74. UPDATING MY COMMENTS ON THE SCHOOLS

I started this blog in 2006 after attending the University per Stranieri at Perugia because I was incensed by the poor treatment I and the other students in my class had received. Comments sent to me by people who had also attended the university in their career reinforced my criticism. I doubt if much has changed, and might even have deteriorated given the current economic conditions in Italy and institutional inertia. So if you attend there after reading my blog on the University of Perugia you have been forewarned. There is another university for foreigners, this one in Siena. But I know nothing about it.

Looking back on my reviews of the private schools I think I can generalise and say that all the private schools follow the same approach: grammar and some “discussion” often through games or debates. For a “beginner” or someone studying for an exam, this approach may be acceptable. On the other hand, if you are already beyond the beginner’s stage and want to improve your conversational skills you are more likely to be frustrated by such an approach.

You will be frustrated because you will be studying grammar detached from conversation, and when you do enter into conversation you will be conversing with other foreign students, not native speakers. So my question was and is, why spend all that money to study in Italy when you can do as well in your native city [assuming there are courses in Italian]. In Vancouver, for example, we have the universities, colleges, community centres, and the Consulate which all offer classes. If you think you will be conversing with native speakers outside of the class-room, think again. You will hardly meet any Italian [other than clerks at shops or waiters] unless you haunt the bars or are gregarious. Of course, if you are young and beautiful/handsome, this route might work for you!

Finding a school that breaks the traditional mould is difficult to find. Scudit in Rome made all kinds of promises in their publicity and what they told me in person, [and not just me] but proved as frustratingly narrow in their approach. For one week out of four I had a class of conversation, but because of the lack of numbers the class was combined with your typical traditional class. And this, of course, is one of the dangers of attending a private school: you can end up playing “musical classes” if attendance is down, and even though the class is not what you sought you will be stuck in it. I definitely DO NOT RECOMMEND SCUDIT.

Lingua-it when I attended was not bad, if again traditional, with some instructors less than professional in their behaviour. But the classes were well organised. Furthermore, someone I met attended Linguat-it recently and was very pleased. However, if you really want the traditional approach –lots of grammar, lots of drills, limited conversation, but no real communication beyond the classroom, I recommend Leonardo da Vinci in Siena. It has their own well organised approach with their own books, and I doubt if they would have changed. They also offer great visits, and I hope they still offer their class on pronunciation. My one complaint was that the school lacked a place for students to meet after class for informal conversation. Perhaps they have addressed this lack.

If you are an intermediate student, that is, you have already studied some grammar but want to hone your conversational skills, – really, break the linguistic “freeze| -- you know the words but when you want to speak you go blank - - then I recommend ARCA in Bologna. It came nearest to giving me what I was looking for. Its very relaxed approach helped to break the speaker’s block caused by nervous tension.

But even here ARCA promised more than it delivered. I wasted the first week in a traditional class of grammar because my instructor was still away on holiday. When she returned I found what I was looking for and I credit her and the school with releasing my speaker’s block. My instructor, and indeed all the instructors were relaxed, and every morning we had an hour long coffee break at a local cafe where we sat around and chatted. The relaxed atmosphere worked wonders, and if someone was not speaking an instructor would go over and start a conversation. The danger in this method is that it can easily slip into slackness or perceived slackness by students who want a more formal approach. But it worked for me.

ARCA also promised that they would connect me to Italians for conversation, but it was only in my fourth week that they found someone. Their excuse was that the academic year was out. I often wondered why it had to be a student and could not have been someone retired. Finally, in their favour, they housed me with a lady who was wonderful in that she conversed with me every day, and though not an educated person, spoke correctly with me and at a pace that I could understand. Four weeks of wonderful conversation did wonders for my conversational skills.

I have recommended ARCA to several people and each has returned very happy [with the one exception mentioned above]. Moreover, I recently met someone who attended ARCA this year [2017] and he was full of praise for the school. I hope the school continues to promote communication through conversation.

73. TORINO – Parks

Torino has some wonderful parks, usually “royal” parks fom its past. Besides the greenery along the river Dora, if one crosses the river at Corso Regio Parco and Corso Regina Margherita, one enters the Royal Garden with its Summer residence. If my orientation is correct one is walking south-west. Keep walking [if you can] and you enter the city centre. I used to walk on Via Rossini with the park to my right.

Via Rossini eventually intersects with Via Po and if you turn left [south] you eventually arrive at the river Po. Further west is the Parco Valentino. I don’t recommend walking. Public transport will take you to the park. This is a big park in which you will find the burgo medievale – an 18^th century creation of a medieval village – something in the manner of the Cloisters in New York city in that both are ersatz. It’s worth a visit, but a warning, the signs to it are really poor. If Torino wants to become a tourist city it will have to do a better job with its signs.

