Every Day's Like an Open Door

Wednesday classes are my favorite. I get up and go to my Art in Rome class, which is always on-site somewhere in Rome. The first week we went to the Pantheon, last week we went to the Roman Forum, and this week we headed to the Capitoline Museum. I mean, come on, what could be better than having an excuse to go out and see the sites of the city while getting school credit for it? And besides, by going to see the sites this way I have the opportunity to learn lots of information from my amazing professor (who has a long Greek last name that I can’t pronounce) that I otherwise wouldn’t learn about through my guide books or the skimpy descriptions that are sometimes posted.

Following my class (which is 3 hours long) I have enough time to come home and cook lunch, and then at 3:00 I head up to AUR for my second class of the day – Italian Media and Pop Culture. The name kind of says it all – but I just think that some of the discussions that we have had are so interesting. Today we talked about the Miss Italy pageant that was on RAI (Italian public TV) the other night and how it is different from the one in the USA. We also touched on an advertisement that has actually gotten press in the United States. Please read the article and make a judgment for yourself – I would be quite interested to hear what you think about it. (Note: the ad that you see in the article is less risqué then the one that is being shown here in Rome. Here we get the full frontal view)

Hmm…what else? This weekend I am heading off with 4 of my roommates to Ischia – an island off the coast of Naples that is somewhat close to Capri. We made a last minute decision to go there, and I am really looking forward to a really relaxing weekend of hanging out, enjoying the hot springs, eating some pesto, and maybe (if I am feeling brave) jumping off a cliff!

I’m going to go grab a mini Magnum bar out of the fridge (my favorite ice cream bar over here in Europe that I discovered in Israel) and finish up some Italian homework, and then head off to bed. Somehow I am still exhausted from last weekend. But before I sign off, I want to send a special shout out to Matthew P. and Samantha B. for reading my blog and leaving me funny comments! I love and miss you both very much!

Oh yes, one more thing. I have been spending a lot of time on Skype talking to people, and I would love for you to be one of them. It is incredibly easy (and free) to download. Most likely you have a microphone built into your computer, and a camera isn’t necessary, so there is no good reason not to get an account. Once you sign up, please let me know your skype name so we can catch up soon!

She's Got a Ticket to Ride

The title of this blog refers to the fact that I took just about every single form of transportation during this past weekend, which I spent in the UK. My purse is now filled with plane, train, bus, and tube tickets that were all used by me in the 4 days that I was there. Let’s do a by the numbers to show you how many of each I took
4: train tickets I used
5: trains I actually took
2: planes that I flew on
unlimited: tube and bus rides
But as I look back on the weekend I realize that without these modern forms of transportation, my weekend would never have been able to turn out as wonderful as it did.

Once arriving in Heathrow, I booked it to the tube station in the airport (after being questioned for my reason for visiting the UK in passport control) and made the last tube in just the nick of time. Thank goodness I did. Although I don’t mind the bus, I know that I would have gone slightly crazy trying to navigate it after my annoyance at Alitalia.

My arrival at the flat was such a happy homecoming. Seeing Sarah, Angelica, and Jason in so many ways made me feel more calm and centered than I have been in a week or two. There was something that was just so natural about sitting on a couch with our computers and chatting it up. It was a perfect throw back to 5th floor Letts freshman year.

After a much needed night’s sleep, I woke up and headed towards Westminster Abbey with Jason, Anglelica, and a few of their flat mates (13 of them live there!!!). We all paid what I seem to remember as £7 to get in, and another £5 for the tour. Yet, it was all well worth it, because I never thought that I could enjoy a tour of a church as much as I did. Besides being incredibly beautiful, the information that I learned while there was so interesting. For instance, did you know that Darwin was buried in the Abbey? Or, did you know that there was a man who could only afford a 2 foot x 2 foot burial plot in the Abbey, so he is the only person who is buried standing up? The tour was full of facts along these lines that I would never have found out about otherwise, so the tour was fully worth my $10. (Just as a reminder to all of you out there who don’t know, or who have forgotten, the $2 = £1)

From there, Jason, Angelica, and I took a double decker bus (!) over to Buckingham Palace. After stepping up onto the second level of the bus, I immediately decided that this mode of transportation was far superior to the Tube. The 4 of us set out to find a Barclays (a bank), and from there decided that food was 100% necessary. The first thing that we found was a cute place called The Slug and Lettuce. I HAD CHICKEN THERE!!! I know that seems a bit excessive for a bit of poultry, but you have no idea how happy I was to see it on the menu. In Italy they don’t normally serve chicken in restaurants because it is seen as something that can be made easily at home, so why have it when you go out? That first bite of my fried chicken wrap was a small slice of heaven. It was a great meal until the end when our waiter forgot about us (in typical UK style) and I had to actually get up to get the check. Silly British people!

Next stop on our list was Hyde Park. Now, let me just preface this by saying that I felt almost as if being there was as though I was shown a slice of life in London. You should see Sarah’s blog for a good description of our time there. But essentially it was a beautiful day for a walk through the park, and I enjoyed my time there very much – crazy pigeon lady and all!

That night we went out to a pub to grab dinner, and then we headed to another pub to watch the Rugby world cup. I have decided a few things…
#1 – I don’t understand Rubgy. Why any mother would let their son play that sport is beyond my comprehension
#2 – I really like cider. It is like drinking apple juice, only better. And besides, it beats beer is just about every single way
#3 – Don’t go to a pub with the same number of males as females. Everyone thinks that you are two couples and won’t come over and talk to you

The next morning I woke up and headed to the Euston tube stop to meet Marc Schutzbank so that we could go to Yom Kippur services together. I was supposed to meet him at 10:30. So, I got there at what I thought was 10:25. I waited 30 minutes for him, and when he never came I frantically called him. When Marc picked up the phone he told me he was still in his room getting ready. Stupid me. My phone didn’t change time zones when I got to London, so I woke up an hour early and got to the station an hour early. Essentially I am really, really stupid. When Marc arrived at what was really 10:30, he told me that it wasn’t a big deal, but I still found myself feeling quite silly.

