Here I am, back in Stow, Ohio. It's not as weird as I thought it would be. I was imagining getting a weird look from the Starbucks cashier when I am unable to get out of the habit of saying "Cappuccino, per favore. Grazie", being astounded by the size of America's cars, or being appalled by the size of the food portions in restaurants. None of this happened. Everything is normal and unsurprising and familiar. It's as if I fell asleep at the end of summer, had a very long and fantastic dream, and woke up just in time for Christmas. I have to look at the pictures occasionally to remind myself that I really did accomplish that goal of studying abroad in Rome. I think that's the first serious and specific life goal that I can check off my list.
For those who don't want to read the past umpteen blogs about my life in Rome, and for those who just want a recap, here's Rome in a nutshell (a hazelnut shell, covered in nutella and set next to a cup of cappuccino)
August 26, I arrived in Rome with 28 other Notre Dame students
We met Maria Younes, a woman who would make little impact in our lives except for added frustration and unintentional amusement
Arrived at our apartments, at Medaglia D'Oro. I'm assigned to 127 and meet Erin, Caitlin, Jackie, Kristina, and Colleen. Our apartment becomes the hang out spot for everyone else because we are so cool/are too lazy to go to anyone else's apartment.
Went through a week of intense site-seeing and orientation in 100 degree heat (looking back, I don't know how we did not complain more/die)
Heard tons of speeches about the dangers of Italian men. Turns out that we were able to handle the occasional "Ciao Bella" without being hugely offended or subjecting ourselves to sexual assault.
Walked through St. Peter's Square and my love affair with Rome began
Had gelato and became a regular at Old Bridge
Had cappuccino and became a regular at Tony's
Had pizza and became a semi-regular at Bafetto
Had pasta every single day and never got tired of it
Started class at John Cabot University in Trastevere, the home of the Lemon Tree Courtyard , intense ping-pong players, and sub-par education
Spanish Steps
Trevi Fountain
Colosseum
Roman Forum
Vatican Museum
Lots and lots of Ancient and Renaissance stuff
Figured out how to grocery shop for myself
Figured out how to cook--mainly pasta with beans and corn
Learned how to dodge traffic, or more specifically, give traffic enough attitude to make them stop
Began memorizing the metro stops and "Uscita lato destro/sinistro"
Shopped and neglected to figure out the currency conversion
Learned my size in Italian clothing simply by asking a saleswoman and having her eye me up and feel me up. The size she suggested was dead on.
Vino rosso della casa and Peroni
Learned the useful, common Italian phrases
Pub Crawl
Campo dei Fiori--hang out for Americans abroad and Italians looking for easy Americans
Florence
Sienna
San Gimignano
Pisa
La Notte Bianca--party time in Rome
Pompeii
Mount Vesuvius
Beach time outside of Rome
Ventotene island
Venice
Outlet shopping in Tuscany
Assisi (retreat)
Farfa (olive grove)
Paris
Reception at the Villa of the Ambassador to the Holy See
Prague
Vienna
Munich
London
Dublin
Bologna
Last days in Rome
Crypt of the Cappuccini monks
Mouth of Truth
Freezing in the apartment because our heat doesn't work
Lots and lots and lots of gelato
Souvenir shopping galore
7 church walk
Finals weeks, the only week of work all semester
Discoteca!
Soccer game: Roma vs. Mancester United
Saw the Pope
Hair appointment at Noi salon
Christmas party and Secret Santa gift exchange with the Rome group
Packing and moving out of Medag
Last Old Bridge gelato while chilling out in St. Peter's Square
Saying goodbye to the Medag and Rome
10 hour flight and back in the USA
And for an even quicker summary: I saw a lot, had excellent experiences, and made great friends. I'm sad that it's over, but thrilled to be able to say that I lived in Rome for four months. I'm more independent, more worldly, and have a crap load of souvenirs, so I would say the trip was a success. I'll be in Stow until mid January, so if anyone wants to grab coffee with me and hear me condescendingly compare it to Italian coffee while you update me on the past 4 months of your life, give me a ring. Well, I'm off to watch Gladiator and criticize its historical inaccuracies. The Rome chronicles are over. Thanks for reading.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Friday, December 14, 2007
RomAmoR
It's 2:00 on the morning of December 15th. In 5 hours, I will take a bus to Fiumicino Airport and take a 10 hour flight back to the U.S. The trip has ended, thus my blogs will be far less interesting in the future. No more European jet-setting or stories of awkward encounters with locals. It's back to St. Ow, then back to the Bend for three more semesters at Notre Dame.
