Finally! I posted all of my pictures...so far. Unfortunately they are all on Facebook. Sorry!
Hope you enjoy and can kinda match up some of the photos with my stories. I'll have to do a slideshow when I get back....but you will ALL know what happened!!! hahaha I love sharing all of this with you!
Friday, September 10, 2010
Day 24
Day 24 September 7, 2010
All better today!! Who knows what happened, but apparently two days and one night of sleep solved the problem.
This morning I went to go see the Sistine Chapel with Tamara before school. Unfortunately the line to get into the Vatican Museum and thus the Sistine Chapel was several hours long and we didn’t have time to do that or take a tour. So we meandered through the smallest country in the world and took several pictures. There were several groups of young priests and nuns. (I received an email from Mama Su’ad today asking me if there are young priests and nuns throughout Rome! I haven’t seen many groups of priests – other than at the Vatican – but there are nuns EVERYWHERE.)
I just don’t know how to explain the Vatican. It is majestic, beautiful, imposing, graceful, and austere. I plan to do a guided tour, maybe one that includes a papal visit, either next week or my last week in Italy.
[Side note: I have decided that when my classes end I am going to go to Venice and Florence for a few days each and then return to Rome. For one thing, I love it here so much. Secondly, I would like to have weekdays, without classes in the middle of the day, to be able to partake in the tours, visit museums, etc.]
After leaving the Vatican we went to school. Once I got there, Giordano (manager of the club) told me that they were going to watch the soccer match at the club in the evening. I thought it would be interesting to watch a game with some Italians, so we all stayed at the club and watched the game. Hey, what would a stay in Italy be without a good game?!
A few people wanted to go out after the game and even though I am feeling better I am still tired and don’t want to get sick again. So I am taking it easy, making some dinner, studying a little bit and going to bed.
All better today!! Who knows what happened, but apparently two days and one night of sleep solved the problem.
This morning I went to go see the Sistine Chapel with Tamara before school. Unfortunately the line to get into the Vatican Museum and thus the Sistine Chapel was several hours long and we didn’t have time to do that or take a tour. So we meandered through the smallest country in the world and took several pictures. There were several groups of young priests and nuns. (I received an email from Mama Su’ad today asking me if there are young priests and nuns throughout Rome! I haven’t seen many groups of priests – other than at the Vatican – but there are nuns EVERYWHERE.)
I just don’t know how to explain the Vatican. It is majestic, beautiful, imposing, graceful, and austere. I plan to do a guided tour, maybe one that includes a papal visit, either next week or my last week in Italy.
[Side note: I have decided that when my classes end I am going to go to Venice and Florence for a few days each and then return to Rome. For one thing, I love it here so much. Secondly, I would like to have weekdays, without classes in the middle of the day, to be able to partake in the tours, visit museums, etc.]
After leaving the Vatican we went to school. Once I got there, Giordano (manager of the club) told me that they were going to watch the soccer match at the club in the evening. I thought it would be interesting to watch a game with some Italians, so we all stayed at the club and watched the game. Hey, what would a stay in Italy be without a good game?!
A few people wanted to go out after the game and even though I am feeling better I am still tired and don’t want to get sick again. So I am taking it easy, making some dinner, studying a little bit and going to bed.
Day 23
Day 23 September 6, 2010
Yes, definitely sick…again….Ugh. I don’t know if I just got myself too tired, if it was the water, or a combination of the two. I am pretty sure I had a fever last night and this morning. I didn’t go to school today….just slept all day.
Now that it is evening I am starting to feel better. Tamara called me asking why I wasn’t in school (guessing that I was ill) and if I would be interested in going out with her and the girls. I declined going anywhere and am now doing a little bit of studying before I go back to sleep.
Salute (Good health)
Yes, definitely sick…again….Ugh. I don’t know if I just got myself too tired, if it was the water, or a combination of the two. I am pretty sure I had a fever last night and this morning. I didn’t go to school today….just slept all day.
Now that it is evening I am starting to feel better. Tamara called me asking why I wasn’t in school (guessing that I was ill) and if I would be interested in going out with her and the girls. I declined going anywhere and am now doing a little bit of studying before I go back to sleep.
Salute (Good health)
Day 22
Day 22 September 5, 2010
I am still very tired today and starting to feel that cold coming back. I managed to get up early in the morning and go to church. Then I met up with Tamara and Ana to go to the street market. But something was not right about the street market today because none of the vendors were there…..Did I forget about some holy day? Did something happen in Rome today? We don’t know.
Regardless, I was so very tired from the day before that I had to leave the girls and go home. I ended up taking a nap and then doing some chores. I straightened my room, took out the trash, and washed some clothes. This I have to do by hand because the landlady does not allow us to use her washing machine. (I would be more ok with this rule if she wasn’t in and out of the apartment using this washing machine…) Not using machines to do laundry is an interesting experience for me mostly because I am not used to hang-drying the wash. I “borrowed” a cable cord that was sitting on a shelf and tied it across my bedroom. This is my clothes-line. I have a standing fan in my bedroom which I have blowing across the clothes-line to help things dry even quicker. Sorry Haila, there is no alley-way to hang my wash out the window!
I am definitely feeling a sore throat and upset stomach and am going to take it easy today. Could I really be getting sick again? Or is it all the ocean water I consumed yesterday?
I am still very tired today and starting to feel that cold coming back. I managed to get up early in the morning and go to church. Then I met up with Tamara and Ana to go to the street market. But something was not right about the street market today because none of the vendors were there…..Did I forget about some holy day? Did something happen in Rome today? We don’t know.
Regardless, I was so very tired from the day before that I had to leave the girls and go home. I ended up taking a nap and then doing some chores. I straightened my room, took out the trash, and washed some clothes. This I have to do by hand because the landlady does not allow us to use her washing machine. (I would be more ok with this rule if she wasn’t in and out of the apartment using this washing machine…) Not using machines to do laundry is an interesting experience for me mostly because I am not used to hang-drying the wash. I “borrowed” a cable cord that was sitting on a shelf and tied it across my bedroom. This is my clothes-line. I have a standing fan in my bedroom which I have blowing across the clothes-line to help things dry even quicker. Sorry Haila, there is no alley-way to hang my wash out the window!
I am definitely feeling a sore throat and upset stomach and am going to take it easy today. Could I really be getting sick again? Or is it all the ocean water I consumed yesterday?
Day 21
Day 21 September 4, 2010
Oh my goodness, I am so so so so tired!!!!!!!!!!!
We (Me, Tamara, Ana, Tamir, Diego, and Tomas) met at Termini station at 9.00 this morning. All of us were still sleepy but excited for a beautiful day at the beach. It was already getting hot in the city so we were especially keen on going to the water today.
As soon as we were all gathered together we headed to Ostia, about an hour train ride outside of center-city. The train ride was alright. It was dirty, hot and crowded. There wasn’t much to see outside the windows. But we were in good company and happy to know that we were going to have a good day together.
And we knew that it WAS going to be a good day as soon as we stepped off the train platform. The weather was amazing! The air was so fresh! As we started walking closer to the beach, we could catch glimpse of water but kept asking one another, “is that the ocean or a swimming pool because it looks so blue and so clean!” Sure enough, it really was the ocean! Ah bellisima!!
The surprising thing is that we had to pay to get onto the beach. Well, technically, we paid to rent cabanas for the day….but they wouldn’t allow us on the beach unless we had at least one of these cabanas (changing rooms). We ended up getting two, one for the girls and one for the boys. I think it was about 5.50Euro each. Initially we all complained a little bit about having to spend the money, but in the end we made good use out of those rooms. We changed comfortably and had a place to lock away our valuables without worrying about them.
Then we headed straight for the sand, testing out the water, and settling in. It was about 10.30 and really it was the most beautiful weather. I wish that I took pictures but I totally forgot about it. Boo! The boys straight away went into the water and went for a swim. The girls stayed behind and laid out, chatting lazily and watching people walk by. After a little bit the boys joined us and we all sat or lay down and drifted into our own worlds, occasionally saying a few words to one another.
After a couple of hours we started getting restless and hot and decided to go in the water. At first we all went in, but shortly after Ana went back to keep an eye on our towels and things. (It was sweet that Ana came to the beach with us because she just kept saying how much she didn’t like sand and water. She really did just come for the company.)
The water was really nice. No waves really, at least not like we have in San Diego. Just some small bumps that were too lazy to even attempt to curl and splash. Oh, speaking of splashing! The boys thought it would be funny to start a splashing war. Ooooh!! It wouldn’t have been so bad if Tamir and Tomas didn’t decide to gang up on me and get me from both sides! It was awful! And so much fun!!! But the ocean here is so much saltier. I don’t know how much I ended up drinking during that “war” but enough to get a bit of a stomach ache! Yeesh! But I must still have a little kid in me because I would do it all over again! Ha ha ha!
The water begins very shallow and then abruptly the ground falls away. It was a bit of a surprise how quickly it changed. I was floating along and enjoying the water and the sun and then I heard Diego calling me. He and Tomas were about half a mile further out in the water and standing up! I immediately started swimming out with Tamir and Tamara following. The ocean floor came back up so that we were standing in a sand bar. It was so neat to feel like we were standing in the middle of the ocean. Maybe we were further out than I thought because the people on the beach seemed so small and the sail boats seemed much closer to us. Needless to say, that silly-crazy-full-of-happiness-grin was glued to my face. I wanted to stay out there forever. But our skin started to prune and we were getting tired running around in the middle of the ocean….and we still had to make the swim back to shore….it is a good thing that swimming in is so much easier.
Once again we lay down on our towels and quieted down. But it was after noon and the play in the water made us hungry so it was time to get lunch. We ate simply, sandwiches and salad. And then we all drifted off into sleep or reading our books.
We decided to leave around 17.00 and slowly got our things and selves together. The train ride back was much quieter than the morning transit but we all still had the peaceful contentedness of the day among us. We made plans to all meet each other again later in the evening (around 22.30) for some drinks and music. Once we returned to center-city Tamir and Diego went to their respective homes to rest while Tamara, Ana, Tomas, and I found a restaurant near Termini and had dinner.
I was on the bus heading to Tamara’s place to get ready for the evening when I received a phone call from….Mama, Baba, Haila, and Luma!!!! It was Mama and Baba’s anniversary and I was very happy that they called me! I just now realized that I don’t know what they ended up doing on Saturday to celebrate the day. I still find it odd that I was coming to the end of my day while you were starting yours! What did you all do? It was so nice to hear everyone’s voices and do a quick catch up. I can’t believe I have been gone so long! I miss everyone so much but am having such a wonderful time here that I haven’t had a chance to get homesick yet. (Except for when I was sick…and then I was feeling sorry for myself all around.)
The evening didn’t go quite as planned. After such a tranquil day we were all hoping to spend an equally calm evening. However, people starting inviting people, who in turn invited more people. Our simple group of five (Tomas was not going to join us) somehow turned into fifteen. And then these “other” people decided that our original plans were not good enough and that they had a better idea. And we foolishly just went along with them. I should have either said I’m going to stick to my original plan or said I’m going home…..But no, I was too curious to see what was going to happen and went along. We ended up walking for about 2 hours to some place by Tevere (Tiber river) were we spent 10.00Euro on a drink each! What?! We sat there for a while and then walked back. It was way past all of our buses by the time we returned to our meeting point. I had to see both Tamara and Ana safely off in taxis before Tamir walked me home. Thankfully my apartment wasn’t too far and I had a safe escort!
But after such a loooooong day……Io molto stanco!!! Bona note!!! (I am very tired!! Good night!!!)
Oh my goodness, I am so so so so tired!!!!!!!!!!!
We (Me, Tamara, Ana, Tamir, Diego, and Tomas) met at Termini station at 9.00 this morning. All of us were still sleepy but excited for a beautiful day at the beach. It was already getting hot in the city so we were especially keen on going to the water today.
As soon as we were all gathered together we headed to Ostia, about an hour train ride outside of center-city. The train ride was alright. It was dirty, hot and crowded. There wasn’t much to see outside the windows. But we were in good company and happy to know that we were going to have a good day together.
And we knew that it WAS going to be a good day as soon as we stepped off the train platform. The weather was amazing! The air was so fresh! As we started walking closer to the beach, we could catch glimpse of water but kept asking one another, “is that the ocean or a swimming pool because it looks so blue and so clean!” Sure enough, it really was the ocean! Ah bellisima!!
The surprising thing is that we had to pay to get onto the beach. Well, technically, we paid to rent cabanas for the day….but they wouldn’t allow us on the beach unless we had at least one of these cabanas (changing rooms). We ended up getting two, one for the girls and one for the boys. I think it was about 5.50Euro each. Initially we all complained a little bit about having to spend the money, but in the end we made good use out of those rooms. We changed comfortably and had a place to lock away our valuables without worrying about them.
Then we headed straight for the sand, testing out the water, and settling in. It was about 10.30 and really it was the most beautiful weather. I wish that I took pictures but I totally forgot about it. Boo! The boys straight away went into the water and went for a swim. The girls stayed behind and laid out, chatting lazily and watching people walk by. After a little bit the boys joined us and we all sat or lay down and drifted into our own worlds, occasionally saying a few words to one another.
After a couple of hours we started getting restless and hot and decided to go in the water. At first we all went in, but shortly after Ana went back to keep an eye on our towels and things. (It was sweet that Ana came to the beach with us because she just kept saying how much she didn’t like sand and water. She really did just come for the company.)
The water was really nice. No waves really, at least not like we have in San Diego. Just some small bumps that were too lazy to even attempt to curl and splash. Oh, speaking of splashing! The boys thought it would be funny to start a splashing war. Ooooh!! It wouldn’t have been so bad if Tamir and Tomas didn’t decide to gang up on me and get me from both sides! It was awful! And so much fun!!! But the ocean here is so much saltier. I don’t know how much I ended up drinking during that “war” but enough to get a bit of a stomach ache! Yeesh! But I must still have a little kid in me because I would do it all over again! Ha ha ha!
The water begins very shallow and then abruptly the ground falls away. It was a bit of a surprise how quickly it changed. I was floating along and enjoying the water and the sun and then I heard Diego calling me. He and Tomas were about half a mile further out in the water and standing up! I immediately started swimming out with Tamir and Tamara following. The ocean floor came back up so that we were standing in a sand bar. It was so neat to feel like we were standing in the middle of the ocean. Maybe we were further out than I thought because the people on the beach seemed so small and the sail boats seemed much closer to us. Needless to say, that silly-crazy-full-of-happiness-grin was glued to my face. I wanted to stay out there forever. But our skin started to prune and we were getting tired running around in the middle of the ocean….and we still had to make the swim back to shore….it is a good thing that swimming in is so much easier.
Once again we lay down on our towels and quieted down. But it was after noon and the play in the water made us hungry so it was time to get lunch. We ate simply, sandwiches and salad. And then we all drifted off into sleep or reading our books.
We decided to leave around 17.00 and slowly got our things and selves together. The train ride back was much quieter than the morning transit but we all still had the peaceful contentedness of the day among us. We made plans to all meet each other again later in the evening (around 22.30) for some drinks and music. Once we returned to center-city Tamir and Diego went to their respective homes to rest while Tamara, Ana, Tomas, and I found a restaurant near Termini and had dinner.
I was on the bus heading to Tamara’s place to get ready for the evening when I received a phone call from….Mama, Baba, Haila, and Luma!!!! It was Mama and Baba’s anniversary and I was very happy that they called me! I just now realized that I don’t know what they ended up doing on Saturday to celebrate the day. I still find it odd that I was coming to the end of my day while you were starting yours! What did you all do? It was so nice to hear everyone’s voices and do a quick catch up. I can’t believe I have been gone so long! I miss everyone so much but am having such a wonderful time here that I haven’t had a chance to get homesick yet. (Except for when I was sick…and then I was feeling sorry for myself all around.)