Services were truly lovely. I made the right decision to go to London for Yom Kippur. I needed the time to feel connected to the Jewish part of myself that isn’t always fed in Rome. The sermon that the rabbi (who was American!) did centered on the idea that we need to use the future to define the past. We need to take what we have done and allow it to help us in the coming months and years. I normally start to nod off during sermons, but for this one I was alive, awake, and enthusiastic through the entire thing. I think that I should take that as a sign…

For the better part of the day, Marc and I just wandered around the city taking everything in and talking about everything under the sun (as per usual). The funny thing is that we kept coming back to topics that revolved around food without even realizing it. – since we both were fasting.
Towards the end of the day we wound up at a park (whose name I forget) up by Camden (which is a very cool area that is perfect for people watching). We saw a group of guys dressed up in weird clothing and playing cricket. Marc went over to talk to them, and found out that it was a “stag party,” aka a bachelor party. The stag decided to have all of his mates dress up as characters from the 18th century and do activities that would have been done in that time period. As I said before, check out Marc’s blog for more on our afternoon.

The temple that we went to set us up with a family for break the fast. The house was gorgeous and huge and amazing and… Everyone was very nice and really interested in what Marc and I were doing over on this side of the pond. As Marc said, a Jewish mother is a Jewish mother wherever you go. They always want you to eat more and to make yourself comfortable and at home.

After breaking the fast, I scooted out early and headed to Victoria station so that I could catch a train to go out to Ramsgate to spend the night and the most of the next day with Stacey, Kurt, and Astin – my family on this side of the pond. My trip out there was somewhat of a nightmare. Work was being done on the track, so I had to take an hour long train to Stood, then take a 40 minute bus ride to then get on another hour long train that would take me to Ramsgate. I got there at 2 in the morning! Kurt was waiting for me on the platform. I didn’t get off the train right away because I fell asleep in typical Elyse fashion, and the conductor had to wake me up.

The next day I hung out with my family and we did silly things like go to the grocery store (where I bought lots of food to bring back with me!) and go to the nursery to get a pot to go in the backyard. The 3 of us also cooked in the afternoon. Kurt made steak, shrimp, broccoli, corn, and an apple-blackberry crumble for me! YUMM And then Stace and I made chocolate chip bars!! Just like home!

The train ride back was much easier than going out there – direct to London Victoria. Yet, it was also quite hard because I was sad about leaving them. I know that I need to go back once more before going back to the States. Staying away from their little house on Station Approach Road just doesn’t seem possible. It just feels so much like home.

Once back in London, I stayed awake all night in order to catch the bus to Heathrow – my flight was at 6:50 in the morning! I got on the plane and passed out from exhaustion immediately, but I view that as being a good thing, because I had a wonderful weekend. There is little more than I could have asked for. I am such a lucky girl!

I Cannot Have a Future 'till I Embrace My Past

A post about my second time around in the UK will be coming soon (after I write it on my flight back to Rome). But, for now, check out Marc Schutzbank's new blog for a small slice of my weekend here!

Dont Be Slow, Oh, No, No, No!

I am currently writing this from my seat on Alitalia flight 201. Even though we are only 20 or so minutes into the flight, I am already less than impressed. The SkyTeam Alliance should be ashamed. Ok, so maybe I am going a bit too far, but the entire process of getting onto this plane since arriving at the airport (because getting to the airport was easy!) has been one that is just void of any sort of planning.

Leonardo Di Vinci airport is actually quite nice, and somewhat dangerous for me – there is fabulous shopping there. I browsed Gucci, Hermes, Prada, and Tumi, among other stores while I waited for what I thought was the time that we were supposed to board the plane.

Right as people start to line up at gate 33 (because the screen at the gate said that we were boarding at 8:50 PM, and it was 8:50 PM) some lady comes over the loud speaker in Italian and announces that the gate has changed from 33 to 29. Ok, fine, whatever. I can handle moving myself 3 gates away. The real issues (at least for impatient me) started when we got to gate 29. I was one of the first people in line, so I assumed that I would be on board in just a few short minutes. Oh no. How I was mistaken. They had us stand in line for over a half hour. Why wouldn’t they have told us to sit down and then proceeded to call us up to board by rows on the plane. Wouldn’t that be the smart thing to do? But no, I stood in line, and finally at 9:25 they started to board us (and some Italian man cut in front of me in line after sitting down the entire time). I go down the escalator expecting the plane to be right there. Yeah right. What was I thinking? I had to drag my rolling suitcase down about 50 steps and then wait 15 more minutes for a bus to come and take us to the aircraft. Why didn’t the plane just pull up to the gate? There was a jet way and everything.

Maybe I am being an anal American, but I just think that the whole process is insanity. I don’t have all the time in the world, even though I wish I did. It is late, and I want to get to London before the Tube closes so I don’t have to mess around with the busses. Is a little efficiency too much to ask? Yes, I know, that is supposed to be the “charm” of being here. I’m not so sure how I feel about that. I think that there are better ways to run things. Maybe Alitalia should bring someone on to help them with that – after all, they are supposedly in bankruptcy or close to it.

I know that all of this will be forgotten the second I get to Kingston and meet up with Butzer and Jason, but right now I am just slightly annoyed and sitting here eating the bread of my sandwich because the meat that is on there looks somewhat like mystery meat. But I got my first amaretti cookie, so I guess all really is a-ok in the world.

And a Soup-Stained Tie

The past few days since we got back from Venice have been somewhat low key. Most of us have homework to do (not me, though because for some reason I haven't had more than a little bit of reading), and about half of the apartment has been racing to finish the first season of Ugly Betty in preparation for the season premier next week. I guess that this is routine, and I kind of like that we have settled into one. We all get up in the morning and do our own thing/go to school for most of the day. But, by the time dusk falls all six of us are back in the apartment to cook dinner (tonight we made grilled cheese and tomato soup!) and hang out and figure out plans for the later part of the evening. By doing this, it makes Rome feel more like home - which is good, because in a lot of ways I don't necessarily feel like I belong in this city all of the time.

