I did a lot of things this semester. I cut about 9 inches of my hair off, causing people to ask if I had donated to Locks of Love, which led to me to sheepishly shake my head and reveal my selfishness in not waiting 2 more months so I could have the required amount of hair. I also started as host of Late Night ND and successfully produced 8 episodes (this all went a lot better than I had hoped, thanks to the awesome writers). I guess I took some classes, too, and did normal college things like go to bars and hang out with friends. And I guess I dated some people, too, but of course, since this is me we're talking about, these were not normal or typical dates. I'll change the names to be nice and I'll leave out a few of the boys who, well, just weren't that interesting or were actually nice to me.
First, there was Bob. Back in Rome, I was going through my list of facebook friends, trying to decide who I would date next semester. I picked Bob, a guy I had a crush on back in spring semester 2007. Somehow, through facebook messaging and eventual phone calls, Bob and I ended up hanging out. Yeah, I'm that good (or that weird that I plan this so far in advance). My plan for 2008 was to date a nice, normal guy, since it seemed to be my trend to date weirdos and creepers. It seemed I had hit the normal jackpot with Bob. But too much of an ordinary thing is, well, ordinary. Poor Bob really was a nice guy. He was sweet, cute, normal, boring, bland, from Ohio. Yeah, this wasn't working out. After a particularly average date with Bob, we went back to his dorm room to hang out. I thought to myself, "Alright, you made it through a dinner composed of long awkward pauses, at least get something out of this. Maybe he's a good kisser." So we're sitting there, watching TV, making awkward conversation about nothing, hitting awkward pause after awkward pause, and he is not making a single move. I can't take it anymore, so I say "Hey, you know what I hate? Awkward pauses." "Yeah, me too," says Bob. "What do we do about those?" I respond, "Well, I figure we have 2 options. Either we can keep on stumbling through boring small talk, or you could just kiss me. Personally, I'd prefer the latter of the options, but if that's not what you're into, I can just leave." So the emasculated Bob leaned in for a kiss. Nope, bad kisser. After about 5 seconds of that nonsense, I suggested we watch some Office DVDs instead. I guess planning ahead doesn't always lead to success.
Then there was Paul. I met Paul at an SYR (a semi-formal dance for all you non-ND folk--yes, I know, it's kind of weird). Paul was the complete opposite of Bob--Paul was completely insane. After Bob I thought that maybe normal isn't what I need, maybe I do need the crazy, but the right kind. Paul was definitely some kind of crazy, I just didn't know if he was right. He was fun, and a little violent, since he literally threw me while dancing with me, but he was cute and really funny. Funny is clutch. After the dance, all our friends went home, and we stayed and talked for a couple hours. Paul walked me home and gave me a sweet kiss before running away. Goofy, but sweet. I had a good feeling about him.
Then the fun crazy started to turn into freakin' weird. I heard a rumor that Paul did not use shampoo. Ever. I figured this must be a rumor until Paul admitted this to me without my prompting. Apparently, its his signature, to not wash his hair. It turns out that its also his signature to not only throw girls whilst dancing, but to also trip them, pull their hair, push them, etc during any activity at any time of day. It quickly became clear to me that Paul was immediately charming and progressively obnoxious because he was five years old. And as for the "sweet, nice" kiss at the end of the night--this became a raspberry on my face before a good laugh and attempt at tripping me. That's right, he raspberried my face. Paul is certainly the wrong type of weird for me.
There were a couple repeats this semester, too. Shawn, the guy I dated fall 2006 who would call me 7 times a day, made a brief appearance. He's the bartender at the Backer (my favorite South Bend bar) and saw me one night and threw a lime at me. Charming. He texted me with "U look cute tonite...I know u aren't looking 4 a relationship, but if u ever want to hang out, give me a call..." He found me 5 minutes later to make sure I had gotten the text. Then his gal pal approached me in the bathroom to ask what I thought of him. Yikes, this guy hasn't changed a bit.
This isn't so much of a repeat, but crazy guy from my summer course at Kent State randomly wrote on my wall, saying "i think its too bad that our evaluations of the world are so different, otherwise I'd so be into you!" Darn it! Why can't I change my opinions of the world so that I see music in buildings on KSU's campus or so that I find "sexy giraffe" a valid self-description??? I responded to his post by saying that variety is the spice of life and left it at that.
