Ew, illnesses!

Please pray that I don't get sick here! There is something going around, and a lot of people have been getting really dizzy, vomiting, etc. I only had a sore throat for about a week (it felt like I sneezed spears when I sneezed, and it hurt to swallow as well), but pray that I can be healthy from everything else!

Much thanks!

Southern Trip part 2

On Saturday Annie and I headed to Capri. Like I said, it's a tiny island off the southern tip of the peninsula, about a 30 minute ferry ride from Sorrento. What I didn't know is that people consider Capri paradise, and people such as the Moussilinis, the president of Ferrari, and Sophia Loren all have houses on this little getaway. There are hotels that cost 1,000 Euro/night (for what, I don't know) and top-of-the-line fashion and restaurants (I bought an espresso thinking it would be a Euro or two, just like everywhere else in Italy. It was 4.50. It was good, but I was mad).

The first thing we did when we got off the ferry was take a two hour boat ride around the island. It was a reasonably price, but they didn't tell us that this price did not include going into the Blue Grotto. The Blue Grotto is a little cave that you can row into. It's highly recommended, but I would have liked more if I didn't have to shell out another 11.50 to see it. It is an experience though. These little row boats approach the big boat and we hop on in. There can only be 4 people per boat, because it gets a little tight when going into the cave. The hole is about three feet by two feet- just enough to fit the row boats in. We had to lay down to get through, and our guide basically laid on top of us. Once we were in, it's pretty dark and pretty small and they row you to the back of the cave. Once there, you can turn around and it looks really cool- the water was this crazy color of blue because of the sun and it reflected all around the cave. The guide of the row boats that were in there had a little song to a beat of a drum because this is where the Sirens of Greek mythology supposedly stayed. It was a beautiful song and my guide had a great voice, but not 11.50's worth of goodness was experienced in that cave. Maybe 7.50. Maybe.

After that, we went to eat. Whenever I'm out, I always find a little place with paninis because they are cheaper than everything else. Paninis are grilled sandwiches, and I always get caprese because that's the cheapest and most delicious one- it has tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, basil, and olive oil with toasted bread. Always a delight. Next we went up to the town of Capri to get to Anacapri, another town on the other side of the island. Anacapri reminded me a lot of Peru as far as the economy and state of the houses were concerned. We took a swing up to the top of Anacapri, which was the highest point of the island. Thus far we had been underneath, around, and atop the island- not too shabby. The view was AMAZING and I would say the best thing I did that day. We decided to hike down just because I'm cheap, even though both Annie and I were in dresses and sandals. It supposed to take an hour to get down, but it took us 30 minutes, probably because it started sprinkling.

Then we met the coolest Italian man ever. He spoke English but he had a German accent, so naturally we were confused. He explained that in Northern Italy, there are parts that still speak only German because that part of Germany was given to Italy after World War I (if someone could please fact check this for me, that would be great). He was so nice and it was refreshing to have a real conversation with a man, not just someone who is trying to get us to buy their things or are hitting on us.

After that, we went back across the island to Capri and got our overpriced and delicious espresso. We saw another bride and groom after they got married (my 5th one in the past ten days), which just reminded me how much I want that and how impatient I am. We walked around and looked at overpriced stores, but there was one that I was impressed with. It was a perfumaria that is unique to Capri. They take local plants and create them into perfumes, so the scents are native and unique to Capri. I wasn't impressed enough to buy a 40 Euro perfume, however delicious it did smell. I'm just not a perfume conesseur, or else I'm sure I would have been more apt to buy something.

I did, however, buy some pricey wine for Steven's parents. The second night I was in Italy, I went to a wine tasting at my professor's apartment. Before I knew the price, I knew I loved this wine. Then she told me how expensive it was, and I kind of choked a little. But I decided it was a good buy because they would really appreciate it. Plus, they guy selling it to me took 7 Euro off the tag price because it was obvious I knew what I was doing. It's just interesting how I would rather spend a pretty penny on wine for someone else but it kills me to spend 11.50 on the Blue Grotto. Pondering...

Overall, I was not that impressed with Capri. Sure, it was beautiful, but it's so vain. They charge people out the wazoo unnecessarily because they know they can. I just don't buy into the whole thought process that just because there's a 500 Euro tag on a purse makes it that much better and functional than one with a 25 Euro tag. I was mad that I spent money to go into the Blue Grotto (and mad that they didn't tell you up front that there would be an extra charge for it), mad that EVERYTHING cost money (you couldn't go anywhere without spending at least a few bucks), and just overall frustrated because I could have done everything a lot cheaper if I would have talked to a penny-pincher instead of reading the stupid tour books. Don't get me wrong, I don't regret going (pretty much because that's the only thing to do in that part of Italy), but I would have made vastly different decisions had I known what I know now.

After we left Capri, we went to a restaurant in Sorrento called "Da Filipo". They have a free taxi service, so they picked us up at the bed and breakfast and hauled us over. In the van were people from Missouri, Iowa, and New Jersey and it was so awesome to have an American conversation. The food at this place was all local (they have a fowl farm there, complete with turkeys, ducks, and geese), and it was good. I got seafood linguine which was a winner, and one of Annie's dishes was grilled mozzarella between lemon leaves. It was awesome! Lemons are a HUGE part of the culture in southern Italy (they are usually the size of small soccer balls- they are massive) and we had lemon olive oil which I'm going to have to invest in. Our waiter was so gross though. Multiple times he asked Annie and I if we wanted to go down to the ports that night to have a good time. We said no every single time, but he insisted on filling up our wine glasses almost to the top. I can't wait to get back to America where I am used to the culture and manners of men.

