"It kind of makes you appreciate flatness"

Fridays we normally don't have class but yesterday, our Italian class had an all day field trip. At first we were all a little bummed at having to have "class" for 10 hours starting at 8 am, but it turned out to be amazing! We drove about an hour and a half north to this organic farm that makes cheese, wine, olive oil, honey, etc. One of the workers showed us where the sheep live and how the milking process. In case you were curious, mungere means to milk something. After this, we got to go make our own cheese. We took a big jug of sheeps milk (Jake and Zach were the only two brave enough to drink fresh straight sheeps milk) and heated it up to I think about 38 degrees C. When it got that warm, the man added a certain amount of lamb stomach enzymes from a bottle. 

Then we let it sit for 40 mins. We got to walk around and pet the goats and donkey. There was also a bamboo forest and a playground. Being the mature, 20 something college students that we are, we played crouching tiger hidden dragon in the bamboo and then had a who can jump off the swing the furthest contest. When we got back we had to finish the cheese. I got to stir the milk which was now really thick and more like flan or pannacotta (which would make sense since I finally realized panna cotta means cooked cream). When it was all broken into smaller pieces, we scooped it into little cup sized colanders and used our hands to press out the liquid which we collected into a pot. When that was done, we salted it a bit and then took it out the the colander and we had cheese!! We then used the collected liquid and reheated it to make ricotta (ri-cotta means cooked again). They gave us bread and foccaccia and we all just ate massive amounts of this cheese which was just amazing! I never thought I would be eating cheese that had been milk less than an hour earlier. When the ricotta was done we got to eat it while it was still warm. So so so delicious.

After lunch we drove to Bomarzo which is a tiny town that is famous for its Parco dei Mostri, or Monster park. It is this incredible park in the woods and there are these gigantic stone monuments of mythical creatures all around. It's beautiful and a bit eerie. http://www.parcodeimostri.com/ You should go look at it if you can't fly out to see it. We all had to do a one minute presentation on one of the monuments. After this, we stopped and played on the playground there. There was one of the playground spinny things, that's kinda like a teapot ride but way faster. Also we went on the see-saw. Our professor thought we were really funny. I guess she wasn't used to 5 year old college students. On the ride home, all of us fell asleep pretty much immediately, we were pretty tuckered out. 

Today is the start of CARNEVALE! There are a bunch of parades and street performances and then there is stuff going on until March 8 (Martedì Grasso)!!!

"Help a Father out?!"

So it's Thursday night, and I have obviously fallen behind a little in posting things. I guess it's catch up time. Not ketchup time. I wish. Italians only have a weird really sugary version of ketchup. And no cheddar cheese. I have been making grilled cheese with provolone.

Monday was a pretty good day. Not too much to report on. We had a guest lecturer in Politics talk to us about the differences between the Italian and American constitutions. It was really interesting. The Italian constitution is really really specific. It goes into all sorts of details besides just structure of government. It also includes all the things we have in our amendments. And then it goes on and on in more detail. Monday was also my first photography field study. We went out to the bridge and then St. Peter's and took photos for 2 hours. It was exhausting and confusing and we'll have to see if any of them are any good. Our homework is to pick 5 to send to the professor along with a descriptions of the settings we used and why we liked that particular picture. I took over 200 pictures and am not sure I have 5 that I like. 

Tuesday was a fun day. I went to Fratrellini bookstore to buy some more text books. Slowly but surely I am getting them all. At the store, which is basically the Italian Barnes and Noble, there was a computer you could use to look up a book and on the keyboard they actually had 2 emoticon keys. Instead of having to press 3 keys to get the happy face :-) you only had to press one. It was weird though because I don't think I have ever needed to use an emoticon when looking up a book. Before Italian, a bunch of us went to Gelateria del Teatro, which is definitely some of the best I've had in Rome. We also went to buy some masks for a supposedly themed pre-carneval party that night. One of the ISCs lives in a huge apartment with a chandelier, a piano, and a huge balcony. All the ISCs went and brought their Americans. We only went for 20 minutes though because we got there late and everyone was getting ready to go sing karaoke at an Irish pub in the center. Dinner that night was Trattoria Tuesday!!! That's why we were late to the party. Dinner turned out to be at the same place as the week before which was a little disappointing because they promised some place new, but it was definitely still delicious!

