First Week in Roma

First week of classes are over, and I feel like Roma is becoming my home away from home. I'm finding my way around the city and loving living the Italian lifestyle. For example, instead of a traditional bowl of cereal for breakfast, I walked to Campo dei Fiori, a large open air market full of fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, breads, chocolates, pastries, and even clothing, and I bought a loaf of bread and fresh fruits. I walked around town eating my delicious peach and warm bread, stopping on the benches near il Teatro Marcello to read and do homework. Days couldn't start any more perfectly than they do here in Roma. Italians seem to get late starts in the morning, probably because of their crazy nightlife, so the city has a peaceful quiet in the morning, before tourists and locals are out and about. Definitely my favorite time of the day.

Many of the girls and I got all dressed up and went to Scholars, a local bar, to have some drinks and go dancing. Scholars turned out to be a favorite of American college students and was no different from any bar in South Bend :( I met up with some of the Notre Dame students studying in Rome, and had a few too many glasses of wine!! I've learned that it is much more economical to buy local wines at the supermercato and enjoy it beforehand in our hotel, since drinks at the bars are too pricey for my starving student budget. From now on, we're definitely going to try to branch out and find bars frequented by the locals, for a more authentic idea of the Italian nightlife!

Classes have been very interesting, especially since they are so small and easy going, not anything like the intense academic feeling in the Notre Dame lecture halls. My favorite professor is my Theology teacher, a old priest originally from Malta, who, in our last class, told us the story of Jesus' life from beginning to end. Now obviously I've heard this story hundreds of times throughout my 21 years, but never has it been told so well as he told it. I found myself hanging on his every word, just because he is such a great story teller and has such great insight into the truth behind many of the common parables. The class is Christian Moral Theology, and he has outlined several topics for the course, including discussions on important issues in our lives, such as in vitro, death penalty, abortion, etc. Its great to experience professors outside of the Notre Dame network, especially since most are from Europe and have an interesting perspective to bring to the classroom.

Tonight, Sam, Caroline, Hank, Laurel and I went to a cafe in the piazza where the Pantheon sits, and had a delicious Italian meal. We saw the word SPECIAL...and immediately chose this restaurant. Its funny, as you walk around past trattorias, the hosts or hostesses try to convince you to come in and try their restaurant. "Ragazze, Pizza, Pasta, venate!!" They all want our business, but most are too expensive for our budget. Sam said that she always compares the price of gnocchi at the different restaurants to see which is cheapest. So anyway, one restaurant was advertising a drink, bruschetta, and either pizza or pasta for 12 euro! It was fabulous. The owner/chef was a woman from Napoli (therefore...an expert at pizza making) and she loved talking to us, even though she spoke NO Italian. I had spaghetti pomodoro, Coca Cola Light, and a piece of bruschetta....and by the end of the meal, I could barely move. I've been told your stomach will adjust to the large quantities of food, but my stomach is not there yet! Then we went to the most amazing gelateria, offering 140 flavors of gelato!!!! I recommend this place to anyone who ever visits Roma. Its right near the Pantheon and its overwhelming and quite a sight for the eyes and mouth!! Its hard to believe they can come up with that many flavors, but they come up with new ones everyday. As we were leaving, they put out pinenut flavor!! Let's just say some are better than others. I tried Grapefruit, Chocolate Strawberry, and Cappuccino....I wanted some variety. Our goal is to try all of them, if my stomach allows.

When we were ready to head home, it started pouring outside and out of nowhere, men came out selling umbrellas everywhere. We decided to just make a run for it and enjoy walking in the rain in Roma. Sam, Caroline and I have been searching online all night, planning our trips throughout Europe, trying to find the cheapest flights and hostels. I'm finding it a little overwhelming, with the high costs of fuel and the terrible dollar, but we are going to try to do/see as much as possible. A long weekend in Paris over Thanksgiving weekend is definitely on our list. We're also looking to travel to London, Dublin, Prague, maybe Amsterdam, Firenze, Pisa, Venezia, and Cinqueterre. The list is ambitious, but we'll do what we can.

Tomorrow, we have group tours of the Colosseo, Palatine Hill, and the Forum, starting at 9am and not finishing until late in the afternoon. This visit is part of our lectures and tours class, so we'll be studying and discussing many of the sites as we visit them. I have to get up early, so I'm off to bed. Look for more pictures tomorrow!! Ciao xoxo