Barrel Race

Soo it Begins…

Last Tuesday, I was tired and stressed from doing homework all day. I was completing my homework in my room around 10 at night while Sam and Michael went to the Fortezza to get a little workout in. When they came back, they were telling me about how they saw a concert right by the Fortezza. I was so happy they found this because I love experiencing new things. I ended up going out to the concert. While I was there, it was not really crazy in the beginning, it was around 10:30 and we were wondering if we should maybe head back to get a good night sleep. We decided to give it another hour to see if it would pick up and sure enough it did! There had to be hundreds of people there.  Something we were not expecting at all. It was really awesome to see how many kids were there. We met this one kid and we ended up having a dance competition between him and Sam. It was interesting to see how even though both of our cultures are different, we could still find things we have in common with each other. One problem I had was talking to the locals that were there because they all only spoke Italian. I couldn’t understand what they were saying most of the time but I could understand a little since I have taken an Italian class. Overall, it was worth going to the concert and we were able to make some friends while we were there too.

The Contradas

Once the week was over, it was then time to go to the festivals and experience the culture. The town became so lively that weekend as it is considered to be their busiest time of the year. People from all over Italy came to Montepulciano to experience the festivals. The contradas had some of the best food I have had since I have been in Italy. All the food was so fresh and the experience made it feel as if we were at a tailgate. Tailgates are one of my favorite things to do so going to the contradas was one of my favorite things to do.

The one thing that was intriguing me the most this weekend was the concerts each contrada would have every night. Being able to have a place to go and meet new people our age is something I wanted to. I always like meeting new people since I consider myself to be a very social person. Since I spoke a little bit of Italian, I was able to say a key phrase to them  like “My name is Matthew”. I was able to meet some of the locals and we all go along really well at the contradas. Everyone was extremely nice and I would definitely come back here again. 

Barrel Races

Last Sunday night, a barrel race took place here in Montepulciano. This is considered to be the biggest event of the year in this town and the people that participate in it work hard all year for this very moment. I knew I needed to find a good place to watch the barrel race at but I didn’t know where to go. Luckily, Professor Noist and Cochran both opened up their apartment to everyone that came on this study abroad trip since they had a perfect view for the race. When I got there, they provided everyone with everything which was extremely nice of them to do. Before the race started, everyone started making bets on which contrada they believe would win the race. I was going to place a bet on my contrada but I left my wallet in my room. We all started socializing and after about an hour went by, the barrel racers started getting close to the room for us to see. I had a great view of the final hill they all had to come up. The race was not even close since second place was minutes behind. It was great to experience something like this since this would not be something I would normally watch in my free time. 

Monday…..

When Monday came around, the town became a completely different place. All the contadas were gone, not as many people were here, and it was not as busy as I was used too. Even though the town has quiet down, I am still looking forward to everything else this town has to offer!