Io stanca: Day 7

Io stanca means I am tired. But hey, I’ve almost made it a whole week in Rome!

I had my second day of classes today, and I still think I’m going to enjoy them a lot – so that’s good. At about 6:00 PM (or 18:00) my roommates and I met up with some people at what’s called an Aperativo at a restaurant in downtown Trastavere. We paid 6 euro to get one drink and as much appetizer like food as we wanted. And let me tell you, the Italians are on point with their potatoes! First, we had just fried potatoes that were amazing! Then French fries, which I didn’t have but heard they were wonderful. Then potato chips that were more like thinly sliced baked-in-grease potatoes that were still warm. I think it’s because they don’t use a lot of salt here! Except I’ve found some things seem saltier than what I’m used to, like their pumpkin seeds.

I’m really excited to go to my painting class tomorrow for the first time, and then hopefully yoga! Still need to ask where I can find contact solution though….

I would write more, but I am exhausted for some reason! It might have something to do with the jet lag, the constant go-go-go since I’ve been here, and the 20 or so flights of stairs I climb each day.

Anyways, ciao everyone!

Observation of the Day: Food adjustments might just affect you the most. I’m trying to get used to a regular eating schedule, and still finding foods that I can make easily, and like enough to make.. its a work in progress, but in a few weeks I think I’ll have it down!

Lost in Rome: Day 6

So I decided to do my first load of laundry this morning… this is going to take some getting used to! Basically, it’s half the size of a load in the States, and takes about 3 or 4 times as long. They are very small, front-loading washing machines, and I think they reason they take so long is to save electricity somehow, because Italy imports all of its electricity so it costs more. Also, there is no dryer, so I’m just going to have to plan in advance when I need laundry done, and re-wear things even more than I usually do. It might just work out that I do laundry on Tuesday’s if I get up early enough so I can do two loads (if needed) and then still go to yoga at 12:15.

Yoga round two. I could actually get my bind today! We didn’t do the full Birds of Paradise pose, but I would have been able to at least get up for a little bit! Afterward, I met up with Bridget and bought a bus pass for February (finally!) and signed up for about six different clubs. Yoga, Running (if I am able to, we’ll find out February 7^th), Volunteer, Diversity, Film, and Drama. There wasn’t much information about any of them so I just figured I would get some emails and go to a few meetings and decide from there which I would like to join!

Then Bridget and I attempted to find the Anglo American Bookshop again across the Tiber River. I don’t think I’ve ever been so lost in my life! We tried to trace our steps backwards from the tram stop, but ended up winding our to the Pantheon. Then we tried to find it following the same directions we did on Sunday, and actually just walked in a circle back to the Pantheon. So after another try –and fail- we decided to get some gelato and refresh our brains! This time I tried caramel cream with cioccolato, and it was, again, fantastic! It took me a while to eat though; it’s just so rich!

We tried to find the bookstore one more time, then just decided to not get even more lost and just find our way back to the tram. We found some neat looking streets that we hadn’t been on yet, and eventually came around on the other side of Torre Argentina that we normally enter, and found the tram! On the way home, we got off of the tram on the side of the river we lived on, crossed back over on a bridge looking for a fort that we think we found, but weren’t sure because we couldn’t get to it, then just walked along that side of the river toward our apartment. We crossed back over the next bridge, which was just one block away from our building!

Everyone I’ve talked to about Rome says they’ve either gotten lost themselves, or that if you try to get lost you see the most things. It was actually really fun being lost and I wasn’t worried at all! I figured we would find some landmark that we recognized eventually, and I was actually confident enough to try and use some Italian and ask a few different people if they knew where the bookshop was, or at least the street it was on because I remembered the name! We actually happened to stumble upon Piazza Nivona while we were wandering about lost, which we had been looking for on Saturday! And we also passed some cool sidewalk art on the way to the tram!

 

Right when we got home, we found a recent post on the AUR Student Life Facebook page that had directions to the bookstore, so after a man working for maintenance came and fixed our Wi-Fi and computer and phone (we literally just had to plug a cord in…), Bridget, Paige and I headed out the bookstore again, and this time didn’t get lost! So I should have all of my books, except for whatever I need for my painting class that I will find out about on Thursday!

I’m halfway through my first week of classes! Well, sort of. I didn’t have class today, so I guess tomorrow at 12 I will be half way through! Technicalities.

Observation of the Day: It’s the small adjustments that have been making this trip feel more real. It’s also the getting lost. As a tourist, I would have my map out and be afraid to wander anywhere out of the way.

Ready.. Set... Class!: Day 5

And then classes began….

I actually really enjoyed my first day of classes! Even though we only had three full days here of being just a tourist, it was nice to begin a routine that grounds me a little bit. Walking through the busy garden and up the spiral staircase to my classes with other students made me feel like I’m actually going to be living in Rome for the next three and a half months and studying here, and not just wandering the streets and being, well, a tourist!

I have three classes on Monday and Wednesday, and only one on Thursday. My first class was Introduction to Italian Language and Culture, and it was a little intimidating because my professor (Professoressa Lucy) came and started speaking in Italian right away. She actually didn’t speak any English until the end of the class when she used it to say this was the last time she was going to use it! But I’m not worried. I actually learned a lot (although it will take some time to retain and use it all correctly), and she knows that we’re all beginners and will be patient as long as we keep trying!

Mi chiamo Eliza. Io sono Americana. Io sono di Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. A Roma, io sono una studentessa all’ American Univerisity. Io sto benessimo oggi!

This is basically what I learned, plus a little bit more, and how to ask some questions like Come stai oggi? or How are you today?

