Sep 28:
Long day today, I gave a presentation in sociology of southern Italy which actually went really well. After class I headed home, stopped by the corner store to grab some vino and spaghetti sauce. I made some dinner and then went to old bridge with alfi and bill. I came back home and went to bed, I was super tired.
Sep 29:
Woke up early to study for Italian, went to class, and then ate pranzo. They charged €7 today instead of 6 and I was not too thrilled. Then I walked around a bit, saw the Arc of Constantine, Collosseo, and rested a bit at a park on Esquilino. From there I walked to the closest tram and took it to termini station. Then I hopped on a bus to the Vatican, mailed some postcards, and chilled for a bit. Around 6:30 I went to guarini and met up with alfi, Leart, agron, and anyla. Alfi left and we grabbed food at mangeremò. Then we walked anyla back and stayed at home for a while. There was fireworks at the Vatican going off when we were home, I think it's for the 150 year anniversary of the unification of Italy. We went out to dj bar in trastevere and then headed home. I might get my codice fiscale tomorrow which is similar to a us social security number so I can get an Italian bank account, depending if I wake up in time.
Sep 30:
One month ago today I arrived in Roma. Only one way to describe it- colpo di fulmine. I woke up and walked around the city. My first meal of the day was margherita pizza. Shortly after I stopped at giolitti for some gelato. then I went to the pantheon and found out the artist Raphael and King Vittorio Emanuelle II are buried there. It really looks amazing on the inside, I can't believe it's 2000 years old. I met up with Leart, Agron, and Rron at the top of the Spanish steps to watch the sun set and disappear. I ran into Conor McKeon there, small world. Then we took the tram/bus home and I made some pasta with pollo. Alfi and I booked a hostel in Cinque Terre's Riomaggiore for tomorrow night, I'm super excited to go. We went to campo di fiore for a shot of absenth and then went to dj bar to take a bus to club white. Kyle, Kelli, and Chris were there too, along with another surprising guest from Marquette Megan Geisen. We stayed there for a bit and walked all the way home.
Oct 1:
Woke up too late this morning and we missed the first train to la spezia. We had to buy another one for €42, ouch! Alfi and I arrived in Riomaggiore around 6 and immediately got pasta. I had pesto lasagna that was out of this world. It is by far the best lasagna I have ever had in my life. The pesto was more flavorful than anything I have eaten in the states and the cheese was amazing too. Then we checked into our hostel and headed to an old castle on the top of the hill and drank some vino. After that, we got some gelato and went to sleep.
Oct 2:
We woke up at 8, got some breakfast, checked out of the hostel and started our hike. We had to buy a park pass for €7 to hike the five cities, which is not too bad. The first city was Riomaggiore and it didn't take long to get to Manarola from there. But the sea path to Corniglia was closed so we went deep into the mountains and through a couple small villages to get there. Then it was about 3km to Vernazza and we stopped there for pizza. We didn't spend too much time there because we wanted to get to the spiaggia in Monterosso, which was another 2km hike away through the mountains. Monterosso was larger than the other cities we hiked through and the beach we went to was at the end of the town. The water was really refreshing and we spend about an hour at the beach. Then we grabbed some local wine and watched the sunset from a nearby cliff. We were pretty exhausted from hiking, and when it was dark we grabbed some more pizza and gelato. We took one of the last trains out of Monterosso and planned on taking the last train out of la spezia at 1:30 am, but alfi and I dozed off and woke up at 2:15 so we were forced to take the first morning train at 5:45 but at least we didn't pay for this train we missed.
Oct 3:
Slept a little bit in the station while waiting for the 5:45 train to Rome Ostiensa and was able to sleep some more on the train. Then we had to take another train to San Pietro and arrived at 11:11, took a quick shower when we got home, and headed to class.
After media ethics I ate a huge pranzo and didn't have to eat for the rest of the day, trying to save some money because we spent a lot on the trip to cinque terre. Surprisingly I made it through all three classes with only two shots of espresso. When I came home after class I was exhausted but I managed to upload the photos from this weekend. After doing some laundry and homework Alfi and I went to old bridge for un piccolo gelato. When we got back I studied Italian for a bit and then went to bed.
Oct 4:
Got outta bed at 9 finally, showered up, and went to Tiber to study before Italian class. After class, I got some groceries which will hopefully last me the rest of the week for €20. This store was cheaper than carrefour by our apartment so I'll probably be coming back next week. I stopped by the train station near our apartment to ask about the MINI deal which would allow me to go to Venice for €29 but I'll have to book it a couple weeks in advance and for a Monday-Thursday. Then I stopped by the Vatican to get a ticket for the Udienza tomorrow at 10:30 with Bill, something I'll always remember I'm sure. Made some spaghetti with chicken, mushroom, tomato, and basil sauce and drank some Chardonnay. Leart and Agron convinced me to join them at scholars and it was packed. They were playing the Brewers/D-backs game which the Brewers won. I only watched the beginning but it was really nice to watch baseball again, especially the crew. Its really odd not watching baseball, and its the first postseason since 4th grade that Im not closely watching. We stayed at Scholars for a little bit, I had one beer and one vodka shot, and then I walked home to get some sleep.
