Dinner is over, gelato o'clock has passed, and our nightly walk has been checked off our list for the evening. I am just sitting here at my desk talking to my roommate Colleen and clearly not getting any more homework done so I thought why not write down some thoughts for you all to read.
It is the beginning of week four here in Rome. Four weeks out of.... never mind let's avoid thinking about that topic completely.
Well classes are actually picking up speed very quickly and the work and memorizing is beginning to pile up higher than we would like. We actually have some tests next week and midterms week is forever looming in the distance as well as projects and presentations that we have to give over the course of the semester. We cope with our stress and eternal shock over the fact that we actually have to study by getting gelato and window shopping, sometimes actual shopping, its a productive use of our time.
So last post I mentioned something about routines and how we are developing some into our time here. Well I have another routine that Colleen and I have developed over the course of the week that we really enjoy. On Mondays and Wednesdays we have a good amount of time in between our first and second classes and instead of going back to our room to take a nap (who does that when you are in Rome...thats just wasting precious time) we walk down Via del Vittorio to a wall that encloses some of the old ruins in the middle of the city and we sit on this wall to talk and people watch around 1 or 2 pm in the afternoon. The Italy sun is at its peak, tour groups and busses pass every few seconds, and locals pass on their lunch breaks while others take their afternoon walks with their dogs. The noise is forever abundant but it's natural as trucks, vespas, and Fiats travel down the road and add to the activity and constant hum in the heart of Rome. This is what we experience as we sit on our wall, usually with a Fanta or a Coke from our lunch that we just ate at Pascucci's.
The first time we sat on our wall we talked about how much we think we have changed from just being here three weeks and we talk about how beyond grateful we are for this experience and all of the invaluable things we are learning here. We also decided that everybody needs to study abroad, make it happen any way possible. We will plead and beckon you when we return so be prepared. Studying abroad is nothing like you could ever imagine. Do not let anything keep you from studying abroad....even you nursing majors have no excuse... summer school is a pain but this opportunity can not be explained in any amount of words, it has to be experienced.
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| Our view from our wall on Via Vittorio |
Other rituals that we have established as we begin our fourth week:
Nightly walks to Trastevere, specifically to the best gelato shop in the city. Its only 1,50 euro, they give you a generous amount and it is the richest, creamiest gelato you will ever taste. Plus the guy that works there knows us cause we come every night and we found out after asking "Come ti chiami" that his name is Aimon (I have no idea how to spell that). We tell him "a domani" every time we leave cause we know we will be coming back.
Nightly walks after dinner, to see and experience as much of the night life as we can.
Weekly stop at La Tazza d'Oro for the famous Granita di Caffe.
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| La Tazza D'Oro with my pals and my iced coffee |
On Monday night we had our first optional meeting with God Squad which is a group of about three to four seminarians that are studying here who meet with us to talk about faith and anything else we really want to talk about. The first meeting was nice and afterwards we got gelato with them at a new place we have never been to before. Yes, for more gelato options.
We went out to dinner tonight to a restaurant about 10 minutes away called Da Luigi's. According to Professor Checca, they have the best gnocchi but it is only served one night a week and so we found out it was Thursday's and we went! It was incredible. The gnocchi was covered with a layer of cheese and had a nice thin layer of red sauce mixed in with a little bit more cheese. It made your stomach and soul feel warm and radiant. I never speak of American food so fondly and there is a reason for that....
Tomorrow is Friday. But it doesn't feel like it because for one, every day of the week here is a blessing and a joy so I don't really find Friday as relieving as a Friday back home, and also because on Saturday we have an all day group trip to Tarquinia for which we have to wake up at 6 am. I am not looking forward to the early morning.
So it's October 18th almost 19th here, the weather and temperature have been about the same for the past week, 72 degrees and sunny. Perfect weather, absolutely perfect weather I have nothing to complain about. However it feels a little odd. Here in Rome there is no sense of a season, it does not feel like fall at all. Do they even have fall here? The only sign of fall that I have seen is in a window display of a caffe/restaurant where they have like two small pumpkins and some fake leaves spread around. There are no trees or grass or anything really associated with nature here in the city so there are no leaves falling and no changing of colors. It will probably stay like this through December, it will get a little colder but I don't think much else will change. It is different. I love Rome. I undeniably love Rome but I do miss the fall back home. I also miss autumn scents, pumpkins, and the sense of change in the season and the weather. Never really thought those would be the things I miss but you never realize what you miss until you don't have it anymore. Of course as soon as I am back in South Bend I will want to be back in Rome but I thought I would give my good ole hometown some credit and acknowledge that I miss it just a little bit :)
To all my friends back at home I wish you all a wonderful Fall Break! Please play in the leaves and take a huge breath of crisp fall midwest air for me. Exhale and send it into the sky, maybe it will get to me somehow... As for me, I will continue to play in the streets of Rome and take in a huge breath of the Italian October air filled with the scents of pastries and vino, and the sounds of violins and accordions and beautiful Italian chatter that is as constant as a clock ticking and as natural as a heart beat....I will exhale and send it away to you....
Well thats all that I have to catch you up on since I last posted. Not anything too exciting, just the workings of Andree's mind that is always buzzing with what I want to say in my posts because every single hour here is worthy of jotting down. But I unbiasedly think that any post from Rome is a worthy post to read. I hope you feel the same way.
Buona fine settimana!
Andreina
*Post title credit goes to Katelyn Smith and her obsession with "Home" by Philip Philips
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