Arancione (are-an-ch-own-A) – Orange

            ….today was an absolute blast! And I think that I have said that about a million and four times….today USAC took anyone who wanted to go, up to a little town called Ivrea for the Orange Battles that celebrate Carnivale….Carnivale is essentially Mardi Gras….it is the intense period of celebrations leading up to Lent (the preparation period before Easter)…it is done many different ways depending on where you are….many people recognize the celebrations in Venice, with the big parties and beautiful masks….well in Ivrea, there are 3 days of orange battles….

            …and the best part is battles isn’t even kind of an exaggeration….it is literally a battle….so basically what happens is there are teams on the ground who are each given a piazza to stay in the entire battle

….sometimes there is only one team to a piazza but most have at least two, sometimes up to four…..then there are about 25 teams in horse drawn carts that travel in a loop around the city going through all the piazzas…the players on the ground are not in any sort of armor, but those in the carts have helmets and full body armor….when the cart comes into the square both teams just go at it…throwing regular and blood oranges at each other as hard as they can….the cart stops for a bit in the center of the square to allow the battle to get really intense, before heading out of it and onto the next team…..it is absolutely ridiculous, and would NEVER be allowed to happen in the states!...

            …the other thing is unless you are wearing one the red hats, which are basically a red sock on your head, anyone can yell, “capello!!!!!” and squeeze oranges onto your hair and ususally just throw them at your head as well…..so obviously we bought these hats….we wore them all around because we got to Ivrea at about 12, had an hour for to grab lunch and look around before the parade….the parade started in the main square was so cool, working its way through all the squares…it had a cart with what looked like a royal family of sorts, marching bands, tons of horse and riders, and tons more that I don’t know how to explain because Im not for positive what they actually were…..at 2pm the battle began and would go until 5pm…

            ….we started out by watching the fights begin in the piazza which had 3 teams in it….starting to see how the battles actually took place…..its absolutely one of the most wild things that I have ever seen….then we walked on the main drag across town to where one of our USAC staff, Daniele, was on a team….when we got there the battle was in full swing….we were able to find Daniele and a few other boys already covered in orange pulp…..they wanted us to take off our red hats and join in but we were reluctant….after a bit we decided, what the heck, and took off our hats, letting the guys squeeze oranges over heads…..then the fun really began…

            …when we got into the square the first cart came in….we picked up oranges off the ground, held up one arm to protect our face and just started throwing them at the cart….blocking oranges that were flying everywhere, while trying to hit the opponents as hard as possible….there were so many oranges in the air, and you were getting hit from all angles, but once the adrenaline of it all kicked in, you could barely feel it anymore….it was amazing!!....the cart would leave and we would just hang out for a few minutes, drinking hot wine (wine that was hot but was also spiced, so so so good)….and meeting other Italians….

            ….everyone there was SO NICE to us!!....they were bringing us cups of wine, giving us the flags to wave, teaching us chants….it was so so cool….they loved that we were there and getting so into it….i loved it all….

            …and before we knew it, the next cart was coming into the square and you were starting again….i got hit soooo many times today, im actually kinda excited to see if I got any good brusies today J….battle scars, literally….took a couple really good hits, to the jaw and temple, and back J….and oh my goodness gracious, did we get dirty today too…

            …by the second cart, I was already covered in orange pulp, but it was one of those things you just couldn’t think about…you had to just embrace it and worry about it later….by the end of the battle, we were all covered….our faces were stuck in one position from the sticky juice drying on, and our hair was more stiff than if I had used an entire bottle of gel…with so much pulp you wouldn’t believe…..after about an hour, the ground was covered in a layer of smashed oranges, dirt, sweat, horse poop and who know what else…..and that layer only grew and grew….our teams piazza, the crows, was really small and we were the only team in it….so it was packed and awesome…..but I do think that might have made the orange pulp ground layer only worse…

            ….today was the best thing I have done so far….i remember watching Sam Brown on the Travel Channel go and watch this….and today I was participating in the 207^th year of it!....once I got over the initial fear of getting hit, it was so much fun!....at one point the boys even got me “under the cart” which isn’t actually under, but all the way up by the side of the cart, where you are just completely pelted over and over, and it gets to the point where you cant even move for more oranges, all you can do is drum on the side of the cart until it is over…..gah! it was so much fun….

  

          …by the end of the battle, I was covered from head to toe and couldn’t wait to be done with the 45 minute bus ride home, and in a shower….took me 3 times to wash all of the orange out of my hair and I think I will be crying pulp for weeks….but it was absolutely worth it!....today I had an experience that not many people would have, and it was amazing and one of my most favorite memories….everyday, every travel, im getting braver….man this life is just absolutely amazing and I am so thankful for this opportunity….even if I am stressed out over tests and not sleeping…at least here I am stressed because Im having to study on planes to and from London…..and that is an amazing thing….i love this…..today was one of the most painful days….but it was one of the best days!