Adjusting to "class"

The last ten days have been a big “adjusting to Rome” time for me. When I was returning from Florence I suddenly realized that “Rome” was going to be my home and I wasn’t simply on a vacation that involved jumping from city to city. I’ve learned to stop complaining about how small my apartment is and how there are so many things I wish it had. Laundry is perhaps the biggest hassle, since Italy doesn’t really have driers and we have to dry our own clothes. Our apartment didn’t even come with a washing machine, so we were given the luxury of a laundry cleaning company picking up our clothes, washing and drying them, and bringing them back to us. I also just got my coat dry-cleaned because I was thoroughly grossed out by it, and it cost 13 Euros ($15). I may as well just buy a new coat next time! We have not had Wi-Fi in our apartment for the past 3 weeks either, and I’ve learned to spend my day without checking my Facebook a million times…..but that will be short-lived I’m sure.

I’m taking five classes this semester, and all of them are pretty interesting with the exception of one. On the plus side, I get to sleep in 2 days of the week and wake up semi-early the other two days. This is better than I expected, but I know law school is not going to be this good so this is good preparation. I’m taking Italian 101, in which I learn basic vocabulary and how to say phrases in Italian. It’s really helpful to learn this, because I can pick up on what people are saying when I’m at a restaurant or a grocery store. The fact that it is similar to Spanish helps, but I don’t anticipate remembering it for the rest of my life like I will with Spanish. My Italian Society & Culture class is taught by a teacher who was once an investigative reporter for politics and she is very knowledgeable about Italian government and culture. I’m going to be learning about how politics in Italy work, which should be helpful to my political science major. One of my favorite classes is Food & Culture, in which I learn about the history of food, originality of Italian food, differences in wine, and how to cook. For the second half of the semester, I will be doing cooking various Roman and Italian dishes. In addition, we take field trips to vineyards so that we can become experts on recognizing wine. We also go to a cheese farm and get to sample a lot of different cheeses. I’m ready to put on 2 pounds during that weekend. My second favorite class is Layers of Rome. This class would probably be the ideal class for any adventurous person. We meet on site each week – meaning at different museums, monuments, historic ruins and so on. This means we get to see, learn, and photograph places like the Colosseum, the Vatican, Trevi Fountain, Spanish steps and so much. No big deal right? What makes this class even better is the extremely intelligent British teacher who knows Rome like the back of his hand. The last and least favorite of my classes is Food and Media. This class involves making a blog about the food I eat, and learning how food and media interact on a global level. It sounds interesting, but I am thoroughly bored by it. On the plus side, we spend the second half of the semester making a documentary with twelve people. The documentary will involve picking a topic, working with Italians within our community, and filming important aspects of Italian culture.

While I am thoroughly enjoying my classes in Rome more than I ever have in Champaign-Urbana, it is hard to break through the “I’ve been slacking since sophomore year when I learned I can pass my classes without ever attending them”. It would be very obvious if I missed any of these classes, and I feel like I should get into practice of attending all my classes – because I’ll be required to do that in a short seven months. Nonetheless, I’m taking 2 out of my 5 classes credit/no credit…..just so I can enjoy my time here a little more :) 

Florence/Firenze

It was our first 3-day weekend, so about half the people in my program decided to go to Florence for the weekend. It was planned very last minute and it was our first trip so it was pretty crazy. We took a 6:15 AM train on Friday, which meant we had to wake up PRETTY early to ensure we could figure out the bus/train system. It was a 3.5-hour train ride, and the first thing we did when we got there was have a cappuccino and corneta J.  It was my first time staying in a hostel, and I was definitely scared – especially since the reviews said that it had bed bugs. Also, I think it was the first time in my life that I packed everything I needed into a bag pack. I was proud to do that, but I did end up doing some clothes shopping just for fun. The hostel was much less shadier than I thought, but still the worst living condition I’ve ever lived in.

The first thing we did in Florence was check out the Duoma, also called Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore. It was a big, architectural building and it was beautiful. We spent a lot of time taking pictures and walking around it because it was a central tourist site for Florence. I also climbed to the top of the Duoma with a few of the people in my program, and it was quite a hike up. The staircases were extremely narrow and it was kind of scary walking, but I was excited for what the view from the top would be like. It was absolutely beautiful, and I was more in love with Florence than Rome in the 30 minutes I spent viewing the city from the top of the Duoma. Next, we went to a pizzeria called Gusta Pizza – known to be the best pizza in all of Florence. It was pretty good, but not the best I’ve ever had. (Best would be Dar Poeta in Rome). Afterwards, we went to Ponte Vecchio and spent a few hours there. Ponte Vecchio is this old beautiful bridge that has amazing views and the cutest stores lined up against the streets.

Afterwards, we did some shopping on the main streets of Rome and found the best-known gelato place called Grom. I tried a few samples, but didn’t think it was all that good – kind of tasted like Oberweis ice cream. (After you try desserts in Italy, Oberweis doesn’t seem like good stuff). We headed back to the hostel that night, and ended up going out to an English pub called Kikuya.  From what I remember, it was a lot of fun. The next day we woke up early once again, and visited the Uffizi Gallery, which had a lot of famous paintings. It was massive and really interesting, but since I have no appreciation for art I was easily bored.  After the Uffizi, we shopped at the markets and had lunch by the Basilica di San Lorenzo. In the evening, we hiked up piazza Michelangelo for another amazing view of Florence.  By far one of the most romantic places I have ever seen. I went to Space nightclub that night – the club where Jersey Shore famously partied when they were in Italy last year. It was pretty fun, but nothing special from the Chicago clubs. The next day we took an afternoon train back to Rome and I was completely drenched of tiredness from the weekend. However, I can surely say that it was one of the best weekends of my life. 

First weekend in Rome!

After about 16 hours of total travel time, I finally arrived to ROMA. I could barely stay awake during the bus ride to our apartment/school area, despite how excited I was. We had to drag our bags which weighed about 150 pounds to our apartment - which was not fun at all. Luckily, my apartment is only 2 blocks from Scuola de Leonardo di Vinci and Gustolab - which is where all my classes are. The apartment is small, and kind of cozy. We don't have a lot of bedroom space and the bathroom is pretty small. Although, the owner of the building controls the heat so it is always freezing. Rome in general is much colder than I expected it to be, and I did not bring enough clothes for winter weather. That just means more shopping though right? :) I spent my first night in Roma eating at the closest pizzeria to me and trying Italian gelato for the first time. I had pizza with eggplant and vanilla and strawberry gelato. Gelato is to die for here :) I spent my first weekend doing orientation related things. The first morning I had Italian style pastries and cappuccino...which were all delicious. It is only acceptable to have cappuccino in the morning here, and people don't eat breakfast type of foods any time past 11am.  During the evenings, I ventured out and saw the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish steps. Of course I took pictures everywhere, and it was really nice just walking around and viewing what Italian life is like. I also ate at one of the best known pizza places in all of Rome during my first weekend - DAR POETA. It was absolutely delicious, and I will surely miss it when I'm back in Chicago. Pizza here is so much different than pizza at home. It is extremely thin, and served in a huge piece without being cut. Apparently, Italians "enjoy being able to cut pizza pieces the way they like" and not in same size pieces like "Americans" do. - This is what my food and culture teacher told me at least.

Packing, packing, packing.

7 days till I leave for ROME! Wooo, super excited :) The packing process begun a week ago, and it seems like a lot of work to fit everything in properly and ensure I'm not forgetting something important. My goal is to have everything packed 2 days before I leave so I can enjoy the last day with my family. Let's see how it goes :)

P.S. I want to get "la dolce vita" tattooed. Too much? haha.