The evening didn’t go quite as planned. After such a tranquil day we were all hoping to spend an equally calm evening. However, people starting inviting people, who in turn invited more people. Our simple group of five (Tomas was not going to join us) somehow turned into fifteen. And then these “other” people decided that our original plans were not good enough and that they had a better idea. And we foolishly just went along with them. I should have either said I’m going to stick to my original plan or said I’m going home…..But no, I was too curious to see what was going to happen and went along. We ended up walking for about 2 hours to some place by Tevere (Tiber river) were we spent 10.00Euro on a drink each! What?! We sat there for a while and then walked back. It was way past all of our buses by the time we returned to our meeting point. I had to see both Tamara and Ana safely off in taxis before Tamir walked me home. Thankfully my apartment wasn’t too far and I had a safe escort!
But after such a loooooong day……Io molto stanco!!! Bona note!!! (I am very tired!! Good night!!!)
Day 20
Day 20 September 3, 2010
Did I mention that all of the Romans have finally returned to Rome?
On the 15th of August is the Festival of the Assupmtion…Ferragosto…and traditionally the start of the Roman vacation which runs through the end of August. Many Romans leave the city at this time, its hottest and most humid, to the tourists. A lot of the smaller shops and restaurants had been closed since I arrived and now they are magically opening their doors!
And there are so many more people here! I thought that Rome was full of activity and people but I didn’t realize that half of the “native” population was not even here all this time! What a change! The buses are so crowded that we cram in like sardines. The Metro looks like a giant clown car with people pouring out. Even though it is a little bit uncomfortable, I love it because now the music of the language is all around me! I love hearing Italian. Especially now that I am starting to understand what is being said. It really is like listening to music. Even in class we have to learn how to say a word with the added dimension of intonation. Why doesn’t American-English have music? What a shame! No wonder Italians make such great music…it just lives in their words!
So today is Friday. Nothing really significant happened today. We are planning to leave for the beach early tomorrow so I prepared for that before I left the apartment for today. I just made sure that I had my towel, bathing suit, outfit, etc in order so that I don’t scramble around tomorrow morning.
School went well. I can’t believe that another week is over! I do feel like I am making progress with Italian, but I have such a long way to go. There are so many verbs! So many different conjugations! But I am studying and getting better day by day.
I stayed at the school club after class with “the group” and we partied for a little bit. I, as usual, left early because I just can’t keep up with the “young’uns”. That is a joke. I could keep up but I am discovering that I really don’t enjoy being around drunk people….maybe if I was drunk with them I would find it more amusing….but I just feel like I have to take care of them and make sure that everyone is safe and then there is absolutely no fun left…so I leave before things get to that point and I leave happy.
A domani, andiamo al mare!! (Tomorrow, we go to the ocean!!)
Did I mention that all of the Romans have finally returned to Rome?
On the 15th of August is the Festival of the Assupmtion…Ferragosto…and traditionally the start of the Roman vacation which runs through the end of August. Many Romans leave the city at this time, its hottest and most humid, to the tourists. A lot of the smaller shops and restaurants had been closed since I arrived and now they are magically opening their doors!
And there are so many more people here! I thought that Rome was full of activity and people but I didn’t realize that half of the “native” population was not even here all this time! What a change! The buses are so crowded that we cram in like sardines. The Metro looks like a giant clown car with people pouring out. Even though it is a little bit uncomfortable, I love it because now the music of the language is all around me! I love hearing Italian. Especially now that I am starting to understand what is being said. It really is like listening to music. Even in class we have to learn how to say a word with the added dimension of intonation. Why doesn’t American-English have music? What a shame! No wonder Italians make such great music…it just lives in their words!
So today is Friday. Nothing really significant happened today. We are planning to leave for the beach early tomorrow so I prepared for that before I left the apartment for today. I just made sure that I had my towel, bathing suit, outfit, etc in order so that I don’t scramble around tomorrow morning.
School went well. I can’t believe that another week is over! I do feel like I am making progress with Italian, but I have such a long way to go. There are so many verbs! So many different conjugations! But I am studying and getting better day by day.
I stayed at the school club after class with “the group” and we partied for a little bit. I, as usual, left early because I just can’t keep up with the “young’uns”. That is a joke. I could keep up but I am discovering that I really don’t enjoy being around drunk people….maybe if I was drunk with them I would find it more amusing….but I just feel like I have to take care of them and make sure that everyone is safe and then there is absolutely no fun left…so I leave before things get to that point and I leave happy.
A domani, andiamo al mare!! (Tomorrow, we go to the ocean!!)
Day 19
Day 19 September 2, 2010
This morning I had an early start, waking up at 7.00 in the morning to prepare for the day and have some time to do my walking before meeting with Tamara at Termini. We decided that it was a shopping day today. We headed for Via del Corso to see what goodies we could find there.
We took the Metro there (I will talk about my feelings about the subway later…) and found that we were a little bit early. All of the stores open around 10.00. So, we stopped at a café where I had a delicious espresso and chocolate croissant (cornetto ciocolato). As we were sitting there we noticed a movie theater next door and thought that it would be an interesting experience to go see a movie in Italian.
By the time we were finished with our breakfast and chatting and goofing around, the stores were ready for us. We meandered down the street and stopped at any store that caught our fancy. There are many specialty boutiques one after the other. All of them displaying their own line of clothing in the most artful ways. It is an experience to just walk past all of them, like walking through a clothing museum. I didn’t think that I would find anything since I am a few sizes larger than the average Italian woman. However, I did end up finding a shirt dress that actually fit and looked nice! So, yes, even though I am on a tight budget I did end up buying it. How can I be in Rome and not leave without a single article of clothing?!
Oh, I also bought a pair of sandals the other day. It is impossible to be here without a nice pair of sandals that you can walk all day with. And you just can’t “blend in with the natives” in your sneakers!! I mean, it screams tourist, no? Hahaha, I like pretending that I am Italian now. I think that sometimes I can actually get away with it too….as long as no one expects me to say more than 5 words in Italian…
After our shopping trip, we headed to school and met a group of our friends. We asked them what they thought about going to see a movie and several of them liked the idea. So, a plan was set. We would meet after class, in the lobby at 17.00 (5pm) and head to the movie theater. After some debating we all agreed that we would go see “Shrek 3”.
The movie didn’t start until 20.30 (8:30pm) so we walked around the neighborhood until we found a small place to have dinner. This place ended up being a little bit creepy because it was totally silent and we were the only people there. We still had our own fun laughing and joking around and on the most part we enjoyed our food. Well, except for Marianna who we think had something rotten in her pasta dish….she ended up getting a pizza.
We still had some time between dinner and the movie so we sat at the fountain in the middle of Piazza Bernini, again talking, laughing, and also taking pictures. It was really beautiful. In the middle of all of the chaos of the cars and people is this square and fountain, almost like an island…but I guess in reverse because the fountain is water….nevermind….Anyway, it was really nice to sit there in good company (Tamara, Marianna, Tomas, Diego, and me) and just sit peacefully, watching life bustling around us while day turned into night.
Then it was time to see the movie. The funny thing is that I saw this movie one and a half times on the flight into Rome. But really it helped to have seen it in English first because I could really follow what was happening and could concentrate on the Italian words. Another learning experience.
After the show we were all pretty tired and went our separate ways home.
I just now realized that this was what I would have thought of as a “typical” day out with friends back home: girlie shopping followed by a group dinner and a movie. Somehow the experience was still so different.
Oh! I forgot to mention this church that Tamara and I came across in the middle of all of the shops. It was really beautiful. Some of the churches here are a little bit on the dismal, dark, dreary side. But this one just hit both of us with its majesty and reverence. I took several pictures to share. I don’t even know how to describe it and will have to share these pictures to give you a sense of the experience and atmosphere.
This morning I had an early start, waking up at 7.00 in the morning to prepare for the day and have some time to do my walking before meeting with Tamara at Termini. We decided that it was a shopping day today. We headed for Via del Corso to see what goodies we could find there.
We took the Metro there (I will talk about my feelings about the subway later…) and found that we were a little bit early. All of the stores open around 10.00. So, we stopped at a café where I had a delicious espresso and chocolate croissant (cornetto ciocolato). As we were sitting there we noticed a movie theater next door and thought that it would be an interesting experience to go see a movie in Italian.
By the time we were finished with our breakfast and chatting and goofing around, the stores were ready for us. We meandered down the street and stopped at any store that caught our fancy. There are many specialty boutiques one after the other. All of them displaying their own line of clothing in the most artful ways. It is an experience to just walk past all of them, like walking through a clothing museum. I didn’t think that I would find anything since I am a few sizes larger than the average Italian woman. However, I did end up finding a shirt dress that actually fit and looked nice! So, yes, even though I am on a tight budget I did end up buying it. How can I be in Rome and not leave without a single article of clothing?!
Oh, I also bought a pair of sandals the other day. It is impossible to be here without a nice pair of sandals that you can walk all day with. And you just can’t “blend in with the natives” in your sneakers!! I mean, it screams tourist, no? Hahaha, I like pretending that I am Italian now. I think that sometimes I can actually get away with it too….as long as no one expects me to say more than 5 words in Italian…
After our shopping trip, we headed to school and met a group of our friends. We asked them what they thought about going to see a movie and several of them liked the idea. So, a plan was set. We would meet after class, in the lobby at 17.00 (5pm) and head to the movie theater. After some debating we all agreed that we would go see “Shrek 3”.
The movie didn’t start until 20.30 (8:30pm) so we walked around the neighborhood until we found a small place to have dinner. This place ended up being a little bit creepy because it was totally silent and we were the only people there. We still had our own fun laughing and joking around and on the most part we enjoyed our food. Well, except for Marianna who we think had something rotten in her pasta dish….she ended up getting a pizza.
We still had some time between dinner and the movie so we sat at the fountain in the middle of Piazza Bernini, again talking, laughing, and also taking pictures. It was really beautiful. In the middle of all of the chaos of the cars and people is this square and fountain, almost like an island…but I guess in reverse because the fountain is water….nevermind….Anyway, it was really nice to sit there in good company (Tamara, Marianna, Tomas, Diego, and me) and just sit peacefully, watching life bustling around us while day turned into night.
Then it was time to see the movie. The funny thing is that I saw this movie one and a half times on the flight into Rome. But really it helped to have seen it in English first because I could really follow what was happening and could concentrate on the Italian words. Another learning experience.
After the show we were all pretty tired and went our separate ways home.
I just now realized that this was what I would have thought of as a “typical” day out with friends back home: girlie shopping followed by a group dinner and a movie. Somehow the experience was still so different.
Oh! I forgot to mention this church that Tamara and I came across in the middle of all of the shops. It was really beautiful. Some of the churches here are a little bit on the dismal, dark, dreary side. But this one just hit both of us with its majesty and reverence. I took several pictures to share. I don’t even know how to describe it and will have to share these pictures to give you a sense of the experience and atmosphere.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Day 17 - 18
Day 17 - 18 September 1, 2010
These past two days have been very quiet for me, for all of us. We just went to school and then stayed at the club and played cards like old people. It was neat because we taught eachother how to play different games that we learned at home and tried to have conversations in all of our different languages.
So, I didn't really experience Rome today and yesterday, but I still enjoyed the world....
Sorry I don't have much to report. I'm just tired and going to get ready for bed now. This weekend we have planned a trip to Ostia, a beach town about an hour away by train. Tamara and I have gotten a group together. I think it is going to be a lot of fun. So hopefully I'll have more stuff to share regarding the weekend.
Love you all so much.
Reem
These past two days have been very quiet for me, for all of us. We just went to school and then stayed at the club and played cards like old people. It was neat because we taught eachother how to play different games that we learned at home and tried to have conversations in all of our different languages.
So, I didn't really experience Rome today and yesterday, but I still enjoyed the world....
Sorry I don't have much to report. I'm just tired and going to get ready for bed now. This weekend we have planned a trip to Ostia, a beach town about an hour away by train. Tamara and I have gotten a group together. I think it is going to be a lot of fun. So hopefully I'll have more stuff to share regarding the weekend.
Love you all so much.
Reem
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Day 13-16
Day 13-16 August 30, 2010
Whew! It has been a looooong time since I last reported my doings in Rome. Sorry for the lapse. I am finally really feeling 100% and am back into fully enjoying and experiencing life here.
This weekend was really good. Friday was a normal day but in the evening we had a farewell party for several of our fellow students. Many of them were only here for two weeks. It was fun. I left before things got crazy. Which is a good thing because from the stories I heard…well, I was better off at the apartment snug in my bed.
Saturday was a day of sleeping in and then walking. Again, I just roamed around, jumped on a bus every now and then and when I saw an area I wanted to explore I would jump off and roam some more. There are so many little side streets here that it is both easy to get lost and to find your way again. I love just walking and then turning a corner to be surprised by a “new” Piazza to discover. Of course each one has its own unique statue or fountain in honor of something or someone. How do people walk here without getting whiplash as they turn to see the façade of a building or the artwork on the walls?!
By the time I got home it was almost dark. I was going to get ready for bed and then I got a call from one of the girls saying that they wanted to go out and walk around the city at night. It really is beautiful at night. Everything is lit up and even though there are still many people around – walking hand in hand, or having dinner at the sidewalk cafes, or enjoying some drinks and cigarettes while they browse the street vendors – there is still a kind of tranquility that descends on the city. We walked and talked and visited the many places that now seem almost like friends I am so happy to see them again. We just kept asking each other, “Dove andiamo?” (Where do we go?) And then we would head off in that direction.
We were sitting in front of Fontana di Trevi when we realized that it was 3.00 in the morning! Oh, but it was beautiful! There were only about 20 people in front of the fountain and other than some quiet murmers all we could hear was the running water. (During the day it is completely surrounded by hoards of people.)
We all sat quietly and drifted into our own thoughts and this is where mine went: What is it about this fountain that draws so many people to it at all hours of the day and night? For one thing it IS an amazing structure. But really it is the myth that brings everyone here: if you throw a coin into the fountain it will come true. I have watched literally hundreds of people do this already. (I have to confess that I have been here several times already.) I think that the whimsy juxtaposed with the severity of the structure lends itself to the lore. If the people-creatures depicted in the fountain can capture and ride the wild water horses, then maybe we too can rein in our fantasies. If the angels above are looking down with gifts of plenty in their arms then maybe they will bestow their favors on us. Maybe if you wish to return to Rome and do make it back here one day then you can trust that wishes do come true, and this is enough to believe in the fairytale. I love it because of all of this and simply because it draws so many people to it. ALL kinds of people come here. And every one of them throws in their coin. The old men in their suits, the little children who can’t stand still long enough to see the coin hit the water, the women dressed like they are ready to walk in a fashion show….every one of them takes a moment to close their eyes, squeeze their coin as if they are pushing their dreams into it, hold their breathe for one second, and then swoosh the coin is tossed over their shoulder.
Sunday morning I headed to the Vatican to attend mass at 12.30. On Sundays they do not open San Pietro for any tours as they have services all day long. Of course I didn’t understand a thing, again, but it was still great. The only bad thing was how very hot it was. But mass was beautiful, especially the music. It sounds like voices are floating down from the ceiling and coming from the statues and paintings all around.
After going to mass , I went back to the apartment to change. I had to get out of the long sleeves and pants. It was sooooo hot!!! As soon as I finished preparing myself for the rest of the day Olga came home followed by Tamara. They were going to go to lunch across the river and asked me if I would like to join them…which I did. The restaurant we went to was probably the worst one I have ever been to. Tamara even found a bug in her bread!! Eeew. Never going back there!! But it was nice to walk around a new neighborhood. This was near a Piazza across from Tevere (the river) a few bridges down from my neighborhood. Still so many places to go!
Once we finished lunch Olga, Tamara, Lorena and I sauntered back to my apartment, stopping at a gelateria so that Olga could have her last ice cream before going home. Yes, she left around 5pm Sunday evening. I am a little sad. I can’t believe that we only met two weeks ago! I will be getting a new flat-mate in a few days. A 20 year old German boy. No more walking around in my pajama!!!
