Originally, I wasn't planning on writing a blog, since pretty much everyone in the group of 30+ ND students seems to be keeping one. However, my surprisingly ridiculous experiences over just the past three days inspired me to begin a blog of my own! Even if the following is practically non-existent, just organizing my thoughts into a medium like this is better than any of my scattered and tangential musings in the travel journal I have yet to start writing in...so it's safe to say that blogging will be the more expedient route for now. :) At the moment, though, I must take a deep breath and gather my thoughts, for I am in *the* Eternal City....
Currently, I am sitting at the kitchen table in our little apartment, Medaglie d'Oro; a ten minute walk from the wonders of Vatican City, I could get used to this place pretty quickly. The incessant sound of traffic outside is strangely soothing, and the raucous late-night traipsing of various American college students up and down the stairs somehow lulls me to sleep. The first three days here in Rome have been a whirlwind of activity; after over 24 hours of traveling, we arrived at the Fiumicino Airport in more or less stable condition. We had our first encounter with classic Roman inefficiency when we had to wait nearly two hours for our bus to Medaglie d'Oro--part of this time was spent in the dreary rainy weather outside as six girls from another study abroad program tried to sneak onto our bus, causing a whole load of logistical issues and fraying the already worn patience of our exhausted group. Finally, everything was resolved, and we were on our last leg of the epic journey to the Eternal City. *One note: Italian drivers are CRAZY. They hardly ever think to use turn signals, or pay attention to stop lights or pedestrians crossing the street, and i motorini (Vespas!) weave in and out of traffic with ridiculous abandon. There have been too many close calls for comfort over the past few days. At least they drive on the right side of the road here, unlike in New Zealand last summer, where I spent two months teaching music, avoiding speeding school buses, and dodging reckless teenage drivers coming at me from the opposite direction. Thank goodness for small blessings like that!
We arrived at Medaglie d'Oro after passing through the crazily winding streets, acknowleding both centuries-old buildings and modern high-rises lined side by side, and encountered more waiting during the lengthy check-in process (again, in the rain). Upon entering my apartment, which I share with six other girls: Emily, Karla, Katie, Anne, Natalie, and Chrissy, I was relieved to discover two working bathrooms, a spacious floor plan with a decent kitchen, three double bedrooms, and a broom closet-sized single room. Ever the martyr, I volunteered to take the single and retain whatever vestiges of privacy I could. I've lovingly decided to name it the Harry Potter room, although I think he may have had a little more space in that cupboard under the stairs ;)
Alright, so it's already my fourth day in Rome and so much has happened since I stepped off that plane at Fiumicino that I'll try and be concise--although there is seriously wayy too much to describe in just one sitting! Basically the days have been characterized by numerous orientation sessions at John Cabot University, meeting up with Aida della Longa, our Notre Dame contact who works primarily with the ND Architecture School here, finishing up the paperwork process for the permesso di soggiorno (our permit to stay in Italy for the semester), and exploring the city. So far, I've been to the Vatican--emerging from the massive Colonnato into St. Peter's Square is a moment I'll remember for the rest of my life. It is truly more wondrous than it appears in pictures and movies, and I couldn't help but tear up due to the overwhelming tumult of emotions it inspired. As a theology major, this semester in Rome will literally be heaven on Earth. :) Other than St. Peter's, I've been to the Piazza Navona, the Chiesa di Sant'Agnese, the Pantheon, the Campo de Fiori (open-air market by day, American college student bar trap at night), walked through the winding streets of the medieval neighborhood of Trastevere, and strolled along the Tiber River more times than I can count!
Then, this morning, Saturday the 16th, our RA took some of us on a walking tour of our neighborhood at 11, which was actually really nice because we got to see so much more of what is around us. There are flower sellers, peddlers hawking their discounted wares, tiny mom-and-pop supermarkets, trattorias, pubs, farmacie (pharmacies that sell a little of everything health and beauty-wise), a metro station, an Italian movie theater that’ll be good to practice my aural skills at, discount supermarkets, and a HUGE indoor market that used to be the largest and most popular outdoor market in the entire city until a couple years ago, when they built a modern-style complex to house it. I have yet to visit the Mercato Trionfale, but something tells me I'll be going there quite soon :)
In the past four days, I’ve been hoodwinked by a Gypsy beggar woman outside the Vatican walls, gotten a whole pizza for 5 euro from a nice Turkish man at the pizzeria and kebab shop right below our apartment, experienced the heavenly place that is St. Peter’s Basilica, been helped by two wonderful elderly ladies when I almost got locked out of the supermarket down the street at closing-time searching for my friends, experienced xenophobia in the form of an American-despising clerk at the same supermarket, and have probably walked an average of fifteen miles a day since getting here. My Italian is woefully inept, but my earnest attempts to communicate in the language of the people have led to many wonderful experiences, often resulted in smiles, and even made some new friends. I’ve found that I don’t have the stamina to keep up with the wild college drinking culture here, but I think I’d rather get myself involved in the religious and musical communities around the city. This Monday before my 5:15 pm philosophy class, I'd like to visit the Ladies of the Work on the via Aurelia behind the Vatican; according to Father Neil J. Roy, they give "superlative tours of the necropolis beneath St Peter's in the Vatican." So cool!! Then I meet my piano professor, Stefano Scarcella, sometime between Jan. 26 and Feb. 2, which is super exciting. Although, I haven't touched a piano in days...that meeting is going to be entertaining, to say the least. And soon, I’ll begin my job with the Limentani family in Trastevere teaching English to their children Sofia and Andrea, ages 8 and 12.
Although the days seem infinitely slow, it means that more time can be spent savoring each and every moment in this wondrous city. Mass at St. Peter's Basilica tomorrow morning, one last orientation session at JCU in the afternoon, maybe going to the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps after that? We shall see, for it is only the first weekend. There are fifteen more of these to go!! Well, thanks for bearing with this first, novel-length post--I *promise* the rest will be much, much shorter!
Love,
*~*Laura*~*
sabato 16 gennaio 2010
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