Photos you've been missing...

At the Tomb of the Scipios for Roman History class (I'm on the left)

The view from Castel Gandolfo

After climbing the Cupola at St. Peter's

An artsy picture at the Galleria D'Arte Moderna outside the Villa Borghese

Tuscany

Testing the waters on the island of Murano, Venice

Venice

9/28 - 10/14

9/28 - Friday

Tonight some of us met for our "Spirituality Evening". We went to a little area outside the Basilica di San Pietro, to a place called the centro di San Lorenzo. We met a group of people there, one Australian man stood out in particular because was foreign, yet very blended into the Italian culture. We had mass there after watching a video about the special "cross for youth across the world" that JP2 established during his papalcy. At this little church of San Lorenzo is that same cross. We had a brief mass, a mix of both English and Italian. Afterward, we had refreshments and were encouraged to talk to some of the locals that attended the church, but they didn't seem too interested. After all that was done, we went for dinner together to one of my favorite and simple restaurants outside Castel Sant'Angelo, which I think I've been to at least 5 times already.

9/29 - Saturday

I spent the day with Ashley, simply walking around. We had lunch at a simple Chinese restaurant near the Vatican. After that we went for gelato around the corner, which was a new place that I hadn't previously been to & I can't wait to take my family there when they come to visit me in November. The place was rated by TripAdvisor and, hilariously enough, has a Facebook page. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the place, but it's literally across the street from the outside walls of the Vatican area if you were walking around Rome. We also shopped through the tent area outside the Vatican. There were a ton of vendors with everything from Murano glass jewelry to Italian candy. They also had inexpensive movies in Italian, like Lady & the Tramp, Despicable Me (which Ashley bought), and many more. The weather was really nice & sunny so we just enjoyed the day walking around.

9/30 - Sunday

Today I went on a bike tour with a ton of friends down the Via Appia, passing the previously visited Tombs of St. Sebastian. It was fantastic until things started going downhill, especially for my poor friends Kevin & Rich. The bike chain on Rich's bike was irreparable, it just randomly broke. Then Kevin had a flat tire, which was another random bike event. When they thought they had finally fixed Rich's bike, he went to get on and ripped his shorts in a not-so-nice area. One top of all that, (when the rest of the group was done seeing everything & was on the way back) it started pouring rain - absolutely pouring. I waited with friends at Abbey Theater eating dinner & making sure they were okay. We had a great laugh about it the next day.

10/2 - Tuesday

Italians had a transportation strike today, for both buses & the metro system. I felt bad for the homestay students who lived 1-2 hours away because they had to get up at the crack of dawn to walk all the way to the Lepanto area for classes. This didn't help my Roman History presentation that was supposed to be today. Instead, I'm presenting in November - here's why: We were supposed to travel to the Museo Nazionale in Rome, but it's far & we needed transportation to get there. Without seeing the museum, my presentation wouldn't really make sense. So I rescheduled for the week after, only to cancel it again because I had fingerprinting scheduled during class - which I missed to sit in the rain & immigration center for 3 hours in the middle of nowhere in Rome.

10/4 - Thursday

There was a small trip to Cinecitta`, one of the most well known areas of Rome, especially to those who are interested in cinematography. We had a tour of Cinecitta`, which is a private filming city. We walked on sets, previously built sets that have been up for a while and sets that were in the making. James Franco was to be filming there the next day...so we chose the wrong day to go. But it was still an amazing experience! The set of the show "Rome" is there, as well as statues from "Gladiator" and "Cleopatra". We saw basically everything & it was a great experience!

10/5 - Friday

Today for Italian class, we went to Trastevere to prepare for our oral presentation. We were in pairs and had to interview different kinds of people in Trastevere. We had to interview a person who knows the area/has lived here a while, a tourist/someone who doesn't really know the area, and someone who lives outside of Trastevere who might know the area a little.