Parts of my day frustrate me and make me feel like I don't belong, especially when I can't quite figure out how to communicate with the locals. I also get particularly down when I don't get or don't know how to respond to many of the cultural cues that the Italians are known for. And they aren't big things, but little things like paying for your food before you actually go up to order it, and having to say "no" 4 times before anyone really gets that when you say no you mean no. I am quite aware of the fact that this is a part of the whole "being abroad experience," but at times (especially when I am trying to use broad hand gestures to let the lady at the copy center know that she gave me the wrong packet for my class) I wish that all of these cultural things were laid out in a book and given to us before we get here so we don't look like stupid American idiots.

On an entirely unrelated note - I am heading to London for a long weekend to see friends and sorority sisters, celebrate Yom Kippur, and go back to see Stacey, Kurt, and Astin. I will try and update while I am there, but if I don't - I wish everyone a wonderful weekend and an easy fast (for those of you that it applies to). Much love from Roma!

Merrily Merrily Merrily, Life is But a Dream

I had heard prior to going to Venice that you either love it or hate it. People told me that it was gorgeous and that you would never want to leave, but I also had friends tell me that it was smelly and dirty and off-putting. Yet, from the moment that I walked out of St Lucia Train Station, I found myself in love with the magic of Venenzia. I don't quite understand how you couldn't be in the love with the serene waterways and the hidden treasures of the back roads, canals, and alleyways. My two days there with my 5 roommates was magical, something out of a dream.
What follows, in what is sure to be an obscenely long blog post, are the memories and highlights of a weekend that I won't soon forget.

The train ride there really left something to be desired. We were told that it shouldn’t take more than 4.5 hours, but 6 hours later when we got off the train, we knew the truth. I guess the complaining should be kept to a minimum considering I slept a good portion of the way, but this was just another example of how little Italians actually care about time. It just isn’t important to them. I can respect that about them on one hand, but on the other hand, it just makes punctual me a little crazy.

Because we decided about a week and a half ago to go to Venice for the weekend, we had little luck finding hotels or hostels with room for us. What we decided to do was stay on the mainland in Menstre – a 10 minute train ride to Venice. When we booked the hotel, we thought that we would be smart and try to save money by only booking a room that houses 4 people, but having all 6 of us stay in there. Well, when we got to the hotel, we came to find out that the police come every night and check to see how many people are registered to the hotel. If they allow more people to stay in the room than allowed, the hotel can be shut down for 6 months. That information put quite a wrench in our plans. We wound up spending a good hour wondering around Menstre going to every hotel there looking for another room. A $100 room at the Hotel Roberta was the best we could do – but there wasn’t any other option.

As I said before, from the first moments I stepped outside of the train station in Venice, I was in love. I think that from the second I stepped onto the Vaporetti (the boats that function as buses) my jaw was on the floor because I was in such awe. By the time we made it onto the water, darkness has fallen and everything has this gorgeous romantic glow to it. It was as if I had stepped into this magical dream world.

The dream world continued once we disembarked as San Marco. The entire Piazza was lit up, and the dueling chamber groups were setting up along the perimeter of the square. The 6 of us opted to have dinner before we went back to listen to the music. Our meal was fantastic – everything seemed better than usual - even the water had a silk-like quality to it. My spaghetti was cooked to perfection, and the meat sauce had so much flavor to it. Dinner ended with a weird banter with our waiter who kept coming over to tell us random facts that we didn’t really understand.

Following dinner, 4 of the girls opted to sit down to listen to the music on the Piazza, while Ali and I wandered around the square. The entire atmosphere left nothing to be desired, it was perfection. I wish I had the words to describe how I felt that night, but nothing seems to do it justice.

By the time we got back on the Vaporetti, the trains had already stopped running back to Menstre, so we had to find the buses to take us back there. After a very stressful situation where some women laughed at us after we mentioned where we wanted to go, we finally figured out what was the right bus, and got ourselves back to our hotel. Once back at Giovannina, the door was locked. We kept ringing the bell, and finally this man (who we later found out was “Uncle George”) answered. We hadn’t been told by the person who checked us in earlier in the day that we had a curfew, but apparently we did. After we finally convinced Uncle George that we were the 4 girls who were staying in room 109, he let us in. Uncle George then told us that the guy who checked us in earlier was his nephew and he “has no friends.” It was a hysterical conversation where he told us that he wants us to have fun because we are on holiday, but he doesn’t want 4 girls being out late on their own… Oh Uncle George. This was our first encounter with him, but it certainly wasn’t our last.

The next morning, after a really good night’s sleep – the 6 of us headed into Venice for the tour that was organized by AUR. The tour focused on the unseen Venice, the parts that the tourists don’t usually pay attention to. Our tour guide (who never bothered to tell us her name) took us through the many back streets of Venice and gave us insight into the grandeur and history of many of the buildings and Campos in the city. If there was one thing that I took away from the tour, it was the ability to tell how old a building is by the types of windows and arches it has.

After the tour, we set off to find Venetian glass. Oh, and man, did we find it. We happened upon this little shop down a tiny hidden street where this lady makes all of her own glass. We spent a good hour and a half in this shop that was easily smaller than my dorm room back at AU. The stuff was gorgeous! I spent quite a bit of money in there, but many of the things that I purchased will be presents for people. The lady who owns the shop also took time to show us how she makes beads. She normally doesn’t do any glass work on Saturday, but we convinced her to show us her technique. I was blown away by the work that goes into each individual bead. It was quite impressive. Check out my pictures for more insight into that part of the day.