So, Tamara and I saw Olga off and then went for a walk. Yes, this is pretty much all we do, walk. But it was a very slow walk because of the heat and the humidity. The day was slightly overcast but not pleasant at all. We were hoping that more clouds would come in and that it would just rain and give us some relief. After a few hours we stopped at a random bar for a café (espresso) and decided to split a pizza for dinner. As we were waiting for the food to arrive my phone rang. It was Mama, Baba, and Haila!! I was so happy! It was just nice to hear their voices and be able to send my love verbally. It was a quick call, but good. Shortly after I got off the phone, the food arrived. After dinner, we decided it was time to go our separate ways and rest in preparation for the coming week. I waited with Tamara at the bus stop (we were in my neighborhood again) and then went home.
Monday morning was difficult to start. I didn’t do anything before getting to school. I had agreed to meet Tamara at noon but was even about 20 minutes late for that appointment. Ooops. Maybe I am starting to acquire Roman time: they are typically between 15-20 minutes late to everything. Class was especially difficult for me to concentrate on today as well. And no, it didn’t have anything to do with the new attractive male student who arrived today….well, maybe just a little bit. We did another one of those pretend conversation lessons and for some reason I couldn’t say this one simple phrase correctly: “La batteria e completamente a terra.” (Meaning: The battery is completely dead.) I just kept getting stuck over the word completamente and then Tamara started laughing which started me laughing and…well, I wasn’t a very good student today. I apologized to Federico (our new instructor) and the class. I plan to do some serious studying tonight so that I make up for today’s shenanigans.
After class Tamara and I wanted to go somewhere but didn’t know where. We asked Tomas (the new student) if he has seen anything yet. He said no. We asked him what he would like to see….and so on until we were headed off to see….yes, once again, Fontana di Trevi. If the different places and things here are becoming my friends then Fontana di Trevi must be the best one I have so far. (ha ha) Instead of taking the easy way by bus, we decided to…yes, it is predictable by now…we decided to walk. On the way there we passed the Spanish Steps, took a peek at the Monumento de Vittorio Emanuel, walked through Piazza Borghese, went into the Pantheon, and saw I don’t remember what else. We ended up going in circles trying to find the fountain from school, but all of us enjoyed the trek. We joked that we gave Tomas an hour walking tour of Rome because we saw so many things on the way. It was fun.
We waited around at the fountain for another student, Marianna, to join us for dinner and then found a decent little place right around the corner. It was a nice meal, but I still haven’t found the restaurant that I MUST go back to...I will have to put this search on my “to do” list. But I am missing food from home. I think I might try to find some curry here and make chicken curry with potatoes and rice. That sounds delicious right now!! After dinner we parted ways with Tomas and us girls went to Corsa di Fiori and had a drink. We spent some time there chatting, watching the roaming musicians and people dancing in the square.
Now I am home and finally back to my journal. I missed doing this! I know I’ve “said” this before but it is so nice to think back on my day(s) and share them with you. I know that I too will enjoy reading all of this and remembering my amazing excursion to Italy.
Speaking (I feel so much like I AM speaking to you, but of course I mean writing) of excursions, I am still trying to figure out what I am going to do with the 12 days after my classes end. It is so expensive to book things at all of the places I am looking at. Unfortunately, I have the complication of needing a refrigerator wherever I go so that I can keep my medicine in it. I am now starting to think that I will find a place in Rome and make quick little trips to the cities I want to see. I need to do some more research and figure that out by the end of this week. Any advice, suggestions, comments, would be appreciated to help me decide….
Instead of a small phrase for a closing remark I would like to share a “fortune” I received in a candy wrapper the other day:
“Raccontare i tuoi desideri el primo passo per avverarli.”
(Telling of your desires is the first step towards making them come true.)
Whew! It has been a looooong time since I last reported my doings in Rome. Sorry for the lapse. I am finally really feeling 100% and am back into fully enjoying and experiencing life here.
This weekend was really good. Friday was a normal day but in the evening we had a farewell party for several of our fellow students. Many of them were only here for two weeks. It was fun. I left before things got crazy. Which is a good thing because from the stories I heard…well, I was better off at the apartment snug in my bed.
Saturday was a day of sleeping in and then walking. Again, I just roamed around, jumped on a bus every now and then and when I saw an area I wanted to explore I would jump off and roam some more. There are so many little side streets here that it is both easy to get lost and to find your way again. I love just walking and then turning a corner to be surprised by a “new” Piazza to discover. Of course each one has its own unique statue or fountain in honor of something or someone. How do people walk here without getting whiplash as they turn to see the façade of a building or the artwork on the walls?!
By the time I got home it was almost dark. I was going to get ready for bed and then I got a call from one of the girls saying that they wanted to go out and walk around the city at night. It really is beautiful at night. Everything is lit up and even though there are still many people around – walking hand in hand, or having dinner at the sidewalk cafes, or enjoying some drinks and cigarettes while they browse the street vendors – there is still a kind of tranquility that descends on the city. We walked and talked and visited the many places that now seem almost like friends I am so happy to see them again. We just kept asking each other, “Dove andiamo?” (Where do we go?) And then we would head off in that direction.
We were sitting in front of Fontana di Trevi when we realized that it was 3.00 in the morning! Oh, but it was beautiful! There were only about 20 people in front of the fountain and other than some quiet murmers all we could hear was the running water. (During the day it is completely surrounded by hoards of people.)
We all sat quietly and drifted into our own thoughts and this is where mine went: What is it about this fountain that draws so many people to it at all hours of the day and night? For one thing it IS an amazing structure. But really it is the myth that brings everyone here: if you throw a coin into the fountain it will come true. I have watched literally hundreds of people do this already. (I have to confess that I have been here several times already.) I think that the whimsy juxtaposed with the severity of the structure lends itself to the lore. If the people-creatures depicted in the fountain can capture and ride the wild water horses, then maybe we too can rein in our fantasies. If the angels above are looking down with gifts of plenty in their arms then maybe they will bestow their favors on us. Maybe if you wish to return to Rome and do make it back here one day then you can trust that wishes do come true, and this is enough to believe in the fairytale. I love it because of all of this and simply because it draws so many people to it. ALL kinds of people come here. And every one of them throws in their coin. The old men in their suits, the little children who can’t stand still long enough to see the coin hit the water, the women dressed like they are ready to walk in a fashion show….every one of them takes a moment to close their eyes, squeeze their coin as if they are pushing their dreams into it, hold their breathe for one second, and then swoosh the coin is tossed over their shoulder.
Sunday morning I headed to the Vatican to attend mass at 12.30. On Sundays they do not open San Pietro for any tours as they have services all day long. Of course I didn’t understand a thing, again, but it was still great. The only bad thing was how very hot it was. But mass was beautiful, especially the music. It sounds like voices are floating down from the ceiling and coming from the statues and paintings all around.
After going to mass , I went back to the apartment to change. I had to get out of the long sleeves and pants. It was sooooo hot!!! As soon as I finished preparing myself for the rest of the day Olga came home followed by Tamara. They were going to go to lunch across the river and asked me if I would like to join them…which I did. The restaurant we went to was probably the worst one I have ever been to. Tamara even found a bug in her bread!! Eeew. Never going back there!! But it was nice to walk around a new neighborhood. This was near a Piazza across from Tevere (the river) a few bridges down from my neighborhood. Still so many places to go!
Once we finished lunch Olga, Tamara, Lorena and I sauntered back to my apartment, stopping at a gelateria so that Olga could have her last ice cream before going home. Yes, she left around 5pm Sunday evening. I am a little sad. I can’t believe that we only met two weeks ago! I will be getting a new flat-mate in a few days. A 20 year old German boy. No more walking around in my pajama!!!
So, Tamara and I saw Olga off and then went for a walk. Yes, this is pretty much all we do, walk. But it was a very slow walk because of the heat and the humidity. The day was slightly overcast but not pleasant at all. We were hoping that more clouds would come in and that it would just rain and give us some relief. After a few hours we stopped at a random bar for a café (espresso) and decided to split a pizza for dinner. As we were waiting for the food to arrive my phone rang. It was Mama, Baba, and Haila!! I was so happy! It was just nice to hear their voices and be able to send my love verbally. It was a quick call, but good. Shortly after I got off the phone, the food arrived. After dinner, we decided it was time to go our separate ways and rest in preparation for the coming week. I waited with Tamara at the bus stop (we were in my neighborhood again) and then went home.
Monday morning was difficult to start. I didn’t do anything before getting to school. I had agreed to meet Tamara at noon but was even about 20 minutes late for that appointment. Ooops. Maybe I am starting to acquire Roman time: they are typically between 15-20 minutes late to everything. Class was especially difficult for me to concentrate on today as well. And no, it didn’t have anything to do with the new attractive male student who arrived today….well, maybe just a little bit. We did another one of those pretend conversation lessons and for some reason I couldn’t say this one simple phrase correctly: “La batteria e completamente a terra.” (Meaning: The battery is completely dead.) I just kept getting stuck over the word completamente and then Tamara started laughing which started me laughing and…well, I wasn’t a very good student today. I apologized to Federico (our new instructor) and the class. I plan to do some serious studying tonight so that I make up for today’s shenanigans.
After class Tamara and I wanted to go somewhere but didn’t know where. We asked Tomas (the new student) if he has seen anything yet. He said no. We asked him what he would like to see….and so on until we were headed off to see….yes, once again, Fontana di Trevi. If the different places and things here are becoming my friends then Fontana di Trevi must be the best one I have so far. (ha ha) Instead of taking the easy way by bus, we decided to…yes, it is predictable by now…we decided to walk. On the way there we passed the Spanish Steps, took a peek at the Monumento de Vittorio Emanuel, walked through Piazza Borghese, went into the Pantheon, and saw I don’t remember what else. We ended up going in circles trying to find the fountain from school, but all of us enjoyed the trek. We joked that we gave Tomas an hour walking tour of Rome because we saw so many things on the way. It was fun.
We waited around at the fountain for another student, Marianna, to join us for dinner and then found a decent little place right around the corner. It was a nice meal, but I still haven’t found the restaurant that I MUST go back to...I will have to put this search on my “to do” list. But I am missing food from home. I think I might try to find some curry here and make chicken curry with potatoes and rice. That sounds delicious right now!! After dinner we parted ways with Tomas and us girls went to Corsa di Fiori and had a drink. We spent some time there chatting, watching the roaming musicians and people dancing in the square.
Now I am home and finally back to my journal. I missed doing this! I know I’ve “said” this before but it is so nice to think back on my day(s) and share them with you. I know that I too will enjoy reading all of this and remembering my amazing excursion to Italy.
Speaking (I feel so much like I AM speaking to you, but of course I mean writing) of excursions, I am still trying to figure out what I am going to do with the 12 days after my classes end. It is so expensive to book things at all of the places I am looking at. Unfortunately, I have the complication of needing a refrigerator wherever I go so that I can keep my medicine in it. I am now starting to think that I will find a place in Rome and make quick little trips to the cities I want to see. I need to do some more research and figure that out by the end of this week. Any advice, suggestions, comments, would be appreciated to help me decide….
Instead of a small phrase for a closing remark I would like to share a “fortune” I received in a candy wrapper the other day:
“Raccontare i tuoi desideri el primo passo per avverarli.”
(Telling of your desires is the first step towards making them come true.)
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Day 10 -11
Day 10-11 August 25, 2010
Ciao.
Tuesday and Wednesday have been very uneventful days. I have been feeling a little bit under the weather and very tired. I am guessing that the excitement and activity of the last week is catching up to me. Instead of spending days fighting off a cold I decided to take it very easy. I spent both days attending class and walking quietly to and from the school.
I know that I am going to be feeling myself again tomorrow. I have made plans to meet with Tamara at the school in the morning. We will be comparing our notes of what we would like to do in Rome and coordinate our plans for the next few weeks. This way I know I will be able to see and visit all of the things and places that I want to before my stay comes to an end. Some things I know I want to do on my own. Other things, well, it is just nice to be able to turn to someone in the moment and say, “wow, isn’t this amazing?” or sharing the story behind the building, statue, artwork….
I have many thoughts to share and will do so in the next few days. For now, I am going to take care of myself and make sure that I am well enough to enjoy being here as much as possible.
Reem
Ciao.
Tuesday and Wednesday have been very uneventful days. I have been feeling a little bit under the weather and very tired. I am guessing that the excitement and activity of the last week is catching up to me. Instead of spending days fighting off a cold I decided to take it very easy. I spent both days attending class and walking quietly to and from the school.
I know that I am going to be feeling myself again tomorrow. I have made plans to meet with Tamara at the school in the morning. We will be comparing our notes of what we would like to do in Rome and coordinate our plans for the next few weeks. This way I know I will be able to see and visit all of the things and places that I want to before my stay comes to an end. Some things I know I want to do on my own. Other things, well, it is just nice to be able to turn to someone in the moment and say, “wow, isn’t this amazing?” or sharing the story behind the building, statue, artwork….
I have many thoughts to share and will do so in the next few days. For now, I am going to take care of myself and make sure that I am well enough to enjoy being here as much as possible.
Reem
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Days 6 - 9, sorry for missing so many days!
Day 6-9 August 23, 2010
First off, I would like to apologize for not doing any journal entries Days 6-8. Not a lot happened but I was just so tired when I returned to the apartment each night that I didn’t have the energy to journal. So, I will try to bring everyone up to date now.
Friday started off as a regular day. I woke up, walked around a bit, went to the school around noon, had class….and then the girls wanted to go to the student club for the social hour to say farewell to Rebecca. She was only attending the school for one week and is now in Florence.
Before joining the” party”, I wanted to go online to try and figure out how to set up a photo account. The best thing I found was Flickr, but I have too many photos to take advantage of their free program and will need to pay to really have use out of this account. Since I really do not have any money to spare, I am still debating what to do. I would like to share my photos with you, sorry that I am taking so long….
Side comment: Speaking of taking so long, I can’t believe I’ve been here for a week already!!! How did the time go by so quickly? I have so much that I want to do!!
Ok, back to the story.
So, the party started before me. And let me tell you, those girls had a healthy start!! Oh my goodness, I can’t believe how much they had to drink in the hour and a half that I was busy. I don’t understand drinking so much that you make yourself sick or forget some of the things that you do. I have NEVER done this and know that I never EVER will! Anyway, we had some fun, dancing and enjoying each other’s company. We met other students from the school and communicated in as many different languages as possible. But the most commonly used form of correspondence was a crazy form of sign language as we all tried to express our underlying message and understand one another. There were people from Italy, of course, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, Russia, England, America,….all over the world. It was really neat to just see everyone together having a good time.
And then….one of the girls, Anna from Austria, got sick from drinking too much. She was so miserable I did feel sorry for her. It was kinda aweful. We tried to help her as much as possible. In the end, she was taken home by Giordano (the man/boy who runs the club) accompanied by Rebecca who was one of her flat-mates.
At this point, there were only three of us girls left: Tamara (who we decided to call Mara), Lorena (dubbed Lora) and I. We talked and talked and danced and had fun…and I lost track of the time. All of a sudden I was so tired and just had to get home. And here is where the story takes a wrong turn for me. Well, I WAS the one who made the stupid decision to try and get home by myself…at midnight.
REMINDER: I am ok, nothing bad happened and I am safe and sound.
So, I decide I have to leave and make my way to Termini. I get on the bus at my bus stop and we start going. I was so tired I fell asleep and woke up about 45 minutes later in a part of Rome I had never seen before!! I took the wrong bus!!! It was now about 01.00 and I was alone and I had no idea where I was. Yes, I did kinda freak out and shed a couple of tears out of panic. Then I composed myself and went up to the bus driver and asked if he was going back to Termini. He said yes. So, what was I to do? I sat tight and waited until I got back to Termini. Ok, I made it back safely.