So I was getting ready to talk about Wednesday, only to realize that the Politics guest lecturer wasn't on Monday. He actually came yesterday. So, Monday, normal politics class. To read about Wednesday, scroll up. My field study for Archaeology was to the Roman Forum. That was incredible. I had walked by it a few times already but really hadn't seen it yet. Before going in, our professor took us around the corner and showed us the oldest thing in the city. It was dirt. Just dirt. But (I don't actually remember the year) it was older than the volcanic rock that was used to build the most ancient parts of the city. You can see it in the bottom picture, along with my professor's shadow. I think it's amazing that I get to have a class in the Roman Forum! Instead of just reading and listening to the professor talk about things, we actually get to go see it. The text book has a passage that describes what it would be like to walk around the Forum and what you would see, and here we are really doing it. The cool thing about our professor is that he is still an active archaeologist. He showed us the part of the Forum is is actually working on right now! Overall, Wednesday was a really good day though. Lucia got me housing for the fall!! My Emory assigned time was 10:35 pm which means 4:35 am here. She did it for me though and let me have my good night's sleep and a great apartment in the CRC. I also got a free bottle of water in the vending machine and thus saved 40 euro cents.

Thursday is today. I had my first meeting at La Sapienza for my internship. I was really nervous and did not come out of there feeling good about it. It's going to be hard and frustrating, and I really don't know what else to expect. Sonia is cooking us dinner now, and I have to go set the table.

"So'd you guys hear about that Alchemy? Pretty neat, huh?"

Kim has a friend from school who was born in Anzio so she was a little curious about the town. It is a small beach town about an hour train ride outside of Rome. We decided to go there on Saturday and just walk around. It cost a grand total of 3,20 euro to get there. When we got to the station there, we asked for a map and the man gave us the largest map in the world. It was probably over 3 feet wide and included every other small town in the area since there really wasn't anything in Anzio. Also, we got there around 3 in the afternoon, so everything was closed. The central piazza was filled with Carneval-ing children. They all had their costumes on and were just running around with confetti and silly string. There were a lot of princesses, a lion with a sword, some witches, and a spiderman with a cape. We walked around a bit more and saw the harbor. Actually, we smelled it first and then found it. Up the coast from there was the beach which was fairly crowded. It is still way too cold for the beach but there were 2 guys surfing. Mostly there were just people playing soccer or walking dogs. There were a few groups of old people bundled up in heavy winter coats walking around (it was over 60 degrees). Kim and I found a bunch of cool shells and then my sneakers got wet when I tried to rinse the sand off the shells. We saw on the map that there was a large park called Villa Borghese. Since there is the famous one in Rome we wanted to go see this one but it was completely walled off and locked up. We ended up going to the cafe/bar/tabacchi in the train station and eating a bunch of weird European snack foods while watching on the other soccer matches. I don't think either team playing was even Italian.

When we got back to Rome, Kim went to babysit/hang out with some family friends and I went off to get dinner. I met up with Will, Jake, Maria, David, Jillian, Annie, and Michelle at St. Peter's obelisk and went from there to La Cucaracha. It was this little Mexican restaurant right on the north side of the Vatican walls. It was a culturally confusing dinner. We were all speaking English, the waiters were Italian, the menu was in Spanish, and the large table next to us was all French. The food was technically Mexican but tasted very Italianized. I got a good burrito but it tasted exactly like what it was: an Italian burrito. We all had a lot of fun though and the restaurant was really nice. I was just happy to taste something that wasn't bread and mozzarella. After dinner we all went to this cool dance place called Circolo degli Artisti. It was out of the center so there were mostly Italians there. I didn't actually hear any other English speakers there. The music was really crazy. Retro American music and then Italian techno pop. We got to dance to Elvis and the Beach Boys which was just fun and silly. We also decided that we needed to make up a really silly/stupid dance move and say that it is really popular in the States and see if by May anyone else is doing it. 

Sunday we were going to go to Porta Portese to look for postcards and things for Carnevale (which starts in 1 week!!!!), but we over slept. Then Sarah and I were going to cook a big lunch but the grocery stores were all closed. I ended up having a lazy day and tried to read the Italian constitution for my class. Also yesterday, Kim and I met up with Will and Jake and some of Will's friends from the States who were visiting Rome for the weekend. We went to Peanut Bar which was chill and pretty empty being early on a Sunday and it was raining. Giovanni, the owner, was really nice and put on Shakira and then Tiziano Ferro when we asked. When Tiziano Ferro came on, the few Italians that were there all groaned and got up and pretended to leave. I guess he's a sophisticated taste. Giovanni was very impressed that Kim and I knew all the words to one of his songs. 