I haven't posted as recently in the past few weeks (despite finally getting my computer fixed), but that's because when I saw the end of the trip approaching, I felt an urge to fit everything I could into my remaining time in Italy. I went to Bologna, toured some more Roman museums, ate at more restaurants, went to more clubs, went to a soccer game, saw the Pope, did some more shopping, etc. After all of this, I felt that my time here was complete. Tourist-wise, I have done just about everything there is to do in Rome. Yet I could stay here for years and not discover all Rome has to offer. At the beginning of this week, beaten down from exams (so tough because they were the only work I had to the entire semester), I felt ready to go home. But now that the time to leave Rome is finally here, I'm not as anxious. I'm thrilled to see my family in a day and I will be glad to be at home where I can relax. What is so heartbreaking about leaving Rome is that I don't know when I will be back, and when I do, it won't be the same experience. I was not in Rome as a tourist, but as a student, and let's face it--my chances of living here once I start a career are not that great.
This week has been one of lasts. Last time at JCU. Last dinner with the roommates (whom I will miss living with dearly). Last look at the Vatican. Last awkward conversation with our maid, Ada. Last cappuccino, pizza, gelato, pasta. We also had our first party with the entire Rome group. All 29 of us had a party and a Secret Santa gift exchange in good ol' Medag 127. It was a fabulous night of some last minute extra group bonding. Tonight, a group of us went out for our last dinner out. Instead of one person giving a toast, each person said what he/she liked best about Rome. Some of things said were "The people", "Being able to wander around without a plan and find something cool", "The beauty of the city with its views and streets", "The history everywhere", "The attitude of Rome--things are never done in a timely fashion, but that's ok". The list goes on, but my favorite was said by Kate, a friend of Erin's who was staying with us this week. She commented that from spending time with the Rome kids, her favorite thing is seeing the family we have formed. It's very true--we are one big, quirky, Roman family. Even though I will see everyone next semester back at ND, it won't be like it is here. We won't see each other every day. We won't be in half of each other's classes (because as opposed to JCU, ND offers more than 15 classes). We won't be traveling to foreign countries with each other. This really was a unique bonding experience and I've come away with some great friends.
Going home will be strange, and a bit of a struggle, as I don't think I will be able to carry my bags. I'm expecting it to still be August at home, but it will be 20 degrees and Christmasy. The whole experience is very surreal, especially since I feel like this is probably the end of a very high peak of my life. Not that the future doesn't hold exciting things and all, but this is probably the only time I will be carefree and young in Europe.
Enough of the sentiments. What this all boils down to is that Rome was an amazing and meaningful experience. I'm sad that it's over, but I suppose it's time to get back to the real world. See you in the states.
I haven't posted as recently in the past few weeks (despite finally getting my computer fixed), but that's because when I saw the end of the trip approaching, I felt an urge to fit everything I could into my remaining time in Italy. I went to Bologna, toured some more Roman museums, ate at more restaurants, went to more clubs, went to a soccer game, saw the Pope, did some more shopping, etc. After all of this, I felt that my time here was complete. Tourist-wise, I have done just about everything there is to do in Rome. Yet I could stay here for years and not discover all Rome has to offer. At the beginning of this week, beaten down from exams (so tough because they were the only work I had to the entire semester), I felt ready to go home. But now that the time to leave Rome is finally here, I'm not as anxious. I'm thrilled to see my family in a day and I will be glad to be at home where I can relax. What is so heartbreaking about leaving Rome is that I don't know when I will be back, and when I do, it won't be the same experience. I was not in Rome as a tourist, but as a student, and let's face it--my chances of living here once I start a career are not that great.