Now, everyone had assured and reassured me that in Rome the buses ran all night long. Not with as much frequency as the day buses, but that still they worked 24hours a day. But there is always an exception to the rule, no? Once I was returned to Termini, I checked the bus schedule for the number 40 bus and to my complete dismay it was one of the very few buses that stopped running at midnight and wouldn’t start again until 6am. I checked the other bus that went my way, the 64, and learned that it too stopped running at midnight. Oh my god, what am I to do? It is 02.30, the middle of the night, and I am stranded at Termini. I don’t have any of the girls’ phone numbers to see where they are. I don’t have enough money to take a taxi. The only two options I had left were 1)wait in Termini for 4 hours until my bus started working again or 2)start walking.
I took a good look around Termini and quickly decided that it was going to be safer for me to walk home on the busier streets rather than wait in a dark station with the street people. So, with a very fervent prayer to my guardian angel, I squared my shoulders and started walking home. You guys, it has been a LONG time since I have prayed so much in such a short period of time. But thankfully I DID make it home safe and sound! I was only bothered by one man who tried to walk with me for a few seconds asking if I wanted to get a ride home in his car. Thank goodness I decided to take the longer route home by way of the still busy streets. (Thank goodness Rome doesn’t really go to sleep!) A police car drove by at that time and the man disappeared. It crossed my mind to stop the police car and ask them to help me get home…but I just didn’t trust that idea either. I didn’t run home but I made it back in record time. It was close to 04.00 when I walked in the door. I cried a little bit then too, but this time out of pure relief. As I showered away the awful event I sent a few more prayers of thanks and then went to sleep.
Saturday morning I woke up around 09.00 and couldn’t go back to sleep even though I was still tired. I got up and decided that I didn’t want to make any plans for the day, to just head out on my first full “free” day and see where my legs would take me. With map in hand, I headed out. I learned a lot about where things are in Rome and how to get from place to place. It was really neat to just walk and blend in with all of the other tourists. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to take the boat tour of the Trevere River. A ticket lasts 2 days and enables you to travel up and down Rome via the river, stopping at various points to let you off and on. It was later in the day when I did this, but I knew I would take advantage of it the following day as well.
Sunday morning I went to the church right down the street. If I was really living at this address in Rome, this would be my church because it is the closest working one to the apartment. I didn’t feel like it was appropriate to take pictures so I went without a camera for the second day in a row. It was a nice mass but I didn’t understand a word of it since it was done in Latin. But then, even if it was in Italian I wouldn’t have understood very much! But church is church and mass is mass. It was nice to be so far from home but feel like I was part of the community. Religion is an interesting thing. The way it binds people together out of shared practice and tradition, out of communal beliefs. So this is how my thoughts ran as I sat during the service (in addition to some more thanks for my safe trip home Friday night!). I had initially wanted to go to the Vatican for mass, but I knew that this would take a large portion of my day and I wanted to take advantage of my boat tour. I plan to go to a Vatican service this coming Sunday. After mass, I went to a nearby Bar (don’t worry, a Bar is a Café!) and had a sandwich for lunch. Then it was off to more touring. And this is how I spent my weekend.
Oh, did I mention the crazy mosquitos they have here?! I don‘t think I have yet. I am COVERED in mosquito bites. I have always been a little smug over the fact that mosquitos generally leave me alone. I think what was really happening was that I was saving up a lifetime's worth of mosquito bites and am receiving them all now! My arms and legs seriously look like I have a disease because I have so many bites. And somehow I even have a couple of bites on my stomach and face! I think I’m a little allergic to them because I keep getting random rashes of hives. I bought some repellent from the drug store (farmacia) but haven’t gotten something like Cortizone or Benadryl yet. I need to do this tomorrow because I am so uncomfortable. Darn these zinzare tigre!!! (Tiger Mosquitos)
Now that I am on the topic of medicine, I am thinking that some of you might like a status report on my health. Other than these bites I am feeling great! My blood sugar levels have been so healthy that some days I haven’t needed to take insulin at all. And when I do it is so minimal I can’t believe it! I am still taking all of my pills and am feeling really really good. My knees are feeling surprisingly great as well. I guess walking forever every day is really making a difference. Oh, and yes, my pants are fitting a little bit more loosely already. I was worried that I was going to gain weight with all of this great food, but I have been keeping myself on a strict budget and am not able to spend a lot of money on food. And all of this walking, walking, walking, walking makes a difference. With the heat (which means a LOT of sweating) and all of the water I am drinking even my skin is looking better…well minus the bites all over. I am still embarrassed over the copious amounts that I sweat and am very chagrined to hear that it is only going to get hotter next week! But this fact is not going to stop me from seeing and experiencing everything I can while I am here.
Now a quick review of today, Monday the 23rd. There is definitely a routine now for my school days. I wake up, pack up my bag for the day, walk around center city if I have time, and make it to the school. Then I have class for a few hours. Then I go out, with one or more of the girls (or on my own) to a given destination and make it home between 20.00 and 22.00 (8-10pm). Today I went to the Pantheon square with Mara (Tamara) for dinner. It takes a while to get to this location because we have to take the Metro and then walk for about an hour. Even though I have been walking a lot, I am still not a fast walker. Mara is one of those walk-sprinters. She just finds the direction she needs to go and zoom, she’s off. So she has to wait for me. I decided before I got here that I’m going to do things on my terms and enjoy my stay. So while I do feel a little bad that I am holding her up every now and then, I remember that I promised myself to be here for me and I keep my pace. Anyway, I reason that she has been out with me enough timeI s to know how slow I am and is still making the choice to do these activities with me. I like having her as a travel companion. She will be staying here almost as long as I am so it is good that we get along.
At dinner, we made the crazy decision to each order our own pizza. Seriously the pizzas they set before us could have easily fed three people each! I just started laughing. The funniest thing was that Mara was determined to finish her meal. She kept telling me to "man up" and keep eating and finish the whole thing. Even the waiters came by and wondered why I had barely eaten half of my pie. I said that I would have to sit there all night to be able to finish. One waiter said that it was ok, they would lower the price of our meal by 1/4 for every hour we stayed. I mean, they were serious about having me finish this thing. Another waiter asked what the problem was: did I eat too little or did the restaurant make too big of a pizza? Was it me or the pizza's fault that I wouldn't eat any more? Per amor del cielo (for goodness sake) why does everyone in this city want you to eat and eat and eat?! And I think that because I am a big girl they expect me to eat even more! Manga, manga, manga. I think Italians have a very short list of the things they love in life: family, church, food, sleep, and soccer. I am sorry to dissapoint you Italia, ma cosi e la vita! (but that's life!)
So here we are. I am sorry that I haven’t been able to communicate with you for a few days. I hope that everyone is doing ok. What is happening on your side of the world? Let me know!
Con Affetto e Cordiali Saluti (With Love and Best Wishes)
First off, I would like to apologize for not doing any journal entries Days 6-8. Not a lot happened but I was just so tired when I returned to the apartment each night that I didn’t have the energy to journal. So, I will try to bring everyone up to date now.
Friday started off as a regular day. I woke up, walked around a bit, went to the school around noon, had class….and then the girls wanted to go to the student club for the social hour to say farewell to Rebecca. She was only attending the school for one week and is now in Florence.
Before joining the” party”, I wanted to go online to try and figure out how to set up a photo account. The best thing I found was Flickr, but I have too many photos to take advantage of their free program and will need to pay to really have use out of this account. Since I really do not have any money to spare, I am still debating what to do. I would like to share my photos with you, sorry that I am taking so long….
Side comment: Speaking of taking so long, I can’t believe I’ve been here for a week already!!! How did the time go by so quickly? I have so much that I want to do!!
Ok, back to the story.
So, the party started before me. And let me tell you, those girls had a healthy start!! Oh my goodness, I can’t believe how much they had to drink in the hour and a half that I was busy. I don’t understand drinking so much that you make yourself sick or forget some of the things that you do. I have NEVER done this and know that I never EVER will! Anyway, we had some fun, dancing and enjoying each other’s company. We met other students from the school and communicated in as many different languages as possible. But the most commonly used form of correspondence was a crazy form of sign language as we all tried to express our underlying message and understand one another. There were people from Italy, of course, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, Russia, England, America,….all over the world. It was really neat to just see everyone together having a good time.
And then….one of the girls, Anna from Austria, got sick from drinking too much. She was so miserable I did feel sorry for her. It was kinda aweful. We tried to help her as much as possible. In the end, she was taken home by Giordano (the man/boy who runs the club) accompanied by Rebecca who was one of her flat-mates.
At this point, there were only three of us girls left: Tamara (who we decided to call Mara), Lorena (dubbed Lora) and I. We talked and talked and danced and had fun…and I lost track of the time. All of a sudden I was so tired and just had to get home. And here is where the story takes a wrong turn for me. Well, I WAS the one who made the stupid decision to try and get home by myself…at midnight.
REMINDER: I am ok, nothing bad happened and I am safe and sound.
So, I decide I have to leave and make my way to Termini. I get on the bus at my bus stop and we start going. I was so tired I fell asleep and woke up about 45 minutes later in a part of Rome I had never seen before!! I took the wrong bus!!! It was now about 01.00 and I was alone and I had no idea where I was. Yes, I did kinda freak out and shed a couple of tears out of panic. Then I composed myself and went up to the bus driver and asked if he was going back to Termini. He said yes. So, what was I to do? I sat tight and waited until I got back to Termini. Ok, I made it back safely.
Now, everyone had assured and reassured me that in Rome the buses ran all night long. Not with as much frequency as the day buses, but that still they worked 24hours a day. But there is always an exception to the rule, no? Once I was returned to Termini, I checked the bus schedule for the number 40 bus and to my complete dismay it was one of the very few buses that stopped running at midnight and wouldn’t start again until 6am. I checked the other bus that went my way, the 64, and learned that it too stopped running at midnight. Oh my god, what am I to do? It is 02.30, the middle of the night, and I am stranded at Termini. I don’t have any of the girls’ phone numbers to see where they are. I don’t have enough money to take a taxi. The only two options I had left were 1)wait in Termini for 4 hours until my bus started working again or 2)start walking.
I took a good look around Termini and quickly decided that it was going to be safer for me to walk home on the busier streets rather than wait in a dark station with the street people. So, with a very fervent prayer to my guardian angel, I squared my shoulders and started walking home. You guys, it has been a LONG time since I have prayed so much in such a short period of time. But thankfully I DID make it home safe and sound! I was only bothered by one man who tried to walk with me for a few seconds asking if I wanted to get a ride home in his car. Thank goodness I decided to take the longer route home by way of the still busy streets. (Thank goodness Rome doesn’t really go to sleep!) A police car drove by at that time and the man disappeared. It crossed my mind to stop the police car and ask them to help me get home…but I just didn’t trust that idea either. I didn’t run home but I made it back in record time. It was close to 04.00 when I walked in the door. I cried a little bit then too, but this time out of pure relief. As I showered away the awful event I sent a few more prayers of thanks and then went to sleep.
Saturday morning I woke up around 09.00 and couldn’t go back to sleep even though I was still tired. I got up and decided that I didn’t want to make any plans for the day, to just head out on my first full “free” day and see where my legs would take me. With map in hand, I headed out. I learned a lot about where things are in Rome and how to get from place to place. It was really neat to just walk and blend in with all of the other tourists. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to take the boat tour of the Trevere River. A ticket lasts 2 days and enables you to travel up and down Rome via the river, stopping at various points to let you off and on. It was later in the day when I did this, but I knew I would take advantage of it the following day as well.
Sunday morning I went to the church right down the street. If I was really living at this address in Rome, this would be my church because it is the closest working one to the apartment. I didn’t feel like it was appropriate to take pictures so I went without a camera for the second day in a row. It was a nice mass but I didn’t understand a word of it since it was done in Latin. But then, even if it was in Italian I wouldn’t have understood very much! But church is church and mass is mass. It was nice to be so far from home but feel like I was part of the community. Religion is an interesting thing. The way it binds people together out of shared practice and tradition, out of communal beliefs. So this is how my thoughts ran as I sat during the service (in addition to some more thanks for my safe trip home Friday night!). I had initially wanted to go to the Vatican for mass, but I knew that this would take a large portion of my day and I wanted to take advantage of my boat tour. I plan to go to a Vatican service this coming Sunday. After mass, I went to a nearby Bar (don’t worry, a Bar is a Café!) and had a sandwich for lunch. Then it was off to more touring. And this is how I spent my weekend.
Oh, did I mention the crazy mosquitos they have here?! I don‘t think I have yet. I am COVERED in mosquito bites. I have always been a little smug over the fact that mosquitos generally leave me alone. I think what was really happening was that I was saving up a lifetime's worth of mosquito bites and am receiving them all now! My arms and legs seriously look like I have a disease because I have so many bites. And somehow I even have a couple of bites on my stomach and face! I think I’m a little allergic to them because I keep getting random rashes of hives. I bought some repellent from the drug store (farmacia) but haven’t gotten something like Cortizone or Benadryl yet. I need to do this tomorrow because I am so uncomfortable. Darn these zinzare tigre!!! (Tiger Mosquitos)
Now that I am on the topic of medicine, I am thinking that some of you might like a status report on my health. Other than these bites I am feeling great! My blood sugar levels have been so healthy that some days I haven’t needed to take insulin at all. And when I do it is so minimal I can’t believe it! I am still taking all of my pills and am feeling really really good. My knees are feeling surprisingly great as well. I guess walking forever every day is really making a difference. Oh, and yes, my pants are fitting a little bit more loosely already. I was worried that I was going to gain weight with all of this great food, but I have been keeping myself on a strict budget and am not able to spend a lot of money on food. And all of this walking, walking, walking, walking makes a difference. With the heat (which means a LOT of sweating) and all of the water I am drinking even my skin is looking better…well minus the bites all over. I am still embarrassed over the copious amounts that I sweat and am very chagrined to hear that it is only going to get hotter next week! But this fact is not going to stop me from seeing and experiencing everything I can while I am here.
Now a quick review of today, Monday the 23rd. There is definitely a routine now for my school days. I wake up, pack up my bag for the day, walk around center city if I have time, and make it to the school. Then I have class for a few hours. Then I go out, with one or more of the girls (or on my own) to a given destination and make it home between 20.00 and 22.00 (8-10pm). Today I went to the Pantheon square with Mara (Tamara) for dinner. It takes a while to get to this location because we have to take the Metro and then walk for about an hour. Even though I have been walking a lot, I am still not a fast walker. Mara is one of those walk-sprinters. She just finds the direction she needs to go and zoom, she’s off. So she has to wait for me. I decided before I got here that I’m going to do things on my terms and enjoy my stay. So while I do feel a little bad that I am holding her up every now and then, I remember that I promised myself to be here for me and I keep my pace. Anyway, I reason that she has been out with me enough timeI s to know how slow I am and is still making the choice to do these activities with me. I like having her as a travel companion. She will be staying here almost as long as I am so it is good that we get along.
At dinner, we made the crazy decision to each order our own pizza. Seriously the pizzas they set before us could have easily fed three people each! I just started laughing. The funniest thing was that Mara was determined to finish her meal. She kept telling me to "man up" and keep eating and finish the whole thing. Even the waiters came by and wondered why I had barely eaten half of my pie. I said that I would have to sit there all night to be able to finish. One waiter said that it was ok, they would lower the price of our meal by 1/4 for every hour we stayed. I mean, they were serious about having me finish this thing. Another waiter asked what the problem was: did I eat too little or did the restaurant make too big of a pizza? Was it me or the pizza's fault that I wouldn't eat any more? Per amor del cielo (for goodness sake) why does everyone in this city want you to eat and eat and eat?! And I think that because I am a big girl they expect me to eat even more! Manga, manga, manga. I think Italians have a very short list of the things they love in life: family, church, food, sleep, and soccer. I am sorry to dissapoint you Italia, ma cosi e la vita! (but that's life!)
So here we are. I am sorry that I haven’t been able to communicate with you for a few days. I hope that everyone is doing ok. What is happening on your side of the world? Let me know!