Oct 5:
Woke up at 9, showered, and got to piazza di San Pietro by 10:00. The pope passed us in the popemobile around 10:33. It was really special and now Im able to say I've seen the pope. Then bill and I went to class, as if it was just another typical Roman day. After my classes I made some pizza. Then I met up with Katie Cox and her roommate who is also named Katie and drank some peroni. Then we went to old bridge and we saw Bill by St Peters square. After gelato, they left. I went Home and had to write a paper for Italian.
Oct 6:
woke up at 9:00 to finish my Italian paper and to study for a bit. After class I went to a lecture on how to use your study abroad experiences positively on your cva. The meeting was really informative and reassuring. Then I headed to piazza di Argentina to pick up a book for Italian class. It was an experience trying to find a book in Italian but it was a success. I also picked up a cook book for €7 which will be coming in handy. Then I headed up to the pantheon, walked around it, and went to Giolitti for gelato. Right after, i went to the cheap grocery store in trastevere Todis for a bottle of wine.Then I headed to guarini campus to see if my package from home with my credit card was there but it wasn't. I came home around sunset and made some pasta. We drank some wine, just chilled and chatted until we were all too tired and then all passed out.
Oct 7:
Dear diary,
Life- could you please slow down a bit? I feel like the days are flying by. I'm trying to make the most of my time here but I woke up and it's now been 40 days since I left the US. My Italian language skills have improved a bit, but I'm not as comfortable as I had hoped I would be by now. I need to start reading books and watching movies in Italian to go along with my studying, which I have been getting better at.
Anyways, shortly after I woke up it began to rain. It has only rained once at night here so it's a bit unusual to see it, but it really cooled the city down a bit. I started reading the book I had to get for Italian and its gonna be very time consuming. I went to Todis for some sauce, yogurt, ravioli, and orange juice. I have to watch my spending, I'm running low on funds. I checked to see if my package came yet but no luck still. Came home and made some ravioli and drank some vino. Alfi and I are going to circolo degli artisti with some Italian girls who he met from school. Im looking forward to going to an Italian bar tonight, we have usually hung around mostly Americanized bars. This will be much more of a 'cultural experience' than a typical night out at the bars.
Long day today, I gave a presentation in sociology of southern Italy which actually went really well. After class I headed home, stopped by the corner store to grab some vino and spaghetti sauce. I made some dinner and then went to old bridge with alfi and bill. I came back home and went to bed, I was super tired.
Sep 29:
Woke up early to study for Italian, went to class, and then ate pranzo. They charged €7 today instead of 6 and I was not too thrilled. Then I walked around a bit, saw the Arc of Constantine, Collosseo, and rested a bit at a park on Esquilino. From there I walked to the closest tram and took it to termini station. Then I hopped on a bus to the Vatican, mailed some postcards, and chilled for a bit. Around 6:30 I went to guarini and met up with alfi, Leart, agron, and anyla. Alfi left and we grabbed food at mangeremò. Then we walked anyla back and stayed at home for a while. There was fireworks at the Vatican going off when we were home, I think it's for the 150 year anniversary of the unification of Italy. We went out to dj bar in trastevere and then headed home. I might get my codice fiscale tomorrow which is similar to a us social security number so I can get an Italian bank account, depending if I wake up in time.
Sep 30:
One month ago today I arrived in Roma. Only one way to describe it- colpo di fulmine. I woke up and walked around the city. My first meal of the day was margherita pizza. Shortly after I stopped at giolitti for some gelato. then I went to the pantheon and found out the artist Raphael and King Vittorio Emanuelle II are buried there. It really looks amazing on the inside, I can't believe it's 2000 years old. I met up with Leart, Agron, and Rron at the top of the Spanish steps to watch the sun set and disappear. I ran into Conor McKeon there, small world. Then we took the tram/bus home and I made some pasta with pollo. Alfi and I booked a hostel in Cinque Terre's Riomaggiore for tomorrow night, I'm super excited to go. We went to campo di fiore for a shot of absenth and then went to dj bar to take a bus to club white. Kyle, Kelli, and Chris were there too, along with another surprising guest from Marquette Megan Geisen. We stayed there for a bit and walked all the way home.
Oct 1:
Woke up too late this morning and we missed the first train to la spezia. We had to buy another one for €42, ouch! Alfi and I arrived in Riomaggiore around 6 and immediately got pasta. I had pesto lasagna that was out of this world. It is by far the best lasagna I have ever had in my life. The pesto was more flavorful than anything I have eaten in the states and the cheese was amazing too. Then we checked into our hostel and headed to an old castle on the top of the hill and drank some vino. After that, we got some gelato and went to sleep.