There were some other boys from this semester, but they are either not worth talking about (i.e. Clayton, the law student from the Backer who asked me to go home with him after 5 minutes of conversation), are actually very mean and don't even deserve the time it takes to write about them (Roma ladies and PE chicks, you know), or are too nice to deface in this blog (even though you don't even read it). I know, I'm not living the crazy life. I don't exactly have the makings of a saucy Carrie Bradshaw column going on here. But keep in mind that I do go to Notre Dame, we do have parietals, and I'm not telling you everything. On the one hand, I hope to find a great guy who is that perfect balance of normal and crazy, but on the other hand, I hope to keep attracting the weirdos so I can tally up the experiences and relay the stories.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
You're Gonna Cry
I'm not going to apologize for not having a blog in a while because
a) I have already personally apologized for this to Metzger
b) I've been busy
c) Though I've been busy, I have not been all that interesting
However, I did just get my nose pierced. This event was supposed to be a part of a larger "hard core" day, involving sky diving and...well I guess that's the only other hard core thing, but sky diving is pretty intense. The weather did not permit skydiving, so I got my nose pierced instead. I went with Jess and Lora (who was getting her ears pierced for the first time). We got to the first place and everyone was leaving. A big burly man stopped us at the door and said they were closing. I had called earlier that day and they said they were open until 10, but apparently, they were all headed out to a concert. I asked the bear man where another piercing place might be and he said, "There's a joint in a strip mall down the road across from the Big Lots." Perfect.
We got back in our cars and drove all the way to Michigan (10 minutes down the road) to find the place. It was a little sketch ball, but what tattoo/piercing place isn't? We walk in and tell the guy chillin' out in the front that we need a nose piercing and an ear piercing. As we're waiting for things to be ready, Jess politely asks guy in front how many tattoos he has. He has over 50, and pulls down his lower lip to reveal the word "poop" tattooed on the inside. He says he got it to match the tattoo on his knuckles, which says "Turd" but when he puts his fist together it says "Basturd." This gentleman is obviously a classy fellow obsessed with excrement. I ask the young man about how long it takes for a nose piercing to heal and he replies, in a disgusted voice, "Well I don't know! Maybe some months or a couple weeks or whatever." Fantastic.
A hole-y man named Pedro invites us to the back of the shop where we will be pierced. Since it is near closing time, everyone in the place gathers around to watch the procedure. I decide to go first and ask Pedro how much this will hurt. He says, "Well, you're gonna cry." Ha! Pedro does not know how tough I am! "No really," Pedro says. "You automatically tear up because it hits your sinuses." Oh.
Pedro and his gang are a classy bunch and as he swabs the inside of my nose with a q-tip, he discusses an earlier even that day when a few young ladies came in asking to take photos of them giving the men of the shop blow jobs. Then the dude with the fresh tattoo (and a swollen arm around it) started telling me that I looked hot. I began to wonder about my chances of getting AIDS from this piercing, but before I knew it, there was a needle through my nose. It hurt for a second, then it was fine...or at least I thought it was fine. I couldn't tell, but apparently I was bleeding a lot. Pedro said, "Wow, I've never seen anyone bleed that much before. You should go into the bathroom and clean that off." I thought he was kidding. He wasn't. Pedro doesn't like the sight of blood, apparently, which is odd coming from a man with a giant spike coming out of his lip, but he sent me away anyway until the bleeding stopped.
Lora was up next to get a standard ear piercing. Pedro was confused and kept trying to convince Lora to get something more daring as her first piercing, but no, the lobes are just fine, thank you. Pedro explained to Lora that he did not like to use a piercing gun, but instead did it the old fashioned way with a needle and a cork. This way, instead of just pushing the flesh out of the way, a piece of flesh is actually removed. This did not make anyone except Pedro excited. Lora braved through the flesh removal, creepy arm tattoo man gave some parting words of weirdness, we paid for our new bling, and left. It was a pretty good day.
I only told my brother about my piercing, so when my parents came to pick me up for summer, this is what happened after the initial friendly greetings and hugs...
Mom: It's so great to see you! It's been so--wait a second. What is that? Noooooo. You didn't! WHAT IN THE HELL DID YOU DO??? Scott! Look at our daughter!
Dad: Oh yeah, I figured she did that
Mom: You DID???
Dad: Yeah, why are you so surprised? Didn't you go with her to get her hair cut short?
Mom: Not her HAIR!!! Look at her face!
Dad: Oh geez....mothers' day is going to be fun
Incidentally, none of the grandparents even noticed on mothers' day. Hooray!
I have a few more stories to tell from this past semester, and I'll hopefully have time to write about them in the next couple of weeks. Topics to look forward to:
Men of Spring Semester 2008
My Interview with BJ Novak
Internships
Post-Feminism
And so much more! (or maybe not...)
a) I have already personally apologized for this to Metzger
b) I've been busy
c) Though I've been busy, I have not been all that interesting
However, I did just get my nose pierced. This event was supposed to be a part of a larger "hard core" day, involving sky diving and...well I guess that's the only other hard core thing, but sky diving is pretty intense. The weather did not permit skydiving, so I got my nose pierced instead. I went with Jess and Lora (who was getting her ears pierced for the first time). We got to the first place and everyone was leaving. A big burly man stopped us at the door and said they were closing. I had called earlier that day and they said they were open until 10, but apparently, they were all headed out to a concert. I asked the bear man where another piercing place might be and he said, "There's a joint in a strip mall down the road across from the Big Lots." Perfect.