Con Affetto e Cordiali Saluti (With Love and Best Wishes)
Friday, August 20, 2010
Giorno 5
Giorno 5 19 di Agosto, 2010
Alora, today was a beautiful day. First of all, I had a much better night’s sleep and this makes a big difference in my day! I started out around 0900 and took a new bus route to Termini just to see a different scene into Centro Roma. It was nice. I still have the smile stuck on my face. On the ride there I kept finding myself looking up. There is a whole other scene of artwork, statues, and gardens above our heads! And, ah, the sky was beautiful today. Granted it came with a heavy heat that was quickly trapped between the buildings and the streets, but it was beautiful. I only wish that I didn’t sweat so much! Ooh, so ugly!
I did some more wandering and stopped at the Fontana dei Naiadi. Apparently there was so much controversy over the naked nymphs of this fountain that at one time the government put up a huge wall to cover them up. Some students later tore down this wall and the nymphs have been “free” ever since. It is a beautiful fountain. I took pictures of it on the bus tour yesterday, so I didn’t take any more today. I just walked around it and admired the statues from a closer view. It is nice to see people from all over the world sitting on the wall, many dipping their feet in the water to cool off. I just walked for a while and then decided to make a route to the school. I knew the general direction and just went through streets, trying to stay close to the shade of the buildings. It was almost noon but very very hot already. There were many vendors walking about selling parasols and hats.
On the way to school I noticed a family leaving their home. Normal, yes? But then I took a closer look at the “house” and realized that it was a mini-palace looking building. I took a picture. Can you imagine this being your home?! (And this brings me to once again apologizing for not posting pictures onto the blog. You guys, I really need help here. I tried setting up an account online to post all of my pictures, but I just didn’t know what I was doing. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! What is a “good” site? Should I just try posting everything to Facebook? I don’t know. Help!)
I got to the school a little after noon and had a café and this yummy biscuit thing with chocolate on top. Ha ha, I am laughing at myself because when I ordered the “café” I thought I was asking for a cup of coffee…but it ended up being this mini cup of espresso. Very strong espresso. Not what I expected, but still good. Yes, I remembered to take a picture this time. Then I went through the routine of checking email and posting my blog. I like reading your comments. Do you have any questions for me? I tried to figure out what to do with the photos, but got very frustrated and gave up after an hour of trial and error…that only ended in error. I think I did something wrong to my computer too. Now it is showing an error when I start it up. It says that there is something wrong with some software on the C: drive….I don’t know. I just hope that the computer keeps working enough to let me continue journaling and connecting to the internet. While I was waiting for the photo thing to work, I studied my Italian. Good thing too becuase we WERE quizzed on it!
Class, again, was the same. Fun, sometimes difficult, but very useful. I am making friends with a Korean lady whose Italian name is Sophia. She speaks Korean, some Italian, and very very little English. She has been living here for 3 years already and is now starting to take language class. She works at a Korean B&B so hasn’t really needed to learn Italian, but now she realizes that this is to be her permanent home and she would like to learn. It is great talking with her during our class break. It is really forcing me to use the little Italian I know. I was so surprised today when we were actually having a conversation! I was understanding her and responding in Italian!! Of course, it was very broken Italian and we laughed at ourselves a lot, but this IS great practice. For all of you who told me, you KNOW who you are, yes normal conversation IS the very best way to learn. We were feeling so confident that when new students joined us on the terrace, we brought them into the conversation! YES!! I was feeling so good about it that I started using Italian on the streets!
By the way, almost everyone in metropolitan Rome speaks – or wants to speak – in English. It is good because I can communicate almost everywhere I go, but it is not so good because even when I try to speak in Italian they want to speak in English. Most of the other students want to practice their English too! Va bene, I still have Sophia to talk to.
So, after school we (a handful of girls from different classes) were going to attend a seminar on the wines of Italy. But this seminar was completely in Italian and we quickly abandoned it. I still don’t understand why but Tamara and Anna (a 4th level from Croatia) were dead set on, and super excited about, going to the Hard Rock Café. Of ALL the places we can go, of ALL the authentic food we can eat, you want to go where? Maybe it is because the food is what I know from home already, maybe my age is showing (they are 19 and 20), but I just couldn’t understand what the huge draw was to going there. In the end I decided to go because 1)I wanted to make it up to the girls for not joining them for dinner last night and 2) I was curious to see how “American” the place could be. Besides the heavy accents of the servers (who really tried HARD to have an American accent!) it was just like any burger restaurant back home. I was actually surprised at how good the burgers were, but they were HUGE even by American standards. I could only finish half of the burger and not even half of the fries. I don’t know how these girls split a humongous plate of nachos, ate all of the burger, and had a dessert after too! Tomorrow is a day for salad and fruit, but this weekend I am going to go somewhere to have a pasta dish of some kind no matter what!!! Jeesh! …But it was incredibly entertaining to see the excitement and fascination they had with American food.
Afterwards, we were all feeling uncomfortably full and decided to go for a walk to the Fontana Trevi. Some made their wishes, but I will go back on my own one morning to make my wish. Maybe the place won’t be so crowded earlier in the day? Again, I took pictures and had pictures taken with me in them, but it just doesn’t express the magnitude of the whole thing. I do think I will go back, sit quietly by myself and try to write about it. After this first week of exploration and discovery I know I will have time to revisit each place and really get to know it. Another homework: find a decent book that will teach me the history and stories surrounding these places. I will bring it with me and read about each point as I am there.
Olga and I parted ways from the rest of the group after Fontana Trevi. We wanted to walk home since it was such a beautiful night and we both weren’t quite ready for the day to end. It took us about an hour but we were in no rush and stopped often to take pictures. Ah, one great thing that happened on the way: we were just walking along and then heard this beautiful singing. I thought it was a recording or something, but it turned out to be a man and a woman singing opera in the street. It was so enchanting. Again the silly grin was plastered on my face and surprisingly I felt my eyes sting with tears because it was so beautiful and so surprising. How lucky am I to be here?! Molto, molto, molto.
We sauntered through the Piazza Navona, took more pictures, talked about family, bought postcards, shared different stories, took a drink of water from the “soup tourine” (I will tell you the story of the tourine another time) and just meandered home. I am still not very sure of what direction I am going in but Olga has a map in her head. I need to start paying attention to where we are going and turning because she will be leaving in a week and I will need to know my own way around!
I’m not as tired today as I was yesterday but I should probably wrap things up and go to bed. It is now 2300 (11pm). It takes me about an hour to type each entry so we must have returned home around 2145 (9:45pm). I was thinking about writing some postcards tonight, but I think I want to take them with me and write them while I am visiting different places in the next few days. Let me know if you have a preference of what location you would like your postcard written!
Oh! Do not worry that I will have no posts for the next two days. I only have internet access from the school and they are closed on Saturday and Sunday. However, I will keep journaling over the weekend and will have all three posts up on Monday.
A settimana prossima… (Until next week…)
Reem
PS. Haila, I don’t know if you are reading this, but if you are, can you send me the photo scavenger hunt list? I never took it and forgot almost everything on the list. Thanks!
Alora, today was a beautiful day. First of all, I had a much better night’s sleep and this makes a big difference in my day! I started out around 0900 and took a new bus route to Termini just to see a different scene into Centro Roma. It was nice. I still have the smile stuck on my face. On the ride there I kept finding myself looking up. There is a whole other scene of artwork, statues, and gardens above our heads! And, ah, the sky was beautiful today. Granted it came with a heavy heat that was quickly trapped between the buildings and the streets, but it was beautiful. I only wish that I didn’t sweat so much! Ooh, so ugly!
I did some more wandering and stopped at the Fontana dei Naiadi. Apparently there was so much controversy over the naked nymphs of this fountain that at one time the government put up a huge wall to cover them up. Some students later tore down this wall and the nymphs have been “free” ever since. It is a beautiful fountain. I took pictures of it on the bus tour yesterday, so I didn’t take any more today. I just walked around it and admired the statues from a closer view. It is nice to see people from all over the world sitting on the wall, many dipping their feet in the water to cool off. I just walked for a while and then decided to make a route to the school. I knew the general direction and just went through streets, trying to stay close to the shade of the buildings. It was almost noon but very very hot already. There were many vendors walking about selling parasols and hats.
On the way to school I noticed a family leaving their home. Normal, yes? But then I took a closer look at the “house” and realized that it was a mini-palace looking building. I took a picture. Can you imagine this being your home?! (And this brings me to once again apologizing for not posting pictures onto the blog. You guys, I really need help here. I tried setting up an account online to post all of my pictures, but I just didn’t know what I was doing. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! What is a “good” site? Should I just try posting everything to Facebook? I don’t know. Help!)
I got to the school a little after noon and had a café and this yummy biscuit thing with chocolate on top. Ha ha, I am laughing at myself because when I ordered the “café” I thought I was asking for a cup of coffee…but it ended up being this mini cup of espresso. Very strong espresso. Not what I expected, but still good. Yes, I remembered to take a picture this time. Then I went through the routine of checking email and posting my blog. I like reading your comments. Do you have any questions for me? I tried to figure out what to do with the photos, but got very frustrated and gave up after an hour of trial and error…that only ended in error. I think I did something wrong to my computer too. Now it is showing an error when I start it up. It says that there is something wrong with some software on the C: drive….I don’t know. I just hope that the computer keeps working enough to let me continue journaling and connecting to the internet. While I was waiting for the photo thing to work, I studied my Italian. Good thing too becuase we WERE quizzed on it!
Class, again, was the same. Fun, sometimes difficult, but very useful. I am making friends with a Korean lady whose Italian name is Sophia. She speaks Korean, some Italian, and very very little English. She has been living here for 3 years already and is now starting to take language class. She works at a Korean B&B so hasn’t really needed to learn Italian, but now she realizes that this is to be her permanent home and she would like to learn. It is great talking with her during our class break. It is really forcing me to use the little Italian I know. I was so surprised today when we were actually having a conversation! I was understanding her and responding in Italian!! Of course, it was very broken Italian and we laughed at ourselves a lot, but this IS great practice. For all of you who told me, you KNOW who you are, yes normal conversation IS the very best way to learn. We were feeling so confident that when new students joined us on the terrace, we brought them into the conversation! YES!! I was feeling so good about it that I started using Italian on the streets!
By the way, almost everyone in metropolitan Rome speaks – or wants to speak – in English. It is good because I can communicate almost everywhere I go, but it is not so good because even when I try to speak in Italian they want to speak in English. Most of the other students want to practice their English too! Va bene, I still have Sophia to talk to.
So, after school we (a handful of girls from different classes) were going to attend a seminar on the wines of Italy. But this seminar was completely in Italian and we quickly abandoned it. I still don’t understand why but Tamara and Anna (a 4th level from Croatia) were dead set on, and super excited about, going to the Hard Rock Café. Of ALL the places we can go, of ALL the authentic food we can eat, you want to go where? Maybe it is because the food is what I know from home already, maybe my age is showing (they are 19 and 20), but I just couldn’t understand what the huge draw was to going there. In the end I decided to go because 1)I wanted to make it up to the girls for not joining them for dinner last night and 2) I was curious to see how “American” the place could be. Besides the heavy accents of the servers (who really tried HARD to have an American accent!) it was just like any burger restaurant back home. I was actually surprised at how good the burgers were, but they were HUGE even by American standards. I could only finish half of the burger and not even half of the fries. I don’t know how these girls split a humongous plate of nachos, ate all of the burger, and had a dessert after too! Tomorrow is a day for salad and fruit, but this weekend I am going to go somewhere to have a pasta dish of some kind no matter what!!! Jeesh! …But it was incredibly entertaining to see the excitement and fascination they had with American food.
Afterwards, we were all feeling uncomfortably full and decided to go for a walk to the Fontana Trevi. Some made their wishes, but I will go back on my own one morning to make my wish. Maybe the place won’t be so crowded earlier in the day? Again, I took pictures and had pictures taken with me in them, but it just doesn’t express the magnitude of the whole thing. I do think I will go back, sit quietly by myself and try to write about it. After this first week of exploration and discovery I know I will have time to revisit each place and really get to know it. Another homework: find a decent book that will teach me the history and stories surrounding these places. I will bring it with me and read about each point as I am there.
Olga and I parted ways from the rest of the group after Fontana Trevi. We wanted to walk home since it was such a beautiful night and we both weren’t quite ready for the day to end. It took us about an hour but we were in no rush and stopped often to take pictures. Ah, one great thing that happened on the way: we were just walking along and then heard this beautiful singing. I thought it was a recording or something, but it turned out to be a man and a woman singing opera in the street. It was so enchanting. Again the silly grin was plastered on my face and surprisingly I felt my eyes sting with tears because it was so beautiful and so surprising. How lucky am I to be here?! Molto, molto, molto.
We sauntered through the Piazza Navona, took more pictures, talked about family, bought postcards, shared different stories, took a drink of water from the “soup tourine” (I will tell you the story of the tourine another time) and just meandered home. I am still not very sure of what direction I am going in but Olga has a map in her head. I need to start paying attention to where we are going and turning because she will be leaving in a week and I will need to know my own way around!
I’m not as tired today as I was yesterday but I should probably wrap things up and go to bed. It is now 2300 (11pm). It takes me about an hour to type each entry so we must have returned home around 2145 (9:45pm). I was thinking about writing some postcards tonight, but I think I want to take them with me and write them while I am visiting different places in the next few days. Let me know if you have a preference of what location you would like your postcard written!
Oh! Do not worry that I will have no posts for the next two days. I only have internet access from the school and they are closed on Saturday and Sunday. However, I will keep journaling over the weekend and will have all three posts up on Monday.
A settimana prossima… (Until next week…)
Reem
PS. Haila, I don’t know if you are reading this, but if you are, can you send me the photo scavenger hunt list? I never took it and forgot almost everything on the list. Thanks!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Day Four
Day 4 August 18, 2010
I am so tired tonight! It is 2230 (10:30pm) and I just got home a few minutes ago. Granted I slept in until 1030 this morning but that is because I had such a yucky sleep last night. I was wide awake and once I did drift off to sleep a noise outside my window or Olga coming home at 0115 in the morning woke me up. Between 0400 and 0500 I finally took a Tylenol to help me go to sleep. Thank goodness I had some restfull sleep after that and felt great in the morning. I took a quick, freezing shower. I don’t know what is going on with the water here, but this is the second day that I do laps in the tub: run into the water to get wet, run out to soap, run in to rinse off and so on. At least it ensures I’m fully awake! I took a while to get dressed and didn’t notice how the time flew by. It was 1319 when I looked at the clock! I grabbed a Kashi bar (thanks Mom!) and ran out the door.
I arrived to the school with just a few minutes to spare. Whew! Today we had a new instructor, Federico. He is a little more intimidating that Jasna because he won’t speak any English at all. Ok, he said maybe 5 English words the whole time and that was because we all couldn’t figure out what we were supposed to do. I can’t believe how much we are learning just from playing games. Today we had to figure out what the correct words would be for the following scenario: a guy is asking a girl if the seat across from her on the train is available. She says that it is and removes her bag for him to sit there. We had to come up with the right words and each of us had to learn how to say each work with exact pronunciation. We collectively came up with each sentence of the dialogue piece by piece. We would start out with just a word that someone guessed and then had to figure out what the other pieces around it would be. Once we finally came up with a good sentence he would tell us, “Great! Perfect sentence, but there is another way, a better way to say this.” And we would have to start all over again. This took us an hour. Let me show you what the end result of the conversation was:
Boy: Ciao.
Girl: Ciao.
Boy: E occupato qui?
Girl: No no scusami.
Boy: Non c’e problema.
Yes, this really took us an hour to figure out. I know I exaggerate, but not this time. But the cool thing is that we learned a lot of other vocabulary and conjugation along the way. We did do several other activities, this was just the main one.
Once class was over I went down to the Club to post my blog. I was in a rush and didn’t do anything else on the computer because I wanted to do a bus tour of the city before it got dark. I thought I was going to go it alone, but at the last minute Tamara decided to join me. The more the merrier! So, we were off to Termini to get on a red bus. Thankfully we found seats on the top of the bus. I was hoping for a top seat not only to feel a breeze while we were driving but because I was really hoping to get some good photos from a higher vantage point. I think I took some great pictures during this ride!
