It’s amazing how after even one day in a new place you can
feel so much more confident. This morning, we walked downstairs and ordered
some pastries at the pastry and coffee shop right underneath us ( got a
croissant – delicious), then walked to campus. We registered for our permits of
stay, I got a SIM card and an Italian phone number so I can call and text
everyone I meet here with my phone and still use wifi when it’s available. Then
we went to a safety seminar, and finally orientation.
After orientation, we walked to the most beautiful park I
have ever seen. Villa Doria Pamphilj (or Pamphili) was once the very large
estate of the Pamphilj family around the 1600’s. It became a public park in the
1960’s when the city of Roe bought it from the family, except for the Church,
which the family still owns. We walked around for a little over an hour on dirt
and cobblestone roads and saw many grassy areas, trees (it looked like Michigan
one side of the path and Florida on the other), statues, fountains,
shrines, a theater, a garden, and more –
and we still only maybe saw half of the park! We were passed by many runners,
so now I know where I can go run peacefully when I can start running on
February 7th (as long as I don’t twist an ankle and need surgery for
THAT!). The parks are very different from what I am used to, expecially because
they are all locked at dusk, so you better get out before it gets dark and the
only people left are the ones that want to get locked in.
When we got back to campus, we got our student ID’s (YAY!)
and then went and got lunch at this little sandwich shop right across the
street called Archie’s. It was somewhat of a challenge ordering because again,
we didn’t know how to order in Italian and the servers didn’t speak any English,
but we managed with pointing and“Si” and “Grazie.” I ordered a panini on
ciabatta bread that sounded like the man was calling it “bruchetta” even though
it was only ham and mozzarella. It was very delicious!
Afterwards, four of my roommates (Bridget, Paige, Kasey, and
Jennifer – Caitlin went to the Spanish steps with a different group earlier in
the day) went shopping for a few groceries and some things for our apartment
such as toilet paper and hand soap. We stopped at a little shop on the corner a
block down from our apartment and bought what we needed for our apartment, then
bought a few groceries to get us through a day or two at small store underneath
our apartment. We decided that we would go shopping again on Sunday when we
knew more of what we needed and where we could get it!
For dinner, we went out to downtown Trastevere
(Trah-stay-veh-ray), which is all beautiful and narrow (and dangerous)
cobblestone streets with many shops and restaurants to chose from! I ordered
Gnocchi (Ne-yoh-key) Primevera with meatballs. Wow. It was fantastic. And VERY
filling, even though we weren’t served about three portions to many like most
American restaurants. We ended up going back to downtown Trastevere later to
explore and socialize, and it was beautiful at night.
Observation of the
Day: Rome is very different from America. I say this for both the obvious
reasons and not. At the restaurant, they will either ask your preference or
bring you carbonated water unless you ask for still, and then they bring water
bottles out that they charge you for. Also, you don’t tip them. Italians don’t
binge drink like Americans do, and actually frown upon that. They drink as a
part of meals or to socialize, but not to get drunk. The drinking fountains are
statues that have a constant flow of water, so carry a water bottle around with
you. And there are not many public bathrooms that I have noticed, but you might
have to pay to use them. And there’s no Walmart here, so go find your food in a
small specialty shop! Romans seem to be very casual. Not in dress, there’s just
something about the attitude. And we haven’t seen any signs for sports teams
like you see nearly everywhere in America. Also, we’re not sure what the
secondary schools look like yet…
