Yesterday all of the students who went through Arcadia University’s program to study abroad at The Umbra Institute (which is the majority of students here) had an orientation day trip. We all went to a farm out in the countryside where we had a small breakfast, three sessions, and a lunch. The farm has a central ideology of slow food (opposite of fast food) – local ingredients and seasonality. All of the food prepared is made locally on their farm or with resources from local communities. Their ideology made it that much more enjoyable to share the experience with them!

The farm was beautiful! There are green rolling hills with a large lake and mountains far off – it all looks like a painting.

Is it not like a painting?

There is a large lake in the background you can barely see, but it’s there.

Their land – again you can just make out some mountains and the lake in the distance.

In the first session I learned how to weave baskets! There was an older gentleman, I believe the grandfather of the family who lives on the farm, that has a special weaving skill. He makes baskets that are then used to collect eggs, olives, etc. They are beautifully handcrafted, sometimes with different colored branches weaved into the baskets to give off different colors.

Learning to weave – that is Flavio, the patriarch of the family.

Learning from the master weaver himself!

In the second session I learned how to make egg pasta. Two women showed us how to make, roll out, cut, and arrange the pasta into specific types of pasta. For one person (1 serving size), it’s generally 1 egg and 1 etto (100 grams) of flour. You mix it together with your hands like clay, making sure not to waste any of it. Then you roll it out with a large rolling pin, using some different rolling methods. Finally, after the pasta dough has dried, you cut it into the kind of pasta desired.

La nonna, or grandmother – making the pasta dough.

A neighbor helps out at the farm as well – she is rolling out the pasta here.

The third session had to do with culture shock and adapting to a new country. Everyone experiences some form of culture shock it’s how we deal with it and learn to accept our new lifestyle that is important.

Finally – we had lunch! A lovely four course meal was prepared for us: bread with assorted spreads (olive paste, pâté paste, eggs, olive oil, fagiolini), pasta with a classic tomato meat sauce, meatballs and spinach with some bread, and finally a chocolate cream-filled cake like dessert.

Many people were involved in the preparation and serving of our lunch – a big thank you to them!

After lunch we gathered for a bit outside and it was just as beautiful on the hillside, with much of the fog having cleared since the morning. If I recall correctly the family volunteered their time and resources (at least in part) to show us a part of their lives and culture. It was an honor to be there and their generosity is very telling about their character.