The next day we signed up for a tour of Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello. We were at our stop 15 minutes before the bus was going to pick us up at 7:45. At 8:10 Annie got a call from the bus saying that he left without us. Um, excuse me? We saw a lot of busses drive by, even one that said "Amalfi Drive", but none stopped. Obviously if the driver could call us, he knew he was supposed to pick us up. The lady that organized the bed and breakfast, Daniella, came up to meet us. She was so amazing about it- she returned our money and promised to call them and give them a stern talking to. I believe her because that's a poor reflection on the company, and not Daniella. Plus, women in this part of Italy were a little more outspoken than the other that I have met.

So we just went back to Rome. It was supposed to be about an hour to Amalfi and another hour to Solerno (where we catch the train), but it took us three because of "construction". Who does construction on Sundays? Especially in Italy! But, in the classic Italian way, when we drove by we just saw people in orange vests standing around. At least the drive is beautiful. It's along the coast with one foot separating you from a 500 foot drop to the sea. It's really amazing and gorgeous- the trip to Sorrento was worth the ride along the coast! We finally got to Solerno, bought our tickets to Rome, and alas, we were home sweet home.

Southern trip part 1

My time in Italy can only be summed up in one word: WHIRLWIND. Since I have arrived on May 9th, I have finished one of my classes for 3 credits; gone to Pienza, Orviete, Cori, Parma, Modena, Florence, Tivoli, Pompeii, Paestum, Sorrento, and as of this weekend, Capri, Amalfi, Positano, and Ravello; eaten many HUGE meals; and taken a couple hundred pictures. I'm exhausted but I can't sleep and I'm pretty much running on adrenaline everyday.

After the northern trip, I had a few days to prep for the southern trip. I went running everyday, including one run in which I got sufficiently lost in Trestevere. If I had a dollar for every car/Vespa honk or "Ciao bella" I got, I wouldn't have to worry about things like student loans or traveling. Italian manners are certainly not like American manners. It's socially acceptable to flat out stare at people, say things like "Ciao bella" to total strangers, push people out of the way, and take 9 years in a shopping line just because the person can. Definitely hard to get used to.

The southern trip (and by "southern trip" I really mean beaches) started Wednesday. Our first stop was Pompeii, which I was really geeking out about. For those of you not familiar with Pompeii, it was a pretty advanced town that was wiped out by Mount Vesuvius in a couple hundred years B.C. Because of the ash, the whole town was preserved until it was rediscovered in the 1800's. It is also known for it's incredibly erotic artwork and moral blunders. It was a port town, so there were a lot of bars and prostitution. That actually makes me really sad.

Freaky side note: although this town was very advanced and smart (they had indoor plumbing!), they couldn't take a hint that the mountain was about to blow. So the people didn't have time to escape and suffocated to death in a pile of ash. When the town was rediscovered, the ash solidified and preserved the holes where their bodies were. The archeologist filled these holes with plaster, and now these shapes of people are displayed around Pompeii. It really moved something within me- that sad, desperate, lonely place that only a salvation can fill. Very strange.

So after being moved and getting ridiculously sunburnt (insert sad face here), we headed onto Paestum. Paestum was a town founded by the Greeks in honor of Poseidon and have the oldest temples in the world outside of Greece. There were three: one to Athena, one to Hera, and one to Poseidon. Rambling Romolo's version of Greek mythology is hilarious, but I think he is kind of biased due to his Italian heritage. The temples were cool, but my favorite parts had nothing to do with the temples. First, Paestum had a pool. It was obviously empty, but in the deep end there was a labyrinth as a challenge for all the swimmers. I want a labyrinth in my pool! Second, there was a German Shepherd named Athena that lived on the land and was obviously taken care of. She was really docile and I absolutely could not resist petting her. She ended up following us around all day, but would only listen to me when I called her. Whenever we would sit or stop for a lecture, she would come straight to me. In conclusion: I want a German Shepherd.

Paestum is also right on the ocean. All the beaches were private, the sand was very fine, but the water was really gross. You name it and it washed up onto the beach. We stayed at The Calypso which is owned by Dr. Probart's "friend Roberto". We expected this guy to be tall, dark, and handsome, and I'm not quite sure why. Turns out he was an inch shorter than me (I'm 5'2"), smoked a pack a day, but he was dark. He's very into natural things, so everything in the hotel was real (plastic need not apply) and all the food they served was organic. I was disappointed because a) the food wasn't that great, and b) there were no vegetables!! Ugh. Boo.

Since this entire place was au naturale, there was no wifi. There was, however, one very slow computer and one ethernet cord. So I compromised and used my computer with the ethernet cord and ordered my plane tickets to Berlin and London! I am SO excited about it!! I'm going to Berlin the second weekend of June to stay with Don and Sarah Jones, two of the people that were instrumental in growing me in Christ and as a person. I'm going to London from June 16-22 and I'm staying with Steven's cousin, Lynnea and her family. Can you say blessings?! Perhaps this is the reason I couldn't go to Cinqueterre, Venice, or Florence...