Upon leaving the glass shop we decided we wanted to head back in the general direction of San Marco’s. Well, that turned into a big adventure. In Venice they don’t believe in the grid system. You could go down one street and wind up some place completely different than if you had chosen the street directly next to it. Talk about confusing. We finally found our way out to the grand canal, but we came out on a dock where the Vaporetti don’t stop – so that essentially did us no good at all. Go figure. We finally made our way to a vaporetti stop, and what a relief that was, since by this time we were all exhausted and our feet were starting to hurt. We had been up since 8, and on our feet since 9 AM. Nine hours of walking can really do you in. (It is at these moments that I really wish I had a pedometer to keep track of how far I walk in a single day). The 6 of us opted to have a quick dinner in a café, and then walk back to San Marco’s for a final look at its glory and a cup of gelato.

We made it back to the train station in time to make the train. What a train ride this was…talk about feeling like you were being filmed for America’s Funniest Home Videos or something. The train ride was fine, but when we tried to get off at our stop (the first stop) ALL of the doors of the train were locked from the inside. Practically the entire train was running up and down through the cars trying to find an open door. At this point the train was stopped in the station, but then it started to move. A lady was screaming out the window to the people on the platform trying to get them to help us. Finally a man had the brilliant idea to pull the emergency brake. I’m still not exactly sure why all the doors were locked, but they were. Molly said that the whole situation gave her a real appreciation for the scene in Titanic when they have no place to go. I wouldn’t have classified it like that, but it was still quite an interesting experience.

Back at the Giovannina Uncle George roped Melanie, Molly, and Sarah into a conversation while I fell asleep upstairs in the room. Although I wasn’t there, I heard about all of the stories he told them. He seems to just be a lonely man who needs someone to talk to. It’s quite sad, actually. Sarah told me later that he manipulates the rooms that he has open in the hotel to set up social experiments. He has apparently set up 7 couples through doing this – which is actually quite impressive. I don’t know if Sarah or Molly has written about him yet in their blogs, but watch them for more on Uncle George.

Yesterday morning we woke up early again and headed back into Venice for our last time, and this time we were on a mission. Priority #1 was getting back to the glass shop, and priority #2 was finding a Gondola so that we could take a ride. After all, what is a trip to Venice without going on a gondola? We found our way back to the glass shop pretty easily – we only got lost once, which was SO impressive. I have so much respect for their postal service. I can only imagine how hard it is to figure out where to deliver everything.

Our gondola ride was perfect. I am not sure what else to say about it besides that. I felt so calm and at peace during that time. I got off the boat feeling as if I don’t deserve all of this. I am so lucky to be here and have this experience. I couldn’t ask for anything more.

Tryin' to Fit the World Inside a Picture Frame

Pictures from the 2nd week in Rome and my dream-like weekend in Venice.

Stay Tuned...

It's Gonna Be a Happy New Year

Happy New Year, or if you prefer, לשנה טובה ! I can't believe that it is already 5768. Time really does fly... But anyway, I wish everyone a sweet, happy, and healthy new year.

I apologize for my lack of updating over the past few days. I have spent the past few days getting into a routine now that classes have started. My classes all seem to be the perfect amount of work and fun, and all of the subjects really interest me. My professors also all have vastly different backgrounds, so that should bring some new perspectives into view.
Right now I am thinking that my favorite class is going be Art of Rome. All of our classes are on-sight visits around the city. I am looking forward to it because I love looking at everything, but as I have said before, I don't always know the significance. This class gives me the opportunity to have someone explain the significance to me. What could be better?

My roommates are still wonderful. I have had some requests to know who everyone is, so here I go.
Molly - She and I know each other from AU and requested to live together. Molly is originally from New Hampshire.
Melanie - Melanie and I lived on the same floor freshman year, but we have only become close since being here in rome. She hails from Philly.
Ali - Ali goes to AU, but I didnt even know that she existed before coming here. She is from Cleveland, and actually lives about 5 minutes from my Dad's.
Sarah - She is originally from Connecticut, and goes to George Washington University.
Colleen - Along with Sarah, she goes to G-Dubs, and is from Connecticut.

Our friend here, tells us that we are the cutest roommates ever. We try and spend time together every day, and for the past few days we have been cooking dinner together every night. Our fridge looks like a family's fridge, and we are always there to help each other out. I am really looking forward to our weekend in Venice together. It should be a great bonding experience and a TON of fun.

Let's see, some of the other exciting things that have happened in the past few days...
1. The Bengals won!!!! WHO DEY! I stayed up late enough here for Mom and Mel to hold the computer up to the TV so I could watch the opening kick off.
2. My roommates are now obsessed with Ugly Betty. The boxed season might have just been one of the best things that I bought before coming. Now, the real question is, how are we going to watch the new season? I have been told that ABC has it set up so we can't stream it online here in Rome. Maybe I might have to suck it up and pay for it on iTunes?
3. Don't expect the Italians to do anything on time. I was told by my Italian teacher that our book was supposed to be in by today. When I went to where they sell books, I was told that it wouldn't be in until the end of next week.
4. We were told that there was going to be a strike today for the bus drivers. We woke up extra early to catch a bus before it "happened." They didn't strike. There were buses running all day. I just don't understand...
5. I found a real grocery store!!!! One with aisles and everything in one place. I know that I am usually not the grocery store type, but what I would do for a Kroeger here... I still can't find some of the things that I consider to be normal to have in the house, and it is starting to bug me a little bit, but I guess it is part of the charm of being here. I am not going to lie, I did a little dance in the grocery store when I found Dannon yogurt.

Alright, I'm going to go and eat a little bit more of my apples and honey and head off to bed because I have to go and apply for my permit to stay really early tomorrow morning. Happy New Year to all, and to all a good night.

In the Evening I've Got to Roam

First of all, I want to send a big Happy 17th Birthday to my sister, Melanie!!!