P.S. The random post titles are usually recent (funny at the time) quotes that were said by me or friends

Caffe Corretto

Today is Friday and that means NO CLASS! I've never not had class on Friday and it is very exciting! I got to sleep really late and then watched an episode of Jersey Shore while I ate some Frosted Flakes. Kim and I also tried to clean our room. This afternoon Maria and I wanted to go practice taking pictures since we have our first photography field study on Monday and neither of us really know how to work our cameras. Kim and Will came to and we started off near Isola Tiberina. I finally got to see the turtle fountain. I actually didn't know we were near it but we saw this cute fountain and before I even noticed the turtles, it looked really familiar to me. I remember when I was 7 Papa telling me and Daisy that we were going to go see a turtle fountain that day. After that we just walked around Trastevere and got some amazing pizza followed by some amazing gelato. I may have actually lost count with the gelato counter already. Oops.

Yesterday, was another easy day. Because of my internship, I dropped the Catholic Church class and therefore didn't have any class until 4:30. Sonia made lunch for me and another ISC came over. We ate artichokes which are a huge staple here in Rome. Today when walking around we saw several restaurants get huge deliveries of artichokes. My pizza today was mozzarella and artichoke hearts. Last night a big group of us went to a Jazz club at the top of the Spanish steps. It was 8 of us from our Italian class and it was so much fun! They added on 5 euro per person to the bill though for the music. It was annoying because they didn't tell us before that there was a music charge and I don't even like Jazz. Oh well, the night was definitely more than 5 euros of fun. After the jazz we headed for Trastevere, but Kim and I forgot to get off the bus because Sonia and Caroline got on at the same time and we accidentally went all the way home.

One funny thing I saw today was a Carabiniere drinking on the job. He was standing next to his car with a to go espresso and then he snuck out a small flask and made it "un caffe corretto!" The Italian police are very strange. There are the Carabinieri, the Polizia, and the Guardia di Finanza.  The Carabinieri are the scariest because they will walk around carrying automatic weapons and then just chill in the squares. They are the most stylish though. The Guardia di Finanza are fun to watch though because they basically patrol touristy areas and make the illegal street vendors scatter.

"I am a guy who can tuck away a lot of peanuts"

It has just started to rain for the first time since coming here. Supposed to rain for the next three days. I guess with the weather we've been having it is about time for April showers. This is more like an April wind and rain storm though. It's pretty loud outside the window.

We've finally started classes. It's weird to only be two days in while people at Emory are already starting midterms! I really like all of my classes. I'm really excited about the Contemporary Italian Politics one because of all that's going on with Berlusconi right now. I think it is going to be extra interesting. Apparently today the courts decided that he will have to go to trial but he refuses. I also had my class about Contemporary Issues in the Catholic Church which I think sounds amazing. The teacher kept trying to get students to drop the class though because he thinks there are too many of us. He offered to bribe us and tried to scare us by lying about the amount of work and credits. I actually will drop it though because I got an internship at La Sapienza! I will be helping start an advising program for Italian students looking to get a masters or PHD in America. 

Tonight was Trattoria night with IES. You could sign up and pay 10 euro to go to dinner. About 10 of us went. We got 3 kinds of bruschetta, roasted vegetables, pizzette (funnel cake dough with pizza sauce and cheese), potato soup, pasta and pesto, pasta and red sauce, tiramisu, and wine. All of it was so so so amazing. By the time we got to pasta though, I was stuffed. I didn't want to be rude though especially since the owner kept coming out to check on us. My friend Will helped finish the pasta off. I did eat all my tiramisu though. I don't think I have ever had some that good. It was incredible. After dinner (which took 3 hours), Will and I went towards Piazza Navona and met up with Jake and Maria at what Maria called "Peanut Bar." We had never heard of it and were excited, only to discover that it was in fact "Steeler's Bar," which we all already knew. The Bar is actually called Boticella but it labeled "Vino Olio." This is the problem in Rome, or at least with the study abroad students, we never know places by their actual names. Anyway, one cool thing about Peanut Bar (the name we all decided was best) is that you can get an "Asciugamano Terribile" or terrible towel. They were sold out because of the super bowl but should have some soon (don't worry, Daisy and Steve, I'll get you one).

Tomorrow we have "field studies" which are basically on site classes. Our political science class is visiting Roma Tre and my archaeology class is headed to one of the museums. Details to come.

Buona Notte!

San Valentino

A friendly thing to see on Valentine's Day. TVTB a ME! Anche a voi!

 

Daje!

