It's weird, but I like learning

You read that right. When the right subject comes along I suppose you just...enjoy it. This morning we started our Layers of Rome course, starting at Tiber Island (which is about a 7 min tram ride from my apartment...that's a good thing). Remember the asshole Professor? He's much more tolerable when explaining the origins of the Basilica de San Bartolomeo. It used to be the Temple of Aesculapius, the Greek god of medicine and healing. He carries a staff with a snake coiled around it and supposedly visited the island in the form of a serpent (hence the symbol for medicine being the serpent and staff). Interesting stuff right? There is also a hospital on the island now. I hope I never have to take a tour of that facility. As interesting as the tour was, it was hard to stay awake listening to the professor's british accent. He sounded a lot like a book on tape.

The picture above was taken inside the Basilica. It was constructed in the late 900's over the old temple of Aesculapius and was used as both a church and a forum. The picture on the left is of the outside of the building, as well as the pigeons taking refuge from the rain that day. There were a lot of pigeons. I used to chase pigeons. I miss chasing pigeons. Enough about pigeons.

No crazy excursions today so this one will stay short. Us guys are making Ravioli con Carne e Ricotta e...Spinach. Yum in my tum. Then it's Morgan's birthday tonight (a girl on the trip) and no class tomorrow. The perfect equation for a wonderful night. 

Another long day, another long night

Remember when I said we'd watch Zoolander? That never ended up happening. We decided that an early night was overdue...instead a bunch of the group came to our apartment and left around 2am. Tuesday morning came and we met our 'Layers of Rome' teacher. He's british and either has the driest sense of humor i've ever heard or is an asshole. As of now it's leaning toward the latter. The class consists of meeting on-site at various locations around Rome and learning about the history of various time periods associated with wherever we are that day. He demands that we always be promptly on time, but I think he's forgetting two key things.

1. We are college students and waking up is hard sometimes (I know, cry me a river)
2. We have no idea where any of these places are yet

Regardless, I'm still very excited to start touring Rome for a grade. Next we had Italian Language, which was a lot more fun. Our teacher is very enthusiastic yet refuses to speak a single word of English. She can, and very well I might add, but won't cut us any slack by using it. She's a remarkably effective teacher considering I can't understand 90% of what she says.

After class, five of us decided that it was time to get pillows that we didn't need to fold into quarters to enjoy mildly. So we set off on what we were told would be a quick and fairly straight walk...By the time we realized that we couldn't walk through Castel Sant'Angelo it proved to be quite the opposite of quick and fairly straight.

Way we were told we could go

Way we ended up going

That pretty much sums up the afternoon. Two and a half hours later we returned home with brand new pillows eager to be broken in; however, we had a long night planned ahead so the inaugural slumber would have to wait until much later. Tired and beaten, we went to the supermarket and made the executive decision to go American for dinner: A sandwich. Not a panini. A sandwich. We bought some deli meat and processed cheese, slapped it together, and nourished ourselves. I won't go into detail (as I can barely remember), but the rest of the night involved me and a nice chianti (cue that weird thing Anthony Hopkins does) getting to know each other quite well. 

Yesterday finished introducing the culture part of my trip. Today began the food portion (get it, food portion). Our professor writes for one of the top news journals in Italy in the Food and Wine section. We will be learning all about Italian food industry as well as traditions and stylings of Italian cuisine. The wine seminars start in February. That's all for now. I'm gonna keep testing out my new pillow. Yay.

First day of school + Alone in Rome

Last night was a quick break from the culture shock of Rome as the group went to an Irish bar called Scholar's lounge. It was filled with other American students studying abroad, all there to watch the Bears-Seahawks game...Let's skip that. After the game the bar hosted karaoke night. I didn't partake, but there are 119 nights left and I can honestly say that I will get my hands around that mic soon enough.

Our first day of classes began today, we met our professors and watched a short little movie (below: WATCH) that I can now attest truly exemplifies the way Italians act. After a short lunch break we had our first academic experience abroad: Italian Culture and Society. Our professor compared being abroad to the scene in Dead Poets Society where Robin Williams meets the students and makes them stand on their desks. This was a pro. Then he put me to sleep. That was a con. So far for the semester he's even stevens.

After an hour and a half of keeping my eyelids open with toothpicks, I went on a little excursion into Rome (looking for a SIM card for my iPhone). I found out that the store I was looking for was on Via del Corso, which is roughly the Michigan Avenue of Rome. There was Adidas, Nike, and a bunch of other shops (I only deviated from my plan to the phone store for shoes, obviously). Anyway, after getting excessively lost for about 30 minutes, I finally found the store and got what I wanted only to find out my phone wouldn't work with the SIM (insert swear here). The means justified the ends however, as I saw some sort of Russian politician surrounded by about 20 police vehicles. I was nearly knocked out of the street by officers standing by, but i'm ok no need to worry.