I wish that I could start out this entry telling you all that all of these exciting things have been happening in Rome over the past few days since my last blog post, but to be honest life has been kind of boring. But boring in a good way, in a way that says that I am comfortable and settled and this is starting to be home. A reason for this might be the fact that I have a killer cold that has essentially kicked the crap out of my sinuses and upper respiratory system – but I guess it is better having a cold in Rome over something like the flu.

Friday morning the apartment woke up around 10 in order to head to school and be some of the first people in line to change our schedules. I had gotten a few classes that I just wasn’t all that keen on, so my schedule is now as follows:

Mon/Wed 3:30-4:55 ~ Italian Media and Pop Culture
Mon 9:00-11:55 ~ Art of Rome
Tue/Thurs 10:30-11:55 ~ Introduction to Italian Language and Culture
Tue/Thurs 12:30-1:55 ~ New Media

The schedule isn’t exactly how I would have liked it, but I guess at the end of the day I have classes that I am interested in. I just have to suck it up and deal with the fact that I have classes 4 days a week, and the only day that I have to stick around school most of the day is Wed, but I can just make that my “get stuff done day” and do homework during my off time.

We all came back to the apartment and hung out for a bit, then we all got ready to go out to dinner for Colleen’s birthday. We decided to go have dinner at one of the restaurants on the Tiber River because they will only be open for another week or so. We went to a restaurant called Tucci. I couldn’t taste anything, so I decided to have pasta with red sauce and water. So exciting, I know. But everyone else really enjoyed their meal, and regardless of anything it was so nice to have a relaxing dinner by the water. While having dinner I discovered that many Italians are just as embarrassed by the fact that they can’t speak English, as we are by the fact that we can’t speak Italian. We all could tell that our waitress felt so bad that she couldn’t communicate with us very well. Throughout the meal there was a lot of hand gesturing and pointing in order to get our points across.

From there, we tried to get to a place where there were supposed to be a bunch of AUR kids (we are having a hard time meeting people because classes haven’t started yet, and we are all living in different areas of town). Yet, we took a bus too far after finally figuring out which one to get onto with the help of some nice Ukranian guys, and then had to wait forever to get back from the wrong place to the original place that we were. Once we got back to the original place we were in Trastevre, I decided to head back home with Molly and Ali so we could go to bed. By this point I was feeling like crap, and I knew that it would serve me better in the long run to sleep rather than be out until 2 AM or so.

The next day the 6 of us headed up to school for their welcome BBQ. I learned pretty quickly that the Romans don’t know how to have a BBQ like the Amerians. I was so disappointed with my burger. I had been looking forward to that hunk of meat for a number of days, so imagine how disappointed I was when I bit into it and realized that it kinda tasted like cardboard. Besides that, there was only 1 bottle of mustard out, 2 bottles of ketchup, and about 7 bottles of mayonnaise – and most of them were empty. That is just not right. How can anyone have a BBQ without condiments? Are they crazy?

We ditched the BBQ pretty quickly with 2 girls from G-Dubs and decided to head to Trastevre (which is about a 10 minute walk from school) on a search for gelato. We all got some of it and then sat on the fountain in the middle of Santa Maria Piazza and watched people gather outside of Santa Maria Church (the oldest church in Rome) for a wedding. The way the ladies were walking in their heels was just amazing to me. I barely can walk on the cobblestones in flats without killing myself – and they can walk in stilettos with no problems at all? I just don’t get it!

After watching the beautiful bride go into the church, we decided to wander around the area. We happened upon this store that had fun clothes in the window and in the basement there was a real live regular grocery store! I know, this doesn’t sound all that exciting, but for me it was just about a miracle that in the future I would be able to find everything that I need in one place. Essentially the 5 of us have spent a good portion of the week going to every grocery store in our neighborhood looking for the essentials – aka I couldn’t find salt for days, and it was starting to get really frustrating. But yay, this place has been found and I can do my shopping there. Now, if only I could find chocolate chips so I can bake…

Ali’s birthday was yesterday (2 birthdays in 2 days!!), so we let her choose where we went for dinner. She chose this pizza place down the street from us that we had noticed on our first or second day here. The kicker is, the place is called Disney Pizza. We were all hoping that the pizza would be in the shape of Mickey’s head or something, but alas, no. The only thing really Disney-esque about the place was the “mural” thing on one of the windows. But the pizza was really good, so we decided the place was a keeper.

From Disney Pizza we got on the tram to go out for Notte Bianca. Notte Bianca takes place once a year in September and it means “White Night,” or night without sleep. The city stays open – all the museums, the streets were closed off to cars and motor bikes, everyone was out. It was crazy and busy and claustrophobic, but it was like one big Roman party. Although we didn’t make it into any museums, we took in the culture of the people by wandering around - from the Tomb of the Unknown to the Spanish Steps, to the Pantheon and back again, we saw so much. Although I was incredibly claustrophobic for most of the night and we didn’t get home until 4 AM, I was happy that I went out, because it is something that I will probably never have the opportunity to do again.

Today, we just hung out and spent time in the apartment chilling. Most things aren’t even open on Sunday, so it was far from a big deal. Last night right before we left, the wireless was installed in our apartment, so I spent a good portion of the day on Skype talking to people. It was good to finally have an internet connection that I can use when I want to versus having one computer that we are all trying to share. The other thing that we did today was figure out our plans for going to Venice next weekend. We booked a hostel and figured out what train passes we are getting. I am really getting excited for that, I think it is going to be a good time.

If you got to this point in the post, thank you for bearing with me and if not, I understand that I can write a lot. And, on that note, I am off to bed, considering the first day of school is tomorrow!

Do You Believe in Magic?

http://bfuld.blogspot.com/2007/09/da-lifnei-mi-atah-omed.html

A wonderful post done by one of my favorites!

I Found Your Picture Today

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=8vniwpb.3davekon&x=0&y=-pr2718

The first batch of photos from Rome! Not all the pictures are labeled yet, but it will come!

