Professor's Day Off

Today we were waiting (eagerly) for Italian food class to start when the two TAs walked in and told us that the Professor had been called away today and that they would be giving the lecture (much to our dismay... of course). The first guy, who generally knows what he is doing and is quite articulate, begins to give a nice overview, complete with Powerpoint visual aide, of this week's readings which are excerpts from Boccaccio's Decameron. As you might imagine, this is fortunate for those of us who will never actually do the readings. This spanned about 40 minutes.

Then the other TA began her part of the lecture: "I want to talk a little bit about pasta." She then attempts to describe the origin of pasta but uses so many Latin and Italian words for antiquated types of pasta that it is virtually incomprehensible (and she seldom makes sense to begin with). My notes for the day can be seen to the left. The end of her presentation included a Powerpoint too. The difference between the two was of course that hers was completely useless.

In a course entitled "Italy Through the Ages: Food and Literature," so perfectly opposite everything we anticipated that we'd learn in school, I thought that it would be difficult to deem one moment more completely irrelevant than the next. Today unfortunately proved me wrong. The Powerpoint started with pictures of various types of pasta, labeled in Italian with font too small to read (I sit in the second row from the front). Before long the labels disappeared altogether and we were simply left looking at rather hi-res photographs of pasta; by this point I had of course completely tuned her out but I am sure she was trying to get us to actually LEARN something. The end of the Powerpoint was of course a grand finale of the Mona Pasta a photo of Fatti una Pizza in Italy which features pasta curtains. These she decisively deemed "some modern uses of pasta." Cassandra captured this lovely photograph of my immediate reaction.


I have invented a new game: It's called "Zero Traction on Slippery Slopes." You try to take as many steps as you can down one of the hills here while it is wet wearing old, thoroughly-worn flip-flops without slipping and falling to your death. On a completely unrelated note, the Bruin Bear is temporarily out of service.


Our last French midterm was also returned this morning; I have photographed my essay on Paris Hilton. This should dispel the myth that I don't ever make mistakes. Those of you who have taken a bit of French will hopefully get a laugh or two out of it.