Damn, I thought I was doing so well

Ok, so I haven't posted in a long time, mainly because I do not feel like recounting the adventures of Spring Break. Long story short, then:
First part of Spring Break: Tunisia. We saw Tunis, Sousse, Djerba, Douz, the Sahara Desert, Matmata, Tozeur, Tataouine, oases, Tunisian language students, other Tunisians, dead lambs. We ate American buffet food, shwarma, tuna, tuna, tuna, tuna, dates, sand bread. I liked all of it.
Second part of Spring Break: Budapest. We saw the Danube, a parliament building, a lot of wedding dress stores, Burger King, Subway, TGI Fridays, dramatic hills in Buda, silent Europeans. We ate Kebaps, goulash, giant pizzas, delicious Japanese food on conveyor belts for Matt's Birthday. We drank beer. Matt punched a woman, epic lolz.

I had friends during Spring Break: Matt, Adam, Mike, Bridget, Kelsey, Evan, Haley, Ashley, Kim, Rachel, Jeff, Amy, Lexi, various other Tunisians. Bob in Budapest.

After Spring Break, Jon came to visit and we had a lovely time in Rome, Florence, Bonano, and Orvieto. He wrote a way better update on it anyway. Sad to see him go :(

This week was St. Patrick's day, which was spent wonderfully with friends, including Phyllis German. What a woman. Then Thursday was another open bar night, Friday was Bone Church and Keyhole day, then delicious beers in Trastevere. After 3 hours of sleep, we went to Siena yesterday, got lost, saw a slopy piazza, then had fun! It was fun! I hope that gives everyone a great idea of what I have been doing. I will try to put up pictures or something soon. Sorry.

Midterms and such

So today is Wednesday, which means only one more day until Spring Break; in that time, I have a test for Jan's class and my Italian midterm. Jan doesn't know my name yet, which is heartbreaking, especially because I consider him my little Belgian Wafflecakes. Oh well, I will prevail over the tests and the sorrow and make it to Tunisia.
In a few days I will be in Africa. In preparation, my roommate Adam and I have been growing our beards out. Mine is not quite a fist yet, but I hope I blend in. Since I'm a horrible person, I have entertained the idea of bringing my broken iPod to barter with in the markets. Mike warned me that I could be the victim of an honor killing if they find out it doesn't work, so I don't know if I will take the risk. Going along with the iPod thing, I'm thinking of buying a shitty mp3 player from Euronics, the Roman version of Best Buy. I saw some onsale today for like €16, which is not bad.
Last night we went to Scholar's for karaoke night with Marissa and her friends from her program since they are visiting Italy for their Spring Holiday. Italians love the idea of Irish pubs, so coupled with karaoke, Scholar's last night was especially novel for them. I guess they like pubs for the same reason we do, since its a place to stand around with people, get wasted on drink specials, then try to take advantage of drunk American girls. Who knows. Haha some guys dudes were in suits and smoking cigarettes in the bar last night- 2 eprops, amici.
Way more culturally exciting than Scholar's (which is definitely hard to top, lolz), I went to the Borghese gallery. We saw some awesome displays of opulence, including a few sweet Bernini statues. No cameras were allowed in the museum, so I didn't take any pictures. Not that I would post them anyway, but just so y'all know.
In weather news, it was very sunny and beautiful today and yesterday. To celebrate, I sat in Piazza del Popolo and then hiked into Villa Borghese for some scenic views. I guess it was the best thing I could do as a loner that wasn't studying. Either way, it was wonderful. Unfortunately, the rain has returned. It's ok though.
Oh, I have no clean clothes. Hopefully I remember to do laundry, which is a perpetual stuggle, btw.

