First impressions aside, our trip got progressively better, along with our opinion of Italian culture, upon arriving in Roma to our housing. We quickly saw the welcoming, hospitable, and friendly side of Italy. Our housing, to say the least, is beautiful. We have a wonderful courtyard that allows us to enjoy time outside without having to leave our residence. There are other students living here who study at different universities that we have yet to meet and the elderly individuals living here have been nothing but charming and pleasant. After getting moved into our corner room overlooking the water and the courtyard, Kelly, Katie, and I went out into the surrounding area to explore and found the best little bar (a place where coffee, food, and - yes - alcoholic beverages are served; more like an american caffe, however, than an american bar) where we all had a cappuccino and sandwich and enjoyed talking with our barristo and waiter. They were so kind and keep calling us their "bambina" or "bambine (plural)", which means female baby or child, as an endearment and gave us amazing italian cookies when we finished our sandwiches and cappuccini.
Later in the day (after unpacking) we went for a run along the Tiber and learned that it's necessary to dodge cars or sprint across the road in order to make it successfully to the other side without getting hurt or killed. Italian drivers are crazy. They speed profusely, drive on roads/down alleys that most americans would never attempt, and - for those of you who have seen the movie Under the Tuscan Sun - "Green means go, yellow means speed up, and red is... just a suggestion." In the evening we went as a group to dinner with all the other kids studying in Roma through Catholic University to a restaurant that we had taken over for the night. They served us a multiple course meal complete with anti-pasta, salad, soup, pasta, dessert, and plenty of wine. After feeding ourselves full, the architecture students split off with our professor, Eric Jenkins, and his wife and walked from Travestere to Piazza Navona and the Pantheon. Then we all split off to explore some more or to have a drink at a local bar but by the time we got back to our rooms our feet killed and we were beyond exhausted.
This morning Claudia (the woman in charge of our housing) took the 20 of us architecture majors to a typical Italian breakfast consisting of a cappuccino and a sweet roll and then we learned how to ride the bus to St. John's for orientation. Most of the day consisted of orientation but Katie, Kelly, and I stumbled upon a little pizzeria where we got the best pizza we've had so far on this trip and did a little shopping before returning to our housing for rules etc. After a nap we went back out exploring and had dinner around 9 o'clock which is typical for Italians at a fairly low priced but delicious little restaurant. Following dinner we enjoyed our first real gelato which is an experience in itself (a great experience) and walked around the city. So far the best part about living where we are is that we can walk and explore everywhere! We've eaten and shopped with the locals, separated ourselves from the tourists (though it's clear that they know that we are Americans or at least not Italian...), and we've never really felt in danger. The key thing is to trust our instincts individually and as a group. It's amazing to be so mobile and not have to rely on cars or even public transit. No wonder Italians are all so skinny... they seem to walk (or at least be able to) everywhere.
Hopefully with all the walking we have been and will continue to do we will all be able to enjoy all the wonderful food and coffee but not see how much we've been enjoying it every time we look in the mirror. But now it is time for bed as it is going on 3:30am and we have a long day of exploring (and shopping) planned for tomorrow. I apologize for the overload of event by event narration that this post contains but in my excitement (and exhaustion) it seemed necessary :)
No comments:
Post a Comment