...but thanks to the activities offered at LdM, know I do!
Here at LdM, the school offers variety of activities each month. The activities are always a mix of fun and educational! There are things such as Gelato Experience, Cooking activities, coffee tasting, fresco painting, sight running, etc. Students can attend a total of 4 activities per month as long as their schedule allows it! My favorite activities to attend are the cooking activities. We always cook some tradition italian dish and dessert, and it is always very delicious.
Of course, after every dish was plated and everyone else was digging in, I was taking a picture. Below is a collage of me holding dishes the way I would my first born child. Just look at the pride beaming from my face!
The four pictures below were my four favorite desserts that I've made so far: (dessert first, of course!)
Another activity I really enjoyed was the chocolate activity (for obvious reasons). The lady who lead the chocolate activity knew an alarming amount about chocolate (I mean that in the best way possible). She had collected as many different types of chocolate as she could to let us try all kinds of varieties! Apparently, dark chocolate used to be fed to peasant workers because it didn't cost a lot or take much effort, but it had plenty of calories to keep the workers going. However, fast forward a few decades and chocolate was always associated with sexuality, laziness, pleasure and indulgence. That's when it really got good. The following are pictures from the chocolate activity! This photo series was a true test of my restraint because I so desperately wanted to sink my teeth into that sexy chocolate.
(Unfortunately chocolates 6 & 7 got deleted. And NO it's not because I ate the chocolates before I took the pictures. Okay, yeah, that's exactly what happened. But I'd like to see YOU restrain yourself in the presence of delicious chocolates!)
I know what you're thinking. "Abby, do you do any activities that aren't food related?"
Why yes, yes I do.
Seen below is my masterpiece, entitled "Bird Eating Grapes." This particular painting is called a fresco. The bird I painted is based off my bird that I own in real life, named Peanut! It's painted on wet plaster, so you have to be very careful with your brush strokes; otherwise you'll wipe away the plaster! I was rather impressed with my work until I remember that Michelangelo painted "The Creation of Adam" on fresco, on a ceiling. We can't all be master artists, i guess!
I also had the opportunity to visit the Ufizzi gallery. The whole exhibit was dedicated to AiWeiWei. He's a Chinese artist who's inspiration comes from Chinese politics. He's been beaten and imprisioned for some of his works. I will explain the pictures before you see them, otherwise you won't understand.
Erm, this wasn't actually part of the exhibit. You weren't really supposed to see this one, but... this is me, looking like a big 'ol nerd, with my audio headphones and audio box. Classic tourist.
The first picture is a snake made out of backpacks. The backpacks represent an alarming number of children who died during an earthquake. They died because the school building was built out of cheap material, so during the quake, the school collapsed, crushing the children. WeiWei later released all the names of the deceased children on his blog, but Chinese authorities demanded he take it down.
This is a wallpaper which depicts many different symbols. There is the trademark Twitter bird, surveillance cameras, chains, and an alpaca. The piece is titled "An animal that looks like a llama but is really an Alpaca." I cracked up when I heard the name, because I thought it wasn't real. It is. The tour guide told us that the symbol of the llama/alpaca alludes to censorship. There is apparently a Chinese word that sounds like "llama" that is a bad word, so to get around that issue, many Chinese bloggers use the word "Alpaca" instead.
Ai WeiWei had a permit to build a studio where he would complete his art projects. However, when the government became displeased with the art he was making, they claimed he didn't build it according to the permit and codes, so they ordered him to tear it down. To celebrate, Ai WeiWei invited people over to eat river crabs. The Chinese word for river crab also means "harmonious" which is what the Chinese government claims to be.
This is a piece Ai WeiWei made out of leggo pieces. It's Dante!
These photos don't really have any hidden meaning. When you see is what you get and I got a good chuckle. He even made a photo with the Uffizi gallery in the background! Which i recreated, as seen to the right. (The group of middle school-aged children in the background were not pleased.)
