A Festival and a Little Bit More About Perugia

Yesterday was a festival of some sort but I sure could not figure out what it was for. In the morning I walked into the square and saw tons of little children on the steps singing in Indian costumes to an “Indian” song. Or Native American, rather, I guess that can get confusing. They were all wearing shirts with a purple cat on it called “Gatto Fantasio” and at the end of their song, after much stomping, they war whooped and a big purple cat character came out.

Later in the afternoon I returned and found women doing the can-can and children performing folk songs while a group in the back played tubas and accordions and giant scissors, sticks with a pot on top for the lid to open and close, and wooden dolls that would slap hands in order to keep the beat. All day I have also noticed many young adults wearing hats with long pointed brims and sporting capes. Along the main street vendors were selling food and the purple cat t-shirts. Can anyone find a common theme to all of this?

Today is rainy, the perfect day to bunker down and study and that's what I've been doing. It's too bad that my last days spent in Perugia will be studying, especially since my hardest final is the last day.

Oh, also, since I often never get around to mentioning more of the little things here I had started a list quite a while ago (I do love lists) and never got around to posting it. So here it is.

Some Random Things About Perugia
- Everyone seems to have a dog. Unfortunately, they also do not pick up after them, making walking a difficult process sometimes.
-The views here are amazing and plentiful.
- Steps are very short and wide. This can be really hard as it makes you feel like you’re not getting anywhere. It also makes for a rather difficult adjustment in other towns with normal stairs.
- The fountain in the center of the town is from the 13th century. This is incredible to me.
- Everywhere you go at night there are men that try to sell you flowers. However, if it’s raining, those same men have umbrellas, instead.
- Street cleaners here use brooms that are made up of twigs and look like witches’ brooms.
- On a clear day you can see the snow on mountains beyond the hills. It’s really beautiful. Also, Assisi is nestled into one of the hills and you can see the entire outline of the city even at night.
- Shop workers are not at all fond of receiving big bills. One worker stared down an elderly woman for the longest time after she had handed her a 20, refusing to believe that she did not have any change or smaller bills.
- Drivers don’t really look where they’re going. They also back up one way streets and drive up onto the sidewalk, even if there are people standing on it.
- In the winter there was a Ferris wheel and a carousel in the center of town. The streets were lined with string after string of lights that went across the street itself. Unfortunately, it appears that they only light these before Christmas, something I really wish I had seen.
- Nothing is open from 1 to 4 in the afternoon. The exception to this is a rotating schedule that pharmacies have, taking turns to be open during la pausa, as one most always be open, and the Coop, a slightly larger grocery store in the center.
-There, unfortunately, is graffiti everywhere, even on the churches.
- One of my friends lives on the second floor of my building. We have a system of communication that entails her knocking on the floor when she has something to tell me. This fulfills all sorts of childhood dreams about talking through cans connected by a string and the like.
- Manners here are quite different. Italians’ idea of personal space seems to be more about this is my space so therefore you’re not in it, even if you are. This means that if they are sitting across from you on the train they have no problem putting their legs between yours or around yours. They will bump into you or shove past you without any apologies. When walking along a sidewalk in groups they will very rarely move aside to let you pass.
- Pizza here is not as amazing as I had hoped. They have good ingredients but seem to rush the process, so it’s not as good as it could be. Even the places that are supposed to be the best here still don’t top some that I have had at home. Their chocolate, however, makes up for this.
- Each evening there is a passeggiata, a time when all the people in town walk up and down the main street, to see others and be seen by others. Usually there are times periods for different groups of people. Early evenings are for young families while later in the night is for groups of teenagers.
- On Sunday mornings I can hear singing coming from the church in the piazza across the way. It’s really very lovely.
- Fetrinelli’s is the big bookstore here, a chain in Italy like Barnes and Noble or Borders. They have an English section and I really like the children’s Italian sections as that’s a bit more feasible for me. They also have a big area devoted to DVDs and I love looking at all of the movies, Disney in particular, to see how the titles are translated. One of my favorites is Chip and Dale as Cip and Ciop (pronounced Chip and Chop).
- There’s a patisserie called Sandi’s in the center of town. They change their window display pretty often so during the passeggiata people will crowd around it to peer in at the newly decorated cakes and pastries.

That concludes today's random posting. I hope you all are having a great weekend!