Night Life

At night, I emulate the ancients and drink skins of wine, usually blacking out. Not really, but the wine does flow cheaply here, the cheapest being a liter box for €,89, or a 5 liter jug for €5,45. But who's counting?
On the whole, we have been trying to experience the night life like Romans. The closest that I've come to that is by going to a club called Init that Bob found. It was fun, and I was able to get my dance on. We also go to the cocktail bar called Stairs in the Trastevere area; since Italians are irrational and inefficient, they have open bar for €18 on Thursdays and Fridays, giving out top-shelf liquor. Idiots.
Aside from trying to go to new places, I've found that we drink at American style bars or Irish pubs. It's not that I am rejecting Italian culture, it's just Italians are the same here as they are at home- not fun to drink with. So we go to Irish pubs and spend way too much money of beer.
The idea of Italian drinking is to be seen and to maintain a bella figura, or seem in control. For Americans, it is a bit different. So I've been trying to reconcile these concepts with other American college students...

Daily Life in Rome

As I detailed in a previous post, I have class Monday- Thursday. They are going well, and I am establishing a routine, which is cool. Basically, I wake up, take the Metro from Cipro to Flaminio (Piazza del Polpolo- uscita lato destro), walk to school, get a cappuccino from the vending machine and go to class. After Italian, I eat lunch with Haley, Matt, Bridget, and Mike, sometimes with Evan and maybe we even seen Kelsey! It is honestly one of the best times of the day. After that, I usually try to do homework in the computer lab, then I finish classes if I have it. Most day I walk home, go to the GS, get my eat on, then sit around and talk all night. I don't do much for school- midterms start tomorrow, so we will see how that works out for me, LOL!
Laundry is hard as shit to keep on top of, so I've been hand washing my clothes a lot. Also, I snore so loudly that Bob has trouble sleeping. Sorry, man. He made a song of clips of me snoring. In small news, I broke my iPod kind of, so that really sucks.
I am making an effort to cook more instead of spending money on pizza or something. Best food in Rome is from this Rosticceria near my residence. Other places that are good are near school, just a simple Pizza Rustica and Mondo Arancina. Good stuff.
We go out a lot. Next post.

Let's try this again

It has been a while since my last post, perhaps a bit too long. Many of my fans (I love y'all) have requested that I update, so I will do my best to write about how my life has been.

I guess one of the most exciting things about this experience is the opportunity to travel around Italy, Europe, and the world. Thus far, in Italy, I have seen Rome, obviously, Todi, Sutri, Via Cassia, Viterbo, Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli, the catacombs of San Sebastian, Venice, and Florence. All of these trips have been interesting, exciting, mentally stimulating, and visually arresting. Unfortunately, I saw the first few unfamiliar cities under the guidance of Rob Huber, a Renaissance Johnny Depp douche bag with a dumb hat who blows into the microphone. Oh well, I will live, and he is very knowledgeable. As for the catacombs, I took a daytime excursion with Bob, Matt, Adam, Bridget, and Mike to see them last weekend. Again, our tour was not long enough, but we saw other cool things like the Appian Way and huge chickens. Great times. I went to Venice two weekends ago for the beginning of Carnivale. Bus2Alps, ftw. Not really, we got lost on our way there and it took 11 hours to get home. It was still an amazing day; honestly, too many cool things happened that I can not even type them up. Finally, I just got back from a weekend trip, Thursday through Sunday, to Florence with Matt, Kelsey, Haley, and Ashley. As expected, we had a great time. Unexpectedly, I got a leather jacket. I am considering smoking again to complete the look. Updates on my health to come.
In all seriousness, I am so fortunate to have been able to participate in these excursions. I realized this weekend how lucky I really am, all thanks to my parents. They will never see the things that I am seeing, never experience the same things, never feel how I am feeling; they made a conscious decision to allow me to do this instead of them. So, thanks.
In case anyone is wondering about my travel plans, I leave for a 6 day trip to Tunisia this coming Friday for my spring break. Upon return, I may travel outside of Italy again. I will return to Florence on March 12th when Jon visits from Oslo. The following weekend, I'm hoping to go to Cork. The second weekend in April, I go to Ravenna and Aquilea with Jan for our class trip. Over the second to last weekend of the program, I think I may be going to Prague. Finally, after the program, I'll venture to Oslo. Then, who knows.
As I said before, I'm so lucky and thankful for all of this. Next, more musing about Italian stuff.