I met a ton of different people! One was a woman named Christina who was originally born and raised in Poland. She works at one of the gelatterias in Trastevere. She knows Polish, Italian, Spanish, and a little English. One of her favorite things to eat is any pizza with a drink. She likes the area of Trastevere, but it's usually the same every day, she said. It's quiet one moment and the next is crowded with tourists. Another woman, Francez, was born and raised in Brazil. She works at a sunglass shop in Trastevere. She's been married for 11 years and doesn't have any kids, but she met her husband in Brazil and came to Italy with him. One of her favorite places is called Bar BumBum. Lilitania, another woman we interviewed, was born in Trastevere and knows the area very well. She has 2 kids and she even has family in the area. We also met an artist who was shy but had a lot to say.

10/6 - Saturday

We left for Venice first thing this morning to catch the 3 hour train! I had to get up extra early to catch the first bus to the Metro & take the Metro 5 stops to Termini. I was really paranoid I was going to miss the train and I barely slept the night before because I was so excited. But I made it on time! We arrived in Venice around 12:15pm and took another train from the station to the town that our hotel was in, called Treviso. The only thing about being in Treviso is that if you want to go to Venice from there, you have to take a really long train (which is free) but it's long because it's literally the last stop.

Treviso is a nice little area. There was a Celtic Bar down the street from the hotel, so we had lunch there. (I missed French Fries sooooo much!) Then we went to Venice & OMG it was AMAZING! I love the water & I love being around the water so I was set for Venice. However, after the research I did on Venice before going there, I assumed that it rained most of the year and I would need boots. Plus I also assumed, with all the water, that pollution & funky smell would also follow. But I was wrong...and wrong. Surprisingly, Venice was clean, blue, and absolutely beautiful! It is definitely a floating gem. The only problem I had there was that my camera died...literally when I got there. Which sucked...a lot. But I'm snagging from friend's pictures off FB so I never forget Venice!

If you ever go to Venice (which should be on everyone's Bucket List), here are some tips: the metro is on the water via boats so be careful of the system because it gets extremely tricky; the language is a little different than Roman Italian because they have some dialect going on; the men are vicious - there was a minor episode in Murano; they're known for fish & an alcoholic "Spritz" (which is sparkling white wine with some kind of fruity juice, usually red or orange & they are delicious...but be careful because they aren't as strong as in Rome!); Venice is also OBVIOUSLY known for their masks - if they don't seem overly priced, try to get one; the same goes for Murano glass jewelry - they are the same quality in Rome, the SAME exact thing, except MUCH less expensive so don't go crazy; the best place for food is a little restaurant behind the Murano Glass Museum - I skipped the tour & went for food. It was amazing & the people were very friendly, though they may have felt bad for me because I was the only one there - all my other friends went to the Museum Tour. But it's a little place with delicious, inexpensive food in MURANO on the island, NOT IN VENICE.

When we first got to Venice, we visited the Basilica di San Marco which was gorgeous. Venice is built around this huge square with the Doge Palace (Palazzo Ducale) and the Basilica. It was unbelieveably beautiful! While we had a few hours of free time in Venice, I went with some faculty members to the town of Dorsoduro in Venice. Together, we walked around, had some gelato (which was one of the best gelato places I've been to so far), and had a spritz. The town was very simple, but the alleyways & streets in Venice are extremely narrow and you can easily get lost - so be careful.

After we had time to ourselves, we all went to dinner in Treviso to a little restaurant which majored in fish & it was delicious! Though most of the seafood had eyeballs in them so some of the girls were a little freaked out. After dinner, we all took the train back to Treviso. While some students went to sleep immediately after a long day, I went with some friends to explore the nightlife. Down the street a couple blocks from the hotel was a main square with tables setup outside. The kids were certainly out to play because most of the people there were between 15-30 years old, enjoying drinks & catching up with friends. So 5 of us ladies each enjoyed a drink and talked about life...and lovely Venice. Then we went back to the hotel to sleep.


