6 food events in January and February -- to promote and to bond around Italy, good times, good books, and good food

The following are the February info sessions for the Food Cultures of Italy class, as well as events at the Co-op and Village Books in Bellingham, WA. The info sessions are more geared towards the student course in June and July -- but all of these are opportunities to meet up, talk, and answer questions.

Best Gigi

(1) Thursday, Jan 30

1:00-3:00 Viking Union (International Fair)

(2) Thursday, Feb 6
3:00 PM | CH 135

(3) Tuesday, Feb 18
3:00 PM | CH 135

(4) Tuesday, Feb 25
3:00 PM | CH 135

and also

(5) Slow Food and Nourishing Traditions at the downtown Community Food Co-op

with Gigi Berardi, Monday February 3 6:30-8:30 

(poster is attached)

(6) Readings Gallery of Village Books on Thurs., Feb. 13, 7-8pm.  Gigi Berardi, Western faculty and Global Discovery leader, will share her experiences and food background at the information session, including growing up in an Italian home and how that inspired her culinary passions. Berardi’s research in food culture and her belief in the importance of minerals, sun and Mediterranean fats in the diet strongly inspire her method of teaching about food. Global Discovery trips are non-credit and offer an opportunity for people to travel with Western faculty and immerse themselves in another culture. Enjoy slides of work at Slow Food hot spots in Europe, as well as in Bellingham and narrations by Gigi Berardi – who will be sharing excerpts from her newest book project- A Cultivated Life.

Information session for Italy Thursday, January 16 at 4:00-5:00

Hello all, the next information session is fast upon us --

See http://www.wwu.edu/ee/studyabroad/index.shtml#summer at 4:00-5:00 in CH 137

An additional information/food session will be Monday, Feb. 3 at the downtown Community Food Co-op at 6:30. Fee $6-8.

 Italy program includes

• 14 nights lodging
• Most meals
• 7 excursions, including 2 into the countryside (biodynamic farm, wine estate)
• Daily instruction in Italian
• Classes at the University of Florence

Grand Total: $4,500 payable in installments

Please note the following:

• EESP  helps direct people to financial aid — over half the students have financial aid who enroll in the program.
• Excursions are not given in great detail, but they include in Tuscany: Chianti country, castle winery (with tasting and meal in the courtyard), hands-on ceramics/pottery classes, cooking classes, biological farm. An optional Switzerland excursion also is available (cost, additional).
• The weekend in between the two weeks of instruction and excursions is free, but sometimes we go as a group to Assisi, Perugia (this is another region — Umbria), or in Cinque Terra (region: Liguria) along the Italian riviera. 
• Also included in the price are two optional field trips in Whatcom County and on Lopez Island, once we return.
• Additional credits are available (you can talk to me about this).

Some of the best feedback can be found here: VISIT GINA'S BLOG, THE COURSE DAY-BY-DAY: http://good4ugastronomy.blogspot.com/ and also: https://www.facebook.com/groups/629347747092601/