Here is a little post about a proud moment I had. It also contains a little grammar lesson: 

Last night I had my first spontaneous Roman slang outburst along with a combined pronoun command. Sounds complicated but I said it all without thinking. There were some folks with a dog who had a water bottle in his mouth. They took it and put it on top of the trashcan and told him to wait. I guess it was some sort of trick, but they made him wait for so long. I felt bad for him because he was clearly upset. Without thinking about it I said "Ma daje, daglielo!" Which basically is "Come on, give it  back to him." Daje (pronounced "da-yeh") is the Roman version of "Dai" which means "Come on" or "Go" etc. You'll especially hear it a lot at sports games. "Daglielo" was the other accomplishment because it had the combined pronouns "gli" (to him) and "lo" (it). Usually it takes a bit of thinking to get these right and our homework for Tuesday is 3 worksheets about them. 

 

Today I went to find some new jeans because mine ripped yesterday. I did not end up finding any but I did stumble into the women's protest against Berlusconi. It was really cool to see. I couldn't understand all their chants or signs but they were basically saying that his behavior is disrespectful to  all women and that he is stealing dignity from women. I think they were protesting more than just that, but I will have to wait and try to read about it in the paper tomorrow. Also went to the top of the Spanish steps.

 Here is a picture of a bag of cookies. I thought they looked cute. "Abbracci" means "hugs" in Italian. They were very delicious. On the back they suggested having 5 cookies for breakfast...

Oops, I forgot to add a title...

I haven't posted for a few days but sadly that doesn't mean that I have a whole lot more to post today. This weekend wasn't really that exciting. Friday we had our first Italian test. I spent the morning studying and cleaning up my room. That night Sonia cooked dinner for us and I went out afterward with Jake and Sejan. I finally got to see the Colosseum, so that was something pretty exciting. 

Yesterday, I don't even know I how spent the day. Pretty low key and lazy. I made hard boiled eggs. Kim's twin sister who studies in Florence came down for the weekend with a friend. Last night I was planning on going with them after dinner to a bar called Trinity College (because they both go to Trinity in TX). They went out to dinner and I was just going to cook myself some pesto but when I get in the kitchen, Sonia and some friends were all busy cooking a big meal. I figured I could wait and cook later but when I went back out an hour later there were 7 of them. I ended up eating dinner with them which was fun but a little awkward. It wasn't the language so much as I felt like I was intruding on a big group of friends. However, the language was difficult. I learned a new phrase: Schiarisci bene le parole. It means (if I remembered the right verb) please speak more clearly. It's the same verb for "to clear your throat." Even still, it was hard to understand all of it. It was a combination of inside jokes, Roman dialect, bad words, and speed.

After dinner I went and met up with Kim, Chiara, Andrea, Jake, Sejan, and Olivia. We went to Trinity but there was a private party. Then we went to Scholars, another Irish pub near Piazza Venezia but it was so crowded. Last night was the Rome - Napoli match and so we knew that there was no way to get a table until after that finished. We decided to head to Little America, also known as Trastevere. I hadn't been there on a weekend night and it was crazy. It looked like Florence in the summer. People were walking around eating gelato, the bars were packed, people were sitting, drinking, jammin' out to hippie music on the fountain steps. There were a ton of street performers and vendors selling those spinny light things that you throw up into the sky. Will came and met us too. He had spent the day in Napoli and said it was disgusting and that nobody should have to go for more than 3 hours. I hope he's wrong because I have always really wanted to go. 

"Every Time is Bueno Time"

Today I had my first experience with "Lo Sciopero." Apparently they are very popular in Italy. Sort of like soccer - a national past time. Today's strike wasn't announced until late last night so I didn't know about it when I left this morning. Usually our bus comes ever 35 minutes so I could have been waiting for a long time but I only waited about 15 minutes before deciding to walk. Usually while waiting I see a lot of other buses pass by but today I noticed that there weren't any. I ended up walking but sort of stopped at each stop and looked to see if a bus was coming. I saw one bus the whole time I was walking, but once I got across the river there were more. It was a really beautiful walk and I may try to just walk to class on days I don't have things early in the morning. 

After my internship advising meeting, I went with some friends to St. Peter's. We were just going to walk around and get some gelato but we saw that there wasn't any line to go in so we figured "perché no?" and then there wasn't any line to go to the top of the cupola so again, "perché no?" 551 steps later, we got to see the most spectacular view of Rome. The one thing is that when you are on the top of St. Peter's you can't see St. Peter's so it kind of seemed like something was missing. You could see the Piazza though which was really neat (and we noticed that by now there was a huge line!). There is also a surprising amount of green space in Rome that you don't ever notice. You can also see inside the Vatican walls from up there. I didn't know that when you walked up you get to also go inside the dome and see into the Basilica. When I was down in the Basilica before I didn't even notice that there were people up in the dome. The steps were, of course, steep, tiny, twisting, and tiring. The final 10 or 15 were so vertical that there was a rope hanging from the ceiling rather than a banister! After that we went and mailed some postcards from the Vatican Post Office. Apparently part of it is under construction so it is temporarily in a trailer in the piazza. All in all it was an amazing way to "kill some time." I think it is incredible that I get to do something like that between classes! How did I get that lucky? Unlucky part is that my blisters are gigantic. It looks like some sort of vicious jellyfish is feeding on my ankle. 