10/7 - Sunday

We had to get up early for breakfast & to checkout of the hotel. We took the little train back to Venice to explore & go to mass. I had gnocchi before 11am for 10E at a little place I found & it was sooo worth it. I love gnocchi - my new favorite Italian dish! Later, we toured the Doge's Palace, which was mind-blowing. It was always one of those places I heard about in Italian class and shook it off because I'd never been there...but suddenly I was in Venice, with a ticket in hand, walking into the legendary Doge Palace. And holy cow - was it huge. This place has more than 40 rooms, a prison (which I walked through & must have been 2 miles long), through the Bridge of Sighs, an entire weaponry exhibit, and all over the rest of the Palace! This place is monstrously HUGE! If you ever go to Venice, make this the top of your list - you literally get lost in this place. I did like 3 times! So make sure you spend a solid 2 hours looking through everything there! Especially go through the prison! Not many other students found the entry to the prison because it was a little door in a corner of a ginormous room - but you have to find it and walk through the prison. It was unforgettable!

I went to Murano today with some friends. When we got there, I felt my feet swelling & ended up at that little restaurant on the island that I previously mentioned. The rest of them went through the tour at the Glass Museum which I was thrilled to go through anyway so I didn't regret skipping it. Then we all met up afterward & relaxed by the water for a while. After that, we found this bar with gelato, pizza, and drinks & decided to eat and save our energy. We were relaxing and met up with other students to explore the stores down this long street by the water, just to look at all the glass exhibitions in the store windows - which was pretty cool!

We left for Rome on the train, but there were so many delays that it took 6 hours more or less to get back to Rome. Funny story on the train: this random drunk Asian guy came onto the train, saw this guy Pat (who was sitting diagonally from me, but we faced each other because the 8 seats were facing each other) and asked Pat about the car number on his ticket. But he wasn't extremely sober...so his English was practically incoherent and Pat was like, wth? After he told him that he was, in fact, on the wrong train car, the guy leaned in, trying to kiss him and Christina, the girl sitting next to him, pulled him away. But the guy kept trying to lean into him for a kiss, and we told him to go away. We were laughing about it for the rest of the trip - LOL.

It was long, but luckily I got home right before 1am and crashed because I was so exhausted and had to be up for class the next day.

10/8 - Monday

We had a brief trip to a church off the metro, but we didn't spend much time in it. However, this little church did contain Caravaggio's paintings of St. Paul and St. Peter.

10/9 - Tuesday

My fingerprinting experience: I missed my Roman History class (and class trip to the Roman Forum) to get my fingerprints done to satisfy my immigration status. I went with a few other friends, who also had their fingerprinting appointments on the same day & time, to the metro. But we had to transfer to the Termini stop to go down the B Line (Termini is practically Grand Central Station to the Italians, or Metro Station if you know DC well enough). So we got off in the middle of nowhere, ran for the bus we needed to get on, which drove us to the middle of nowhere. In the middle of this "middle of nowhere" was the immigration record building place we finally needed to get to! We showed the police our permesso receipts (proving we had fingerprints on that day at that time) and sat around for 1 hour outside while it poured rain. Thankfully we were all under a tent, but still...then when we finally got in the building, we sat around for another 30-60 minutes while we waited to go into this room of computers for our fingerprinting. They were quick about it though and they didn't use ink, instead it was just a scanner. Thank God!

Then we had to wait in the middle of nowhere for this stupid bus to go all the way back to the metro, to go all the way back to Termini, to go all the way back to St. John's. I spent a solid 3-4 hours going to and from this place. A day wasted in Rome. F my life.

10/10 - Wednesday

Trastevere with Sarah: Sarah's parents aren't coming for family week, instead they came this week (10 days actually). However, they were going to Venice and Florence during the week so Sarah invited a few ladies to their apartment in Trastevere to spend the night, because we all deserve a ladies night! So she bought a bottle of red wine & a bottle of white wine. There were 2 bottles of limoncello in the apartment fridge, but we only had 1 glass each. Then we went out to Trastevere around 11:30pm or midnight for a Spritz. And after the wonderful ladies night, plus all that alcohol, it was one of the best nights since I've been here & I slept like a rock. So a big thanks to Sarah and her family for giving us all a great night!