Another side note: in Paestum we went to a pretty classy place for a "wine tasting". Wine tasting=lots of food and lots of wine. Both the white and red wine were very dry, and the red was 15% alcohol, which is more potent than we are used to. I only had one glass and knew that was enough, but my teacher, Dr. Claudia Probart had SEVEN in one hour!! What?! And she had at least two more for dinner. It's amazing she doesn't dry up like a raisin after all that alcohol.

Now I'm sitting in a bed and breakfast in Sorrento (that has wifi- woohoo!). Hopefully I can sleep tonight because it had been eluding me lately. Tomorrow morning, at 6 a.m., I'm off to Capri with Annie. Capri is a tiny little island (4 miles by 2 miles) off the coast of Italy- about a 20 minute boat ride.

Although I love traveling, I also love and miss Rome. Rome, sweet home...

Northern Trip 2

So the other post was getting long, so here's the second half.

Modena:

After Florence, we went to Modena. Now, tell me, have you ever heard anything EVER about Modena? I'm going to say probably not, and that's exactly how the town is.

Our purpose of being in Modena was to try traditional balsamic vinegar. I know what you are thinking, "EEW!", because that's exactly what we were thinking too. But the balsamic vinegar of the States and the balsamic vinegar of Modena is completely, 100% different. Like wine, this vinegar is made from aged grapes, but in a warmer environment and by a different process. It takes two years to age, and the end result is a thick, syrupy sweet liquid. It is SO GOOD. So good, in fact, that people put a few drops on ice cream. I was going to get some until I was told that a half liter was 67 Euro. No thank you.

One our way to check into our hotel, our busdriver got pulled over. Now, to get pulled over in Italy means someone did something horrible seeing as how no one follows the rules of the road (hence Chris getting hit our third day here). Turns out he ran a red light. What an interesting fellow. He didn't come back the next day; we had a different driver...

After that adventure, we had a free afternoon in Modena. I was really bitter about that because we skipped out on Florence, one of the greatest cities in the world for art, to come to a po-dunk town and try and find something to do. So, like Florence, we went shopping, and like Pienza, we exhausted the town. I got a shirt from a Sri Lankan woman, and a swimswuit from an Italian department store. That's all I could afford because, although there is a lack of things to do, Modena has money. This is where Ferarri and Lambourghini originated, so they are still flying high off of that. The ironic part is that it's very socialist, but functions well. Explain that to me.

Annie, Sahira and I tried going into the biggest church in the town square, but some elderly Italian woman started yelling and us because Annie was wearing a tanktop (you can't enter a church if your knees or shoulders are showing). No big deal, she put on my coat . Lies- to this Italian lady, it was very big deal. Even with the coat on, the lady followed us and continued yelling at us. Luckily, we could outwalk her. We eventually just went into the museum, which really scared me because I don't understand Catholicism at all. In fact, after coming to Italy, I have a very negative outlook about it that I hope a Catholic can change when I come home.

Since Annie, Sahira I were still missing home and Rome, we went to a cafe and got Arizona teas that cost 5 Euro. Then we stumbled upon the most beautiful park which helped us feel connected to home. There were flowers everywhere, a pond, the happiest dogs you have ever seen, and the things that made me the happiest: ducks (!!!), and one maple tree :). That's all I needed to feel okay. Plus, there were little kids throwing food to the ducks and geese which was adorable. Then I thought about child-mother relationships and I got all warm and fuzzy inside. I think every female hits a point in life when kids just make their heart melt. Point has been hit.

That night we had yet another million course meal, but it lasted 2.5 hours this time. As Steven says, how can a society function when they have such long meals? Well, they can't. Take a look at Italy's recent history. This meal was so fun though because all 26 of us were sitting at the same table just having a good time. One of our teachers thought we had been drinking a tad too much and tried to help us with his subtle suggestion of, "Does anyone want more bread?" I don't know why, because later Dr. Probart came to talk to us and it was obvious that she had been drinking the whole 2.5 hours. "Okay guys, heres the deal about tomorrow. Wait, I just forgot. One second" She was all of 5 steps away from Rambling Romolo...

Parma:

So when you see "Parma", I'm sure the first thing you think of is Parmesan cheese. And you'd be right. This is where Parmesan cheese was created, and we were blessed enough to see the whole entire process because we got up at 6 a.m. to go. It's made with fresh milk that is agitated then separated, put into a mold, dunked in salt water, sits on a shelf, and then is sold for 400-500 Euros per wheel. Granted, it was good stuff, but really? In their storeroom they had about 30,000 wheels. Do the math- that thing is a goldmine, complete with 5 levels of security linked directly to the police. We ended our tour with Champagne and cheese- there's nothing like Champagne at 10 in the morning...

Then we went to a prosciutto factory. That was kind of gross. Prosciutto is salt-cured pig that's aged and dehydrated to perfection and sliced very thinly. Once again, good stuff, but it gives me the heebie-jeebies. So the pig gets butchered, it's legs dismembered, it's cleaned, salted, salted, aged and aged for about 600 days until it's ready to be eaten. One leg is about 100 Euro, and their storeroom had about 30,000 legs. Italians are serious about their food.

THE TRAIN:

After we left that place smelling like pig fat, Annie and I needed to get back to Rome. Brace yourself for this. Before we left on our northern trip, we were trying to buy tickets online for about an hour and a half. Their credit card thing wasn't working, and we got so frustrated and mad that we just gave up. We should have known this was going to be a horrible trip.