This week has been one of lasts. Last time at JCU. Last dinner with the roommates (whom I will miss living with dearly). Last look at the Vatican. Last awkward conversation with our maid, Ada. Last cappuccino, pizza, gelato, pasta. We also had our first party with the entire Rome group. All 29 of us had a party and a Secret Santa gift exchange in good ol' Medag 127. It was a fabulous night of some last minute extra group bonding. Tonight, a group of us went out for our last dinner out. Instead of one person giving a toast, each person said what he/she liked best about Rome. Some of things said were "The people", "Being able to wander around without a plan and find something cool", "The beauty of the city with its views and streets", "The history everywhere", "The attitude of Rome--things are never done in a timely fashion, but that's ok". The list goes on, but my favorite was said by Kate, a friend of Erin's who was staying with us this week. She commented that from spending time with the Rome kids, her favorite thing is seeing the family we have formed. It's very true--we are one big, quirky, Roman family. Even though I will see everyone next semester back at ND, it won't be like it is here. We won't see each other every day. We won't be in half of each other's classes (because as opposed to JCU, ND offers more than 15 classes). We won't be traveling to foreign countries with each other. This really was a unique bonding experience and I've come away with some great friends.
Going home will be strange, and a bit of a struggle, as I don't think I will be able to carry my bags. I'm expecting it to still be August at home, but it will be 20 degrees and Christmasy. The whole experience is very surreal, especially since I feel like this is probably the end of a very high peak of my life. Not that the future doesn't hold exciting things and all, but this is probably the only time I will be carefree and young in Europe.
Enough of the sentiments. What this all boils down to is that Rome was an amazing and meaningful experience. I'm sad that it's over, but I suppose it's time to get back to the real world. See you in the states.
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Peasant Thanksgiving
It seems a little too after the fact to tell you very many details about my trip to London and Dublin, so I'll just run through the basics.
We left for London the day before Thanksgiving (thus missing out on the JCU Thanksgiving dinner in the JCU courtyard. Seriously). Our hostel was in the back of a bar and had a wonderful welcoming gift in the room including a half drank bottle of orange soda, an opened chocolate bar, goggles, and a damp towel. The hostel actually wasn't that bad, but it did have a sketchy feel in the air. While in London I did/saw the following:
Buckingham Palace (the guards were not dressed up in their funny hats--very disappointing)
Westminster Abby (lots of dead poets, including Chaucer and T.S. Elliot)
British Library (Beethoven's, Bach's, Mozart's, Chopin's, and the Beetles' original, handwritten music. By far the coolest thing in London)
Tower of London (meh, kind of boring)
Camden market (the alternative, punkish place in London)
The London Eye (sweet aerial views)
Big Ben and the Parliament building
Ate some fish and chips (really not that good...basically just an entire fish, scales and all, stuck in a deep fryer)
Took an obligatory phone booth photo
Saw platform 9 and 3/4 (London is really capitalizing on this Harry Potter thing)
Visited with the ND London kids and went to their hang outs
Saw Les Miserables (so incredibly amazing)
Rode the Tube (Mind the Gap!)
Became very thankful to be on the euro for a semester instead of the pound
Thanksgiving was a unique experience. My holiday meal consisted in a kebab I bought for 3 pounds from a stand and then wolfed down in about 5 minutes while sitting on a side street near the theater that was playing Les Miserables. We were late for the play, so we had to eat in a hurry, but it was probably the most peasant-like experience of the semester. I'm surprised people didn't throw money at us.