Don't Know Much About History

Good morning from our beautiful apartment on Gianicolense! We woke up this morning to a new roommate – hooray! Our family for the semester is finally complete. It is nice to be fully settled into the apartment and have somewhat of an idea of what is going on.

Yesterday was a day of exploring the old city of Rome. The parts that people send postcards home of, not the homey part that we live in. We have decided that it is nice that we live outside of the ancient city, because if we lived inside it we never would venture out of it, but because we live outside it, we have literally the entire city open to us.

In the morning, 4 of us went to the local open air market that is about 4 blocks away from our apartment. It reminded me kinda of the West Side Market in Cleveland, but about 30 times smaller and much more chaotic. The 4 of us actually did pretty well in terms of ordering the things that we wanted. The night before we decided as an apartment that we wanted to cook dinner together – so this trip was primarily to get ingredients for this task. We were able to get lettuce (which actually turned out to be arugula), mozzarella, tomatoes, and a few other things. It was decided that going there was a great way to learn the names of things, and practice our Italian. So, you can bet that we will return!

After putting our stuff away, we headed up to school so that Molly could get a cell phone, and then we took a bus from up there to get to the Spanish steps. The first bus that we took dropped us off right by the tomb of the unknown soldier. Although the whole thing was very grand and beautiful, I just didn’t feel that it was as solemn as the tomb of the unknown soldier in Arlington. But it was quite neat to see, and it is certainly something that I would like to go back to and explore in its entirety.

We took the smallest bus possible from the wrong stop to the Spanish Steps – I don’t think that I have ever been more claustrophobic in my life. But, it was all worth it once we got to the Spanish Steps. Talk about breathtaking. How they were built without the modern tools that we have now is quite beyond me. The streets were swarming with people, but that didn’t take away from the beauty. It felt so calming to just sit on the steps and veg out and people watch. And believe me, the people watching here is pretty fabulous!
From there, we hiked up the gazillion stairs to look at the view and to walk inside our first church of the trip – Trinita dei Monti. The influence of Michaelangelo in there was just so prominate. Something tells me that will not be the only time that I feel that way in Italy.
We decided to just wander around from there and just meander. Each time we got to a corner, one of us had to make an executive decision as to which way to go. By going this we were able to see Le Quattro Fontane, Termini (the main train station in Rome), and the Basilica. We weren’t planning on seeing a single one of these important places in Rome, but there they were – small surprises around every corner.

The 5 of us came back to the apartment and decided to be cute and prepare dinner all together. It was adorable, and made it feel like a real family. We made spaghetti and garlic bread and a salad. When we sat down and toasted with our glasses of wine (with the bottle opened the correct way), it felt like home for the first time.

Now on to today…
Today was the first time that I really felt as if I was in Rome, and it was the first time that I came to the realization as to just how long this city has been around and the amount of history that it holds. After putzing around and getting Colleen (our new roommate) settled, Melanie, Molly, Sarah, and I set out for the Forum and the Colosseum.

Can I just say oh my goodness? The Colosseum is just breathtaking. Although we decided to wait until the summer crowds die down to actually go inside, just walking around it was enough to make our jaws drop and our eyes widen in order to take everything in. Check out the pictures, although they don’t quite do it justice, it is about as close any of you are going to get while not being here.

Even though we decided not to go inside the Colosseum, we chose to instead wander around the Forum. We entered through the Via Sacre and from there got to see Arch of Titus. I was particularly interested in this arch because it was erected in honor of the victories of Titus in Judea. The reliefs inside of the arch show the procession of the Roman soldiers carrying off items from the Temple in Jerusalem.

The 4 of us did a walk through of the Forum and decided almost immediately that the Italians need to be better about labeling what things are. In America if something is even slightly significant, it gets a label so the world can know its meaning. Here, not so much. We were each walking around with our guidebooks in hand trying to differentiate one piece of marble from the next. At the end of our tour through there, it was collectively decided that we all need to read up on our ancient Roman history and study our guidebooks and then come back. There is SO much to learn in that small plot of land, but I think in order to take it all in, you need to be prepared.

Molly, Colleen and I took a walking tour tonight that was led by some upper level students from AUR. The walking tour took us by many places that we might not have found otherwise. They pointed out some cute restaurants and bars and gelaterias(!). We decided the tour was helpful, but remembering exactly where everything is makes things slightly more complicated.
The rest of our roommates met us at the tram so we could all go to dinner together. We tried to go back as far as we could into Trastevre in order to find one of the hidden restaurants that had been pointed out to us earlier. We found a cute restaurant, but it wasn’t the one we had originally been thinking of. Yet, the food was scrumptious. I had this amazing tortellini…yum!

And now, here we are, back at the apartment. We are all trying to be patient and wait our turn on the computer. So, who knows when this will actually get posted. Good night, laila tov, and Buona Notte from Roma!

Please Bring Me My Wine

Things that I have learned thus far in Rome:
1. Don’t expect anyone to move terribly fast, because it just isn’t going to happen and you will wind up being disappointed
2. Pizza here is just magnificent. When I had it yesterday for lunch, I think I just about died and went to culinary heaven
3. The real reason that people get on and off the train without punching their cards isn’t because they aren’t paying, it is because they have monthly bus passes
4. Never ever pass up gelato!
5. Wandering is just as much fun (if not more!) than actually knowing where you are going
6. Don’t even think about trying to open a bottle of wine without a cork screw…
7. I am pretty much in love with my roommates!

Welcome to the daily run down of my second day in Rome! Today was not terribly exciting, but important never the less. Today was the first day that we ventured up to the AUR campus. Upon arrival we had asked how long of a walk it would be to get to school – and were told about 45 minutes. So, we decided to take the bus instead of walking.