So we were dropped off at the train station in Modena and went to talk to an employee who was selling tickets. He didn't speak English. After awhile, we pulled an African out of line to translate for us because he was the only one who spoke English and Italian. The employee just ended up being really rude to us, but we had our tickets. Luckily we found Romolo and his wife, and his wife explained to us the basics of how the train system in Italy works. We found our platform and went there to wait for the train. By chance, Dr. Probart and her lackies came up and she asked, "Did you guys stamp your ticket?" Blank stares. "OH NO!", she exclaimed. "Come with me!" So we went with her across the platform, down the steps in a brisk walk in search for a machine to stamp our ticket.

Okay, back to the platform. The train finally comes and we hop on. In Italy, there is a 3-5 minute loading and unloading time, so if you aren't ready, you are toast. We get on the train, which is about a 30 minute ride to Bologna where we will catch our train to Rome. With about 5 minutes left in the ride, the conductor comes over to check our tickets to make sure they were stamped (if they weren't stamped, it would have been a fine). All of a sudden he starts talking very loud and very fast and charging us 27 Euro. For what? We didn't know! By chance, the Italian girls sitting across from Annie spoke broken Spanish, and Annie and I speak Spanish, so they explained to us that we got on the wrong train. We were supposed to be on the train that had a lot of stops, not the direct one. And for that we were fined anyway.

So we get off, and at this point we're a little flustered. We just want to go to the bathroom and go to our next platform. In Italy, unlike in America, it is not required to have a public bathroom in public places. Translated: the train station didn't have a bathroom. So we leave the train station and walk to a 3-story McDonald's, because McDonald's always let's you use the bathroom without asking questions. Not this McDonald's! In fact, there was no bathroom. So we had to cross a very busy 5 lane street to get to a cafe. We had to buy water to use their bathroom, but at least they had one. It was gross, but it wasn't a hole in the ground, so whatever.

We finally make it back to the platform for the train to Rome. We're waiting and waiting, and nothing is happening. About 5 minutes before our scheduled department time, they changed the platform, and the only reason we found out was by chance- Romolo just happened to be there. So we had to run to the next platform to catch our train. We made it, and luckily it was smooth sailing the rest of the way. No fines, no yelling, no rudeness.

When we got to Rome, we had to find a way back to our convent in Trestevere. We were going to call a taxi, but I didn't have enough money that's to the fine in Bologna. Some weird-not-funny-at-all man with incredible B.O. told us to take the H bus, and we decided that although he is weird, not funny, and needs to shower, he might be trustworthy. So we walk through the dumps of Rome to get to the bus (the area near the train station is disgusting, complete with disgusting men), and it turned out to be the right one! We missed our desired stop due to the doors being open for about 15 seconds, but we got off at the next one.

That night we went for groceries and to get some awesome Indian food. I have this whole apartment to myself which is really strange. Luckily, Annie is upstairs, so we have been pow-wowwing now and then.

But that's Italy, culture, and learning. This is what I signed up for, and although some aspects have a lot to be desired, I wouldn't change anything about it.

Northern Trip

Since this post is going to be VERY long, I'm going to divide it into sections so people can read only what they want to hear about. We went on a four day trip to Northern Italy which included Orviete, Pienza, Florence, Modena, and Parma. So here it goes:

The day before:

The day before we left on this excursion was rather pleasant. It was one of the only days we have had so far without rain! Our class did a "market walk", which turned into visiting several churches, ancient buildings, three stores and one market; all in pursuit of two different types of tomatoes and three different brand of mozzarella cheese for caprese. Caprese is simply tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil with olive oil and salt, and I could live off the stuff for the rest of my life. That evening, three friends and I went to the Vatican to check it out. Since I'm not Catholic and know nothing of Catholicism, all the stores with Jesus on the cross, various sized Marys, and all the rosaries really freaked me out. The Vatican is about a 30 minute walk one way, so we decided it was okay to get cannolis on our way back. I'm not used to having regular milk, I always drink soy, so it was pretty much one of the most disgusting things I have ever eaten. But I paid for it, so I will eat it dog-gonnit.

Orviete and Pienza:

We were told to be at Trajan's Column at 7:45 on Wednesday because the bus was going to be there and we didn't want to make him wait. We were there at 7:45, and 8, and 8:30 until the guy came and we were on our way to Tuscanny. Our first stop was in Orviete, which is a small town built on a hill for protective purposes. It was cute! Very much a traditional Italian town. There was a huge Cathedral from the era when the town peaked in the 1200's (if you ask me, it's kind of sad when a town peaks 800 years ago...). My friend Annie and I walked up and down and all around, and pretty must exhausted the town in the hour that we had. We saw stuffed wild boars, cow tongues, and more cobblestones and I had the best focaccia bread ever there. We didn't get a chance to see the underground caves they used as aqueducts, but c'est la vie.

Next we headed to Pienza. Don't blink, because you'll miss the whole town. It takes about 5 minutes, maybe less, to walk from one gate to another which would be the whole town. There was an amazing view of the Tuscan countryside from Pienza, as evident by all the photographs on Facebook. It was a quaint little town, and somehow I managed to have the most awkward encounter ever with a guy from Washington D.C. Long story short, he's an idiot, I hope to never see him again, and it's clear why he is 35 and single.