Also I saw the gladiator today. Kim wasn't with me though so I didn't go get a picture. He was wearing birkenstocks and socks. It did have a certain gladiator vibe to it though. He isn't quite as legit as the gladiators by the pantheon. I have yet to go to the Colosseum, but I bet they have some awesome ones there.

Went to this really cute gelateria after class today. They had all these really cool and different flavors. One of the usual ones (that they were out of today) is fragola frizzante -- fizzy strawberry. I will definitely have to go back for that one.

"Where do gladiators go for lunch?"

We all just got back from a really really amazing dinner. The five of us (Me, Kim, Caroline, Sarah, and Sonia) met up with IESer Katie (who graduated Emory last year) and went to this tiny restaurant called "Da Enzo" in Trastevere, right near la Isola Tiberina. It was a tiny place packed full with tables and the walls were a very unappetizing shade of yellow. We had to wait 40 min even though we had called ahead. A group of three people stole our table. One of the three looked just like Van Gogh (Fan Hawch in Dutch; Van Gawg in Italian). He had a red beard and a sort of straw hat. Sonia kept complaining about them stealing our table saying that he looked like a ridiculous "contadino" eating with his hat on. Once we got seated though it was all worth it. We had fried stuffed zucchini flowers (I think stuffed with cheese, zucchini, and some sort of fish, maybe sardines or anchovies -- I know you are curious, Mama). Also fried artichokes (a Roman favorite). Then we all got different pastas. I got my first Roman amatriciana. It was so delizioso! For dessert we got marscapone cream with fragolini di boschi (?). They were teeny tiny strawberries.

I finally had my academic advising meeting and now know my classes. I am taking Photographing Art and Monuments, Issues in the Roman Catholic Church, Archeology of Ancient Rome (in Italian), and Contemporary Italian Politics (in Italian). I will hopefully end up dropping one course in exchange for an internship. I'll find out more about that tomorrow when I have my other advising meeting. I also have to do the second part of the residency permit tomorrow. I hope that things don't get too complicated but in all likelihood, they will. 

My advising meeting was earlish this morning so I had about 5 hours to kill between then and my Italian class. I went to Cafe Nero with Matt and Annie. After, I went with Kim and got some lunch and went to Campo dei Fiori for the first time. We got there just when most of the food stalls were closing up for the day but I did buy some really good strawberries (especially considering it is February). We then went to Piazza Navona and Kim took a picture with a guy dressed like Captain Jack Sparrow. I really want to get a picture with the guys who dress up like gladiators. Everyday so far there have been two across the bridge in front of Castello Sant'Angelo, so we walked there and of course, they weren't around. We thought maybe they were on a lunch break. I want to know if they keep their costume on when they go eat or what. Also, do they commute and then change, or can you see them riding the bus or Vespa dressed like that? We're going to go back tomorrow and try to get a picture.

Camouflage Boots

I wore my new Italian boots for the first time today. Definitely got a few blisters breaking them in, but I looked very stylish. I also noticed that I looked much less like a tourists. I didn't get one offer to eat at a pizzeria or buy some cheesy souvenirs. Usually, anytime I walk down the street all the vendors and waiters are trying to get the tourists to come buy things. Either my boots made me invisible or they made me look Italian. It might also have been because I was wearing my jacket zipped up with a scarf even though it was pretty warm. The Italians dress for the season while the tourists dress for the weather. So, even though it is 65 degrees outside, the Romans are all still in winter coats, scarves, and gloves. I am, of course, wearing just a jacket and am sweating. I wonder how long before they start moving from winter to spring. I forgot to check whether Phil saw his shadow...

Tonight I cooked pasta with zucchini and garlic. It was pretty tastey, if I do say so myself. I also had some gelato (I think I have been updating the gelato counter, but maybe it's not working). Today was peach and raspberry flavor. I always remember the Italian word for raspberries (lamponi) because once during an oral exam I said "nipoti" instead. I said how I was really hungry and wanted to go to the market to buy fresh "nipoti" because they are so delicious. Well, "nipoti" actually means grandchildren!