Classes

I haven't updated this past week because I think I've been establishing a routine, which is pretty exciting to do in a foreign country, albeit expensive. Instead of detailing all of my experiences from the past week, I am just going to describe my classes. Plus, I have pictures too. Fuck yeah, right mom? OK, here it goes.

Romans & their Literature- Professoressa DiBrucia, MW 10:30-12:00
This class can count towards either my Classics major or my English major, which makes it worthwhile for me to take. We essentially what the title suggests- we read Roman literature. One very interesting aspect of the course is that, instead of assigning one text book, Professoressa DiBrucia copied parts of translations that she liked. Thus, we can really come close to experiencing these texts in their original form. Thanks, girlfriend.

Italian 001- Professoressa Lucy, MTWR 1:00-2:00
While studying abroad in Italy, I am enrolled in Italian. Since it is the most basic level, we are currently learning the basics of the language; the course's main goal is to help us survive in Rome. So far, it has helped me a bit, and Lucy is able to answer questions about Italian culture as well. A bumbling, dumb-ass American kid, I'm sure I have offended plenty of Italians, but thanks to class, I'm learning how to be respectful with the language (for instance, I should say Buongiorno or Buona sera when I enter a Bar or store instead of Ciao because they are not my friends, which BTW I haven't made any of, Italian or American)

Museum History and Theory of Rome- Professoressa Kalb M 4:30-6:00, T 9:00-12:00
As a museum nerd, this class is particularly exciting for me. On Monday nights, we meet at school for a discussion on the articles we read for homework and a small lecture. Then, on Tuesday mornings, we meet on-site at a museum that we tour for the 3 hours. Very exciting, but it will get expensive with museum fees; however, it is completely worth waking up, walking, and paying, since Rome is a city so rich in culture and I will be able to experience it in the classroom with someone very knowledgeable about it.

Late Antique & Byzantine Art History- Professore Gadeyne W 4:30-6:00, R 9:00-12:00
This class also counts towards my Classics major, which rules; Jan Gadeyne also teaches this course, which makes it worth taking in itself. Similar to my museum class, we meet on Wednesday nights for a lecture and discussion, then on-site on Thursday mornings. As my Belgian teacher explained on the first day, "this course is one of few of its kind, and it is the most interesting course taught in Rome by the best teacher in Rome." I can't argue with much there, Jan is the man. He is also one of the fastest walkers that I have ever walked with. Very cool. As if the course isn't interesting and great enough, we go on a 4 day trip in April to Aquilea and Ravenna to "look at churches and talk about churches so much that we will throw up churches." Can't wait.

This is going to be a great semester, full of opportunities to learn about Roman culture- both ancient and contemporary. The city truly serves as my classroom, and I plan on taking full advantage of it. If anything exciting happens in these classes, I will post about it. Until then, this is what I do every day. Ciao, friends.

Umbrian Meal and First Day

Permit to stay was a success, and I went to St. Peter's with Matt beforehand. We ate lunch, made an Italian friend, then I got my government on, followed by a SIM card. Then, in preparation for the meal on Sunday, we had an almost Italian dinner- the girls all ate together while Adam, Matt, and I cooked some pasta and sauce and ate together. After sitting around for about 2 hours, we went downstairs and hung out with the ladies, just chatting and swapping stories and phone numbers, excited with our new phones.
Yesterday we left Piazzale del Eroi at 8 AM and drove 2 hours north east of Rome to Todi, a small medieval town in the hills of Umbria. A few breath-taking views, a delicious breakfast of cappucino and strutoli, a church visit, and some giggles later, we rode up a windy road to a villa for lunch. 9 course meal, wine, good company- you get the picture.
After lunch we drove back to Rome, a ride which was very peaceful and relaxing. Perhaps because we all still had some of the homemade wine in us, we all decided to go out to Scholar's Pub, an Irish establishment near Piazza Venezia, to watch football. I think everyone else from the program had the same idea because we saw a lot of Temple students there. Fun night.
Just to place the experience into some sort of perspective, here is this story from last night. On the cab ride home, Ashley, Haley, and I told our driver to stop as we passed St. Peter's so that the girls could get a picture of the square at night while the nativity and tree were still up. After two pictures, we were on our way again. It's amazing that this city is so rich in culture and visually stunning structures that remain so accessible to the public, especially us since we live so close to the center of the city.
Classes were good today, but very tiring, so I will have to update more tomorrow about today. Class at 9AM tomorrow, can't wait!