Save yourself a day to visit the royal park at Veneria just outside the city limits. Rent a car and go. You will spend the whole day there. It’s what you would expect from a royal Italian garden. There is also the palace with beautiful objects of historical interest. In the village you can find little restaurants to fuel you for the rest of your walk-about. Just don’t miss Veneria!

72. TORINO – The Egyptian Museum

The city map boasts a whole host of museums but I only made it to two. The people of Torino are very proud of their Egyptian museum, boasting that it is only second to that in Egypt. I haven’t seen the museum in Egypt but I have visited the BritishMuseum, and frankly, I preferred it to that in Torino. I confess, my view is biased because the attendant gave me an aural guide, and when I went to select “Italian” it ONLY played English. By then I was walking along the main exhibitions and I was not prepared to go back and change. It is that insulting attitude which annoys me: “he’s not Italian so give him the English version,” or French or whatever without allowing the recipient to make the original request.

What I found tedious was [and the Italians are so good at this!] the emphasis placed on the prowess of the Italian[s] who discovered the artifacts and were so much better than the archaeologists from other countries –French, English, German – oh , “look upon my works ye mighty and despair”. I would have much preferred to read about the display itself and less about who found it. And while we are on the subject of ruins, be they Egyptian or Roman –Torino boasts some Roman ruins. They are worth a visit [a bus/tram ride], but don’t expect Rome, or Tivoli or Fiesole. Take your lunch and enjoy the tranquility.

Not far from the Mole is the radio and television museum. Nothing as dramatic, really just a few exhibits from the past, but worth taking in en passant. [It’s free.] Right across the street is a building with a wonderful gate. There are so many little treasures like this, as for example, the gate at the Opera Theatre. Torino boasts not just wrought-iron gates, but stained glass windows, and little metal griffins for the observant.

71. TORINO – Book Stalls and the Mole

If you like hunting after second-hand books, then Torino is your city! Head east along the Via Po until you reach one of the many campuses that constitute the University of Torino, and the pavement outside the university is lined with booksellers. I had to fight back the temptation to buy more than I already had, because of the weight. But perhaps your interest lies not with words on the page but with pictures on the screen. Torino boasts its celebrated Mole Antonelliana commonly known as the Mole, a building with its characteristic narrow cupola that looks like the body of a balalaika with a needle-like “spire” rising up to the sky.

The Mole offers two attractions. Take the lift up the spire for a bird’s eye view of the city and visit the cinema museum. I skipped on the spire because there was a long line-up on the day I visited, and I wasn’t prepared for the climb. I later found out that one takes an elevator up the spire.

If you love movies you will love the museum. On the main viewing floor you sit back on a plush, comfortable seat, and watch a film from the past. Along the sides of the same floor there are little nooks showing other films, from westerns to Tom and Jerry. On the next floor [or floors – I didn’t count] the history of the cinema unfolds through the exhibitions. I wanted to return for another visit but somehow Time robbed me of that pleasure.

70. TORINO – A New Tourist Attraction

The Via Po is one of the main streets. One end takes you to Piazza Vittorio Veneto, a huge, glorious piazza and then to the bridge Ponte Vittorio Veneto and across the river Po to where the church Gran Madre looks down. The other end of Via Po you will find the Royal Palace. All very imposing, but I didn’t go in. For those who want to shop you turn on to Via Roma and then look for Via Lagrange. Via Roma is the expensive shopping area but Lagrange is a more pleasant street – traffic free. You will also find a book store focusing on books about Piedmont and Torino.

The large avenue Corso Vittorio Emmanuele II takes you to the Porta Nuova train station and then beyond to GAM -Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna. It’s well worth a visit, and if you still have energy walk on the side streets parallel to Corso Vittorio Emmanuele II. There are some wonderful iron works and stained glass on some of the buildings. There is so much more to see, which, alas, I did not because of my schedule. Go now before the tourists discover Torino and ruin it.

69. TORINO -Tavola Doc 4 – A Typical Lesson

During my four weeks studying at TavolaDoc we went through the whole gamut of anti pasti [hors d’oevre], primi piatti [pasta, rice, or soup], secondo piatti [meat or fish] and dolci [dessert]. After the preparation, we would sit down and eat what was prepared. As Claudio is also an expert on Italian [at least piedmontese] wines, I offered to pay for the bottle, which he would choose according to what we would be eating. So we ended the class with a sit-down dinner with wine whose qualities were explained to me. As my primary goal was to practise conversing in Italian, it was a pleasant way to enjoy three hours of conversation.

