Another day, another mediocre shower. The shower's in my apartment are un satisfyingly warm. They never reach the level of hot. This is how my day has started off. With my warm/cold shower that is actually painful to take. It's not comparable to the nice showers at home that gently hit your skin and cleanse you. Here, its like a thrashing waterfall pouring onto you like pins and needles. Beware future study-abroadee's- if showers are a time of serenity for you, you will be disappointed here.
Aside from the shower scene, my week has been incredible. My parents are finally here! The night before they came I spoke to them on the phone and told them to bring a few things I needed. One of them being Macaroni and Cheese, another being Reeses peanut butter cups, and the most important being walking shoes. As I mentioned before, I consider myself a girly girl. I wont wear anything that I consider un-fashionable and therefore I didn't think I would be needing sneakers (which I think are SO ugly). Well boy, was I wrong. I have adopted a new philosophy while being in Rome. What looks the best, is most likely going to be the most uncomfortable, and I need to get over myself. This being said, I told my mom the thing that she could not forget was my sneakers. I still wanted to look trendy, so I told her I wanted white Nike sneakers. While my mom is fashionable, she does not know name-brands or have any sense of what I like. Our taste in clothing is completely opposite. What she thinks is cute, I consider hideous. Since I am aware of this, I figured it would be best to give her the exact type of shoe I wanted, so there would be absolutely no way to mess it up. When my parents first arrived in Rome, they came to my apartment and after all of the hugs and kisses, we got down to the important stuff;what they brought me. She did well in the food department, and then I saw them. Calling these shoes ugly would be an understatement. Now, while I like to dress nice, I am by no means extravagant. I don't own anything Chanel or Louis Vitton, and I don't care if something isn't name brand. But when my mother took out the all black Reebok sneakers she got me, my immediate response was to laugh, and then, I couldn't stop laughing. First of all, they were not walking sneakers. They looked like shoes that my 80 year old grandmother would wear to go grocery shopping. My mom started to laugh too and she said, "These were the only ones I could find! Modell's said they didn't carry Nike anymore, and I had to catch our plane in an hour!" Then, the best part came along. She pulls out an IDENTICAL pair in white. In tears of laughter she said "Look I had to get the same ones". That's when I lost it. Not only did she get me the ugliest pair of sneakers mankind had ever seen, but she expected me, her 21 year old daughter, to walk around with her in a matching pair. When we got over our laughter I told her that hell would freeze over before I went out in public wearing the shoes and that she should bring them home with her and return them. She agreed and we moved on, but not without me snapping a picture of her first. She said that she didn't care what people thought of her and she was never going to see anyone here again, so she wore the sneakers she had purchased for herself because she didn't have anything else. You can get a glimpse of these beautiful pair of kickers below. Personally, I'd rather my feet bleed.
My parent's are a huge part of my life and it's so good to see them! We have never been apart for an extended period of time and this trip has sometimes been difficult for me becasue of that. I'm just grateful they were able to make it to Rome. They are excited too, because they have never been outside of the Country. I have been their personal tour guide, and we have hit almost every major tourist sight in a mere three days! I took them to the Colosseum, Il Vittoriano, Via del Corso (which is one of the main shopping streets), the garden of Caravaggio, and much more. It was interesting for me, because although I have already seen all of these sights, we went back at different time's of the day which shed a whole new light on things. I also took them to have the best gelato in Rome at Giolitti and they were astonished. My mom doesn't even like ice cream and she loved gelato! Below are a few pictures I took on our excursions.
Today, I woke up early and studied for my midterm. I couldn't be happier that my parents are here, but they came at a bit of a hectic time. The next two weeks are midterm weeks, and I am known to have a meltdown at least once during midterm and finals week. Being in my third year of college, you think I would be over it, but my dad almost expects the midnight call of me sobbing telling him I'm dropping out of school. Thankfully, I have an easier course load this semester so midterms have been going quite well. I had my first one this morning, and I am confident that I got an A. I'm also prepared for my other classes which is a pleasant surprise, so I won't need to do that much studying. Since I had class today, I sent my parents off on their own with a map to explore Rome. I told them to go to the Trevi fountain and the Spanish Steps, since I have already been to both a million times. I have one more class today in an hour, and then my mom is making me and my roommate's dinner! I can't tell you how happy I am to have a home cooked meal. She went to the open markets to get the freshest fruit and vegetables she could find. She's one of a kind.