My next class was Adapting Literature to the Screen – I’M GOING TO LOVE IT! It’s basically a Learn How to Write A Screenplay by Using Literature. As an aspiring film director and screenwriter, this class is perfect for me! Plus, it counts as a University Program requirement. There were ten people in the class, so we’re going to get a lot of opportunity to get feedback from our professor (who has been a professional in the industry for almost thirty years) and each other.

I had a two hour break between Screenwriting and my next class, so Jennifer and I want to a sandwich shop owned and run by the Santi brothers, and I got pizza bread with salami, prosciutto, and smoked mozzarella – it was surprisingly delicious.



We walked to the Doria Pamphilj park to eat them, then found a gelatteria in the area and got my second serving of gelato. This time I got chocolate chip with chocolate and the combination was dangerous!

My last class of the day was Film Genres, which I think will be very interesting, and also counts toward my BCA major at Central, so it’s a beautiful combination! For the last twenty minutes of class we started Chicago, so yeah, I’m going to love this class too!

After class I finally went grocery shopping, so now I have food in my home! The exciting things that really shouldn’t be so exciting… Now I’m looking forward to trying different meats and cheeses and breads and pastas and the list goes on and on and on. Although I need to find some contact solution pronto because all I brought was a little travel bottle.

Observation of the Day: I am living in Rome for almost four months! It’s still trying to sink in that I will actually be here for more than a visit… my question now is how am I going to leave…?

Learning our way: Day 4

Sorry all of these posts are a little bit boring to read, we’ve been so busy and tired, and I don’t know much information besides the facts of what we did! Hopefully soon I will be learning about the history and the culture and be able to explain more about that!

Every last Sunday of the month the Vatican Museum is free admission before 12:30 PM, so my roommates and I all made the journey over the Vatican City with the large group of AUR students that were going as well. It was kind of a hike to get there, but it was absolutely worth the walk! We waited in a line that wrapped around three walls and up a hill, then through airport-like security, and finally made our way into the museum.

I could honestly spend days and days inside that museum. We joked that you could spend an entire Pope-hood in there and still not see it all! There is just an incredible amount of artwork, and I want to know the story behind every single piece. Even the floors are art. We wound our way through what seemed like an endless showcase of some of the most beautiful sculptures and paintings I have ever seen, until we finally stepped into the Sistine Chapel. At first I didn’t quite realize where we were, but then I looked up.

I stared, and spun in circles, and tried to take in everything. I believe it took Michelangelo eight years to complete that whole room, whereas I might be able to paint one wall panel in that time (with not nearly as much beauty, obviously). It is just unfathomable the amount of talent that man had.

THEN WE MET THE POPE! Just kidding… but at Noon, he stood in his window and gave a speech to the crowd in front of St. Peters Basilica. Even though it was in Italian and I am not a very religious person, it was still incredibly moving, and I am so grateful for stumbling upon that opportunity.

Afterward, we had to go to the bookshop that sells all of the textbooks AUR requires for my roommate, and it was just across the river from the Vatican so we headed that way instead of going back home to take the route we actually knew a little bit. It was an adventure of sorts for us because there was about a 90% chance we would get lost and a 10% chance we would find it without wandering completely out of the way. We stood at a map on a sidewalk for about ten minutes trying to figure out first where we were, and second where we should go. We decided to follow this narrow street that kept branching off into more back alleys, until we finally came out on Via Trastevere (the main road) on the side of the river we needed to be on.  Since we knew we weren’t lost, we found some food to eat for lunch. IT WAS MY FIRST PIZZA IN ITALY. I just got a regular margarita pizza, so I’m going to be very honest and say it didn’t taste any better than pizza in America. I’m going to have to try some other kinds and go to an actual sit-down pizzeria to get the good stuff!

We intended to go to the grocery store on our way home, but both the bookshop and the grocery store were closed – oops! We’ll just have to go tomorrow after class!

And that brings me to class. WE START TOMORROW! That’s both very exciting and very grounding. Right now it still feels like I’m just visiting, and the culture shock hasn’t really set in yet. I think having classes will feel like I have an actual purpose to be here and bring me back to reality – or as much as it can in Rome!

Observation of the Day: Passion is passion. Everyone has something they are passionate about. I myself am extremely passionate about leadership, film, and a combination of the two. I certainly do not share the same passion with almost everyone I meet, but I can respect theirs, and appreciate that all of these passions combined is what makes the world keep spinning.

Exploration: Day 3

It was definitely a struggle to get myself up this morning, but that is about the only complaint that I have! It’s more humid here than I am used to, so my hair takes a very long time to dry, so when I left the apartment today my hair was still dripping! I cooked for the first time in my apartment this morning (just some scrambled eggs because we had nothing else to add to it), so that was fun! And then Kasey and I headed to the Auditorium on campus (and by campus I mean the five buildings that make it up) to participate in the first yoga class of the semester. It was actually very challenging because we did some advanced poses, but I felt so great afterward! (I was even able to do my handstand!) And then, of course, we went to the Barbeque/semester kick off right after yoga and had a burger and some delicious brownies that someone brought for us.

We went up to the terrace of what’s called the B building that you can get to from the garden on campus, and I was blown away by the beautiful view of the city. It’s a lot different than an American city because there are no skyscrapers, so when you can get up high, you can see the city just reach out forever into the mountains.

And then the real fun began! All of my roommates and two other students we have befriended who live right around the corner from us on Trastevere, Dan and Matt, decided to cross the river into the historical center of Rome and wander around for the rest of the day. It was absolutely amazing. And I actually remembered to grab my camera this time! We took the tram to a random stop we chose to get off on, and then walked through the city for about five hours.

Here’s a list of some of the places we saw (you can read about what they are and some of their history in my

Students or Tourists: Day 2

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 7^th (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…