The 5 of us left the apartment early after trying our hardest to conserve hot water by taking the shortest showers possible. We set out to get our hands on the monthly transportation pass that we need to get around the city. Our welcome packet had told us that they could be bought at any tabacci shop (local convenience store thing), but after walking quite a number of blocks we couldn’t find a single one that sold bus passes. Finally, Sarah (one of the roommates who took 2 years of Italian at G-Dubs) got up the courage to ask someone where we could find a place that sold bus passes and he responded in English by saying “oh! I sell here!” Problem solved.
The bus ride up to AUR was quite simple and took less than 10 minutes, so there is essentially no way that the walk takes 45.

AUR’s campus is tiny – very tiny, but incredibly cute and welcoming. We all spent time (a lot of time!) waiting to get all of our paperwork for getting our permits to stay. The people in charge made the gigantic mistake of not printing the papers out in alphabetical order. Now, if that had happened to me, I would have started to put them in some sort of order as I went through them but not these people! Many of us asked if we could help in some way, but we were always refused. So essentially the guys were going through hundreds of pieces of paper looking for a single one with our name on it. That to me is just plain stupid.
I also got a cell phone during this time. If you want the number, please let me know (or check my Facebook profile)! I get free incoming calls, so I would be delighted to hear from any of you!

Part of the afternoon was spent wandering around the area that the campus is in. We found food, the local café, the pharmacy, etc, etc, etc. The campus is situated in a cute little area with a lot to see, and it is the perfect central location to get to many parts of the city. The other part of the afternoon was spent in the computer lab checking email, sending IMs, checking the weather, and essentially doing all of the things that most of us would have done on a daily basis had we had internet. (Note: In the morning, someone is supposed to be coming to put the phone line and the internet connection in. HOORAY!)

After taking a quick walking tour with some former AUR students, we went for dinner. Sarah stayed in Trastevere and Melanie, Molly, and I came back to the area right around our apartment. We went to this little place not too far from where we live. I had an amazing bowl of vodka a la penne. Yummm! During that dinner, the three of us were in stitches laughing at each other. Molly who is allergic to cashews, almost ordered ravioli with nuts until we looked up what noci means in Melanie’s Italian phrasebook. Wouldn’t that have been a lovely call to Molly’s parents? I can only imagine how it would go: “you’re daughter is in the hospital because she ate something within the first 2 days that she is allergic to.”

We came back to the apartment and decided that we wanted to open a bottle of wine that we had bought the first day at our local grocery store. Yet, we had no corkscrew, so that presented a small problem. But don’t you worry – Melanie came to the rescue with this amazing contraption that had all these different knives on it and other such things. So, essentially we stood in our kitchen and dug out the cork piece by piece in order to get to the wine. It was such a treat to finally get the bottle open and be able to have all of us sit around and have a proper toast to being in Rome together!

When In Rome

Good morning from Roma! I can’t quite believe that I am actually here – but it certainly is for real. The people are different, the cars are different, the language is different…but so far I love it. The differences are what is going to make this semester so special and appealing. As I have said before, I want to learn and grow as a person. I have a feeling that this was a good place to pick to do it!

I arrived yesterday at Leonardo DiVinci airport after a 2.5 hour flight from London Gatwick. My flight was ok, but my time in Gatwick was just miserable. I cried when I left Stacey and Kurt (and when I say cried, I should have actually said bawled, because that is essentially what Stacey and I did). I was right to think that I would want as much time with them as possible, because I am already in the process of trying to figure out when I can next go back and see them. …And, on another note, I have decided that nothing in the UK airports makes sense! When you drive into the airport, there are no signs telling you which terminal you should go to – and Kurt told me that not all flights run by the same airline are in the same general area. WHAT? The other thing that drove me up a wall was that they don’t assign gates to flights until 1/2 hour before the flight. Now, how stupid is that? I guess at this point it doesn’t much matter, but seriously, do they have to make everything counter intuitive?

Once I got to Leonardo DiVinci I waited FOREVER for my bags. I swear, they were as slow as molasses in July. By the time they came out on the conveyer belt, I believe that I had landed about 40 minutes beforehand. It was my first, and most likely not my last experience with the ‘laziness’ of the Italians. Yet, after finally getting them, finding the AUR people was not a problem at all. I was able to check in quite easily, and within 20 or so minutes I was in a van heading towards my apartment!

My apartment is gorgeous. Although we are not right around the corner from school, we lucked out. The university just bought the apartment and redid it, so it is all new and clean. There are currently 5 of us living here, but we have an extra bed, so we are assuming that in the next few days we will get a sixth roommate. Of the 5 of us that are here, 4 of us are from AU, and one girl is from GW. It is nice for all of us to have something in common – living in DC. And so far, we have been getting along brilliantly!

After unpacking the 5 of us went for a walk down our street so that we could check out what was within walking distance. We were able to find something to eat (because by this point in the afternoon we were all famished) and a small grocery store where we picked up some basics to have in the apartment. In those two stops I came to find that I need to have my Italian class start. Because I don’t really know anything, it is somewhat difficult for me to do anything besides saying please and thank you. But, I am sure that the language skills will come in time.

After resting at the apartment for a bit, the 5 of us ventured out to find dinner. Lucciano, a full time student who helped us all get into our apartment, suggested that we go down to an area of town called Travestare. We left a bit earlier than we had planned on eating so we were able to walk around and people watch. Oh, and what amazing people watching there is here! The 5 of us opted for a cute restaurant in the area that looked busy – we took that as a sign that it was good. I had a gnocchi dish with mussels in it – when I ordered it, all I knew was that it was the house special – but oh how happy I was when I saw what it was when they brought it out! During dinner we sat around and talked about the things that we should know about each other (i.e. allergies, pet peeves, etc), and talked about funny stories and Disney movies, and so many other topics. We all seem pretty easy going, so I am far from concerned about us not getting along.