Then we went to our monastery where we spent the night. To get to the monastery, we drove in our big bus down tiny little streets that were right next to a steep dropoff. Props to the busdriver for not killing us. This monastery was built in the Middle Ages and was better than I expected, besides the fact it felt like 40 degrees F in the inside.

Right before we got there, one girl found out that someone had somehow managed to get her credit card number and PIN and spent $300. Chris, the guy who got hit by a Vespa in a previous post, decided to call his bank and found out someone did the same thing and spent $350. That started a semi-panic, and other people found out that $1000 and $6000 were spent of their money. It turns out that all these people used the same ATM down the street from our convent in Rome. Thankfully, I was not one of those people, but I am now terrified to withdraw here.

So back to the monastery. Our dear teacher Romolo (I may refer to him as "Rambling Romolo") talked for a long time about the architecture of the place, in which I stared at the paintings. There was a picture of Jesus there, but in this painting he had boobs. It was the weirdest and most traumatizing image of Jesus that I have ever seen. But the food we had there really made up for it. They had their own chefs, and we had one of those infamous 2 hour, 6 course meals that Italians love. By the way: Tuscan wine is phenomenal!

The next morning, Jill, Amy and I woke up at 5 to catch the sunrise. It was really cold and really windy, but it was totally worth it. I think sunrises, no matter where or at what time, are one of the best parts of nature. It's kind of like God is telling me that there is hope and he truly loves me. I love watching sunrises.

Florence:

This part of the post is going to be incredibly disappointing to you all, because Florence was a complete and total bust. This is the city I was most jazzed about because of all the art- I had a whole list planned! Well, turns out there were no tickets available for anything and we only had like, 4 hours after our 2 hour, 5 course lunch to do things. So we went shopping. I got a messenger bag that fits my life and someone else's in, so that worked out well for me. And that was Florence.

Back to the lunch for a second: this was the first time I ate red meat since arriving in Italy 13 days ago. And it was AWESOME. It's the "sacrificial beef of ancient Rome" that my teacher, Dr. Probart (she may also be referred to as Claudia, Claud, Clauds, or the Claudster), was holding out for. It was probably an inch and a half thick and was cooked in between rare and medium rare. I devoured it.

Even if I did have all the time in the world in Florence, I would still be disappointed by it. It is said that there are more English-speakers than Italian-speakers there, and it showed. Everyone spoke English, so it was like being in an older version of Pittsburgh. Even the portion sizes were about a third larger than in Rome. Because of the comparison to Pittsburgh, I got really sappy that night and missed three things: 1) My mom. I think I'm always going to miss my mom when I'm away from her, no matter how old I am. She is, after all, my mommy, and an amazing one at that. 2) Steven. This is common for me, but I always imagine him beside me and thinking about what his thoughts would be of Italy and I find myself planning things for us to do if/when we come back. I just wish he could be here to hold me. 3) Rome. Yes, I missed the city I had just met about 10 days before. But I missed the familiarity and comfort of Rome. I can't explain it, it just was.

That night, however, Annie and I went into a peculiar little cafe. It was a weird mix of Italian food, American food, and the 70's. But they did have great pasta with vegetables, which was a good comfort food for my down-trodden spirit. Also, my hotel room in Florence had a bizarre picture painted on the ceiling. I'm apt to say that people should stop painting on ceilings unless they have some really phenomenal idea.

Unexpected

I would consider today one of those "unexpected" days. We got to wake up later, which was nice, especially since my housemates came back at 4 am again. So we were excited- maybe we were going to get a day without rain!

No. It rained. A lot. But we did get to eat out on the terrace overlooking our secret garden before it did, so that's a plus. Not a plus: my sandals did not do well on the slick cobblestones, so I had to walk around Rome barefoot.

But not all was lost; it turned into a wonderful time for an introvert like me. You know the saying, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do"? Well, we decided to do that, and it worked out nicely. Italians take care of themselves first, so if it's raining, they hop under the closest overhang and wait it out. Americans, on the other hand, trudge through the rain ending up grumpy, distraught, and soggy.

But these Americans were tired of the rain, so two of my friends and I went into a chocolate shop, which turned out to be amazing. As a little girl, this would be a wonderland for me with all the sweets, bright colors, and the layout of the place. As a twenty-year old, it was still a wonderland for me. There was only one older woman working who was obviously the owner and she did not speak any English.

Side note: I LOVE experiences like this. I love struggling through language barriers because it's exciting, not frustrating. Communication is not just language, it's so much more.

So this women and Jill communicated through writing, pointing, choppy Italian numbers, and a lot of smiles. She was so sweet, and the chocolate was great! I got all dark chocolate; one was a ball rolled in hazelnuts, another had a soft rum filling, and another had a delicious coffee filling. Souvenirs? Yes sir!

Then we wandered into a sandwich shop a few doors down because it was still raining. The guy spoke English, and it was one of the most positive interactions I have had since I got here. He learned English from watching Jack Bauer on "24" and "Lost", which convinces me that I need to watch everything in Spanish so I can speak it fluently. We were there for about an hour, we talked a lot, he was hilarious, and he gave me free espresso :).

Next, because it was still raining, we headed to bookstore, which was cute! Italian books are oddly priced, so I didn't get anything. Possibility for souvenirs later- holla!

