Tolfa, the small city that I don't know the name of had stop lights with smiley or sad faces in them. Red lights has a sad face, green lights had smiley faces. It was really funny. I got a picture.

Tolfa was beautiful too. Again, another small town with old buildings and cobblestone streets. Their theatre was really nice though. It was small, but the seats were new, and the stage was a nice size. The wings on the stage were a little small, but again, it was such a nice place to be performing when in another country. We rehearsed our pieces along with the Baleto de Civitavecchia's peices (the studio we have been working with- we had a combined show). Afterwards, we ate prosciutto and cheese sandwiches on thick rolls along with literally the best, refreshing tea I've had. After that we packed up our stuff to go back to the studio. We had time to go back and rest instead of staying at one of the Italian dancer's house. I was happy to go back because I was exhausted. It is funny how much you forget you're in a mountain. It was harder to breath. But I really wouldn't be reminded of that until later that night. We slept, or most of us slept, until around 5:45, then got ready again and left for Tolfa part 2 at 6:30. We got there, and there was another show going on, a theatre show that we knew had been scheduled then, so we went to this public gym to warm up in. We grabbed chairs, gymnastic bars, a bench, anything we could to use as a barre. We warmed up, went across the floor, and it was time to go. We got back, went to our dressing room (which the Italian girls had given up to us very very nicely), and prepared for the show. It was strange to see the audience in the theatre while Francesco was setting up the lights. It was just another example of the relaxed attitude of the people of Italy.

We performed and it went well. It was a lot harder to perform, mostly to breath. I think it was because of the altitude honestly. People who don't normally have breathing issues were having them. I got really tired during Click (the second of four dances I performed). But, we got through it, and it made me feel so happy when it was over. The mayor came up on stage and thanked us for being there, and how he was a foreign exchange student at one point too, so he knows how it is and how much he misses his host family, friends, and marshmallows haha. He was really nice. Clifton stepped on my toe with the toenail growing back at the end of the show :(. We had forgotten we had to stay onstage for like a final showing of everyone in the show to come out, and so as I was running out, he stepped on my toe. It was bleeding a little, but it is okay. It is fine now. We got dressed, took pictures, and were told to hurry so we could go eat. The mayor had picked out a nice place for us to eat, and another man who ended up eating with us made reservations. Right before we left, the Italian dancers had given some of us their balloons (balonchino in italian) that they used in a piece and we were going to let them go. That was so exciting to me because I used to do that as a kid! We let them go, and took pictures. It was exciting. Both groups, who can't speak a language fluently to each other, had a moment :).

We ate at a small restaurant in Tolfa, and it was SOOO good. Our appetizer was bread with olive oil, the best bruchetta in the world, salamis and prosciuttos, the freshest parmesian cheese ever, and red wine. We tried a bruschetta with a mushroom mix and another with beans on it. All were delicious in their own way :). Next was ravioli. And I know I am going on about the food, but it was soooo good. It was stuffed with chesse and spinach. I put parmesian cheese and peppercinis on it (like red pepper flakes that people put on pizza). Next was pork, that was roasted over a fire in one big pig like the old fashioned way, and seasoned with good seasonings like parsley and others I couldn't make out. We were given a fresh mix of iceburg and romain lettuce with olive oil and salt too, and then some potatoes cut and baked in olive oil and salt. Finally, we had gelatto. All different types of it too. There was a chocolate with chocolate sprinkles, a lemon sorbet, an orange sorbet, and white chocolate with coffee in the middle! I ate most of Tiffany's lemon sorbet because we weren't given the option to choose, just given what we were given. I had the orange and ended up giving it to Andy. I had a bite of all of them, and they were all so good. Then, we unfortunately had a tiny glass of lemon cello, Clifton's favorite drink. I personally don't like it, but he seems to think I do, so I was given a shot glass of it. It is a lemon drink usually consumed after a meal to cleanse the pallet, a finishing touch sort of thing. You sip on it, you don't chug it or anything. But honestly to me, I think its gross either way. After that, we left, very full and at nearly one A.M. We didn't get there until 11:00. Late dinners here in Italy are very very common. Weird, I know. It was very late, but we had had a show, so it was an exception. After that, I tried taking a picture for Andy of him and Caterina, the owner of the dance studio we were dancing with. It was funny because it took four pictures until I got one with her eyes open. It was just a funny way to top off the night.

Caterina drove Ashleigh, Heather, Mara, and myself back to Civitavecchia, and we got into our rooms. I felt car sick when we got back, maybe because of the combination of windy roads in the dark, lemon cello, and coming down form high altitudes; Not to mention I was sitting in the back seat. But I feel better now after I laid down and got some water. Silly small cars on windy roads. Thats another thing, I'm sure everyone knows, but the cars here are small. You can find some American made cars, like Jeep, and Honda. We saw a chevy SUV once too. They definitely stand out from the tiny ferrari cars that are all over.

Today was a fun day. Through all of the rehearsals and long days being sore and tired, it was well worth it. The people here have so much more appreciation for the arts than in the U.S. We had met an American who has been living in Tolfa for two years now as an archeologist. He literally hasn't talked to an American in two years, so the mayor went and got him (his name is Kevin) and told him to come to the theatre because Americans were there. He was so excited to see us and be able to talk in English. He came to the show that night too and we were able to talk to him afterwards. He was the one who talked about art in Italy. They do have a better respect for art here, I think its because of all of the laws against a lot of free speech or unconventional art in Italy. Giorgio (Clifton's other half) talked about how things are bad in Italy because there are laws against certain shows such as acting or dancing. I am not quite sure what, but I know freedom of speech is an issue, and the "ruler" of Italy has a lot of filtering and control on the media and what's on tv. People revolt all over the country, and start their own theatres where they can do what they want... illegally. I feel that art is a prized thing here in Italy. Caterina was even talking about how she teaches dance at a school. It is part of their scheduling. It just goes to show how they incorporate it in their lives. I think it's a great thing, and a great example of how art is really a precious thing that needs to be better appreciated in the U.S.

Well, Goodnight all! Ciao! Tomorrow morning I will be going to market and then have a children's show. We are only doing Britney and Michelle's piece, so I only have one more piece before I can start thinking about being a true tourist in Rome and Pompeii! YAY! Ciao!