After dinner we had our first taste of Italian gelato. YUM! I had a cone of chocolate and coffee…can’t you just taste it in your mouth?!? It was sooo good. We walked for a bit, then hopped back on the tram to head back to the apartment. When we got to our stop, 2 of the girls were able to get off, but the doors closed on 3 of us! At the moment it was not so funny, but about 5 minutes later it was hysterical. So, note to self, get off quickly, if not you will be stuck inside.

Back in the apartment we had a quick pow wow about rules and plans for the morning and chores, and all the normal stuff that needs to be talked about when roommates move in together.

I have a good feeling about this semester. It is going to be wild and fun and educational and everything else all at the same time.

Just as a note: I should have regular internet access in our apartment before the end of the week. So, get skype and let me know your name so we can chat online!

Much love from Roma!!!

On an Evening in Roma

I don't yet have internet in my apartment, but I wanted to just write a quick post telling you all that I am in Rome safe and sound. I have moved into a beautiful newly rennovated apartment that isn't far from school. Also, I have 4 great roommates who I have been getting along with quite well thus far. A longer update will come as soon as I have internet, but until then, please be patient and send me emails updating me on your lives!

Much love from ROME!

So Take A Photograph

Picture update #1! Enjoy!!!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=8vniwpb.bv71k6zr&Uy=stmhpc&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0

I'll be the Queen and You'll be the King

It is hard to believe that my week here in the UK is almost over. Tomorrow morning (at the butt crack of dawn, mind you) I head off to Rome! In some ways I am so not ready, but in others I am just bursting out of the seams to just get there already.

But anyways, sorry about the delay in updating. I guess that this will probably be the first in many delays. I'm still not exactly sure what the Internet situation will be in Rome, but I am praying for wireless or at least broadband. So, with that, I will just get on with it...

Friday morning I woke up somewhat late and then sat and watched the memorial service for Diana with Stacey. It is kind of neat to say that I was here for the 10th anniversary, but I am not going to lie - the service was kind of boring. After watching everyone arrive and then laughing at all of the ridiculous hats Stace and I decided that we couldn't handle the over the top singing of the choir - so that was the end of that!

In the afternoon we ventured to Canterbury. No, I have never read Canterbury Tales, but I was still able to appreciate the beauty that has been preserved in this old town. It was so neat to walk to cobblestone streets and imagine what it would have been like hundreds of years ago. The area is now defiantly commercialized, and all the shops and stores have moved in there, but the old world charm has somehow been preserved.
When we were walking around the area there was a little puppet show going on called Punch and Judy. Stacey said that it is a very traditional show that has been around forever. She remembers sitting on the beach and watching it. I checked it out on wikipedia and found out that the show can be traced back to the 16th century - so seeing it in Canterbury was appropriate.

That night Stacey, her cousin Lisa, and I went out for dinner and a drink. We went to this cute place called Pizza Express and had amazing pizza. My pizza had artichoke on it, and Lisa tried it for the first time! I don't know how anyone could be in their 30s and not have tried artichoke - after all, I reckon it is one of the best vegetables out there! After eating dinner and having the most wonderful vanilla ice cream for dessert we walked around the corner to this little bar. Lisa and I were standing at the bar waiting for our drinks and Stacey went to grab a seat. She asked a waitress who was carrying all of these glasses if a table was taken and the girl dropped everything everywhere. Stace says that it is just like her to have her klutziness rub off on someone else like that. Glass and ice was everywhere - thank goodness no one got hurt.

Yesterday Kurt, Stace, Astin, and I went to Leeds Castle. Oh my goodness. Gorgeous is just about the only way to describe it. I said that I want to live there if for no other reason than the beautiful grounds. There were ponds with ducks and swans (black and white!), gardens with every color rose you could imagine. It was incredible. And the actual castle was just to die for. The rooms were magnificent, and impeccably decorated. Oh to be a queen and live in a castle...

I've Got My Eggs and I've Got My Pancakes Too

Ok, so a longer post will come in the morning, but for now I just want to let all of you out in the blog-o-sphere know more about the egg debate that has been going on since I arrived last Monday.
Today Stacey took me back to Tessco (the supermarket) so that I could take a picture of the eggs on the shelf, and not in the refrigerated section. Those pictures will also be up tomorrow (hopefully).
This evening I finally got smart and started looking online for information about refrigerating eggs. And, this is what the USDA says:

Why Should Eggs Be Refrigerated?
"Temperature fluctuation is critical to safety. With the concern about Salmonella, eggs gathered from laying hens should be refrigerated as soon as possible. After eggs are refrigerated, they need to stay that way. A cold egg left out at room temperature can sweat, facilitating the growth of bacteria. Refrigerated eggs should not be left out more than 2 hours. "

It also goes on to say:

"Over time, the white and yolk of an egg lose quality. The yolk absorbs water from the white. Moisture and carbon dioxide in the white evaporate through the pores, allowing more air to penetrate the shell, and the air cell becomes larger. If broken open, the egg's contents would cover a wider area. The white be thinner, losing some of its thickening and leavening powers. The yolk would be flatter, larger and more easily broken. The chalazae (kah-LAY-zuh), the twisted cord-like strands of egg white that anchor the yolk in the center of the white, would be less prominent and weaker, allowing the yolk to move off center. Refrigeration slows the loss of quality over time. "

And...to top it all off, the UK's Department for Food and Environmental Affairs says:

Why Eggs are Not Refrigerated
"Before purchase by the consumer, EC legislation requires that eggs are stored and transported at a preferably constant temperature. This is current practice within the UK egg industry and the reason why the majority of retail outlets' egg displays are not refrigerated. Changes in storage temperature and humidity can lead to condensation forming on the egg shell which can cause mould growth together with the possibility that any bacteria may infect the eggs as a result. After purchase, the consumer is advised to refrigerate the eggs to maintain freshness and reduce the possibility of bacteria growth resulting from exposure to the temperature and humidity variations of the domestic kitchen."

So, there you have it ladies and gentlemen, eggs SHOULD be refrigerated! This means that I am not the crazy one after all...