London was a cool city and it was nice to be somewhere where I mostly understood what everyone was saying (sometimes the accents are a bit difficult). This may be a snap judgment since I wasn't in London for very long, but it did not seem like all that great of a place. It was nice to visit and the people were friendly enough, but the whole atmosphere seemed kind of cold and regulated. Maybe I'm just too in love with Rome to really appreciate any other European city, but I think the main difference between London and Rome is that London's character depends on its institutions and buildings while Rome consists in its people. Yeah, that probably is a very biased and quick judgment. Oh well, I love Rome.
Next stop on our trip was Dublin. The hostel in Dublin was the worst I had ever stayed at, so thank goodness it was my last hostel for the semester. I suppose the hostel itself wasn't horrible (except when the man at the front desk tried to steal money from us). The real problem was our roommate--a 30 something Dublin man who shared a bunk with me. Excellent. There was a TV in the room, which may seem like a luxury, but it was just annoying, because after the creepy man was done telling us why the U.S. sucks, he turned on what appeared to be gay porn and refused to turn it off. I put on my headphones and turned Norah Jones up to try and drown out whatever that guy was watching. However, this didn't drown own his sudden shouting and throwing his stuff around. He was nuts. Thank goodness we had a different roommate the second night.
Dublin is one of my favorite cities I have visited. There aren't that many sites or attractions, but the people are incredibly friendly and the atmosphere is very fun. The things we did see include
St. Patrick's Cathedral (but only the outside because it was closed)
Christ's Church (I think that's what it's called)
Trinity College
City Hall
Dublin Castle
Guinness store house (the largest advertisement I have ever seen. Guinness is gross. It is like drinking a sandwich).
Temple Bar
My favorite part of Dublin was when we walked into a bar and a man stopped me and shouted, "JESUS CHRIST! YOU HAVE THE MOST PIERCING DARK EYES! ARE YOU OF ITALIAN DECENT? IT MUST BE ALL THE OLIVE OIL! YOU LOOK JUST LIKE MEADOW FROM THE SOPRANOS!" OF course, it took going to Ireland for someone to think I was Italian.
So there is my overdue and abridged journey over Thanksgiving break. London is a nice place to visit, but I could see living in Dublin, mostly because of the people there (and the accents).
We left for London the day before Thanksgiving (thus missing out on the JCU Thanksgiving dinner in the JCU courtyard. Seriously). Our hostel was in the back of a bar and had a wonderful welcoming gift in the room including a half drank bottle of orange soda, an opened chocolate bar, goggles, and a damp towel. The hostel actually wasn't that bad, but it did have a sketchy feel in the air. While in London I did/saw the following:
Buckingham Palace (the guards were not dressed up in their funny hats--very disappointing)
Westminster Abby (lots of dead poets, including Chaucer and T.S. Elliot)
British Library (Beethoven's, Bach's, Mozart's, Chopin's, and the Beetles' original, handwritten music. By far the coolest thing in London)
Tower of London (meh, kind of boring)
Camden market (the alternative, punkish place in London)
The London Eye (sweet aerial views)
Big Ben and the Parliament building
Ate some fish and chips (really not that good...basically just an entire fish, scales and all, stuck in a deep fryer)
Took an obligatory phone booth photo
Saw platform 9 and 3/4 (London is really capitalizing on this Harry Potter thing)
Visited with the ND London kids and went to their hang outs
Saw Les Miserables (so incredibly amazing)
Rode the Tube (Mind the Gap!)
Became very thankful to be on the euro for a semester instead of the pound
Thanksgiving was a unique experience. My holiday meal consisted in a kebab I bought for 3 pounds from a stand and then wolfed down in about 5 minutes while sitting on a side street near the theater that was playing Les Miserables. We were late for the play, so we had to eat in a hurry, but it was probably the most peasant-like experience of the semester. I'm surprised people didn't throw money at us.
London was a cool city and it was nice to be somewhere where I mostly understood what everyone was saying (sometimes the accents are a bit difficult). This may be a snap judgment since I wasn't in London for very long, but it did not seem like all that great of a place. It was nice to visit and the people were friendly enough, but the whole atmosphere seemed kind of cold and regulated. Maybe I'm just too in love with Rome to really appreciate any other European city, but I think the main difference between London and Rome is that London's character depends on its institutions and buildings while Rome consists in its people. Yeah, that probably is a very biased and quick judgment. Oh well, I love Rome.