We got back in our cars and drove all the way to Michigan (10 minutes down the road) to find the place. It was a little sketch ball, but what tattoo/piercing place isn't? We walk in and tell the guy chillin' out in the front that we need a nose piercing and an ear piercing. As we're waiting for things to be ready, Jess politely asks guy in front how many tattoos he has. He has over 50, and pulls down his lower lip to reveal the word "poop" tattooed on the inside. He says he got it to match the tattoo on his knuckles, which says "Turd" but when he puts his fist together it says "Basturd." This gentleman is obviously a classy fellow obsessed with excrement. I ask the young man about how long it takes for a nose piercing to heal and he replies, in a disgusted voice, "Well I don't know! Maybe some months or a couple weeks or whatever." Fantastic.
A hole-y man named Pedro invites us to the back of the shop where we will be pierced. Since it is near closing time, everyone in the place gathers around to watch the procedure. I decide to go first and ask Pedro how much this will hurt. He says, "Well, you're gonna cry." Ha! Pedro does not know how tough I am! "No really," Pedro says. "You automatically tear up because it hits your sinuses." Oh.
Pedro and his gang are a classy bunch and as he swabs the inside of my nose with a q-tip, he discusses an earlier even that day when a few young ladies came in asking to take photos of them giving the men of the shop blow jobs. Then the dude with the fresh tattoo (and a swollen arm around it) started telling me that I looked hot. I began to wonder about my chances of getting AIDS from this piercing, but before I knew it, there was a needle through my nose. It hurt for a second, then it was fine...or at least I thought it was fine. I couldn't tell, but apparently I was bleeding a lot. Pedro said, "Wow, I've never seen anyone bleed that much before. You should go into the bathroom and clean that off." I thought he was kidding. He wasn't. Pedro doesn't like the sight of blood, apparently, which is odd coming from a man with a giant spike coming out of his lip, but he sent me away anyway until the bleeding stopped.
Lora was up next to get a standard ear piercing. Pedro was confused and kept trying to convince Lora to get something more daring as her first piercing, but no, the lobes are just fine, thank you. Pedro explained to Lora that he did not like to use a piercing gun, but instead did it the old fashioned way with a needle and a cork. This way, instead of just pushing the flesh out of the way, a piece of flesh is actually removed. This did not make anyone except Pedro excited. Lora braved through the flesh removal, creepy arm tattoo man gave some parting words of weirdness, we paid for our new bling, and left. It was a pretty good day.
I only told my brother about my piercing, so when my parents came to pick me up for summer, this is what happened after the initial friendly greetings and hugs...
Mom: It's so great to see you! It's been so--wait a second. What is that? Noooooo. You didn't! WHAT IN THE HELL DID YOU DO??? Scott! Look at our daughter!
Dad: Oh yeah, I figured she did that
Mom: You DID???
Dad: Yeah, why are you so surprised? Didn't you go with her to get her hair cut short?
Mom: Not her HAIR!!! Look at her face!
Dad: Oh geez....mothers' day is going to be fun
Incidentally, none of the grandparents even noticed on mothers' day. Hooray!
I have a few more stories to tell from this past semester, and I'll hopefully have time to write about them in the next couple of weeks. Topics to look forward to:
Men of Spring Semester 2008
My Interview with BJ Novak
Internships
Post-Feminism
And so much more! (or maybe not...)
Monday, February 11, 2008
Best Birthday Ever
I've been back under the Dome for about a month now. It's cold. There's lots of work. I have responsibilities. Adjusting is a bit harder than I thought. I'm getting there, though, and having fun in the process.
Over winter break, I turned 21. It was the best birthday I've ever had because Jess, Caitlin C., and Caitlin I. all came to visit me in lil' ol' Stow, Ohio. I had no idea Caitlin I. was visiting and she surprised me by popping up from behind a chair in my family room. I was SHOCKED! It was a lot of fun getting to show my friends around my hometown. I took them to the fake-dome at Hoban High and to the Rhino and my dad's shop and to the "nice" mall (so not Chapel Hill). The night of my 21st, Shannon joined the 4 of us and we went to Lux, which used to be Poss. I was so excited to hand over my adult, horizontal I.D., but the bouncer didn't seem to take notice since he marked my hands with giant black X's before I could say anything. I have no idea why he marked me under, but it was a bit difficult to get a drink the rest of the night. Something like that was bound to happen on my 21st. I just have that kind of ironic luck.
