Internship Has Sailed

On Monday (while most of you were enjoying a work-free national holiday, *sigh*) I finished my internship, bid farewell to the Egyptian artist as she boarded a plane back to Amsterdam, and said my final goodbyes to my steel gray semi-automatic Lancia Ypsilon.  I thought it would be harder than it was, but I was so ready to have my life back and not be bound to the responsibilities of a car, and a needy artist for that matter.  Did I just say that?  Oops.  In all seriousness the internship did give me the opportunity to meet and talk with several important curators, art directors and other members of Turin's contemporary art scene.  I went to more art openings, exhibitions and artist talks than I can count and became more acquainted with the city's vibrant creative culture.

urban art showcase, torino

I also learned how to go into a Tabaccheria and purchase Marlboro Lights as a frequent favor for the artist with whom I worked.  I learned how to pick up her friends from the airport and how to attempt to be an art snob with her french artist boyfriend by carrying on a pejorative conversation about a famous collection.  Oui oui.  But all that stupid stuff just comes with the territory of being an intern, I suppose.  During the last week there was an artist workshop at the foundation and I sat in on a few sessions.  I met and talked with visiting artists from around Europe and those conversations were definitely worth the time I spent driving her around and buying her cigarettes.

My supervisor gave me rave reviews when it came time for evaluations.  In fact she invited me over to her house to personally tell me how much she appreciated my work during the summer.  Would've been cool if she'd told me that even once over the last 7 weeks, but whatever.  She told me this internship was a great opportunity for me to become familiar with the Torino scene.  She even asked me to work with her in the fall during Paratissima, a well-known annual european art fair in Turin, to help organize and plan a few exhibitions.  There may even be a chance to help the foundation plan another artist workshop - all of which sounds more interesting than taking an artist grocery shopping at the local supermarket, so here's hoping.

journaling at the Castello di Rivoli contemporary art museum

So now in my immense free time I've decided to get serious about losing some kilos with a friend of mine.  We've been meeting 3 times a week to do either some power yoga, P90 (I'm not cool enough for P90X yet), or some brisk walking action at a lovely park along the river.  I've been biking to her place to meet her (20 minutes one way) so I'll get in some bonus exercising.  I kind of forgot how good it feels to be active and not base your exercise on how far you'll need to walk to the next open-air market or fresh pasta shop.  Energy, I've missed you.  Extreme Sweatiness, didn't miss you so much but I inherited you from my father and with this heat it's inevitable we'd meet again.

I've also planned a little trip up to Deutschland for this weekend to visit the lovely Ricarda, my roommate from Fall semester.  I found a decently priced ticket so I'll be leaving Friday and coming back on Wednesday - that's 5 days of northern German shenanigans. Ich bin excited, y'all!  I'm meeting her in Hamburg, staying with some friends, then heading off to Bremen/Oldenburg to reunite with her adorable family, ride horses and possibly sail around the sea north of Germany.  I really can't complain.