Now that I have a little bit of free time on my hands I can share more details of Rome. I have been here for about two weeks and it seems as if I've lived here for months. I don't even know where to begin because there is so much to tell! Firstly, there are three things that take over Rome. Cigarettes, dogs, and bad drivers. EVERYONE smokes and everyone owns a dog, it's the most bizarre thing. Also the cars do not stop or know how to drive. They park anywhere they can get a spot and almost every car has a few dents in it. They just hit into each other like it's nothing! Me and my roommate Sarah were walking to class one day and we saw a police car hit into another car and just drive away. Beside those few things, I'm getting accustomed to everyday life here. It's amazing walking to class everyday and looking at the city. You see something new with every street you turn down. Sometimes I take different streets on purpose just to find new shops.The architecture of the buildings are incredible. Even the ruins are something to marvel at. Below are pictures that I took around the city and near the Tiber river, which is only a few blocks from my apartment.
The time difference really throws me off. When I wake up in the morning all I want to do is call my mom but I then realize that it's 4am back home. I think that's the most difficult part of being here. When I want to talk to anyone from home I have to think of the time difference and I usually have to wait a few hours. Also, I usually have to stay up late to talk to my parents when they get home from work. 1am my time is 7pm U.S. time. It gets frustrating losing connection on skype but, "ya gotta do what ya gotta do" say's my dad.
The nightlife is really fun here. Whether it's going out to dinner and talking the night away or singing karaoke at Scholars pub (yes, I said Karaoke) it's always a blast. Scholar's is an american pub in the Rome area that plays all of the American football games on Sunday. I'm from New York, so naturally I was there last sunday to root on the Giants. Since we're 6 hours ahead, the game didn't start until 12am. By the time the game was over all the Giants fan's were going crazy and we had a 4am walk home ahead of us. Class was not fun the next day. The other place we like to go is Dj bar. It is about a five minute walk from our apartment. It's a hole in the wall that you would not expect to be fun until you go there. The DJ loves us and sometimes we tend to take over.
Me and my roommates have probably tried every restaurant in the Trastevere area. Dining here is a completely different experience than in the U.S. Everyone takes there time and you never feel rushed, its a much slower pace. Eating is almost like a social experience, and waitors never impose or ask if you are finished unless you tell them so. Food is the one area where my Italian has improved. Since we eat out so much, I can probably recite half the Italian menu's from memory. Italian's love when you try to speak the language to them and they will help you along the way. If you are unsure of how to pronounce something they will tell you the correct way to say the word and have you repeat it. If you get it right they seem very pleased (one time a waiter even gave me a cookie!) One of the panini places we go to won't let us pay unless we recite to him what we ordered in strictly Italian. It's actually really fun and helps us learn the language. They don't like when you don't try and you speak in English. One woman said to me "Why would you come here and not try to speak the language, whats the point?" It's true, and I have been studying common words so I'm better liked (they don't take too kindly to americans as it is).
The food is also very different. They do not have slices of pizza they have pizette which is almost like sicilian pizza in america. Here if you want pizette you order one and they cut it in half and put it together like a sand-which. Most bars are not bars you drink at, you order food and eat it on the run. You need to pay more if you want to sit down.They also don't seem to have turkey which I'm very upset about :( Most places just serve Ham. When you order water they ask you "with gas or no gas". I was so confused the first time this happened but gas means carbonated. Apparently they drink carbonated water here. Also, water does not come free with the meal you have to pay for it seperately and you also have to pay for bread.
One of my roommate's Rosie is a Tiramisu addict. Every restaurant we go to, we know that Tiramisu is to follow the meal. They all know that I'm writing a blog, so Rosie teases me and says "I'm going to start a Tiramisu blog". Everywhere we go she takes a picture of her dessert so she will know which one is her favorite by the end of our stay. My favorite is the restaurant right downstairs..so convenient. This is a picture of the inside and me and the roomates out to lunch one afternoon.
Classes started about a week ago and I've already had two presentations. It's a bit challenging to focus on work when all you want to do is visit museums and eat incredible food. I'm taking four classes. Two english courses, one psychology, and one philosophy. I'm very happy with my classes and they are all really interesting. In philosophy we are discussing Plato's ethics, and for anyone who has learned about them, they take careful examination to understand. At one point in the class everyone was so lost we all just looked at each other and laughed. I had class this morning at ten, but I thought it was eleven so needless to say I didn't make it. I'm going to do some homework and then I have class again at 5:30.
It just turned noon and the church bells are ringing outside of my window. I'm going to grab a bite to eat and then head over to the library. I have to get all of my work done because this weekend me and my roommate's are going to Barcelona, Spain to celebrate my 21st birthday! It was on tuesday and it will not be discussed (things didn't end up very well for me). I don't know if I will have internet access there but if I do, expect lots of pictures!