Then we went to a tourist trap souvenir shop, which was awesome. I got Steven a little somethin' somethin' and scoped out some more. We had a great conversation with the person at the register about America and how she wants to go.

Italians are beautiful people. They are so nice and so kind, and if you give them the time of day, they will give their left arm for you. Italians are all about relationships.

Italians would make great Christians.

Weekend Affairs

Nothing much really happened in the past few days. On Saturday night, a few friends and I were going to go to this event called "La Notte dei Musei", which means "The Night of Museums". It's an event all around Italy where tons of galleries, exhibits, and museums are open for free. There was about 80 in Rome that were open until 2 am, so I was pretty jazzed about going. Everyone kind of crapped out though, so I ended up just sitting here working on my 7 page paper.

I was also supposed to go to church Sunday morning. We weren't going to go to the Vatican because we wanted more information before we went, but I found a Methodist church in English about a mile away. Once again, people crapped out. Also, this morning we have off, so a few friends and I were going to go run errands out by the Vatican. I'm sure you can fill in the next sentence... people bailed. I did get to listen to a sermon from the church Steven and I go to when I visit him at school. If you ever get a chance, check this guy out- his name is Rex Kenner at Grace Fellowship Church in Latham, NY. He is amazing! I'm a few weeks behind in his series, so I listened to part 1 of 4 on marriage. Good stuff!

I would say I have a more independent attitude then a lot of college students. I don't need to wait on people, I feel comfortable doing my own thing, and I don't really care what people think of me when I do. But here it's different. I'm not yet comfortable walking around alone (although I can get myself around the city- and I can do about 1/3 without a map!) so I have to depend on others to go with me. It's so frustrating! I'll be comfortable soon walking around alone during the day, but I don't think I'll EVER go anywhere alone at night. There are some super creeps here.

But yesterday turned out okay. Four of us went to study and I finished my paper and I'm ahead in my work, so I feel really good about that. Besides my housemates coming in at 4 in the morning both Sunday and Monday morning, I've been sleeping well. I ran out of bread on Friday and chose not to buy it on Saturday (primarily because it was POURING all day long), which was a mistake because bakeries are not open on Sundays. Not even in the Jewish Ghetto (although we did find a really sweet cafe there!). So I ended up eating tomatoes and olives with crumbled cheese for dinner. Yes, I am still a college kid even in a land known for it's food.

On a side note, do not believe people who tell you that "nothing is open on Sundays", because that's a lie. In fact, Sunday was the best day so far to head out and do things, for me at least. There's hardly any Italians out because their holy days revolve around massive family meals, which makes everything a little more relaxed and less crowded. A lot of tourists are out, so it's the only day when you can wear sweatpants out of the house without getting excommunicated. There are a lot less car honks and derogatory comments toward females, so that's always nice as well.

Overall, I am adjusting very well culturally. I've come to know what to expect from certain countries, so this hasn't been too difficult, which is really encouraging. I think all the prayers from home has a part to play in that as well :) I do want to go to a Spanish speaking restaurant though, because I'm dying to speak another language that somebody understands! There are a few things that I hope improves, so keep those prayers coming!

Rain, rain, go away, come again NEVER

All it ever does is rain here. That's a lie- it's sunny for like, an hour, and then rains the rest of the time. I'm tired of being wet. I'm tired of my clothes smelling really funky. And I just don't like carrying umbrellas everywhere. Plus, every time even one droplet falls from the sky, these strange Indians come out and try to sell us umbrellas! They are relentless and everywhere! At some point it's going to stop raining, right? But the silver lining is this, I could be in State College where it's pretty soggy too, so it's not like I'm experiencing anything new.

Yesterday we went to Hadrian's Villa. Hadrian was a Roman emperor in about 400 BC who didn't care for Rome, so he built himself a huge villa on the outskirts near a town called Trivoli. He had pretty much conquered all, so he could do what he wanted. I don't think he actually did anything for Rome though; his reign seemed pretty tame. I'll let you know about that- I bought a book.

Then we went to Trivoli. Trivoli is a little town up in the mountains that is really quite amazing. The land was given to a guy named Desti who was a finalist for the papacy but didn't get it, so this was his consolation prize. I had the best sandwich ever there, simple and basic and so wonderful: fresh mozzarella, basil, tomatoes, and olive oil on homemade ciabatta that was toasted. Wonderful!

Then we went to Villa Desti, which this guy built for himself out of self-pity. It is just one big garden with a whole lot of fountains, but it was so beautiful! Everything was so green and lush, but I can only expect that when it rains everyday. Words don't do the gardens justice, though. Pics on Fbook.

Today we went to someone’s house for a real Italian cooking lesson. The women’s name was Valeria, and her friends Simona and Tetsi (short for Testiana) helped teach us. We made pasta with zucchini and tomatoes, pasta in a red sauce, breaded tomatoes, chicken in white wine vinegar, and tiramisu. But when it came to eat, it was not just those four courses. In order: wine, bread (no Italian meal is complete without bread), pasta with zucchini and tomatoes, pasta with red sauce, chicken in the vinegar and oil, tomato halved with bread crumbs and parsley, salad, cherries, and tiramisu. Everything was simple to make and tasted great. Success!!