Between studying and showing my parents around, I have had a very productive week. I also went to the post office to pick up a package, which was a bit intimidating. Besides the fact that it is forty five minutes away, no one speaks English there. It reminded me of the DMV in New York. You press a button on a machine and the machine spits out a number. Since this was all in Italian, I just pressed the button that I thought meant "pick up package". It was something like servicio paccagio, I'm completely making those words up, but it was something close to that. Luckily, I guessed right. But it wouldn't be a true Caitlyn experience if something didn't go wrong. When they called my number, I went up to the desk and discovered they only take cash. So then I had to go to an ATM, take cash out, go back to the bank or bancomat as they call it, take yet another number, and wait all over again. Eventually I got my package and had to pay 65 euro for it, which I think is ridiculous. Apparently, Italian Custom's stopped my package and put tax on it. You can totally cheat the system by declaring your package less than what it's actually worth so it doesn't get stopped or look suspicious. My righteous boyfriend felt that falsely claiming a package was not the right thing to do. Consequently, I had to pay a hundred american dollars to pick up my gift from him, which now in essence I actually payed for myself.
We have spring break soon and I'm excited to have days where I am free to do asI please without the constraints of homework and tests tying me down. I'm not going anywhere spring break because I am traveling the next 5 weekends in a row after. I figured that I should give myself a break before the busiest time of my life begins. I am thrilled with my traveling schedule. The weekend of March 29th I am venturing to the French Riviera. I am going through the student travel service Bus2Alps that I mentioned in my previous posts. I'm especially excited for this trip because we are going to about four different places. We are traveling from Nice to Eze, and from there to Monaco, and Antibes. I come back on Monday and then only have three days in Rome until I travel to Greece. Greece is also through Bus2Alps. This trip is unique because we are taking a bus down to Bari, and from there we take a cruise! The cruise is overnight and it even has a club on it. I've never been on a cruise and I can't even imagine how beautiful my first experience is going to be. The next day we land in the Island of Corfu in Greece. We stay there for three days and then head back to Italy. The weekend after that, I am going on a school sponsored trip to Campania which includes the cities of Caserta, Capri, and Pompeii. When I return from that trip on Monday, my boyfriend and his two friends will be here to visit me. When Friday rolls around, I am off again. Me and my boyfriend are going to the Amalfi Coast to the city of Positano. We are going to take a boat to the island of Capri where we plan on seeing the Blue Grotto, which is supposed to be incredibly beautiful. It is a sea cave and sunlight passes through it creating a blue reflection that illuminates the entire cave. This is one of the sights I am looking forward to the most. Then, the next week is Finals week!!!!! I can hardly believe it. I don't even like writing this right now because it reminds me that I only have a few weeks left. This has been the most amazing experience of my life and I'm sure that it will only get better. I am looking forward to the adventures that lie before me and to continue my journey traveling the world.
Who would have thought that I could come to Italy, not knowing Italian, living in apartment with five strangers, travel Europe, and still manage to find time to study. Tackling all of this has truly made me believe that I can do anything. I have picked up another language, made friends that have become family, and explored some of the most beautiful places in the world. I thank my parents every day for giving me the opportunity to have this experience. If anyone is considering studying abroad, and is hesitant, don't worry. It is natural to feel uneasy. When I first spoke to Francesca, who is one of the Study Abroad coordinators at Sacred Heart, I told her I only wanted to Study Abroad for the Summer term. She told me that I could do whatever I wanted, but she brought up a very good point and it is something I have remembered my entire time here. She said, "By the time you are figuring out how to take the bus, you'll be getting on a plane to leave". I am so glad that Francesca pushed me towards the semester, because it is an entirely different experience. Studying abroad for a month works for some people, and that's fine, but what she said to me could not be more true. By studying in another Country for a month, you just get a taste of what it's like there; a mere glimpse. You are not fully immersed in the culture. By living somewhere for four months, you really get a sense of what everyday life is like. You understand how the culture of a certain society not only impacts who you are, but defines your very nature to the core. This knowledge will not only enlighten you, it will enrich your soul.
So, for anyone who is even remotely interested in studying abroad, my advice to you is this; seize the opportunity while you can. Something like this may never come your way again. Our college years are the years that we truly begin to start living. These years are dedicated to disovering yourself, defining yourself, and leaving your footprints on the world. Take a leap of faith, and give your own meaning to the word life. I promise you won't regret it.