Oh, talking about pictures, I did upload all of the previous pictures on my computer, but I can’t figure out how to put them on the blog. Do any of you know? I tried to play around with it today, but I was in a hurry and didn’t spend much time on it. I’ll try again tomorrow. Hopefully I will have some time before the Wines of Italy Seminar at the school begins. This will be the first seminar I go to through the school. I’m also signed up for something Thursday evening, a film or something.
Anyway, back to the bus tour. We started at the Termini and went in a big circle around Rome seeing the major sites. I wanted to take this tour today so that I could get a better idea of the lay of the city. To be able to see the 3D version of the map I am trying to follow. (haha, I had to throw in the 3D reference cuz everything has a 3D version now. Yeah, I still crack myself up over my stupid jokes!) So here are the stops we made: Quirinale, Colosseo, Bocca della Verita, Piazza Venezia, Piazza Navona, S. Pietro, Piazza Cavour, Ara Pacis, Piazza Navona, Fontana di Trevi, Via Veneto, Villa Borghese, and back to Termini. Ok, so I got so caught up in seeing everything, listening to my audio guide to what I was looking at, and trying to take pictures that I forgot to pay attention to the “lay of the city”. Rome is so OLD! It is so neat to see the ancient ruins juxtaposed with new buildings. Hah, most of the “new” buildings would be considered old in San Diego!
I’m too overloaded and tired to be able to go through a run-down of the history or interesting tidbits I learned during this tour. One thing I will share though. I learned who Vittorio Emanuel is/was. I was embarrassed to have not known when I did find out! Victor Emanuel was the first Italian President. This monstrous monument was built in his honor. I mean this thing is HUGE!!!! There is what looks to be a somewhat big bronze statue of him on a horse on the top of the steps leading to the actual building. The statue doesn’t look THAT large from the street, but it is made out of 5 tons of lead salvaged from old cannons! It is reported that before the chest of the horse was sealed up, an actual banquet was held WITHIN the belly of the statue holding 20-30 dignitaries and government officials! The monument was considered an eyesore for a long time because of its size and wasn’t used. After World War II, the Unknown Soldier was buried there. This unknown man is the only occupant of the entire building. So, now we know.
After the tour, Tamara and I were back at Termini. We had a little time to kill as we were meeting up with my roommate and some school acquaintances for dinner. It was 1930 (7:30pm) and we were to meet with them at 2030 (8:30pm). We were both hungry and decided to split a sandwich to tide us over until dinner. Then we checked out train ticket prices to different cities through Italy. They were not too bad. For instance, a ticket to Napoli is 10.50Euro one way. I’ll have to think if I want to do any weekend trips outside of Roma and Toscana. I’m still not sure what I’m going to do in Toscana. I guess I better make planning that a priority soon. I’m waiting for some more money to appear in my bank account before I start making plans though.
Sorry for the little “side thoughts” that are distracting me from the main story! I guess I am writing the way I would talk. Hehe.
Back to the day. So, the other girls arrive at our meeting point and are dressed to the nines. Meanwhile I am looking pretty shabby, carrying my school bag, wearing flip flops, and a sweaty mess (yes, Rome is hot and yes I sweat easily. Wish I didn’t cuz it makes me look ugly! but it is what it is. Ok, move on.). And on top of that they wanted to go clubbing after dinner. Ouch. I was just not ready for all of that. So, I decided to go my own way. Tamara is sweet and didn’t want me to go on my own, so we decided to go somewhere near Termini and have dinner together. We were debating where to eat and just walking down a street when we came to an outside sitting area for the restaurant 27. I was tired and didn’t really want to venture any further and their menu looked alright. We basically were looking for a pizza to spit. They had it, it was at an ok price, so we took a seat. It was a delicious 4 cheese pizza that melted in your mouth! What is up with the cheese here that it is so great! Wow! and Yum! I was so hungry that I just started eating and forgot to take a picture. I’m trying hard to stick to my written documentary of this trip, but sometimes I just get lost in the moment…
Once we finished with our dinner we wanted to go find a gelateria in the station. Unfortunately, or fortunately in my case, all of them had just closed before we got there. Ah well, it was time to split ways and go home. This time I knew the correct spot to get off the bus, but I started walking in the wrong direction! Positive side of things is that in my wrong direction, I crossed the Trevere and got a beautiful picture from the bridge. (This is the river that runs through Rome. It is one of the reasons that Rome became a strong seat in the south. This river became a main trade route from Austria to the Meditteranean) Negative side was that it was dark and I was tired. Once I realized I had no clue where I was, I pulled out my map and got myself in the correct direction. I was happy to see Bascilica San del Fiorentini, the church at the end of Via Giulia. Why do I all of a sudden feel so weary when I know that “home” is just a few steps away? I couldn’t even carry my bag over my shoulders anymore and had to carry it cradled in my arms like a baby!
Now it is 2340 (11:40pm). I am again tired and ready for my shower and bed. I just hope that there is hot water tonight!
Con affetto, (With love,)
Reem
I am so tired tonight! It is 2230 (10:30pm) and I just got home a few minutes ago. Granted I slept in until 1030 this morning but that is because I had such a yucky sleep last night. I was wide awake and once I did drift off to sleep a noise outside my window or Olga coming home at 0115 in the morning woke me up. Between 0400 and 0500 I finally took a Tylenol to help me go to sleep. Thank goodness I had some restfull sleep after that and felt great in the morning. I took a quick, freezing shower. I don’t know what is going on with the water here, but this is the second day that I do laps in the tub: run into the water to get wet, run out to soap, run in to rinse off and so on. At least it ensures I’m fully awake! I took a while to get dressed and didn’t notice how the time flew by. It was 1319 when I looked at the clock! I grabbed a Kashi bar (thanks Mom!) and ran out the door.
I arrived to the school with just a few minutes to spare. Whew! Today we had a new instructor, Federico. He is a little more intimidating that Jasna because he won’t speak any English at all. Ok, he said maybe 5 English words the whole time and that was because we all couldn’t figure out what we were supposed to do. I can’t believe how much we are learning just from playing games. Today we had to figure out what the correct words would be for the following scenario: a guy is asking a girl if the seat across from her on the train is available. She says that it is and removes her bag for him to sit there. We had to come up with the right words and each of us had to learn how to say each work with exact pronunciation. We collectively came up with each sentence of the dialogue piece by piece. We would start out with just a word that someone guessed and then had to figure out what the other pieces around it would be. Once we finally came up with a good sentence he would tell us, “Great! Perfect sentence, but there is another way, a better way to say this.” And we would have to start all over again. This took us an hour. Let me show you what the end result of the conversation was:
Boy: Ciao.
Girl: Ciao.
Boy: E occupato qui?
Girl: No no scusami.
Boy: Non c’e problema.
Yes, this really took us an hour to figure out. I know I exaggerate, but not this time. But the cool thing is that we learned a lot of other vocabulary and conjugation along the way. We did do several other activities, this was just the main one.
Once class was over I went down to the Club to post my blog. I was in a rush and didn’t do anything else on the computer because I wanted to do a bus tour of the city before it got dark. I thought I was going to go it alone, but at the last minute Tamara decided to join me. The more the merrier! So, we were off to Termini to get on a red bus. Thankfully we found seats on the top of the bus. I was hoping for a top seat not only to feel a breeze while we were driving but because I was really hoping to get some good photos from a higher vantage point. I think I took some great pictures during this ride!
Oh, talking about pictures, I did upload all of the previous pictures on my computer, but I can’t figure out how to put them on the blog. Do any of you know? I tried to play around with it today, but I was in a hurry and didn’t spend much time on it. I’ll try again tomorrow. Hopefully I will have some time before the Wines of Italy Seminar at the school begins. This will be the first seminar I go to through the school. I’m also signed up for something Thursday evening, a film or something.
Anyway, back to the bus tour. We started at the Termini and went in a big circle around Rome seeing the major sites. I wanted to take this tour today so that I could get a better idea of the lay of the city. To be able to see the 3D version of the map I am trying to follow. (haha, I had to throw in the 3D reference cuz everything has a 3D version now. Yeah, I still crack myself up over my stupid jokes!) So here are the stops we made: Quirinale, Colosseo, Bocca della Verita, Piazza Venezia, Piazza Navona, S. Pietro, Piazza Cavour, Ara Pacis, Piazza Navona, Fontana di Trevi, Via Veneto, Villa Borghese, and back to Termini. Ok, so I got so caught up in seeing everything, listening to my audio guide to what I was looking at, and trying to take pictures that I forgot to pay attention to the “lay of the city”. Rome is so OLD! It is so neat to see the ancient ruins juxtaposed with new buildings. Hah, most of the “new” buildings would be considered old in San Diego!
I’m too overloaded and tired to be able to go through a run-down of the history or interesting tidbits I learned during this tour. One thing I will share though. I learned who Vittorio Emanuel is/was. I was embarrassed to have not known when I did find out! Victor Emanuel was the first Italian President. This monstrous monument was built in his honor. I mean this thing is HUGE!!!! There is what looks to be a somewhat big bronze statue of him on a horse on the top of the steps leading to the actual building. The statue doesn’t look THAT large from the street, but it is made out of 5 tons of lead salvaged from old cannons! It is reported that before the chest of the horse was sealed up, an actual banquet was held WITHIN the belly of the statue holding 20-30 dignitaries and government officials! The monument was considered an eyesore for a long time because of its size and wasn’t used. After World War II, the Unknown Soldier was buried there. This unknown man is the only occupant of the entire building. So, now we know.
After the tour, Tamara and I were back at Termini. We had a little time to kill as we were meeting up with my roommate and some school acquaintances for dinner. It was 1930 (7:30pm) and we were to meet with them at 2030 (8:30pm). We were both hungry and decided to split a sandwich to tide us over until dinner. Then we checked out train ticket prices to different cities through Italy. They were not too bad. For instance, a ticket to Napoli is 10.50Euro one way. I’ll have to think if I want to do any weekend trips outside of Roma and Toscana. I’m still not sure what I’m going to do in Toscana. I guess I better make planning that a priority soon. I’m waiting for some more money to appear in my bank account before I start making plans though.
Sorry for the little “side thoughts” that are distracting me from the main story! I guess I am writing the way I would talk. Hehe.
Back to the day. So, the other girls arrive at our meeting point and are dressed to the nines. Meanwhile I am looking pretty shabby, carrying my school bag, wearing flip flops, and a sweaty mess (yes, Rome is hot and yes I sweat easily. Wish I didn’t cuz it makes me look ugly! but it is what it is. Ok, move on.). And on top of that they wanted to go clubbing after dinner. Ouch. I was just not ready for all of that. So, I decided to go my own way. Tamara is sweet and didn’t want me to go on my own, so we decided to go somewhere near Termini and have dinner together. We were debating where to eat and just walking down a street when we came to an outside sitting area for the restaurant 27. I was tired and didn’t really want to venture any further and their menu looked alright. We basically were looking for a pizza to spit. They had it, it was at an ok price, so we took a seat. It was a delicious 4 cheese pizza that melted in your mouth! What is up with the cheese here that it is so great! Wow! and Yum! I was so hungry that I just started eating and forgot to take a picture. I’m trying hard to stick to my written documentary of this trip, but sometimes I just get lost in the moment…
Once we finished with our dinner we wanted to go find a gelateria in the station. Unfortunately, or fortunately in my case, all of them had just closed before we got there. Ah well, it was time to split ways and go home. This time I knew the correct spot to get off the bus, but I started walking in the wrong direction! Positive side of things is that in my wrong direction, I crossed the Trevere and got a beautiful picture from the bridge. (This is the river that runs through Rome. It is one of the reasons that Rome became a strong seat in the south. This river became a main trade route from Austria to the Meditteranean) Negative side was that it was dark and I was tired. Once I realized I had no clue where I was, I pulled out my map and got myself in the correct direction. I was happy to see Bascilica San del Fiorentini, the church at the end of Via Giulia. Why do I all of a sudden feel so weary when I know that “home” is just a few steps away? I couldn’t even carry my bag over my shoulders anymore and had to carry it cradled in my arms like a baby!
Now it is 2340 (11:40pm). I am again tired and ready for my shower and bed. I just hope that there is hot water tonight!
Con affetto, (With love,)
Reem
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Day Three
Day 3 August 17, 2010
I woke up to loud Italians and street sweeper cars at 0730 this morning but had a late start heading out, 1030. I decided to go straight to Termini (I think I explained yesterday that this is the main station in center Rome). While I was waiting at the bus stop down the street, a slightly tragic but interesting scene occurred. A young tourist couple was going up the steps of the church by the bus stop when their baby carriage tipped over and their baby rolled right out and down the steps!! I started rushing over to help but it seemed that every Roman within a half mile radius (only a slight exaggeration) was there in seconds to help and then give advice. I couldn’t help but compare the reaction to what would happen back home. Most people would just gape at the sight and walk away. It was refreshing to see that everyone who witnessed the “accident” was willing to extend a hand and be involved. Oh, the baby was very shaken up, a little scraped and bruised, but overall ok.
Twenty minutes later I was wandering about the Termini, which is both train/bus station and three-story shopping mall. I didn’t do any shopping today, I have to keep reminding myself that I am on a very very tight budget, and just looked around. Here I ran into Tamara, one of my classmates, who wanted to go shopping for shoes. We wandered around the streets a little bit looking for shops but it was so hot that we quickly abandoned the idea and ended up going to the school.
Once at the school we grabbed sandwiches (I chose provolone and salami. I can’t even explain how great these taste?! ) and water and headed for the terrace. The sun hadn’t touched the small garden yet and the morning cool still clung to the building around us. We sat and chatted for some time while I went online to submit yesterday’s post when Christine joined us. She is a Level 4 student form Switzerland. Oh, I am a Level 1 student. Tamara is from the UK. It is so interesting to meet all these people from all over, hear their backgrounds, learn about their families, find out what has drawn them to Rome and the Italian language. It’s funny to me that one of the main points of topic is age comparison. Most are in their early 20s. They are all shocked when I tell them that I am 32. I am not sure what to make of it when they tell me I can pass for 23. I can settle for 26 or 27…but I’ll stick to my actual age…unless a super cute guy comes along. Haha.
So then we had class. Once again very entertaining it was over so quickly. We learned our numbers up to cento (100). We learned how to puzzle together a conversation by writing down the words we could pick out of a recording. We learned different body parts. We learned the days of the week and the names of the months. Throughout it all we played different games to help remember the information. I started cracking up when the instructor started explaining the game “who said five?” Ah, too funny!!
After class I convinced two of my classmates, Tamara and Becca (also from the UK) to join me as Olga took us on a mini-tour around Rome. We saw so many things in those 3 hours! First we took the Metro (underground train) to the Coliseum. Wow. I know I’ve seen it before but still, Wow. We decided not to go in today as we all wanted to have more time to go through it. We then meandered along Via de Fori Imperiali, traveling back in time as we looked down up the ruins of Caesars Imperial Forum. Then we stood in awe in front of Il Monument di Vittorio Emanuel. I don’t know the story yet. I have a feeling I should know this as there is not only a main street with the name but an amazing monument. I’m putting this on my homework list.
After this we strolled through Piazza Venzia and learned that Olga’s next point of interest was her favorite gelateria (ice cream shop). It was an interesting walk as we wandering through side streets, did some window shopping, and tried to remember some of the out-of-the-way restaurants that looked inviting. We were beginning to think that Olga had no idea where she was going and was just picking directions to go. Then all of a sudden we were in front of the Pantheon. We went inside and spent some time looking around. I would like to go back during “business hours” to listen to an audio guide and learn about the different enclaves. We all meet up and head out into the plaza and across the way is Della Palma, the largest gelateria in Rome. I did indulge and got a cone of gelato, picking Kit Kat and enjoying every bite of it. It was delicious and we were all in agreement that it was worth the trek.