Next stop on our trip was Dublin. The hostel in Dublin was the worst I had ever stayed at, so thank goodness it was my last hostel for the semester. I suppose the hostel itself wasn't horrible (except when the man at the front desk tried to steal money from us). The real problem was our roommate--a 30 something Dublin man who shared a bunk with me. Excellent. There was a TV in the room, which may seem like a luxury, but it was just annoying, because after the creepy man was done telling us why the U.S. sucks, he turned on what appeared to be gay porn and refused to turn it off. I put on my headphones and turned Norah Jones up to try and drown out whatever that guy was watching. However, this didn't drown own his sudden shouting and throwing his stuff around. He was nuts. Thank goodness we had a different roommate the second night.
Dublin is one of my favorite cities I have visited. There aren't that many sites or attractions, but the people are incredibly friendly and the atmosphere is very fun. The things we did see include
St. Patrick's Cathedral (but only the outside because it was closed)
Christ's Church (I think that's what it's called)
Trinity College
City Hall
Dublin Castle
Guinness store house (the largest advertisement I have ever seen. Guinness is gross. It is like drinking a sandwich).
Temple Bar
My favorite part of Dublin was when we walked into a bar and a man stopped me and shouted, "JESUS CHRIST! YOU HAVE THE MOST PIERCING DARK EYES! ARE YOU OF ITALIAN DECENT? IT MUST BE ALL THE OLIVE OIL! YOU LOOK JUST LIKE MEADOW FROM THE SOPRANOS!" OF course, it took going to Ireland for someone to think I was Italian.
So there is my overdue and abridged journey over Thanksgiving break. London is a nice place to visit, but I could see living in Dublin, mostly because of the people there (and the accents).
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Christmas Lemon Tree
Apparently there is an uproar on the home front due to the lack of new blogs. Or maybe I'm just hoping there and that everyone finds them so gosh darn addictive. If that is the case, this post will serve as a big tease, because I do not have the time at the moment to tell you about my Thanksgiving in London, followed by my trip to Dublin, a day in Bologna, and sprinklings of Roman fun throughout. Alas, there is no time for that, as I only have 10 more days in l'eterna città and I am going to cram millions of activities into those last days. I will miss Rome terribly and the Rome group in general. It's a wonderful place to live and I have made some great friends. But now is not the time for sappy nostalgia. Now is the time for Christmas! For those of you on facebook, you may have noticed that my name has changed to Elise Navidad. Obviously, I really enjoy Christmas (and this is one of the factors in my acceptance of leaving Rome). The Rome group is being all cute and Christmasy and started the season off right with some hot cocoa in Medag 127. This inspired a Christmas sing-a-long and then a Christmas write-a-long. where we re-wrote the 12 Days of Christmas for a JCU theme. This won't really be funny for those who don't go there and it might even require explanation. Explanation requests can be submitted by email, because I'm not going to explain it here.
This one goes out to ND Rome '08
The 12 Days of JCU
On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Maria Younes in the lemon tree
On the second day of Christmas my true love game to me
2 ping pong players
and Maria Younes in the lemon tree
On the third day of Christmas my true love game to me
3 thousand platform
2 ping pong players
and Maria Younes in the lemon tree
On the fourth day of Christmas my true love game to me
4 Pathways
3 thousand platform
2 ping-pong players
and Maria Younes in the lemon tree
On the fifth day of Christmas my true love game to me
5 servings of pink sauce!
4 Pathways
3 thousand platform
2 ping-pong players
and Maria Younes in the lemon tree
On the sixth day of Christmas my true love game to me
6 dirty Italians
5 servings of pink sauce!
4 Pathways
3 thousand platform
2 ping-pong players
and Maria Younes in the lemon tree
On the seventh day of Christmas my true love game to me
7 awful classes
6 dirty Italians
5 servings of pink sauce!