10/11 - Thursday

After we got up and prepped for our day, we had breakfast in Trastevere. We went to a little cafe` in Trastevere for a cornetto & a cappucino. Well, I had prosciutto instead of a cornetto. But it was a beautiful day out! Some of us had earlier classes in the day, but we went back to the apartment, got our things together at last, and left for our classes. I only had philosophy class at 3pm, where we went to a gelatteria near the Vittorio Emanuele metro stop. I have to bring my family there when they come because this place was amazing! It's one of the original gelatterias in Rome, in business since about 1880. The gelato was delicious, inexpensive, and worth every cent.

10/14 - Sunday

I was planning to go to St. Peter's for mass today, but that didn't happen. Here's why: I got up early, got ready for my lovely Sunday in Rome, and set off on my adventure since the rest of the students are away this weekend traveling the world during their 3 day weekend. I just decided to explore a bit. So I left early enough to grab breakfast. I stopped at a little bar around 11am for a cappucino & panecotta (which was fantastic, with berries on top!). Somehow that came out to 14E, idk how, but it did. Whatever, it was worth it.

After my little breakfast, I walked another block to St. Peter's. I was prepped for mass with 40 minutes to spare...then look at the mile long line of people & was like...OMG! I asked the guards if it was the line for security to get into mass & they said yes. The line extended from the security guards & metal detector station all the way across the square. There was no way I would be on time for the 12:15 mass. Alright, where to now?

I took the metro back to Lepanto and heard church bells. There's a church near St. John's, so after finally finding the front door, I went in and sat down for the Italian mass at noon! Just in time! The church was cute, homey (even though I wasn't a native Italian), and so close by. It was great! Then I went back to St. John's to get some research & work done, went to have lunch at Piccolo Diavolo, and now I'm doing more work & research at St. John's.

A beautiful Sunday complete :)

After a month in Rome...

After living in Rome for a month, here's what I've learned:

- There are different kinds of Nutella! Yep, it's true! Read about it here!

- Finding peanut butter is rare.

- You don't have to pay taxes on food & clothes. You pay what the tag says, no extra crap.

- Teenagers are still as aggravating as in the US, even if they don't speak the same language.

- When a random person wants to hug you because you're cute, just do it & don't ask questions.

- Italian men wish you were wearing as little clothing as possible, but since that's trashy here, they'd rather just do it themselves or undress you with their eyes. Either way, seeing you naked will still be accomplished if they think you're gorgeous.

- One of the first things someone will say to you, if they know you're American, is "Obama or Romney?"

- So far, I have counted 10 couples kissing making out in public that I've walked by. Awkward.

- Italians drive as many mopeds/vespas as cars on the road.

- They have no need for stop lights & speed limits here. Actually, I haven't seen ONE speed limit sign anywhere.

- There's a church about every 7 blocks here so the only excuse you should use when you don't get to church on Sunday is that you were insanely hungover. Don't say you're atheist in a catholic country.

- The clubs (discotecas) here are SERIOUS. These guys want to DANCE WITH YOU! Prepare yourself.

- Don't tell anyone where you're really from when they ask you. Only tell the people you actually know from the US. Or else they'll call you "Snooki" for the rest of the night...

- Food at grocery stores are cheaper than vending machines.

- Everyone is a morning person in Italy.

- The women here don't use toilet paper. Ever.

- Drinking coffee every morning can accomplish anything.

- Shoes/slippers must always be worn around the house. Even after you shower.

- Never eat at your desk. There's a separate table in your room for that.

- Underwear & regular clothes are done separately. Always.

- Your bed isn't for your backpack after a long day. It's only for you to sleep in, so the rest of your things should never be on your bed because they carry germs.

- Never charade "toilet paper" when you don't know what it is in Italian. Ever.

9/16 - 9/27

(I'm currently trying to put my pictures on FB in order so that you can read while you follow along in my photo album.)