Mercato e Jazz

Yesterday, after attending Temple's workshop for wireless internets, I finally experienced an aspect of Italian life that I have been anticipating for a while: il mercato! It is exactly what anyone who has watched the Travel Channel would expect it to be, complete with meat, produce, pasta, bread, seafood, and luggage stands. Yes, there is quite a variety of items at the market. In my attempts to live like an Italian, I decided to buy only the food for my dinner. I purchased gnocchi per uno, many arance, and cavolfiore. I'm not sure if that is exactly the right word for what I bought, but it is some sort of Italian vegetable that seems like a mix between cauliflower and broccoli, except it has spiky spirally sprouts. Very exciting.
Once that was done, I took a long nap, then woke up and went to a discussion on Italian life and traveling, again sponsored by Temple. The talk proved interesting, for Profesor Ponce de Leon and Gianni highlighted aspects of Italian culture-drinking, personal space, lines, etc.- that we may not have been familiar with. The talk lasted until a little after nine, so a bunch of us went to a Tratteria off of Via del Corso for dinner. While I only got ravioli with riccota e spinaci, Adam showed his most adventurous side by ordering Ox tail. Way to be, brother.
We took the metro from Flamincio to Cipro, rested a bit, then went to a jazz club down the street from our residence. It was very nice to just relax and do something different from what I would have done in the states. Not to sound like d-bag, but the jazz that they played sounded like all other jazz that I've heard. I find this comforting in that, while immersed in a completely different culture, some things, like music, have a universal quality that can soothe and unite people from all walks of life. The atmosphere of the place really spoke to me, as I said, so I will definitely be returning.
Today is "Permit to Stay" day, a wonderful two hour event in which we fill out documents and pay the Italian government to allow us to stay in their country. However, I think I will try to explore St. Peter's Square a bit before I go.
Pictures to come soon- I promise.

First days in Rome

Prego! I've been in Rome since Tuesday afternoon- my plane landed around 2:15, and after a taxi ride into the city, I arrived at my residence around 4:00. Once I checked in, I got to my room and met my roommate, Bob, who is a senior at Temple. A little bit later, I met Adam, my other roommate from Fordham. We walked to the Temple campus for a welcoming pizza dinner, and I saw Kelsey, Evan, and Haley there; it was nice to see my only friends from the program. After the din-din, we meandered around the city and bought a little bit of wine to have when we got back from our apartments. Jet-lagged, the night ended early, especially by Roman standards, and I feel fast asleep at 11:30.
Probably because my body is still not used to the time difference, I had trouble sleeping the first night and woke up around 7:00 AM. As I lew (past tense of lay) in bed, I tried to fall back asleep, but my ears were still (and currently still are) having trouble from the pressure changes during my flights. At around 9:15, I left the building and went to the morning orientation for students with early lettered last names. After a bit of that, we had lunch, then Kelsey, Bob, Lauren Faralli, a new friend Kristen, and I walked all over the eastern side of the Tiber. We saw the Ara Pacis, the Pantheon, and just strolled around the windy side streets. We also stopped for gelato, obvi! Anyway, we walked back to the residence, and went to the grocery store. I took a nap, then cooked dinner in the ladies' room. We ended up having an authentic Italian dinner, one that lasted around 4 hours. Again, I went to sleep earlyish.
Last night was a better sleep, and I woke up today feeling very rested. Today we had walking tours of the city, led by Temple faculty members. As per usual, I was in a group with Evan and Kelsey, as well as Bob. In addition to the normal group, my final roommate, Matt, who is from LA, was also on our tour. The walking tour was very helpful and allowed us to see a good portion of the city. After taking part in it, I feel a lot more comfortable trying to figure out the bus system and the metro, as well as more inclined to travel to further parts of the city. After the tour we got kebabs then walked to Piazza del Popolo to take the metro home. I got groceries, rested, then went to a cooking dinner at Temple Rome again. After the demo, I came home, the girls and I made dinner, we hung out for a bit, then went out for the first time in Rome...