Last night a few of us went out to dinner. We went to this little Osteria a few blocks from our apartment. There wasn't a menu, the waitress just asked us if we wanted to have the pizza or the pasta. We all got pizza and bruschette miste. The Rome - Inter match was on. There were two other men eating dinner and watching the match on. The owner and the waitress were also watching and we could see the cook watching through the kitchen window. I want to start following calcio more, at least while I am here.

Today I slept really late. I have a cough now and need to figure out where to buy some Tussin. Our first Italian class was this afternoon. 3:30-6:00. I do not know how to focus or sit still for that long anymore. It has been way too long since I have had any classes. The other kids in the class are nice though. Kim, Jake, and Will are all in it too so it's nice to have some friends already. After class we all walked to the Anglo-American bookstore near Via del Corso to buy our textbook because we already have homework!! I'm going to do it in the morning though since we don't have class until 3:30. I want to try to use one of these mornings to go to the Vatican and take advantage of February not being that touristy.

Tonight Kim and I tried to make carbonara. It was actually pretty good. The eggs got a little scrabbley but it all tasted pretty good. Sonia ate some and didn't spit it out so it at least passed the Italian taste test.

"Fertilizer for my Future"

I feel really cool because I bought a leather cuff today. Granted, it is light brown with a gold bow charm on it. But it is a leather cuff. Nothing says "cool" like leather bracelets except maybe ray bans. Mine got all scratched up though so I bought some bright blue rimmed sunglasses for 5 euro. Today was basically 7 hours of walking and shopping. 

We went to Porta Portese for the giant flea market. It stretched for what seemed like miles and miles. You can buy just about everything at this market. There are stands for clothes, shoes, motorcycle helmets, food, jewelry, sunglasses, bags, wedding dresses (I think they only cost about 20 euro), sheets (there was a big bin of loose bed sheets for 2 euro. Seemed a little sketch), art, silverware, books, movies, bikes, everything. It was total sensory overload though. The vendors are all really aggressive and it's a little overwhelming to try to buy something. I ended up buying some bracelets (and the leather cuff, haha), sunglasses, a heart-shaped ring (only 1 euro), and some cute scarves. I ended up leaving the scarves in a store after trying on some boots. I was too tired to go back and get them but Kim insisted that we go. I was happy that they were in fact still there because they were cute even if they were pretty cheap. We rewarded ourselves with some gelato. I ordered Baci and fragola. I am not ordering Baci again because it led to 5 minutes of the guy serving joking to me about wanting a kiss from him. Baci are chocolates but translated mean kisses. Not worth it, I will just order Nutella flavored if I want the hazelnut chocolate combo.

Apparently it's also Chinese new year. I didn't know this until we walked to Piazza del Popolo and there was a huge stage and crowd and dancers. We also so a bunch of kids dressed up in costumes throwing confetti around. Not sure if these were connected. We've been seeing a lot of confetti on the sidewalks all around the city.

Also today we walked by a cat habitat of sorts. Rome is rather famous for its cats. There are tons of them.  I often see one or two sleeping on the roof of the apartment next door. The place today was cool because the cats just got to live on top of Roman ruins. If I were a cat, I think that would be amazing. There were a ton of cats living there. You could definitely smell it too. The square gave Stinky Park a run for it's money...or name, I guess. This one cat might have been a cat model. He was smeyesing as they say. Haha, just kidding. I hope I don't become a crazy cat lady. It is quite likely I will though.

Super Sink

One of my favorite details about our apartment is the really cool sink. It actually has a colander holder. There is a special section of the sink that has a sunken colander so that it is always there when you are making pasta. I guess it figures that Italy would need these.

Caroline and Kim cooked dinner tonight. Penne with tomato sauce, spinach, and broccoli. We also had homemade bread that Sonia baked today.

We had to do the Amazing (Roman) Race today with IES. It was pretty lame. Our group got two and a half things done from a list of about 20. I really don't think we won the gift basket or breakfast. On the bright side, we stopped and got lunch and then gelato (baci flavored). We all kind of split early and ended up walking back to the apartment. Saw some really neat things today like the Vatican Post Office. As a postcard enthusiast, this was really exciting. I want to mail myself a postcard from there. It is said to be the most efficient post office in the world. I don't think it is hard to be more efficient than Rome though. Also saw the Ponte Sisto today. That was only exciting because my Professor talked about it for 3 classes in my Renaissance Italy class last year. 

Last night we went to an Italian club called Gilda. Apparently Sonia has some connections to a director of Jersey Shore so he wanted to know what clubs they should be going to when they come this spring. She then realized that they will probably ruin all the clubs so we need to go to them while they are still cool. We also celebrated one of the other ISC's birthdays. It ended up being a pretty big group of IESers at the club. The music was all American but all a year or two old. It was really fun to get another chance to rock out to Single Ladies. Also heard some We No Speak Americano. Haha.