Last I left off, I was telling you about the Cupola (Dome) of St. Peter's Basilica that I was climbing. Those were also the last set of pictures that I had on FB. I uploaded about 400 new pictures this week from the last 2 weeks of my life in Italy. Here's what I've been up to in the last 2 weeks:

9/16 - Sunday

I had the lazy Sunday Syndrome...badly. I slept in & woke up before 11am (yes, that is what I call sleeping in here). I got up, took a shower, and got ready to head to campus. I tried to get some work done, but I just couldn't focus at all. In the late afternoon, I went to mass with some friends to a church in Rome called Scale Santo, or the Church of the Holy Stairs. Now you might be asking yourself, Sooo what's up with these stairs? This church, according to legend, contains a flight of stairs which Jesus used while meeting with Pontius Pilate before he was crucified. St. Helena actually brought them to Rome, I believe. So yes, there is a special history to these stairs. You can use these stairs, but you can only climb them on your knees.

If you want to read more about the Scale Santo, check this out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scala_Sancta
http://www.medjugorjeusa.org/holystairs.htm
After mass, we all went to dinner at a local restaurant.

9/17 - Monday

For my Liturgy class, we met at Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the most important churches in Rome. It was absolutely gorgeous, as you can tell by my photos. We also went to the church of Santa Pudenziana & another church that I couldn't find on google maps (and can't remember the name of). The churches were all beautiful, so be sure to checkout the pictures on my FB.

9/18 - Tuesday

There are pictures on FB of a ton of groundwork. These are temples, where we went for Roman History class. Go through them, today was a little uneventful besides walking around the temple areas for class.

9/19 - Wednesday

My first paper for my Liturgy class is due Friday by midnight. I finished it beforehand, I just want other people to read it & see what they think. But I ended up writing this paper on the church of the Holy Stairs that I went to for Sunday mass. I had to write a detailed paper on the section of the church I was in for Sunday mass. I had to write about how the paintings related to the liturgy. The ceiling had a crack in it & Mary's eyes couldn't be seen in the painting on the ceiling. It was random but unique. I also have to study for the Italian written exam on Friday. The Italian oral exam is tomorrow & I have to study for that too. There's a given situation: the 22 year old daughter, who just graduated from college with her degree in architecture, wants to go to Australia with her rock band Australian boyfriend. The father has to give an answer. Each student is given 1 of 2 characters - they are either the father or daughter in this particular situation. I was given the 22 year old daughter. We (as a pair because I get paired with someone else) have to talk as fluently as possible for 5-10 minutes.

9/20 - Thursday

The Italian oral exam ended up going really well. My friend Sarah and I did well. I went twice because there were an odd number of people in my class, but it was really easy.

9/21 - Friday

The day of the Italian written exam. I was really nervous, but I think I did alright. I don't get my final grades until next week, but I'm done with my first Italian class. I get next week off for Italian classes & the week after, I start my next advanced Italian class.

I think it's really funny that my Italian school hosted a wine tasting for their students 2 hours before the written final today. I did sign up to go, but I got there 30 minutes late with a friend & ended up leaving because it was so crowded. We just decided to go for a snack/gelato somewhere nearby.

Knowing full well that I had to be up at 8am the next morning for Tuscany, I decided to go out for the Spirituality evening event. The program hosts a Spirituality evening every Friday night or so just to add a religious event to the week. It adds something different. Tonight it was a talk by 3 nuns living in Rome. Afterward, we went to a little restaurant for dinner. Then my friends and I decided to grab some drinks after the dinner (on our own, not with the nuns - that would be a little weird).

We went to the home of these nuns, who talked to us about the "Year of Faith" and the events going on in Italy throughout the year. 2 of the 3 nuns work for the Vatican. 1 of the nuns founded the website for the Vatican! After the lecture, we went for dinner to a restaurant nearby. Then my friends and I went to Campo Dei Fiori for drinks after. But after one quick drink, we all went back to our respectful rooms (apartment for me) and slept because we had to be up early Saturday morning for Toscana!

9/22 - Saturday

We got up early, as planned, and left on a very long bus trip for Tuscany! Today we went to Siena, which I think was the most gorgeous of all the towns we went to over the weekend. First we went to the Museo Civico and the Palazzo Pubblico in the Piazza del Campo. Then I got lunch with my friends and had some kind of cooked pork (Siena is known for their meats). After that, we went to the Duomo and the house of Catherine of Siena. Then we went to the hotel we were staying at both Saturday & Sunday nights - Hotel Minerva. I went out with friends to the center of the city for drinks, making sure I tried some Grapa (a whiskey kind of after-dinner drink).
9/23 - Sunday

We got up early, had breakfast at the hotel, and left to go to Arezzo. We walked through Arezzo, with time for an Italian mass (which was really different). We visited the frescoes of Piero della Francesca in the church of St. Francis (www.pierodellafrancesca.it). Then we left for Castel del Trebbio, which was BEAUTIFUL! We had a large dinner with a wine tasting! We had the grand tour and wine tasting of the Castel del Trebbio with dinner (www.vinoturismo.it). Then we went back to the hotel.

9/24 - Monday

We checked out of the hotel & left for Pienza & Orvieto. I bought cheese in Pienza because they are known for their pecorino cheese! It was such a great weekend!

9/25 - Tuesday

For Roman History class, we went to the Tomb of the Scipios, one of the most interesting families in Italian History. We each got a ticket that allowed us to explore the tombs for an hour. We each got a hard hat & hair net to put on before the hard hat. That was the only class I had today. Then I went with friends to Piazza di Spagna and explored a local supermarket, which I realized is way cheaper than the snacks I've been buying from the vending machines at school. So maybe I'll buy stuff from there when I'm feeling better.

9/26 - Wednesday

I feel really sick today. Sunday I had a scratchy throat, but I'm just a mess now. The stupid weather keeps changing. Luckily I have time to relax because I didn't have class today, but I did have to go to school to work on a project with my partner. But whatever.

9/27 - Thursday

I've seriously had enough of the world today. Between life & being sick, I'm just fed up with everything & I've had enough. I'm way too pissed off today. It's just one of those stupid days...

The Italian Man who was on me like white on rice

Remember my friend Katie wanted to set me up with some guy named Jonathan? Okay...so here's what happened & why it was so crazy.

Katie & I left together from St. John's and took the bus to this place in Rome called Largo Argentina. We were meeting her boyfriend Luca & his friend Jonathan there at the bookstore by the bus stop. But when we got there, they weren't there yet. We walked around for a little while until we saw Luca. Jonathan drove his Mini Cooper convertible there, so the 3 of us got in his car & he drove us to this restaurant/bar place near Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano.

We ate french fries and had a couple drinks, but I was getting bad vibes from this guy the entire night. I couldn't talk to him in Italian without him making fun of me - either because I was saying something wrong or he was being an ass & misinterpreting what I was saying. He was just creepy. He was attractive, but really creepy and that turned me off entirely. So when we left, I was so nervous because I wanted to get away from this guy. But instead Katie wanted to go for a walk & this guy Jonathan had the keys to the car so I figured why not.

So we all went for a walk around the Piazza, which was literally down the street from the restaurant. He had his arms around me and we sat down on a bench in the piazza. He kept trying to get closer & closer to me, but I wasn't feeling it, which I think he realized because he shifted and gave me space. By this point, I was pretty tipsy, sick from the drinks, and mentally exhausted from translating. But I had to push through. I was sitting around thinking of simple questions to ask him while I thought through the pros & cons of the night. Here's what I came up with:

Pros: He's attractive. He has 2 jobs - a hip hop dance teacher & a vehicle salesman (for both motorcycles/vespas and cars). He speaks Italian & enough English to carry a decent conversation. Cons: He is super creepy & more busy undressing me with his damn eyes than he is holding a conversation with me. He flat out asked me what I thought of being in his bed with him & whose place we should go to. All he's been doing is trying to get me drunk, makeout with me, and get me in bed.

Yeah...definitely not liking this guy.

He DID try to kiss me. The whole painful walk back to his car. But I kept refusing him & told him I was difficult. He told me he liked me, but after that night, I told Katie I never wanted to see him again.

And that is what Italian men try to do when they think American women are easy.

Luckily, I'm not easy ;)