Oct 2:
We woke up at 8, got some breakfast, checked out of the hostel and started our hike. We had to buy a park pass for €7 to hike the five cities, which is not too bad. The first city was Riomaggiore and it didn't take long to get to Manarola from there. But the sea path to Corniglia was closed so we went deep into the mountains and through a couple small villages to get there. Then it was about 3km to Vernazza and we stopped there for pizza. We didn't spend too much time there because we wanted to get to the spiaggia in Monterosso, which was another 2km hike away through the mountains. Monterosso was larger than the other cities we hiked through and the beach we went to was at the end of the town. The water was really refreshing and we spend about an hour at the beach. Then we grabbed some local wine and watched the sunset from a nearby cliff. We were pretty exhausted from hiking, and when it was dark we grabbed some more pizza and gelato. We took one of the last trains out of Monterosso and planned on taking the last train out of la spezia at 1:30 am, but alfi and I dozed off and woke up at 2:15 so we were forced to take the first morning train at 5:45 but at least we didn't pay for this train we missed.
Oct 3:
Slept a little bit in the station while waiting for the 5:45 train to Rome Ostiensa and was able to sleep some more on the train. Then we had to take another train to San Pietro and arrived at 11:11, took a quick shower when we got home, and headed to class.
After media ethics I ate a huge pranzo and didn't have to eat for the rest of the day, trying to save some money because we spent a lot on the trip to cinque terre. Surprisingly I made it through all three classes with only two shots of espresso. When I came home after class I was exhausted but I managed to upload the photos from this weekend. After doing some laundry and homework Alfi and I went to old bridge for un piccolo gelato. When we got back I studied Italian for a bit and then went to bed.
Oct 4:
Got outta bed at 9 finally, showered up, and went to Tiber to study before Italian class. After class, I got some groceries which will hopefully last me the rest of the week for €20. This store was cheaper than carrefour by our apartment so I'll probably be coming back next week. I stopped by the train station near our apartment to ask about the MINI deal which would allow me to go to Venice for €29 but I'll have to book it a couple weeks in advance and for a Monday-Thursday. Then I stopped by the Vatican to get a ticket for the Udienza tomorrow at 10:30 with Bill, something I'll always remember I'm sure. Made some spaghetti with chicken, mushroom, tomato, and basil sauce and drank some Chardonnay. Leart and Agron convinced me to join them at scholars and it was packed. They were playing the Brewers/D-backs game which the Brewers won. I only watched the beginning but it was really nice to watch baseball again, especially the crew. Its really odd not watching baseball, and its the first postseason since 4th grade that Im not closely watching. We stayed at Scholars for a little bit, I had one beer and one vodka shot, and then I walked home to get some sleep.
Oct 5:
Woke up at 9, showered, and got to piazza di San Pietro by 10:00. The pope passed us in the popemobile around 10:33. It was really special and now Im able to say I've seen the pope. Then bill and I went to class, as if it was just another typical Roman day. After my classes I made some pizza. Then I met up with Katie Cox and her roommate who is also named Katie and drank some peroni. Then we went to old bridge and we saw Bill by St Peters square. After gelato, they left. I went Home and had to write a paper for Italian.
Oct 6:
woke up at 9:00 to finish my Italian paper and to study for a bit. After class I went to a lecture on how to use your study abroad experiences positively on your cva. The meeting was really informative and reassuring. Then I headed to piazza di Argentina to pick up a book for Italian class. It was an experience trying to find a book in Italian but it was a success. I also picked up a cook book for €7 which will be coming in handy. Then I headed up to the pantheon, walked around it, and went to Giolitti for gelato. Right after, i went to the cheap grocery store in trastevere Todis for a bottle of wine.Then I headed to guarini campus to see if my package from home with my credit card was there but it wasn't. I came home around sunset and made some pasta. We drank some wine, just chilled and chatted until we were all too tired and then all passed out.
Oct 7:
Dear diary,
Life- could you please slow down a bit? I feel like the days are flying by. I'm trying to make the most of my time here but I woke up and it's now been 40 days since I left the US. My Italian language skills have improved a bit, but I'm not as comfortable as I had hoped I would be by now. I need to start reading books and watching movies in Italian to go along with my studying, which I have been getting better at.
Anyways, shortly after I woke up it began to rain. It has only rained once at night here so it's a bit unusual to see it, but it really cooled the city down a bit. I started reading the book I had to get for Italian and its gonna be very time consuming. I went to Todis for some sauce, yogurt, ravioli, and orange juice. I have to watch my spending, I'm running low on funds. I checked to see if my package came yet but no luck still. Came home and made some ravioli and drank some vino. Alfi and I are going to circolo degli artisti with some Italian girls who he met from school. Im looking forward to going to an Italian bar tonight, we have usually hung around mostly Americanized bars. This will be much more of a 'cultural experience' than a typical night out at the bars.
Oct 8:
Last night was amazing. Alfi's friend Maria came over to our place and drove us around for the night. It turns out she was in the Art History class that I dropped. We all went to circolo but they weren't letting anyone in by the time we arrived because it was too full. When we were there I saw Emanuelle who came too late as well and was unable to get in. We will be meeting up today to hang out, Im really glad im starting to spend more time with Italian people. My roommates and the people we met up with went to a nearby bar and we got a bottle of wine for 6 euros. We stayed there till close and then brought the group back to our apartment. They were speaking Italian and we could understand them, it was great. Then one of the guys asked if he could make pasta and we had a small feast at 430 am. They all left at 530 and my roommates and I were really happy to host our first small festa italiana.
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