View From My Window

Daily Commute

I am living in Monteverde which means I have to take the bus to get to the center. I love the ride though because you get to go down Via del Gianicolo which is at the top of the hill. There is the most beautiful view of the whole city. I tried taking a picture of it today:

Here's what it actually looks like, not that a reflection of my hand isn't fabulous enough: 

"Wakey Wakey!" "Eggs and Bakey?"

I did laundry yesterday for the first time. The washer is so small that a full load was 1 pair of jeans, 3 shirts, and some socks. There is also no dryer so I had to let everything air dry, consequently my socks are all sort of hard. I don't know why air makes them dry like that but they do. I don't really like crunchy socks. 

This morning we did some walking tours with IES. We were randomly divided up into groups. My group went to St. Peter's! We walked across Ponte Sant'Angelo and then down Via Conciliazione (built by Mussolini). The teacher leading the group kept complaining about how ugly and square the road and the other Fascist architecture is. I actually think it looks really amazing. There are these long straight lines and square corners contrasted with the really ornate, decorated and round St. Peter's. It's a beautiful contrast. February is a really nice time to be here also because there are not that many tourists. That's not to say they aren't literally busing them in, but you can actually walk around and there was no wait to get inside. I want to buy some cheesy tourist trinkets soon. Mostly I just want to buy things with my name on it. You never find things with "Valentina" on them in the States so anything I see with my name, I'm buying.

In the afternoon we started the process to get our Permits of Stay. I waited in a 45 min line and was then told I wasn't in the system and had to go redo the part of the computer (I had most definitely already did this). I then had to wait another hour and a half in line only to be told by the same guy that I still wasn't in the system. We figured out it was because I have an apostrophe in my name that he hadn't typed while searching for me. I guess I can't be too upset. It's really not a very Italian last name. I also have to redo the photocopy of my passport by next week because I didn't copy the back cover. I asked Sonia if it would be OK to just color a dark blue rectangle on a piece a paper because, really, that's all the back cover is. That however is not going to fly with the Italian government.

"Eccomi Qua!!!"

 My feet are very tired right now. I have 2 unhappy blisters from my new shoes. I however am very happy. Today was a fun, not so busy day. We got up early and got to the school by 9:30. We had a couple more orientation presentations. One was about contemporary Italian society and the other about academics. The one about Italy included slides about Berlusconi and had pictures of several of his latest mistresses. I don't know why we needed to know what they look like. We also watched this music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXf-YbsSh0Y 

It's a funny video and the words are written out karaoke style so feel free to sing along while you watch it. Thankfully we were not required to sing. 

We also had to take our Italian placement exams today. I'm not too worried about it. In between presentations and exams, Jake and I went to Caffe Nero which was just around the corner. I got a cappucino and un cornetto for 1,50 euro. Perfect late breakfast. 

We finished school stuff pretty early today so Kim and I walked to Piazza Navona and got some lunch on the way. We then walked to Piazza di Spagna and then along Via del Corso. Tons and tons of tourists. Tons and tons of walking. We saw a lot of cute shopping. I am definitely not stylish enough for the Italians and may have to buy some new clothes this weekend. I think there are worse things to have to do than buy new clothes in Rome though. Lucky me! We also walked to Piazza del Popolo. We each got a free box of beef broth. Some brand was apparently giving away full sized samples. Finally we walked back to the bus. We tried to figure out how to catch a different bus or the metro across to where we needed to be but couldn't really figure it out. I need to work on finding a good bus route map.

Here's our walk (as well as I can remember and recreate on google): 

Last night we went to a really good pizzeria for dinner with Caroline and Sarah. It was called La Gatta Mangiona. First pizza of the semester. It was amazing. Italy really should make a law like France did with Champagne. It cannot be "pizza" unless it lives us to Italian standards. After dinner, Kim and I went and met Jake and Will in Trastevere. That was a lot of fun. We went back to Cheap Bar, but this time there wasn't a huge IES group so there were more locals hanging around. I think tonight I may stay in and catch up on some sleep. I want to be well rested for the first Roman weekend! 

"You will be fusstrated..."

So by now I have been in Rome for 33 hours and 35 minutes, or there abouts. I have some Tiziano Ferro rockin' on iTunes right now. Sadly, he is not on tour anytime soon so the chances of seeing him live are slim. Probably for the best though. Obvioulsy, I have decided to blog (just like every other study abroad student). I hope people find me as interesting as I find me. I think the fact that I am in Italy automatically gives me 10 extra interesting points. Let's hope.