We rounded up Adam and Matt, as well as the girls' friend Ashley. We missed the last metro, so we tried to find a bus. Eventually we found one almost half the way to campus, and a nice Italian youth helped us find our way. After a skeptical Night Bus ride, we eventually ended up right at Campo di Firori, a success in which Adam played no small part. Since Campo di Fiori is mainly an American pub center, we tried to find the place in the plaza to hang out. We stayed for a little, then the police ushered everyone out of the Campo, a normal procedure for a late night hooligans. We caught a taxi back, Haley caught the driver trying to dupe us, and we arrived safely at the Residence. Overall, a very wonderful day.

Tomorrow is computer stuff at the campus, then more exploration, followed by a talk on daily life in Rome. Sorry for the long post, I just had a lot of catching up to do. Hopefully soon I will be able to discuss my reactions to the city instead of just listing the events of the day. Bona notte.

*I wrote this post on Thursday night, 14/1, but for some reason it would not post; I had to repost it this afternoon on Friday the 15th. I will update about Friday's events a little later.

Departure

Packing has been successful, as has obtaining the necessary documents for me to leave the country and to stay in Italy. My flight leaves in about 4 hours, so I am preparing to head the airport in about an hour. The past few days have been relaxing for me; I've spent them at my house with my family and dogs. I will definitely miss them, as well as all of my friends, but I know that I will hear from everyone. Thanks for all of the well wishes, you guys. I also have Skype, which I sign into under jdament, just like everything else.
In my last post, I said that I was nervous. Now, I am both nervous and very excited; hopefully everything goes smoothly as far as transferring planes and what not. I fly British Airways, flight BA66, to London from Philadelphia at 6:55 PM, arriving at Heathrow around 7:00 AM. From there, I have a 3 and a half hour lay over until I depart for Rome's Fiumuncio Airport at 10:35 AM on BA554. Arriving in Rome around 2:05PM, I will then head for my apartment, Residence Medaglie d'Oro, and begin orientation.
Again, thanks for the farewells, and I will post more as things unfold. Ciao!, lolz

Beginning

So I've decided to create this blog to document my time in Rome; I plan on writing about the things that I do, eat, see, and feel. As a warning, although anyone who reads this probably knows me, the blog will probably decline into a pitiful vessel through which I bitch about everything and lament over the ladies. Until then, I hope to paint an accurate picture of my experiences.

I guess the best thing to do right now would be to discuss what is happening now. First off, I began this thing while sitting up watching reruns of MTV shows-namely the Jersey Shore and the Real World. Apparently the artistic and intellectual value of these shows inspired me. At least it is late enough that I can make some attempts at introspection.

Monday is rapidly approaching, and I honestly have not done anything except get drunk, eat, and sleep. No preparation really. Tomorrow I plan to start packing, so we will see how that goes. Truthfully, all kidding aside, I'm almost terrified for this to begin. I've never traveled alone, and I am very nervous about the airport. I think being in the Philadelphia airport will be fine, but transferring in London, finding the correct terminal, then leaving the Italian airport, through customs and whatnot, is all daunting. Another funny thing, I have no idea how we are to get from the airport to the Medaglie d'Oro, our apartment building. The one thing I am trying to remind myself is that everyone is in the same boat for the most part; for me, this is almost like the first day of college. I don't think there is much to worry about, that it will all work out for the best, but the unknown is still scary. For as scary as it is, it is more exciting than anything.

I suppose that is enough for now. I will do my best to update this on a fairly regular basis. Also, I hope to maintain both my twitter and my tumblr. If you make it a habit to frequent these sites, I think you will be able to understand my semester as best as I can relate it. I am doing this primarily for myself, but anyone can join me. Good day.