Claudio did not just demonstrate the preparation of the dish in question, but he also gave me all kinds of advice from his years of experience. It ranges from how to use a knife to the shrinkage of pasta – in total 57 general tips.

During the preparation of the dishes I could and did ask him questions and he would stop and explain the point in question. There was never a rush, and if when I was assembling my notes back at the Loft and I needed clarification, I would ask him the next time we met and he would explain. I found my approach of taking lots of photos worked very well. When I got back to my apartment, I made sure to collate photos, notes, and recipes and to keep each set in a separate folder. The key I found was to do this right after the class while everything was still fresh in my mind.

When I returned home to Canada I prepared a translated set of instructions that included my notes, comments, and photos.

68. TORINO -Tavola Doc 3– Types of Schools

I also attended another school, Foodlab, for three classses. It was located at the other end of Torino from where I was staying. While it only took 30-40 minutes to get to the school by bus and tram, coming back at night took 2 hours! If it wants to become a tourist city Torino will have to update its approach to public transport. I ended up taking a taxi home for the remaining two classes at Foodlab. An added expense.

The two schools are diametrically opposite in appearance and practice. And I would add, in philosophy.

Foodlab is in a chi-chi part of town, while TavolaDoc is in an area that is up and coming but still not as affluent. At Foodlab you enter a gated palazzo and the first thing that strikes you in entering the door is a large red, ceramic vase to the right of the receptionist. Each table is well laid out. All very shiny, very clinical, very efficient. The school has many assistants who help the main teacher and a delightful Spanish lady who washes up. They have a schedule to get through, and the assistants will help you so that you don’t fall behind. Everyone was helpful and friendly. And when I was having difficulty with my heart because of the heat [there had been a heat wave] the school kindly offered to cancel my next class and refund the price of the lesson. They placed me under the fan for the next class and all was well. So we are dealing with a “classy” institution.

Tavola Doc comprises two rooms – one with the kitchen and the other, an extension that also serves as a dining room. There is only one instructor – Claudio Buraglini -- proprietor and teacher. Occasionally a family member might help out. The school has all the basic equipment which one is likely to have at home as well as other kitchen aids. In short, Tavola Doc is much more “homey” and casual. Claudio has a group of dedicated followers.

Claudio’s philosophy is not to be sponsored by any of the companies making kitchen utensils like Kitchen Aid, Kenwood, etc. He told me that one company had asked him but he said no, he did not need it. His thinking is that it is no use teaching students to cook with, say a Kitchen Aid, if they don’t have one at home. On the other hand, it is obvious that Foodlab is sponsored by at least one company. And here is what can happen.

For my third and last class, for which I paid 80 euros, we were to learn, as I discovered later, to use specific machines – a water-temperature regulator and a vacuum machine. But I don’t have these expensive machines at home nor do I intend to get them. So the lesson was a waste of my time and money, as it must have been for most of the class. In these situations we become passive victims of a marketing ploy under the guise of a cooking class. Given the choice, I rather the simpler more honest class at Tavola doc.

67. TORINO -Tavola Doc 2– Type of Teacher

In my limited experience I have found that one can group male culinary teachers into two groups: thoughtful and egoistical (or old[er] and young[er]) – a wild generalisation, I know. For some reason, testosterone perhaps, younger male teachers seem more interested in showing off. Be that as it may, at Tavola Doc Claudio Buraglini was in his 60s with a life-time of experience behind him. He was also a thinking man when it came to cooking and a modest person. Ego did not interfere between instructor and student.
Claudio runs a restaurant on the weekends for friends and students and holds classes during weekdays. He also lectures on food around the province. His background is in the culinary business as his father had been a chef and owned a restaurant, so he learnt literally from the ground up. He also holds down a regular job. Not surprising he has had more than one bypass surgery!
What I gleaned besides the preparation of the actual recipes was information or tips on general procedures and kitchen craft, – a lot of which one would not get in a group lesson. He assumes his students will also think things out, and so his recipes are often quite open, in that he gives the quantities for the main ingredients but leaves the minor ones to one’s taste. Blind following will not succeed, but on the other hand, it allows one to stamp the outcome with one’s own taste.
Claudio cooked and demonstrated, and I was quite happy. One could, of course, ask to participate in the cooking, but I preferred to watch and listen. I had the recipe, his comments as he cooked or I asked questions, and I took photos, and more photos. When I returned home I collated my notes with the recipes [which I translated] and the photos. Since I returned I have been trying out the recipes, and when needed, I have asked Claudio for further advice.