I didn’t expand upon the meal I had in Cori a few days ago. It was our first real Italian meal, and went something like the above meal: wine, bread, antipasti (proscuitto, salumi, cheese, zucchini, breaded tomato halves, and mushrooms), risotto, entrée (veal and grilled zucchini and eggplant), and dessert, which was essentially a fruit salad with a sweet dressing. Fruit is a common dessert here, meant to cleanse your palette and make you feel light after a huge meal.

Today ranked as one of the best Saturdays that I have had. I’d say top three ever. It was such a good day! I decided I want to have the attitude of an Italian woman. I want to cook because there is something accomplished when making a meal from scratch. I want it to take forever and enjoy eating because there is something learned in the experience. I want to be so hospitable to everyone and invite them over for dinner and talk for hours over a long meal because there is something valuable in that time.

In some ways I think that’s how Jesus wanted us to live. He wants us to live with each other, Christian and non, and spend hours together over dinner just talking and laughing and being human together and living life together. To slow down and enjoy life, to love human interaction, to be so enthusiastic in conversation- that’s what it’s about. I want that to be my ministry- cooking for Jesus.

The Twilight Zone

When I mentioned the Twilight Zone before (please reference the post below), I did not know what I was talking about. Jill and I, my friend from State College, decided to do work in an internet cafe. Our plan was just to stumble upon one. Lesson number 3 in Rome: don't try stumbling upon things. It just doesn't happen.

Anyway, after walking for awhile, asking British women if they knew where one was and getting gelato, we decided to go to the office of PI to see if it was open. On the way, I got mocked by a mime for my petite frame and large endowments after seeing a headless guy wave at us and another guy playing crystal glasses. Needless to say, a lot of the piazza near the Pantheon got to mock me.

After we found out that the Pantheon Institute office wasn't open, we got directions from an Italian man smoking a cigar, and headed out. We couldn't find anything, so we went to McDonald's primarily because we knew that an empty table was virtually guaranteed. We were right, sat down, and got cracking on our work. There was an OBNOXIOUS group of German teenagers there who were loud, misbehaved, and rude. I got hit by a spit ball and got water from a squirt gun shot at me. This was all in a span of about 20 minutes.

Now that's when I stop to ask "Is this really happening right now?" And that's what I call the Twilight Zone.

The Deceptively Short Week

Yesterday morning we started our architecture class. Romolo Martamucci (how Italian does that name sound?) teaches us all about everything, including philosophy, art, abstract and disconnected thinking, oh, and architecture. He took us to the capital grounds and to the Forum. He knows so much and I wasn’t able to catch really any of it, but I do have some pictures, so check out my Facebook. Regardless, the Forum is amazing. If you every go, read up on anything and everything about it because it is chock full of history!

I have only been here since Monday, but I feel like I've been here for a couple of weeks. I already know my way around Rome close to the river, I can eat, order, find a bathroom, and generally know what to expect. Except sometimes it really feels like the Twilight Zone- something happens that makes you stop and say, "Is this actually happening?"

Take for instance the happenings of yesterday afternoon. Six of us wanted to go jogging, so we decided to go to the Coliseum and back. Italian traffic is slightly ridiculous and rules generally don't apply, so when one sees an opportunity to cross the street, one does. One of the guys running with us, named Chris, decides to head up the party because he knows where to go and what to do and we just generally trust him more. So we are trying to cross a 6 lane street with traffic going in both directions (in the States, it would only be 4 lanes). The traffic on our side was stopped, so we meandered through it and waited for a break in the traffic on the other side. Chris saw an opportunity and started sprinting. As he started, a man on a Vespa (they are popular here) pulls out of the stopped traffic over to the lane with oncoming traffic- and right into Chris. Luckily, Chris saw him from his peripheral vision and jumped, but the guy clipped his leg and sent Chris skidding on the cobblestone street as the Vespa was pinned on the driver.

Everyone was okay and the police had to come, which was an interesting adventure. Two came in a police van which had an office in the back (no lie, there were chairs, filing cabinets, pens, papers, and clipboards- I can only assume stuff like this happens a lot), and two came in their little Smart car (those are also super popular here). A stern looking officer came over, and we thought we were about to get reprimanded or Chris was going to get sent away to an Italian jail. But the officer started chatting with us about the States and where he has been there and what he did. This is truly Italian culture. Everyone is very nice unless you are the one being the idiot, then, quite frankly, they have a reason to be rude. Everything got worked out, no one sued (apparently all Italians think all Americans are completely sue-happy; we're college kids, we just wanted exercise!) and we ended up just going back home to get ready for the evening.

That evening we went to my professor's apartment and had wine and olive oil tasting. I assume most of you know how to taste wine, but we had to taste olive oil too. Like, sip the stuff. I don't think it really helped my skills. I did have some phenomenal wine, however. I like red wine more than white because it really doesn't mess around, and I just feel like that suits my personality more. Then we got caught in the rain because it's so unpredictable here, watched/fell asleep during lost and finally crashed.

But, like the past few nights, I wake up at 3 every morning because my body still feels like it's 9 at night like it is at home. It also doesn't help that the street cleaners go out EVERY night at about midnight, and don't hurry to get the streets clean. Apparently Italians do their yardwork at midnight as well, seeing as how there was a weed-whacker outside my room at that time. It also doesn't help that my living room echos like a cave and I live on a very noisy street.