So then, tired from all of the walking and with bellies happy with ice cream we all decided it was time to start heading to our respective “homes”. We missed a turn on the way and ended up at the steps of Bascillica San Agostino. We heard beautiful music coming from the church (it was the end of evening mass) and we decided to go in. This was dicey as Tamara was wearing a spaghetti strap tank top and Olga was wearing a see through midriff top! Olga knew better and stayed close to the entrance, not wanting to offend anyone. Unfortunately Tamara was not as inconspicuous and was asked to leave by a patron. She tried to say she would just cover her shoulders with her hair but he wouldn’t accept that option. She still didn’t want to leave, but we all went out before there was a scene. I feel bad cuz I kinda lectured about the importance of respecting other people’s cultures even if you don’t understand or agree with them. What surprised me was when she said, “I don’t get it. I mean their Jesus was pretty much naked in his loin cloth thingy.” I couldn’t hold back and responded with, “Um you mean when they stripped him of his clothes and killed him?” Ah the touchy subject of religion in addition to culture….We both dropped it after that.
With that we all knew it was definitely time to end our “tour”. We walked through Piazza Navona, passing by artists and street entertainers on the way. We found a bus stop to take Tamara and Becca back to Termini. Olga and I decide to go the rest of the way by foot as we were only a 15 minute walk away.
So here I am now, trying to get through my journal before taking a shower and going to bed. I am kinda hungry but it is already 2130 (9:30pm). I think the ice cream is just going to have to hold me through the night. Oh yeah, I also have to upload those pictures finally. Maybe I will do that tomorrow morning. I would like to check out a museum but that wouldn’t be until 0930-1000 so I’ll have time…tempting.
What do I think of Rome so far? I keep finding myself turning a corner and catching my breath. Something about the history in the architecture and the poetry of the sculptures, the art of the city and the music of the language, just makes me stop and…..just stop. I try to take some photos but I’m not experienced enough to capture the atmosphere. All that comes out is a picture of a building. And I know I’m not doing it justice in my words either. I am trying to soak in the essence as much as possible and savor it. I wish I could share this in more depth, maybe as time goes on I will get better. It is, after all, only Day Three out of Forty-Seven!!
Sono stanco. Buonanotte! (I am sleepy. Good night!)
I woke up to loud Italians and street sweeper cars at 0730 this morning but had a late start heading out, 1030. I decided to go straight to Termini (I think I explained yesterday that this is the main station in center Rome). While I was waiting at the bus stop down the street, a slightly tragic but interesting scene occurred. A young tourist couple was going up the steps of the church by the bus stop when their baby carriage tipped over and their baby rolled right out and down the steps!! I started rushing over to help but it seemed that every Roman within a half mile radius (only a slight exaggeration) was there in seconds to help and then give advice. I couldn’t help but compare the reaction to what would happen back home. Most people would just gape at the sight and walk away. It was refreshing to see that everyone who witnessed the “accident” was willing to extend a hand and be involved. Oh, the baby was very shaken up, a little scraped and bruised, but overall ok.
Twenty minutes later I was wandering about the Termini, which is both train/bus station and three-story shopping mall. I didn’t do any shopping today, I have to keep reminding myself that I am on a very very tight budget, and just looked around. Here I ran into Tamara, one of my classmates, who wanted to go shopping for shoes. We wandered around the streets a little bit looking for shops but it was so hot that we quickly abandoned the idea and ended up going to the school.
Once at the school we grabbed sandwiches (I chose provolone and salami. I can’t even explain how great these taste?! ) and water and headed for the terrace. The sun hadn’t touched the small garden yet and the morning cool still clung to the building around us. We sat and chatted for some time while I went online to submit yesterday’s post when Christine joined us. She is a Level 4 student form Switzerland. Oh, I am a Level 1 student. Tamara is from the UK. It is so interesting to meet all these people from all over, hear their backgrounds, learn about their families, find out what has drawn them to Rome and the Italian language. It’s funny to me that one of the main points of topic is age comparison. Most are in their early 20s. They are all shocked when I tell them that I am 32. I am not sure what to make of it when they tell me I can pass for 23. I can settle for 26 or 27…but I’ll stick to my actual age…unless a super cute guy comes along. Haha.
So then we had class. Once again very entertaining it was over so quickly. We learned our numbers up to cento (100). We learned how to puzzle together a conversation by writing down the words we could pick out of a recording. We learned different body parts. We learned the days of the week and the names of the months. Throughout it all we played different games to help remember the information. I started cracking up when the instructor started explaining the game “who said five?” Ah, too funny!!
After class I convinced two of my classmates, Tamara and Becca (also from the UK) to join me as Olga took us on a mini-tour around Rome. We saw so many things in those 3 hours! First we took the Metro (underground train) to the Coliseum. Wow. I know I’ve seen it before but still, Wow. We decided not to go in today as we all wanted to have more time to go through it. We then meandered along Via de Fori Imperiali, traveling back in time as we looked down up the ruins of Caesars Imperial Forum. Then we stood in awe in front of Il Monument di Vittorio Emanuel. I don’t know the story yet. I have a feeling I should know this as there is not only a main street with the name but an amazing monument. I’m putting this on my homework list.
After this we strolled through Piazza Venzia and learned that Olga’s next point of interest was her favorite gelateria (ice cream shop). It was an interesting walk as we wandering through side streets, did some window shopping, and tried to remember some of the out-of-the-way restaurants that looked inviting. We were beginning to think that Olga had no idea where she was going and was just picking directions to go. Then all of a sudden we were in front of the Pantheon. We went inside and spent some time looking around. I would like to go back during “business hours” to listen to an audio guide and learn about the different enclaves. We all meet up and head out into the plaza and across the way is Della Palma, the largest gelateria in Rome. I did indulge and got a cone of gelato, picking Kit Kat and enjoying every bite of it. It was delicious and we were all in agreement that it was worth the trek.
So then, tired from all of the walking and with bellies happy with ice cream we all decided it was time to start heading to our respective “homes”. We missed a turn on the way and ended up at the steps of Bascillica San Agostino. We heard beautiful music coming from the church (it was the end of evening mass) and we decided to go in. This was dicey as Tamara was wearing a spaghetti strap tank top and Olga was wearing a see through midriff top! Olga knew better and stayed close to the entrance, not wanting to offend anyone. Unfortunately Tamara was not as inconspicuous and was asked to leave by a patron. She tried to say she would just cover her shoulders with her hair but he wouldn’t accept that option. She still didn’t want to leave, but we all went out before there was a scene. I feel bad cuz I kinda lectured about the importance of respecting other people’s cultures even if you don’t understand or agree with them. What surprised me was when she said, “I don’t get it. I mean their Jesus was pretty much naked in his loin cloth thingy.” I couldn’t hold back and responded with, “Um you mean when they stripped him of his clothes and killed him?” Ah the touchy subject of religion in addition to culture….We both dropped it after that.
With that we all knew it was definitely time to end our “tour”. We walked through Piazza Navona, passing by artists and street entertainers on the way. We found a bus stop to take Tamara and Becca back to Termini. Olga and I decide to go the rest of the way by foot as we were only a 15 minute walk away.
So here I am now, trying to get through my journal before taking a shower and going to bed. I am kinda hungry but it is already 2130 (9:30pm). I think the ice cream is just going to have to hold me through the night. Oh yeah, I also have to upload those pictures finally. Maybe I will do that tomorrow morning. I would like to check out a museum but that wouldn’t be until 0930-1000 so I’ll have time…tempting.
What do I think of Rome so far? I keep finding myself turning a corner and catching my breath. Something about the history in the architecture and the poetry of the sculptures, the art of the city and the music of the language, just makes me stop and…..just stop. I try to take some photos but I’m not experienced enough to capture the atmosphere. All that comes out is a picture of a building. And I know I’m not doing it justice in my words either. I am trying to soak in the essence as much as possible and savor it. I wish I could share this in more depth, maybe as time goes on I will get better. It is, after all, only Day Three out of Forty-Seven!!
Sono stanco. Buonanotte! (I am sleepy. Good night!)
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Day Two
Day 2 August 16, 2010
(I just realized that I forgot to upload the photos from my camera. And of course, I left the usb connector at the apartment. Sorry. I will try to remember to do it tonight.)
Still in non-stop smiling mode. I have to be careful or I’m going to get smile wrinkles in my smile wrinkles!
I woke up at 8 this morning. Surprisingly the only bells I heard today were my alarm clock, no church bells tolling in the neighborhood. I was out and ready to explore around 9:45. Today started by following Via Giulia to the right of my apartment. I didn’t want to stray far from the “known” without a map. The streets here are VERY confusing! Not only do they branch off into a million little alley sized roads, but the names of the streets, if they are even there, are etched into the buildings. Anyway, I followed the road and quickly found myself at the end of the road and a mini-bus station. The directions from the school said that I should take the number 40 bus to the Main Terminal. Ah ha! The number 40 bus is just down the street from me. So with this good luck I try to figure out how to get a bus pass. There is an elusive monthly bus somewhere out there but I have yet to discover how to acquire one. I settled for the day pass, 4Euro. Eesh!
Even though it is so early in the day and class isn’t until the afternoon, I decide to hop on the next 40 bus and see where it will take me. Thankfully its end point is…at the Main Terminal! More good luck for me. Otherwise I would have been going round in circles for the better part of the day. (As I did when I missed my stop on the return trip home!) Now I find myself really in the middle of main downtown Rome. Wow. So many people. Roads going all ways. Drivers not paying attention to lanes or pedestrians or lights. I had to just stop a minute and soak it all in. The most amazing thing was that I’m standing in the middle of all of this modern mess and just in front of me is this incredibly massive fountain. I look to the right and there is an archeological dig showing ancient ruins. Above the rooftops I can make out St. Peter’s Dome. Seriously I just stood where I was, turning my head from side to side with a goofy grin on my face for a few minutes.
Then down to business. How do I find my way anywhere in the place?!!! Of course, there are vendors just a few feet away selling maps. I get one and after some deliberation am sure of what direction I have to go in. Um, I thought I was sure. Ok, try turning the map around and see where it gets me. Yes, now I am in the right direction….but I overshot my destination. Basically I am trying to figure out where the school is so that I can get there before 1pm. (Sorry, 1300.) I pass by an ATM and try to pull some money from it. It states that it cannot accept my card. Ok, weird but I’m not trying to get money now, I’m trying to find the school. Then I pass by an international calling “shop”. This is a store with rows of telephone booths. I tried calling home to check in, but the line wasn’t working well. So, again a failed side-mission, move on. I’m still searching for the street but discover that I have walked about half a mile in the wrong direction. I guess I got a little distracted. After several wrong turns I find Via Marghera. But now where is Via Marghera 22? I see 21 and right next to it 23….no 22 anywhere on the block. I stop in at 21 and the man there points out that 22 is two blocks down the street. He impatiently explains to me in Italian that his store is not 22, but 21. No duh mister, I’m not THAT much of a dummy here! Hehe. So I find the school and its only 1100 so I decide to do some exploring now that I know where my destination is.
I stop at a tourist center and find out what kinds of offers they have. Some decent trips are offered but I want to check out what the school has scheduled first. Then I head to the Terminal Station. Yes, this is where you take the underground train, but it is also a main city mall. I find a smartphone store and go in to purchase a cell phone. This is where I find out that most stores will not accept my VISA card/Chase debit card. Oh jeez! I head out with a new mission: find an ATM or bank that will allow me to withdraw money. Via Marsala, one of the main streets by the terminal, is lined with shops and ATM machines. I tried several but none worked. It was a little past 1200 so I decided to let that go and head back to school.
The school is very inviting and the staff there is very helpful. I checked in without a hitch and found out that class begins at 1400 (2pm) and ends at 1645 (4:45pm). This is actually good timing because this is the hottest time of the day! And I will have time to stroll around (ok, lose myself) before class and then make a destination for the evening. The school offers many evening events as well. I explore the building and then decide to check out the “club house”, translation: basement café. I grab a prosciutto sandwich and simple salad and spend the next hour and half on the terrace, going online, and meeting fellow students. Everyone here is very very very friendly and outgoing. I feel slightly out of place because my natural instinct is to be quite and just observe everything…but I keep reminding myself that this is NOT why I am here!
Class is a riot. Our instructor, Jasna (yasna), is fun. I won’t go through the details of class, but we did all kinds of activities from play-acting, to listening to a phone conversation, to reading, to throwing a ball around. There was a lot of laughing and joking the whole time. It was gratifying to see that I did actually learn some stuff last semester, but I definitely still belong in level 0! After class, we had a social hour to learn more about the school and meet our fellow students from all levels. It was really nice. I am happy that I made this choice of school.
After that I roamed around some more and then decided to find a 40 bus to get back home. I found the bus with surprising ease….but not so much ease to find the right stop once I was on it! I took advantage of this to learn what sights there were to visit on this route.
Home by 8pm, sorry 2000, and realize that I don’t have dinner. I walk down the next street to see if there are any stores. No. So, I end up at the same grocery store I went to last night. I get a box pizza thinking this is lame! But it’s late to go to a restaurant now, I don’t want to go alone tonight, and I’m trying to conserve money. I’ll spend 4Euro on this instead of 8Euro at the neighborhood joint. How the heck to you use this oven!!! I give it a try and end up with a slightly blackened pizza. But it stills smells amazing and tastes like no other boxed pizza I have ever had. Actually like no pizza I’ve had period. Wow, it’s a good think I only baked half of it cuz I wouldn’t have been able to stop. Unfortunately I was so mesmerized by the delicious smell that I forgot to take a picture. I’ll have to make the other half in a few days. Maybe it will look better cuz it won’t be burned.
…There was a break in my typing. Olga came back home and we talked about our day. Now it is 2300 (11pm) and I’m tired. I’m still excited about my day and don’t feel sleepy but I know I’ll be out soon after my head hits the pillow.
I am sorry if I am boring you with the mundane-ness of my day. I hope that the posts will be more event-filled as time goes by. And I hope I have more time to actually reflect on things instead of giving a step-by-step run down. Send me your thoughts….
Ciao mi amici i mi familia. Buena Serra.
(I just realized that I forgot to upload the photos from my camera. And of course, I left the usb connector at the apartment. Sorry. I will try to remember to do it tonight.)
Still in non-stop smiling mode. I have to be careful or I’m going to get smile wrinkles in my smile wrinkles!
I woke up at 8 this morning. Surprisingly the only bells I heard today were my alarm clock, no church bells tolling in the neighborhood. I was out and ready to explore around 9:45. Today started by following Via Giulia to the right of my apartment. I didn’t want to stray far from the “known” without a map. The streets here are VERY confusing! Not only do they branch off into a million little alley sized roads, but the names of the streets, if they are even there, are etched into the buildings. Anyway, I followed the road and quickly found myself at the end of the road and a mini-bus station. The directions from the school said that I should take the number 40 bus to the Main Terminal. Ah ha! The number 40 bus is just down the street from me. So with this good luck I try to figure out how to get a bus pass. There is an elusive monthly bus somewhere out there but I have yet to discover how to acquire one. I settled for the day pass, 4Euro. Eesh!
Even though it is so early in the day and class isn’t until the afternoon, I decide to hop on the next 40 bus and see where it will take me. Thankfully its end point is…at the Main Terminal! More good luck for me. Otherwise I would have been going round in circles for the better part of the day. (As I did when I missed my stop on the return trip home!) Now I find myself really in the middle of main downtown Rome. Wow. So many people. Roads going all ways. Drivers not paying attention to lanes or pedestrians or lights. I had to just stop a minute and soak it all in. The most amazing thing was that I’m standing in the middle of all of this modern mess and just in front of me is this incredibly massive fountain. I look to the right and there is an archeological dig showing ancient ruins. Above the rooftops I can make out St. Peter’s Dome. Seriously I just stood where I was, turning my head from side to side with a goofy grin on my face for a few minutes.