When I got home the other guys let me know the plan for the night which involved cooking our first family-style dinner: Bruschetta, caprese salad, and spaghetti pomodoro with sausage. I actually made a dinner. No microwave and no straight out-of-the-box BS. It was delicious...it was alright. We have room for improvement in the next 4 months. Right now we're just hanging out in the apartment, debating on what movie to watch. It's looking like Zoolander.

Italian nightlife is...interesting to say the least

Ciao a tutti!

That means 'hello everyone' in Italian. Cool right? Last night started off with the 6 guys on our trip navigating our way around the streets of Rome blindly looking for what was supposed to be the best pizza we would have in Italy. 45 minutes and 4 alleys later we finally found it, and it didn't disappoint. It was an actual Italian pizzeria. We discovered this because not one waiter knew English. I had my first experience with a severe language barrier. Ordering was simple enough, I just pointed to the menu and hoped the pizza I ordered would be edible (as I am still adjusting to not being excessively picky). I ordered a Parmigiana pizza (mozzarella, parmesan, and eggplant) and, as you probably assumed, I ate the whole thing swiftly. I wish I'd brought my camera to show it off, but I guess it'll just have to stay my little secret.

Our next adventure began when our whole group reconvened for what would become an absolutely ridiculous night out. The club we went to was called "Gilda" which we later found out is where all of the celebrities go when they're in Rome. That was probably why the cover was 20 euro (35 dollars for those who are counting). Our jaws dropped as i'm sure yours just did, but alas it was night 2 so we all paid. Drinks were also 20 euro, which we did not pay for. We had some judgement skills left. The bar was gorgeous, the cross dressers and drag queens were not. About 20 creepy Italians later, we all left the bar after yours truly got kicked out (not for being unruly, but trying to de-escalate a situation). We all took cabs home and enjoyed a final glass (bottle) of wine before bed. I need to learn how to not log in to Facebook after nights like this (see status).

Waking up today was a bit of a challenge, but I supposed that's something to get used to. Apparently every Sunday there is a huge market, one of the most famous in Rome, set up right outside our apartment. Anything you could ever want they had. We met up with a group of Italian students who would serve as our guides for the day as we were challenged to see who among us could cook the best Italian food for our new Italian compatriots. It turned out to be the Italians, who ended up cooking for us instead. Still, it was a lovely experience and we made some new friends. I am exhausted and now it is nap time.  We're all going to a pub later to watch the Bears game, and then some karaoke. Thankfully it's during waking hours, and hopefully I don't embarrass myself. 

Do as the romans do

Today was my first full day in Rome, and let me tell you about it. We woke up around 10am (3am your time) and took the tram to our new meeting place: a bar called 79ers. We were given a croissant and a cup of espresso as they are customary elements of any good Italian breakfast. After we sat around for a while, we were taken to a ristorante where I had not pizza. The meals here are two courses, which I wasn't sure about, so inevitably I got full after the first course...which was pasta. Delicious. The second course was chicken a la something. I hear it was good but as its only day 2, I wasn't quite ready to try the bony veiny pollo. Still looked amazing though.

After the meal we split up into groups and received a packet of pictures. They were of famous Italian landmarks (The Colosseum, Pantheon, you know no big deal). The 32 of us spent the afternoon running around Rome trying to get the most pictures, running past locals and making it very clear that we were those obnoxious Americans that they warned their kids about.


3 hours later my legs fell off. Now I'm in bed nursing my blisters. Im positive I walked more today than all of Winter Break. Now I'm going to take a nap. The night has a pizza and a bottle of chianti in store for me. Yay.

First Day

So the first day is winding down, and let me tell you about a few things:

Flights are long and tedious
Baggage claim is abysmal
Mountains are gorgeous
Colors are vibrant
Pizza is amazing

Thats about it for now. Oh yea, walked past the Pantheon today, no big deal.

REVAMP: Me, Rome, and some other places I suppose

Here we are again. I haven't blogged in just over a month now, yet it still feels like I never really left. Now the question that begged to be answered is asked once more: Are you sure this is happening? Well I most certainly have been wondering the same question. In about five hours my flight departs for Rome. To be honest it hasn't really hit me yet despite the months and months of preparation...it may be because most of that preparation came from constant reminders from my mom or Marisa (school mom). Either way, it may be hitting me now, but beter late than ever.

Right now I'm sitting in my basement while my dad works. This sort of thing has become familiar to me over the last month of sitting around, watching Netflix, and pretty much doing copious amounts of nothing. I am leaving all my familiars behind, but that's the point right? Removing myself from my comfort zone to experience something new is the whole reason I'm doing this.

Prepare to embark with me on a journey that will probably be less grandiose than I'm making it out to be; however, there should be an adventure or two to be had within the four months, and I'd love to tell you all about it.