4 Pathways
3 thousand platform
2 ping-pong players
and Maria Younes in the lemon tree
On the eighth day of Christmas my true love game to me
8 plastic tables
7 awful classes
6 dirty Italians
5 servings of pink sauce!
4 Pathways
3 thousand platform
2 ping-pong players
and Maria Younes in the lemon tree
On the ninth day of Christmas my true love game to me
9 emergency testings
8 plastic tables
7 awful classes
6 dirty Italians
5 servings of pink sauce!
4 Pathways
3 thousand platform
2 ping-pong players
and Maria Younes in the lemon tree
On the tenth day of Christmas my true love game to me
10 'dumb bitches' (said in a Juliette tone)
9 emergency testings
8 plastic tables
7 awful classes
6 dirty Italians
5 servings of pink sauce!
4 Pathways
3 thousand platform
2 ping-pong players
and Maria Younes in the lemon tree
On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love game to me
11 bar fliers
10 'dumb bitches'
9 emergency testings
8 plastic tables
7 awful classes
6 dirty Italians
5 servings of pink sauce!
4 Pathways
3 thousand platform
2 ping-pong players
and Maria Younes in the lemon tree
On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love game to me
12 chain smokers
11 bar fliers
10 'dumb bitches'
9 emergency testings
8 plastic tables
7 awful classes
6 dirty Italians
5 servings of pink sauce!
4 Pathways
3 thousand platform
2 ping-pong players
and Maria Younes in the lemon tree!!!
This one goes out to ND Rome '08
The 12 Days of JCU
On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Maria Younes in the lemon tree
On the second day of Christmas my true love game to me
2 ping pong players
and Maria Younes in the lemon tree
On the third day of Christmas my true love game to me
3 thousand platform
2 ping pong players
and Maria Younes in the lemon tree
On the fourth day of Christmas my true love game to me
4 Pathways
3 thousand platform
2 ping-pong players
and Maria Younes in the lemon tree
On the fifth day of Christmas my true love game to me
5 servings of pink sauce!
4 Pathways
3 thousand platform
2 ping-pong players
and Maria Younes in the lemon tree
On the sixth day of Christmas my true love game to me
6 dirty Italians
5 servings of pink sauce!
4 Pathways
3 thousand platform
2 ping-pong players
and Maria Younes in the lemon tree
On the seventh day of Christmas my true love game to me
7 awful classes
6 dirty Italians
5 servings of pink sauce!
4 Pathways
3 thousand platform
2 ping-pong players
and Maria Younes in the lemon tree
On the eighth day of Christmas my true love game to me
8 plastic tables
7 awful classes
6 dirty Italians
5 servings of pink sauce!
4 Pathways
3 thousand platform
2 ping-pong players
and Maria Younes in the lemon tree
On the ninth day of Christmas my true love game to me
9 emergency testings
8 plastic tables
7 awful classes
6 dirty Italians
5 servings of pink sauce!
4 Pathways
3 thousand platform
2 ping-pong players
and Maria Younes in the lemon tree
On the tenth day of Christmas my true love game to me
10 'dumb bitches' (said in a Juliette tone)
9 emergency testings
8 plastic tables
7 awful classes
6 dirty Italians
5 servings of pink sauce!
4 Pathways
3 thousand platform
2 ping-pong players
and Maria Younes in the lemon tree
On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love game to me
11 bar fliers
10 'dumb bitches'
9 emergency testings
8 plastic tables
7 awful classes
6 dirty Italians
5 servings of pink sauce!
4 Pathways
3 thousand platform
2 ping-pong players
and Maria Younes in the lemon tree
On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love game to me
12 chain smokers
11 bar fliers
10 'dumb bitches'
9 emergency testings
8 plastic tables
7 awful classes
6 dirty Italians
5 servings of pink sauce!
4 Pathways
3 thousand platform
2 ping-pong players
and Maria Younes in the lemon tree!!!
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