Now that I'm back at ND, I've had the opportunity to sample the fine bars of South Bend. I went to Fever the first week of being back. So did everyone else, apparently, since I had to wait in line in the cold for 45 minutes before getting in. The crowd was all Notre Dame people--girls in slutty black tank tops, leggings, ugg boots and boys in button downs or polos with an ND baseball cap. We are a frumpy bunch. The Backer has quickly become my favorite place for its sheer griminess and ignorance of popular music. Finnigan's is not as fun, though I did do some great people watching there. The law students dancing there were very good and enacting every lyric of various Madonna songs.
When I'm not bar hopping around South Bend, I'm hosting Late Night ND (formerly known as The Mike Peterson Show). The first episode went pretty well, the second one was good, and the third one was even better. I say "umm" a lot and I need a better sign off than my last one of "I should go! Bye!" but I'm getting the hang of being host. If you want to check out the episodes, go to ndtv.net.
A slightly awkward situation arose the other day in conjunction with the show. My dorm had an SYR the other weekend, and instead of picking a date, Jess invited a bunch of her friends from the Australia program to share with me and some other girls. It was a fun night, but I seemed to especially click with one of the guys. Long after the last verse of piano man (the requisite final song to any SYR), this boy and I were still talking in Lafortune. He walked me back to my dorm and kissed me. All very sweet. The next day, I found out that he is rumored to have very poor hygiene (supposedly, he has a strong dislike of shampoo) and, since he is one of the student-body presidential candidates, I was to be interviewing him for that week's show. Excellent. I was a bit worried about potential awkwardness in the interview, but our brief history actually made the interview funnier. However, I recently received confirmation on the hygiene rumor, and though my friends tell me that I can teach him to be cleanly, I'm not too interested in dating a 4-year-old. Alas, perhaps I will find love at speed dating at Legends this Thursday. That's right. I'm going speed dating at the on-campus bar. Huzzah!
Over winter break, I turned 21. It was the best birthday I've ever had because Jess, Caitlin C., and Caitlin I. all came to visit me in lil' ol' Stow, Ohio. I had no idea Caitlin I. was visiting and she surprised me by popping up from behind a chair in my family room. I was SHOCKED! It was a lot of fun getting to show my friends around my hometown. I took them to the fake-dome at Hoban High and to the Rhino and my dad's shop and to the "nice" mall (so not Chapel Hill). The night of my 21st, Shannon joined the 4 of us and we went to Lux, which used to be Poss. I was so excited to hand over my adult, horizontal I.D., but the bouncer didn't seem to take notice since he marked my hands with giant black X's before I could say anything. I have no idea why he marked me under, but it was a bit difficult to get a drink the rest of the night. Something like that was bound to happen on my 21st. I just have that kind of ironic luck.
Now that I'm back at ND, I've had the opportunity to sample the fine bars of South Bend. I went to Fever the first week of being back. So did everyone else, apparently, since I had to wait in line in the cold for 45 minutes before getting in. The crowd was all Notre Dame people--girls in slutty black tank tops, leggings, ugg boots and boys in button downs or polos with an ND baseball cap. We are a frumpy bunch. The Backer has quickly become my favorite place for its sheer griminess and ignorance of popular music. Finnigan's is not as fun, though I did do some great people watching there. The law students dancing there were very good and enacting every lyric of various Madonna songs.
When I'm not bar hopping around South Bend, I'm hosting Late Night ND (formerly known as The Mike Peterson Show). The first episode went pretty well, the second one was good, and the third one was even better. I say "umm" a lot and I need a better sign off than my last one of "I should go! Bye!" but I'm getting the hang of being host. If you want to check out the episodes, go to ndtv.net.
A slightly awkward situation arose the other day in conjunction with the show. My dorm had an SYR the other weekend, and instead of picking a date, Jess invited a bunch of her friends from the Australia program to share with me and some other girls. It was a fun night, but I seemed to especially click with one of the guys. Long after the last verse of piano man (the requisite final song to any SYR), this boy and I were still talking in Lafortune. He walked me back to my dorm and kissed me. All very sweet. The next day, I found out that he is rumored to have very poor hygiene (supposedly, he has a strong dislike of shampoo) and, since he is one of the student-body presidential candidates, I was to be interviewing him for that week's show. Excellent. I was a bit worried about potential awkwardness in the interview, but our brief history actually made the interview funnier. However, I recently received confirmation on the hygiene rumor, and though my friends tell me that I can teach him to be cleanly, I'm not too interested in dating a 4-year-old. Alas, perhaps I will find love at speed dating at Legends this Thursday. That's right. I'm going speed dating at the on-campus bar. Huzzah!
Sunday, December 16, 2007
The Fall of Rome
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.
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.
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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