Going back in time...

The flight over was really easy. There were about 40 other IES kids on the same flight out of Philadelphia. I watched the Social Network on the plane (I've now seen 8/10 best picture nominees) and then fell asleep. While landing/coming into Rome, I was a little disappointed because we came from the north and I was on the right side of the plane so I didn't get to see any Italy from the sky. Just a lot of water. Italian water looks pretty much the same as American water. We all had to wait at baggage claim for a long time but it was a good chance to meet some of the other people. We talked about the flight and whether we had been nervous, etc. I was secretly pleased when people were shocked/amazed to hear that I had only gotten my visa 4 days earlier. I was also surprised because almost every student I met had very little or no Italian before coming. 

My apartment is in the area called Monteverde. It is in the southwest part of the city. It's really cute (I'll post pictures soon). I am sharing a room with Kim. She is from Texas. Her parents are Italian so she knows how to speak it. Caroline and Sarah are in the other double room. We also have an ISC (Pronounced "eesk") named Sonia. She is an architect student from Roma3. She cooked us lunch and dinner last night since it was our first day. It was delish. Roman broccoli, artichokes, mushrooms and sauce in little baskets/cups made of cheese, caprese salad, and homemade bread. We also had fondue (with chocolate, not cheese). 

Earlier that afternoon, Caroline, Sarah, and I walked around our neighborhood a little. We went to the grocery store (I got some pineapple juice!) and to a "Chinese Store" which sold pretty much everything. We needed to get towels but they only had beach towels. Sarah's ended up dying her blue. They also sold some Hello Kitty toilet paper. I may have to go bring some of the back to the states. The guy at the store also gave me a free pink plastic carneval mask. I also bought a small radio. Now we can listen to Italian music instead of just my iTunes. Maybe I'll find a good Italian talk radio show. I doubt it.

Despite being completely jet-lagged and exhausted Kim and I decided to go out with Sonia to Trastevere. There was a big meet-up of IES students and their ISCs at a cheap bar called (but not named) "Cheap Bar." There were probably about 50 of us there and people just stood around in the square out front with a drink and talked. It was fun. We met two British tourists from Bristol (where British Skins takes place). They had read that Cheap Bar was a popular hangout for American students. I think our "party" skewed the numbers though. I don't think there are 50 Americans from the same program there every night. We walked around the neighborhood a little and found Sonia's bike which she had left there a few days ago. We decided to walk back to our apartment which took around 40 min. It was a really nice night though and it wasn't bad. Part of the walk goes up this huge hill that has an amazing view of the city (pictures to come once my camera charges).

Today was our first full day in Rome. I woke up, got dressed, had breakfast. None of this is special/interesting/particularly Italian. I think it can be assumed I do this everyday. We all left the apartment together (Sonia came with us since it was the first day). We caught the 870 (?) bus to school. It was really crowded. Orientation was basically just a bunch of powerpoint presentations about stuff we already knew. One director kept talking about how frustrated we will all be. She kept saying "fuss-trated" though. I don't know if it was accent or misunderstanding of the word but she must have said it 40 times. The school director also talked to us. He was very European. He kept making jokes that weren't funny and that nobody really got. They were more like lies than jokes. He basically would say something not true. Wait for a laugh. Say "I'm only kidding." 

IES gave us a really good lunch buffet. Pretty fancy with about 100 options. Lot's of prosciutto and mozzarella. After lunch we had another presentation where the divided the guys and girls into different rooms. The guys had a police officer come in and tell them not to get drunk and start fights. The girls had a woman from the embassy tell us not to get drugged and raped. It was all good advice. They told us to wear sunglasses often. 

After meetings were over we had about an hour before we had to head back to apartments (the first day they had organized groups so we could learn the buses better). Jake (a kid I know from Emory), Kim, Jessica (another IES girl we met today), and I decided to go walk around. They needed to buy their monthly bus passes and I needed to find a power adapter. I did not know the word for adapter (adattore) so I had to describe it (in Italian of course, because I am awesome like that) as "the little thing you put into the wall so that you can use American electronics here in Italy." It worked. I feel like that's what a lot of my Italian is. I don't know all the vocabulary but I have enough that I can eventually get to what I mean. 

We also got gelato for the first time this semester. I might start a gelato counter on my blog. It could get scandalously/embarrassingly high though.

Allora...

Now we are all back home. I'm not sure what we are doing for dinner yet. After dinner Kim and I are meeting up with Jacob and his roommate Will in Trastevere.

Blog ya later!