Last Few Days in Ferrara

So, my time in Ferrara has come to an end, but don’t let that fool you. I’ve been doing plenty of things here to occupy the time.

On the 17^th of June, there was the Palio, which is a horse race that usually takes place every May, but was delayed this year because of the earthquake. The city is divided into “contradas” or neighborhoods that each have their own horse and jockey that race. And it is a very big deal here. The day before the Palio, we all went to a dinner that one of the contradas was having. The food was… interesting..., but it was fun to see all of the people. The day of the race, there was a parade which two students actually walked in and dressed up for! It was probably the longest parade I’ve ever seen (not including Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade).

Then the festivities began. First a race for the boys, then the girls, then some donkeys, and then finally the main event, the horses. There was one horse that was particularly finicky though who refused to get into the starting position for well over an hour. Once the (illegal) start happened, the race only lasted a few minutes, if that. A few jockeys fell off (but that doesn’t matter since the only the horse needs to finish the race) and then there was one horse that wouldn’t stop running around. They had to corner it, and I felt really bad because the horse was very scared and had no idea what was going on. As you can imagine, there are always a few animal-rights’ protests that happen. Overall, I’ll call it an experience, and probably never see one again.

On the 20^th, we had “gelato making,” which basically meant we watched as a pro made gelato and then we got to eat some. I’m not really complaining, because, hey, free gelato.

Don’t start thinking that my time in Ferrara has been all fun and games though. In the 6 weeks of class here I’ve completed: 12 chapters of material, 9 readings, 8 credits, 5 tests, 4 essays (with 2 drafts each), 2 text books, 1 oral exam, 1 final exam, and countless grammar exercises. All somehow without losing my mind on a daily basis. So these may or may not have been the most productive 6 weeks of my life.

But now, I’m in Roma, and a new adventure is about to begin!