But besides not sleeping well, things are going great! I feel like there is so much to learn and do in this city and I'll never have enough time to soak it all in.

Today we went to a town called Cori, which was about 30 miles away and it took 90 minutes to get there (traffic). At Cori is known for it’s olive oil and there are olive trees everywhere, with grape vines and horses intermixed. We first went to the tiniest church ever, one room about the size of my living room at home. But on the walls and ceiling of this church were painted the stories of the Bible. Back when it was built, the Bible was not readily available for everyone to read, so this church solved that problem and put every major story on its walls. It was really beautiful!

The next stop was the olive oil production line. It’s a family owned and operated business that has their own olive trees. They have phenomenal olive oil, “spicier” than what we have in the States (which I think is great because the stuff in the States is horrible and tasteless). I bought three bottles. They also make their own wine and bottle it, but we are going to a vineyard later, so I passed on that.

Now it’s off to complete two assignments and write an 8 page paper. Sweet.

Bongiorno!

I am now in Italy, so here is a rundown of my past two days.

After my extra-long flight due to volcanic ash, everyone’s stuff arrive (woohoo!), and this is when I determined the first rule of traveling: if you cannot transport your stuff, you do not deserve to have it. This includes, rolling, lifting, carrying, and the like. You look like a fool otherwise. Embarrassing, really. On a side note, I think everyone should fly out of the State College airport, just for the experience. Take earplugs. And Dramamine.

My first impression of Italy: it is very green and very empty. I feel like for a country like Italy, with all the amazing food and hubbub of everyday life, it would be completely metropolitan and busier in general. I assumed Rome would be busy like New York City, and it’s not. In fact, there is NOTHING busy about Italy. It’s not as bad as Mississippi, or Haiti for that matter, but still. Being from Northeast USA and going anywhere else in the world really has its disadvantages.

We, being 18 other nutrition students and myself, live in a convent that was built in the 15^th century. That’s right, the place I’m living is older than COLUMBUS and the USA. The church that this was built around was built in the 11^th century. Now that is old. We live in one of the oldest parts of Rome, and that’s saying a lot considering everything is Rome was around when Jesus was. The convent consists of 3 buildings with a courtyard, which looks like something straight out of “The Secret Garden”. Two buildings belong to the Pantheon Institute, which we are studying with, and the third is an old folks home- what a contrast! It is about a 20 minute walk from the dead center of Rome.

So we check in, 14 of us in one apartment, 4 in another, and go on a preliminary tour. We all figured we wouldn’t retain anything due to traveling, but we really tried. We walked to see where our classrooms were going to be, past the Pantheon (which is getting a facelift… doesn’t look so hot with all the scaffolding), and a bajillion restaurants that operate outdoors. Our tour guide, who is faculty at the Pantheon Institute (PI), then kindly informed us he was leaving, and we had to get back all by ourselves.

To make a long story short, it took awhile. There was 13 of us, hungry, tired, wet, and grumpy, wanting food. After meandering and no one making any decisions, we decided the next restaurant we saw we were going to eat at. First restaurant: Expensive as anything. No. Second restaurant: Irish. No- we’re in Italy. Third restaurant: pizza and pasta- hallelujah! Oh wait! It was closed. Fourth restaurant: Chinese. Really? I’m in Italy. We finally stumbled upon a cute little restaurant, cheap, delicious, and warm.

After, we walked around in circles for about 2 hours, trying to ask Italians how to find the river, which is close to where we live, when we didn’t even know what the name was. Thank goodness for police officers, who carry some intense over-the-shoulder guns by the way. I found it interesting that the priority of this group was to buy alcohol over finding our way back home. I guess it doesn’t matter where you go, Penn Staters just want to get wasted L

We finally made it back, showered and flooded the bathroom, and then crashed. Note about the toilets: There is very little water in the bowl. We had no toilet paper for about 24 hours…ew. The back of the toilet is about 5 feet above the bowl hanging on the wall. The handle to flush it is a button on the wall. I have never been anywhere that I could flush the toilet paper and drink the water, so this is very new to me.

This morning we had more orientation, and took a very fast paced walk around the city. My teacher finally gave us a syllabus, and I’m finally excited to be here (after crying myself to sleep last night, this is great news!). We went to a pizzeria for lunch, which was better than American pizza because the sauce was homemade and there wasn’t a layer of grease on the top. We then went to Piazza Navona, Campo dei Fiuri, saw the Vatican from afar, and a million other things with amazing pictures (coming soon).

Since this is, after all, a STUDY abroad, I'm off to do work. More coming soon!

A couple notes about Rome:

It is almost all cobblestone, that gets really slippery when wet.

The streets are all handmade and curve, so there are no straight lines- a street is about 100 yards long and then it ends.

Enter every door- there might be a goldmine back there! There are a lot of doors that I would never think about entering back in the States, but here they hold libraries, student centers, banks, restaurants and cafes. (There is also an underground grocery store disguised as a clothing store…)

As for clothes: Americans look like idiots (not to mention that they feel the need to shout and be really obnoxious and obvious and travel in groups of 15 at all times…) because we wear color. Italians wear a ton of black and look sleek at all times. Needless to say, we stuck out.

Roman water is very pure. They don’t have water fountains- they have fountains with flowing water from the ground- already cold, pure, and delicious. No Giardia here! Thank goodness.