My Bologna has a first name ...: …it’s n-e-v-e!

(la neve = “snow”)

Ciao tutti,

That’s right. For the past week, la neve has been the name of the game here in Bologna. With the arrival of February came the onset of seemingly endless snow. Starting last Tuesday, it snowed about thirty hours straight before finally taking a break for the weekend. However, the snow has started again today and we are expected to get another big storm this weekend.

I’ve heard this is the most snow Bologna has received since 1985 (at least for February). I don’t doubt it… it’s all i Bolognesi (people from Bologna) seem to be able to talk about. So far, from what I can tell and from what I’ve heard, we’ve received about 75 cm of snow (about 2.5 ft). And it’s only going to increase, what with this projected snow storm this weekend.

Classes at UniBo (the University of Bologna) were canceled Thursday and Friday of last week, as well as Monday and Tuesday of this week. What’s more is that a couple of the BCSP classes have also been delayed because of the snow.

(SIDE NOTE: While I’m studying abroad here in Bologna, I will be taking classes both at the University of Bologna as well as classes offered through the BCSP program. Both types of classes are taught in Italian. The main difference is that while the BCSP courses follow a more “American” style of teaching with regular homework and exams, the UniBo classes are strictly “Italian” in that there is no regular homework and usually the only grade you receive for the class is from an oral exam with the professor at the end of the semester.)

Although it’s been nice to relax and not worry about classes, I’m starting to get bored. I was kind of looking forward to classes starting to at least give me something to do! It would be one thing if we could travel during this time, but most of the trains are delayed or canceled completely. This is especially a problem for this weekend, as many of us were thinking about heading to Venice for Carnival. Hopefully we’ll end up going, but with the projected storm this weekend, it seems unlikely L Luckily, Carnival in Venice continues next weekend, so fingers crossed for better weather then!

The snow has also affected the inventory of a lot of stores here in Bologna, especially grocery stores and supermarkets. Farmers and distributers haven’t been able to get their goods into the city, so many meat and produce sections of grocery stores and supermarkets here have become barren. However, with the break in snow this past weekend, shipments of goods have started coming in again.

The other major factor of the snow is the cold that it brings! I went to Mass at San Petronio (the main basilica in Piazza Maggiore) on Sunday and even with a few heat lamps that were scattered among the pews, the huge stone structure just radiated cold throughout the entire service. I felt like an icicle. Furthermore, biting winds have made it hard and a little undesirable to walk through the city. However, I’m glad that I live in the land of porticos, which offer great shelter from rain and snow. The down side is that the ground underneath these porticos has become extremely slippery, as people enter with wet and snowy feet. Therefore, it can become pretty dangerous walking under the porticos if you’re not careful.

I know the majority of this post so far has seemed a little negative, but in general, the snow hasn’t been too terrible. I’ve enjoyed seeing the city under a blanket of white, and it’s made for some great stories and photos. See for yourself: