Picturesque

This is going to be a gallery of pictures rather than an actual post because...well...this weekend was pretty uneventful. So while I enjoy the couple on the television ice skating to "I'm a Barbie Girl, in a Barbie World" (the guy is Ken, the girl is Barbie, and they even have pink little brushes for her platinum blonde hair)...

Seriously, you can't make this up. EPIC.

My sad attempt at getting a picture of this epic performance...notice the pink blow-up Barbie chair and the girl's Barbie shirt!

Anyway, I have decided to entertain you the only way I know how to through the internet...

With my camera!

FOOD

I cooked dinner for my roommate's one night. Homemade mac n' cheese! Italian style!

Look Mom! I'm cooking!

Yummmmmmmy!

SKETCHES

Ok, so I've never been terribly good at this sketching thing (architecture classes, unfortunately, never really taught me how to), but I am most proud of these sketches I have done over the course of three weeks. They are gesture drawings, as I can't draw picturesque sketches for the life of me, and are done with heavy charcoal. 

You'll notice I like to draw parts of buildings, not whole buildings. 

Plan and Section of the Pantheon 

I *love* columns!

And perhaps the most epic picture of the weekend....

Yes, I bought the first Harry Potter book in Italian. I'm cool. I know. 

Terribly Inconvenient

Oh Italy. There are so many things I don’t know about you. Perhaps I should have done more research before I left.

A bus strike? Really? On a day where I *must* take the bus clear across town and back for a site visit and classes?

According to one of my professors, bus strikes occur at least once a month here. So, at what point does a strike become absolutely useless? When there are websites set up to specially let the “everyday tourist” know that one will be occurring for the next 24 hours and to plan accordingly.

Well, that’s my opinion anyway. But nobody asked me.

Regardless, the degree to how inconvenient my day was yesterday was slightly lowered due to the conversations I had that afternoon while trying to catch one of the few buses actually still traveling around town. Apparently, even though these strikes happen all the time, some workers do not take part in them. They continue to work, which is the only reason my fellow travelers and I made it anywhere on time yesterday.

After having class near the Termini station yesterday, I had 45 minutes to get across town to my University. From my apartment to my school alone, it is already a 20-minute walk, so the likelihood of me making it on time by walking from across town was very low. I found the bus area I needed and stood there, my backpack in my hands (way too many valuables on that particular day for me to leave it on my back at a crowded termini station). There were dozens of people waiting, and few of them actually knew why there were so few buses.

I had three different sets of people come up to me as I stood there and ask *me* what was going on. Apparently on this particular day, I looked like I had information? Or maybe I looked the least menacing as everyone who talked to me spoke English in some form? Well, whatever it was, I told them what I knew about the strike. They knew very little about Italian bus strikes (as did I), but I’m sure I played it off as if I actually knew what I was talking about.  

Finally, a bus arrives at our bus stop. Granted, there was no number on this bus. When it stopped along the curb and the doors opened, everyone clamored inside. I joined more out of fear of not getting to class on time (again…I had had another bus situation two days ago and was late for this same class) than anything else.

I would also like to note that even though I have been here for three weeks, this is the first time I have ridden the bus by myself. Continuing…    

Once on, we began to move throughout the city. Within a mile of our departure, a man on the back of the bus was *screaming* in English to be let off the bus. Either the bus driver did not hear him or did not care, but the poor man was not let off. It was a little terrifying, to be honest, when you are in such a confined space and someone is yelling at the top of his lungs. I hated myself for bringing my computer with me on that day out of fear of losing it. I found myself jammed against an American family from California who, again, asked me what was going on (although this time, I think they asked me because I said “I’m sorry” in English when I was shoved into them multiple times). They were extremely nice, and we talked throughout the crowded bus ride. Once I saw a recognizable part of town, I pushed and shoved my way to the door of the bus just in time to be let off. The idea of staying on that bus much longer was not in the least bit pleasing.

And I made it to class on time!

So to describe my day yesterday: Terribly Inconvenient.

Although the museum I went to yesterday was pretty sweet!

Italy vs. Europe

They showed us this video during Orientation last week at school. From everything that I have seen over the last few weeks, it is completely true and hysterical. 

BTW, the Italians actually did clap when our plane landed in Rome!

Ciao for now!

Those are Potatoes?!

Roma is known for many things, and as I am quickly learning, the acclaim that this city receives because of these things is completely and totally justified. They weren’t kidding when they said that wine tastes better than water here (which, if you know me, is a hard thing to accept…but it’s true). They weren’t kidding when they said that a gelato shop or a café is on every corner (it’s like Starbuck’s or Walgreens, I swear). They weren’t kidding when they said that Italians like to wine and dine for hours at a time (we haven’t once been glared at judgmentally while sitting at a table in a restaurant for too long…actually, the waiter refuses to return unless you call them over for the check).

We’ll just assume here that “they” represents every person who has studied abroad before me, as there are many of you, and every adult at my church. I swear, Italy must have been the place to be for the last 50 years…but I’m getting off topic…

So when they said that the food was the best I’d ever have the privilege of enjoying? Well…it took a few days, but that statement is definitely true.

Restaurants / Eating Out

Nearly ever corner looks like this...

I’m not a picky person by nature when it comes to food. I can eat pretty much anything (or at least try it once), but when it came to picking a restaurant to eat at for that night, I would always insist upon the same places that I knew I liked. It was habit; I like habits. Anyway, I was always paranoid about getting food poisoning or wasting money on a meal I didn’t enjoy.

In Rome, the whole area is so new that you have to try different places. In fact, I want to. We’ll walk by a shop that smells delicious and insist on eating there the next day. In the United States, I would have dismissed the little shop and not returned. However, in Rome, we always go back. We always try that little corner restaurant or café that looks so good because it’s there and we can. I haven’t really thought about being picky, and I’ve been oddly open about trying anything. The only bad food I have had here was in really touristy areas, which I knew would be true. As a result, my first meal in Italy was a little disgusting (the sauce on my pizza tasted like tomato soup, and the cheese was oddly rubbery, even for cheese). But since then, meals have been amazing! I have found that there are two main types of food stops I have made over the last two weeks:

The Café: There are millions of these little “bars” all over the place, and I don’t think I’ve been in the same one twice. The key to European travel is to know how to save money. For instance, in a café, if you stand up to drink your cappuccino, your drink is only 1 Euro as opposed to 3 Euros. When you order your drink and croissant (filled with Nutella…a *must*-have in Italy), you stand at this bar and wait for your drink. The portions are so small that it takes you no time at all to drink it; then, you are on your way again. Our professors constantly give us 15-25 minute breaks just for a cappuccino. And it is *good* cappuccino too.

Cappuccino with a heart-shaped sugar pack and a Nutella croissant

The Pizza Place: There are many places that serve pizza here (obviously). However, this pizza is nothing like what you would get at home. Instead, there is a large bar set up with rectangular-shaped pizzas on it. There are all different kinds, and not the traditionally kinds either. While they do have margarita pizza (basically cheese and sauce), they also have pizza with fried eggs, pizza with spinach, tomato, and cheese, pizza with hotdog slices, pizza with artichokes, and pizza with potato slices (my personal favorite).

Yes, potato pizza, and it is fantastic.

You pick how much you want; they cut it off with scissors and heat it up, cut it in half, and put the two pieces on top of each other to make a sandwich. It is the quickest, easiest system of getting a pizza I’ve ever seen.  

Eating In

My Creation! Tortellini with tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil

After discovering an awesomely large grocery store down the street with my classmates, cooking at home has also been really easy and convenient. There is a generous assortment for pastas, cheeses, and meats, and the prices are fantastic. I have never enjoyed cooking for whatever reason, but in Rome, it’s so *easy* to cook that it really doesn’t feel like a chore. For one, it takes no time at all, and two, I always have a really, really good meal once I’m finished. I think I’ve eaten a whole tomato every day since I’ve gotten here, because they are that fantastic here.

I also have been cooking with so much olive oil and garlic that it would make my mom cringe. J

Arch of Titus

Colosseo

I wasn’t honestly intending to post anything today, but my day today, or rather what I saw today, was far too epic to *not* devote an entire post to it.

The Coliseum, or Colosseo in Italian, was by far the COOLEST monument I have seen here in Rome so far. I didn’t honestly think it was going to be nearly as amazing as it actually was. It was cliché. It was overdone. Everyone, even those not in some sort of architecture field, knew what it was and its purpose. It was important in its time, but now, it was merely a monument of what life used to be. It no longer related to life today.

This is, undoubtedly, the worst assumption I have ever come to about anything.

The Coliseum sits at the end of Via Labicana, one of the busiest and widest streets I have seen in Rome. It is surrounded by various arches and the Roman Forum. Even though there are signs of Ancient Rome all around it, you are almost surprised by it as it sits there on the skyline. It seems out-of-place and yet elegantly perfect for that one spot. In the mornings (the only time I have seen it), the sun and the dust in the air force the person walking down this main street to have to squint to actually see the Coliseum. Even then, they can only actually view its outline, which in all honesty, is the most important aspect of the entire structure. I probably didn't even need to go inside. The exterior facade was spectacular. This piece of architecture reigns far superior over any other monument I have ever seen. The dramatic shift in scale (although Rome is still a large and tall city within itself) screams Ancient Rome while at the same time, it forces you to wonder how the builders actually constructed such a precise and proportional structure. 

It's my first jumping picture. Don't judge me!

By the way, Paprika Pringles...best thing since...*ever*! 

Sketchy Apartment Living

So my place of residence, my lovely little apartment that I share with three other girls, feels like it should involve a long story or explanation. I feel like it is just one of those apartments that I’m going to remember because 1) this is probably the only time I am going to live in a foreign country, and 2) this will probably be my most memorable apartment (or at least I hope so) I will ever live in because…well…eh, you’ll see.

First off, I will start by saying that this really isn’t *that bad* of an apartment. It’s really not. We have shelter; it protects us from the rain and evil Italian bar patrons (continue with the stereotype I suppose). However, it protects us from little else.

It all starts at the front door. I’m not going to lie; this is a slightly terrifying front door. It is completely covered with graffiti. This door is so old and worn that we struggle every time we get to the apartment to actually get inside. But I can’t really deny that it has character because I will remember this door and my first impressions of it for the rest of my life. (I’m not going to post a picture of it because I am still living here, and I really don’t need to give away where I live to people I don’t know who stumble across this blog, do I?)

Then, we must continue down this dark hallway that really chooses for itself if it wants to turn the light on when we flip the switch regardless of our own opinions. We do have a terrace that shares a tiny courtyard with the rest of the building, although it is almost impossible to actually utilize because it serves as the entrance for our neighbor’s apartment.

 Once you get into our little apartment…well, the pictures speak for themselves (although, let me just say that the pictures make it look *a lot* worse than it actually is). 

The Whos and Whats of my Italian Apartment

- The kitchen is probably the smallest one I have ever used. It has two cabinets. TWO! It also has a gas-powered stovetop which I have finally mastered as well as an oven whose door does not open entirely because of the doorframe in its way.

+ Our wireless internet, PC, and television all work smashingly. We have a huge flat-screen mounted on the wall. It takes away from the Italian charm, but it is still the most epic TV I will probably see in Italy.  

- It takes an arm, a leg, and a bit of luck to get a hot shower for longer than 5 minutes. We are slowly mastering it. Also, there is constantly a puddle of water on the floor by the shower…constantly… even after we clean it up with our very sad mop.

- My roommates and I feel like we live on the loudest street in Rome. You can hear people’s conversation oh-so-clearly from the street into our bedroom. I bought ear plugs because on Friday and Saturday nights, it is nearly impossible to get to sleep until 3 in the morning.

+ I think my room with its double door entry and shuttered windows is fantastic and very urban. The paint job is also nice and warm, although its attempt to make the apartment feel larger fails miserably.

- Our side table next to our lonely couch is just the seat of a chair whose back was broken off. Took us three days to realize this.   

- Rome has a really complicated recycling system because they recently decided that they were destroying the world so they wanted to reverse that effect. I applaud the effort, but still…I think trash day 4 times a week is overkill. Every other day, the trash man will come and pick up that type of trash for the day. But you need to have it in a certain color bag...by 8 in the morning (and not the night before). Rumor has it that you will get severely berated for doing it wrong. Woo.

- The other bedroom (that I do not occupy) has one outlet. One…there are no double outlets in Rome like there are in America. One outlet. 

Other than all that stuff... :) It’s actually quite a charming place. I feel like I live in the middle of Rome, which is honestly the whole point of this. You can't say I won't remember my first international apartment! 

Roman Fashion

Everyone dresses so much trendier than me. Not that that’s a hard thing to do or anything, but even the children have a sense of style that puts most Americans to shame. Yeah, they don’t sport the bright-colored shirt-and-shorts matching outfits that we all wore in the 90s. No, these kids ALL wear knee-high riding boots, dark jeans or black leggings, and a dark metallic puffer jacket. We don’t know if that is the actual name of these jackets, but everyone in Italy is wearing them (that just sounds trendy, doesn’t it?). I can’t say they are honestly that flattering, but it seems to be the “trend,” and it is impossible to stop a trend no matter how unappealing it is.

And while this might not actually be true, this trend, or the need to be a part of this trend, makes people here dress for the season rather than for how it actually feels. I could probably be walking around in a T-shirt and shorts because it is so warm outside, but I don’t because it would be terribly inappropriate. Italians are bundled up all day in their metallic puffy jackets even though it is 60 degrees outside! I wore my winter coat yesterday simply to look less like a tourist. Luckily, my jacket is black, so I at least fit in when it comes to the color of my attire. Maybe this is also a seasonal thing, but Italians must have something against colors other than black and gray. You could quite literally pick out every tourist yesterday because they were the ones wearing brightly-colored clothing.

So the “IT” trends of Italy, one of the most major fashion hubs in the world? Puffy, unflattering jackets and no color. Got it.  

By the way, guess what I saw today, Mom and Dad? It’s not nearly as big as I thought it was going to be, and half of it was under construction, but it was still, of course, very cool.

The Vatican

Oh, and as a side note, here are some of my small achievements that will make my life just *that* much easier:

1. I figured out how to change the language setting on my new Italian cell phone from Italian to English!

2. I learned how to turn on the refrigerator yesterday.

3. We got the hot water fixed in the shower. 

4. I have ordered a cappuccino for 1 Euro! 

5. I have tried gelato (the fruity flavors are much better than the rich, chocolate flavors). 

6. I found ear plugs today. My street is so "hoppin'" that I can hear people's conversations as if they are in my room at 3 in the morning! My mission tomorrow: Find envelopes.

7. The grocery store was open on Sunday...SCORE!

8. The grocery store attendant did not yell at me for making her give me too much change! I did have to walk all the way back to my apartment with no bag for my groceries though. I didn't know how to ask for a bag in Italian...eh...

When In Rome...

I guess you really do “do as the Romans do.” How cliché of me. You eat, sleep, and be merry. I feel very Italian when I am sitting in the piazza in front of the Pantheon, eating Gelato, and listening to a guy playing “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” on an electric guitar and proceeding to tip him with the Euro change I acquired from the itty-bitty grocery store I went to that morning around the corner from my apartment (that sits above a bar and two restaurants, by the way). That was all pretty epic for me. 

But that's never the beginning. Why can't that just be the beginning? 

Well, culture shock is a fun thing. I really agree with the concept. And missing people. Completely onboard for that as well. -_-

I couldn’t write anything about my trip until today because I was feeling pretty awful yesterday. The plane ride was actually really pleasant though. We had many movies to choose from and lots of random episodes of TV shows. I really couldn’t complain about the food either because we were served both dinner and breakfast, and I got two cups of tomato juice, three cups of water, and one cup of apple juice. I was provided a blanket and a pillow and was actually pretty happy about it all. Granted, this was my first international trip. I have never flown over water or been out of the States. This international travel thing was a new and rather cool world for me. I got to watch "Easy A" on a little personal TV right in front of me three times. Who can complain? 

After arriving, going through customs was probably close to the easiest thing I’ve ever done in my life. I literally had to show my passport and walk through the fancy glass doors. I was expecting it to be a huge deal, but it was amazing how much it really wasn’t. Also, my luggage arrived in the same state as when I put it on the plane. No right to complain.

We then encountered all of the taxi drivers eager to assist us in leaving the airport. While we were told to get a taxi, a very Italian, white-haired, leather-coated man approached my traveling partner and me about taking his shuttle service. He was, in my opinion, more than just a little shifty, but we looked into it with him. We didn’t have to pay upfront, and it was only 40 Euros. We took it, and while the driver could not get us to my exact street because of its narrowness (he got close though), the entire ride went smoothly.

I then proceeded to fall on the cobblestone sidewalk as we are walking to my apartment and severely bruise and scratch up my knee and leg. I should win a prize or something.

Then we see my tiny apartment from its graffiti-filled door to its dark, sketchy hallways and my four-bolt door. I think I had a mini-heartache not only because my apartment is, in fact, rather tiny, but also because I fully realized I was in Italy. It was a terrifying moment that lasted the rest of the day. 

I am ecstatic to say, however, that my Day 2 was infinitely better (as that scene at the beginning of this entry shows), and that while I will fully enjoy everything about Italy that I can while I am here, I am very much a “homebody.” I will very happy to return to the States.

Anyways, here are my top five highlights that I have learned about Rome in two days (mostly because I'm tired and ready for bed) :

1. You will run into any major monument if you are not looking for it. That’s a sign of how many there are in this city. On our first day, we had just come from the ATM and were trying to get back to our apartment. We *accidentally* ran into the Pantheon. How do you *accidentally* do that? We didn’t even realize that that was it until we had walked around 2/3rds of it! But man, was it amazing insideJ On our second day, we *accidentally* ran into the Tempietto of San Pietro. Maybe tomorrow, I’ll *accidentally* see St. Peter’s Basilica. Everything is THAT close to you.

My First Picture in Roma :)

2. Everyone drives the same car. It is rare to see any car that is not some sort of Smart car. You see them, but they look terribly out of place. And you know how in the US, you try and maneuver your picture-taking to make sure there aren’t any cars in the shot? Yeah, that’s impossible here. People park EVERYWHERE, and they really don’t care if you are walking on the sidewalk; if they want to drive there, then dammit, they will!

3. Euros make you feel like you are spending a lot less than you actually are. This is a very bad thing…my poor money…

4. They *really do* only eat pasta, pizza, and gelato here. You don’t really think that’s true until you see it firsthand. My last three meals have been a pizza (eh), ravioli (how very American of me), and spaghetti with bacon (and very good and not American tasting bacon by the way).

5. Every street, even with the graffiti, is the most picturesque thing you’ve ever seen. 

Can't beat that, can ya?