Then down to business. How do I find my way anywhere in the place?!!! Of course, there are vendors just a few feet away selling maps. I get one and after some deliberation am sure of what direction I have to go in. Um, I thought I was sure. Ok, try turning the map around and see where it gets me. Yes, now I am in the right direction….but I overshot my destination. Basically I am trying to figure out where the school is so that I can get there before 1pm. (Sorry, 1300.) I pass by an ATM and try to pull some money from it. It states that it cannot accept my card. Ok, weird but I’m not trying to get money now, I’m trying to find the school. Then I pass by an international calling “shop”. This is a store with rows of telephone booths. I tried calling home to check in, but the line wasn’t working well. So, again a failed side-mission, move on. I’m still searching for the street but discover that I have walked about half a mile in the wrong direction. I guess I got a little distracted. After several wrong turns I find Via Marghera. But now where is Via Marghera 22? I see 21 and right next to it 23….no 22 anywhere on the block. I stop in at 21 and the man there points out that 22 is two blocks down the street. He impatiently explains to me in Italian that his store is not 22, but 21. No duh mister, I’m not THAT much of a dummy here! Hehe. So I find the school and its only 1100 so I decide to do some exploring now that I know where my destination is.
I stop at a tourist center and find out what kinds of offers they have. Some decent trips are offered but I want to check out what the school has scheduled first. Then I head to the Terminal Station. Yes, this is where you take the underground train, but it is also a main city mall. I find a smartphone store and go in to purchase a cell phone. This is where I find out that most stores will not accept my VISA card/Chase debit card. Oh jeez! I head out with a new mission: find an ATM or bank that will allow me to withdraw money. Via Marsala, one of the main streets by the terminal, is lined with shops and ATM machines. I tried several but none worked. It was a little past 1200 so I decided to let that go and head back to school.
The school is very inviting and the staff there is very helpful. I checked in without a hitch and found out that class begins at 1400 (2pm) and ends at 1645 (4:45pm). This is actually good timing because this is the hottest time of the day! And I will have time to stroll around (ok, lose myself) before class and then make a destination for the evening. The school offers many evening events as well. I explore the building and then decide to check out the “club house”, translation: basement café. I grab a prosciutto sandwich and simple salad and spend the next hour and half on the terrace, going online, and meeting fellow students. Everyone here is very very very friendly and outgoing. I feel slightly out of place because my natural instinct is to be quite and just observe everything…but I keep reminding myself that this is NOT why I am here!
Class is a riot. Our instructor, Jasna (yasna), is fun. I won’t go through the details of class, but we did all kinds of activities from play-acting, to listening to a phone conversation, to reading, to throwing a ball around. There was a lot of laughing and joking the whole time. It was gratifying to see that I did actually learn some stuff last semester, but I definitely still belong in level 0! After class, we had a social hour to learn more about the school and meet our fellow students from all levels. It was really nice. I am happy that I made this choice of school.
After that I roamed around some more and then decided to find a 40 bus to get back home. I found the bus with surprising ease….but not so much ease to find the right stop once I was on it! I took advantage of this to learn what sights there were to visit on this route.
Home by 8pm, sorry 2000, and realize that I don’t have dinner. I walk down the next street to see if there are any stores. No. So, I end up at the same grocery store I went to last night. I get a box pizza thinking this is lame! But it’s late to go to a restaurant now, I don’t want to go alone tonight, and I’m trying to conserve money. I’ll spend 4Euro on this instead of 8Euro at the neighborhood joint. How the heck to you use this oven!!! I give it a try and end up with a slightly blackened pizza. But it stills smells amazing and tastes like no other boxed pizza I have ever had. Actually like no pizza I’ve had period. Wow, it’s a good think I only baked half of it cuz I wouldn’t have been able to stop. Unfortunately I was so mesmerized by the delicious smell that I forgot to take a picture. I’ll have to make the other half in a few days. Maybe it will look better cuz it won’t be burned.
…There was a break in my typing. Olga came back home and we talked about our day. Now it is 2300 (11pm) and I’m tired. I’m still excited about my day and don’t feel sleepy but I know I’ll be out soon after my head hits the pillow.
I am sorry if I am boring you with the mundane-ness of my day. I hope that the posts will be more event-filled as time goes by. And I hope I have more time to actually reflect on things instead of giving a step-by-step run down. Send me your thoughts….
Ciao mi amici i mi familia. Buena Serra.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Day One
Day 1 August 15, 2010
Whew, I made it! It is very weird not being able to call or email anyone to say what is happening now, to explain how I couldn’t stop smiling as I drove into downtown Rome to find my new home for the next 5 weeks. I will HAVE to get internet access tomorrow.
My flights here went well. I slept almost the whole 4 hours of the flight into Chicago. This was a good thing since I had probably the worst seat in the whole airplane: last row (no reclining, no leg room) and in the middle seat. The highlight of this flight was when I coordinated filling my cup with soda just as the girl in front of me decided to recline her seat. Basically I was left with half a cup of soda, wet clothes, and someone sleeping in my lap. Ok, a little exaggeration, but it WAS funny. After waiting in Chicago for 6 hours, I was finally on my way to Rome! I was way too excited to fall asleep though so I passed the time watching movies and trying to have whispered conversations with whichever neighbor wasn’t sleeping. The nice thing was that I had the whole three seats in the middle ALL to myself. It was nice to be able to stretch out and lie down across my couch in the sky.
Finally, we land in Rome! After taking the train into the main station of the airport, I get some Euros, pick up my checked bag, and get a taxi. I couldn’t stop smiling the whole time. My taxi driver tried to pull one over on my right away saying that they had a fixed fee of 60Euro to drive into downtown Rome. Yeah right dude, I checked with the taxi service counter and they told me it was only 40Euro. I was too happy to finally be there that I couldn’t be upset with him; I just laughed and said no, I’ll give you 45! In typical tourist fashion, I pulled out my camera to take a few shots driving into town. And then, I was standing in front of my Rome home…but nobody was here to let me in. I had no cell phone to call the landlady and no one in the whole building answered the intercom. So, I took a seat with my luggage and waited. It was nice to soak in my new neighborhood. There is the back of a church almost right in front of my apartment. Either I will get very used to hearing church bells or I didn’t have to worry about bringing an alarm clock with me. I didn’t wait long before the landlady came roaring in with her little car. She’s a tiny lady who reminds me of a frazzled mom running through house instructions: what is off limits, how to use the different amenities, where trash goes, etc. She explained all of this using half English/half Italian, so I am not sure if I got everything but it seems pretty straight forward. Don’t use the dishwasher, don’t use the washing machine. I am guessing that is because these are the big energy users in the apartment. I’ll have to find a laundromat in the neighborhood. After she left I poked around a little bit and then got down to unpacking. My bedroom is actually really spacious. I have a closet, a cabinet, a large desk and two twin beds in my room. I found out the hard way why there are two beds but only me staying here, one of the beds is missing a wheel and has a small piece of wood jammed under it to keep it straight. It’s ok, I stabilized it and turned it into a couch. So, I have a studio right next to the kitchen which leads to the washroom. I took a video to document it.
Once I finished settling in, I quickly showered, changed, and headed out to explore my neighborhood and find the 24hr supermarket the landlady told me about. The streets are made up of dark gray cobblestones. The buildings are so old that they can’t be described as dirty looking anymore. It is fabulous! There are a few people strolling through these streets and every now and then a car passes by. I am weirded out by how quite it is but then I realize that today is Sunday (holy day in Rome) and all stores are closed and most Italians are inside their homes. In fact, I heard more English spoken in the streets than Italian today….and all of these people were tourists. I decided to walk in one direction down Via Giulia and keep going. Little art galleries and jewelry shops line the streets. The muffled sounds of music and TVs playing drift down from the apartments above. I turn back and meander through a few side streets but didn’t stray far from Via Giulia. It’s not a big excursion day, just some wandering to know that I am actually in Rome. I checked out a few local restaurants but didn’t actually go into any of them. There is one that seems really homey and not too pricey just a block away. I make a stop at the 24hr, 7 days a week supermarket that is a few blocks away. As I said, everything is closed on Sundays, so a 24/7 store is a novelty here. I bought a few pieces of fruit, a cheese I picked out by smell not by name, some sliced salami that looks amazing, crackers and a bottle of water. This is my first meal in Rome.
I didn’t realize it, but I walked around for hours today. By time I got back it was 8pm. I decided to get into my pajamas and have my dinner at the table in my room. Just as I settle down to eat, I hear a knock on my door, and so I meet my roommate for the next two weeks, Olga. She’s a bubbly and super energetic girl, and even though a part of me says her super energy should be annoying (just a little bit) I can’t help but like her. She is 10 years younger than me but is going to be my guide here in Rome. She has been here a few times and knows the ins and outs like “the Coliseum has finally opened the underground and we must see it, but we have to get there early before the ‘goat-like’ tourist groups take over”. She says all of this in the middle of talking about how much she loves Rome and doesn’t stop to take a single breath. I swear I lost a couple of pounds just trying to keep up with her conversation. She will be a good companion for the next two weeks…if she doesn’t flit away when something or someone more interesting comes along. But really, she seems sweet and wants to be super helpful. I’ve already been given the rundown of how to get to the school, how to get a bus pass, how to get a sim card, how the beach is too far away to turn back for a forgotten bathing suit (which she did today), how to go shopping, how every corner has the best ice cream shop,….She wanted us to go for a walk together tonight, but I am sooo tired and just listening to her made me exhausted! I’m joking. Really, I just wanted to make sure I finished my journal entry before I passed out. Did I mention that we talked for only about 15 minutes before she left for the evening?
So, here I am now, the cheese and salami cracker sandwiches are long gone and I am really ready for bed. I’m glad that I don’t have to be at the school until 1 in the afternoon tomorrow. This will give me time to find the bus stop, figure out how to get a bus pass, get lost a few times and arrive there in time. I think I have to get there so late in the day because I opted out of the placement testing (I’m going to start in the Beginner Series). Its orientation day so I don’t think we will have any actual classes. I’m curious to find out how much I will learn. Necessity is a great motivator; I already used a few Italian words today.
Bona Notte.
ps, I haven't downloaded my photos from yesterday yet....so they will be included in the next post.
Whew, I made it! It is very weird not being able to call or email anyone to say what is happening now, to explain how I couldn’t stop smiling as I drove into downtown Rome to find my new home for the next 5 weeks. I will HAVE to get internet access tomorrow.
My flights here went well. I slept almost the whole 4 hours of the flight into Chicago. This was a good thing since I had probably the worst seat in the whole airplane: last row (no reclining, no leg room) and in the middle seat. The highlight of this flight was when I coordinated filling my cup with soda just as the girl in front of me decided to recline her seat. Basically I was left with half a cup of soda, wet clothes, and someone sleeping in my lap. Ok, a little exaggeration, but it WAS funny. After waiting in Chicago for 6 hours, I was finally on my way to Rome! I was way too excited to fall asleep though so I passed the time watching movies and trying to have whispered conversations with whichever neighbor wasn’t sleeping. The nice thing was that I had the whole three seats in the middle ALL to myself. It was nice to be able to stretch out and lie down across my couch in the sky.
Finally, we land in Rome! After taking the train into the main station of the airport, I get some Euros, pick up my checked bag, and get a taxi. I couldn’t stop smiling the whole time. My taxi driver tried to pull one over on my right away saying that they had a fixed fee of 60Euro to drive into downtown Rome. Yeah right dude, I checked with the taxi service counter and they told me it was only 40Euro. I was too happy to finally be there that I couldn’t be upset with him; I just laughed and said no, I’ll give you 45! In typical tourist fashion, I pulled out my camera to take a few shots driving into town. And then, I was standing in front of my Rome home…but nobody was here to let me in. I had no cell phone to call the landlady and no one in the whole building answered the intercom. So, I took a seat with my luggage and waited. It was nice to soak in my new neighborhood. There is the back of a church almost right in front of my apartment. Either I will get very used to hearing church bells or I didn’t have to worry about bringing an alarm clock with me. I didn’t wait long before the landlady came roaring in with her little car. She’s a tiny lady who reminds me of a frazzled mom running through house instructions: what is off limits, how to use the different amenities, where trash goes, etc. She explained all of this using half English/half Italian, so I am not sure if I got everything but it seems pretty straight forward. Don’t use the dishwasher, don’t use the washing machine. I am guessing that is because these are the big energy users in the apartment. I’ll have to find a laundromat in the neighborhood. After she left I poked around a little bit and then got down to unpacking. My bedroom is actually really spacious. I have a closet, a cabinet, a large desk and two twin beds in my room. I found out the hard way why there are two beds but only me staying here, one of the beds is missing a wheel and has a small piece of wood jammed under it to keep it straight. It’s ok, I stabilized it and turned it into a couch. So, I have a studio right next to the kitchen which leads to the washroom. I took a video to document it.
Once I finished settling in, I quickly showered, changed, and headed out to explore my neighborhood and find the 24hr supermarket the landlady told me about. The streets are made up of dark gray cobblestones. The buildings are so old that they can’t be described as dirty looking anymore. It is fabulous! There are a few people strolling through these streets and every now and then a car passes by. I am weirded out by how quite it is but then I realize that today is Sunday (holy day in Rome) and all stores are closed and most Italians are inside their homes. In fact, I heard more English spoken in the streets than Italian today….and all of these people were tourists. I decided to walk in one direction down Via Giulia and keep going. Little art galleries and jewelry shops line the streets. The muffled sounds of music and TVs playing drift down from the apartments above. I turn back and meander through a few side streets but didn’t stray far from Via Giulia. It’s not a big excursion day, just some wandering to know that I am actually in Rome. I checked out a few local restaurants but didn’t actually go into any of them. There is one that seems really homey and not too pricey just a block away. I make a stop at the 24hr, 7 days a week supermarket that is a few blocks away. As I said, everything is closed on Sundays, so a 24/7 store is a novelty here. I bought a few pieces of fruit, a cheese I picked out by smell not by name, some sliced salami that looks amazing, crackers and a bottle of water. This is my first meal in Rome.
I didn’t realize it, but I walked around for hours today. By time I got back it was 8pm. I decided to get into my pajamas and have my dinner at the table in my room. Just as I settle down to eat, I hear a knock on my door, and so I meet my roommate for the next two weeks, Olga. She’s a bubbly and super energetic girl, and even though a part of me says her super energy should be annoying (just a little bit) I can’t help but like her. She is 10 years younger than me but is going to be my guide here in Rome. She has been here a few times and knows the ins and outs like “the Coliseum has finally opened the underground and we must see it, but we have to get there early before the ‘goat-like’ tourist groups take over”. She says all of this in the middle of talking about how much she loves Rome and doesn’t stop to take a single breath. I swear I lost a couple of pounds just trying to keep up with her conversation. She will be a good companion for the next two weeks…if she doesn’t flit away when something or someone more interesting comes along. But really, she seems sweet and wants to be super helpful. I’ve already been given the rundown of how to get to the school, how to get a bus pass, how to get a sim card, how the beach is too far away to turn back for a forgotten bathing suit (which she did today), how to go shopping, how every corner has the best ice cream shop,….She wanted us to go for a walk together tonight, but I am sooo tired and just listening to her made me exhausted! I’m joking. Really, I just wanted to make sure I finished my journal entry before I passed out. Did I mention that we talked for only about 15 minutes before she left for the evening?
So, here I am now, the cheese and salami cracker sandwiches are long gone and I am really ready for bed. I’m glad that I don’t have to be at the school until 1 in the afternoon tomorrow. This will give me time to find the bus stop, figure out how to get a bus pass, get lost a few times and arrive there in time. I think I have to get there so late in the day because I opted out of the placement testing (I’m going to start in the Beginner Series). Its orientation day so I don’t think we will have any actual classes. I’m curious to find out how much I will learn. Necessity is a great motivator; I already used a few Italian words today.
Bona Notte.
ps, I haven't downloaded my photos from yesterday yet....so they will be included in the next post.
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