a sight to behold

I'm currently sitting in my italian kitchen, pondering what to eat. Today was a long day.  Lately I've been too hot and tired to explore much after I get out of class at 1, so I've just been laying low at home. But I've been feeling guilty for living life in Rome like I would in Santa Cruz, so last night I went out for the first time this week. It was a blast but I paid for it in full today. So tyty.
We started out at an Irish pub called Scholar's that some of my roommates recommended. I'm sure it would be a fun place later in the evening, but we arrived around 10 - trying to start early so we could go home early - and it was a more... mature crowd. None of us were feeling it, so we decided to relocate. Most of the people I was with decided to go to Campo di Fiori (see previous post), so Carmen and I decided to go to Via Gay with Patrick. Via Gay is the avenue of gay bars/clubs that I had tried to go to last weekend. 
It was a short walk from Scholars and the three of us were just chatting casually as we made our way there, until we turned a corner. I'm not kidding you, I think my jaw hit the ground. 
At the end of a street up ahead, I could see the GIGANTIC colosseum all lit up against the dark sky. I can't even describe to you how I was feeling in that moment; words fail me. But I think I knew in the back of my mind that I wouldn't feel like I was truly living in Rome until I saw it. 
So now I can confidently say it. I'm in Rome. I am ACTUALLY living in Rome...!!!!! 
Looking up at the enormity of it all, you can just feel the hundred and hundreds of years of history weighing down upon you. I mean, to think of how many people had walked the same steps I did only ages ago is simply dumbfounding. This may sound cheesy to those of you who have not had the chance to see it, but honestly, you can't say anything specifically for that reason. Seriously, you have to see it, and I bet promise you, your reaction will be the same. I can't wait to go back and get a tour of it. 
When I was capable of speech again, we strolled down Via Gay and stopped in one of the bars. It was pretty much exactly what I expected it to be: loud house music, dark dance floors with flashing colored lights, strong fruity cocktails, and very attractive gay men. We each ordered a drink and went back out onto the street to people watch. The street itself is full of people just milling around and talking, so it's great for it. It was cool to experience some traditional nightlife of Rome.
When we were finished with our drinks, we took a walk around the outside of the colosseum. It was even better to see it up close and witness the age of it with your own eyes. And I got to touch it! I could probably spend hours there. Twas lovely.
Eventually though, a potty break was needed so we headed back to the club. My night only improved. While waiting for the bathroom, the guy in front of me pulled me aside and told me how, even though he was gay, his boyfriend and I thought I was beautiful. To fully realize the significance of this moment, you have to keep in mind that I was a hot sweaty mess. I smiled, told them grazie, and unsurprisingly felt like a supermodel for the rest of the night. This behavior continued on the dance floor, where we danced the night away to Nicki Minaj and Sia. Starships are meant to fly, you know. 
All in all, it was a buona notte. I think I'm really starting to adjust to my life here. Hopefully tonight will be just as blissful! Wish me luck!
Baci <3

OHMAGAHHHH!!

Me and Carmen on Via Gay

lunedi, lunedi

Buonaserra!
Today was my first day of the corso intensivo di lingua italiana, or Italian practicum. This is the intensive three week course of Italian language classes before we all begin our core courses. Currently, I am enrolled in livello principianti assoluti. Although this may sound both dignified and regal, don't be mistaken friends. Five year old Italian children could probably run laps around this class.
I actually enjoyed the class a lot. Our professore is an energetic, enthusiastic, and sweaty man named Mario. He taught us the alphabet, numbers, a couple verbs, and how to have an introductory conversation with someone in Italian. We practiced in pairs and in front of the class (yikes). It wasn't that scary though. There's only 18 of us. Even though I kept wanting to pronounce everything with a French accent (the only language I've learned besides English), I think I'll do well. I'm motivated to learn, since every interaction I've had so far with Italian people includes me nodding and smiling like the ignorant American that I am. I'm not into that. 
The rest of this past weekend was pretty low key. Saturday night I ended up going out to a club in the Testaccio area with the girls I had met earlier that day. Not the gay bars but still fun. Katie even caught a cab from her homestay house and joined us, which was great. It was free to get in but drinks were expen$ive so Katie and I decided to get some shots instead (just guess what I ordered). They weren't much cheaper, but hey. YOLO. 
We then proceeded to the steamy dance floor and grooved to the American top 40 remixes they were playing. It was a lot of fun because we were familiar with the songs and there wasn't a ton of nasty freak dancing there. The common Italian dance move is a step touch with various arm movements, which I find hilarious after 4 years of choir. Not that I have any idea what I'm doing when I dance (I just feel the music), but you would think these ridiculously good looking people would know how to move their bodies a little bit better than the kids from Glee.
I also got lucky with only one creeper the entire night! He kept following me around even though I thought I was making my decline pretty clear by dancing over to different groups of friends and not acknowledging him. He caught on eventually though and latched onto a different girl. Huzzah. But anyways, it was still a really fun night. 
Sunday was intended to be my chore day since there were thunderstorms predicted and I was feeling a little under the weather. But since every store I tried to go to was closed, that clearly didn't happen. However, I am now caught up to the end of the 4th season of the Vampire Diaries and am getting down to my last pairs of clean undies. My life be like. 

Well, I have our welcome dinner in an hour and I have no idea where it is yet, sooo
ta ta for nowwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) <3 :) <3 :) <3

trials and tribulations.

Ciao all! So I know it's been a couple days, but I'll be honest with you, I never had the intention of writing a post once a day. It's just a little excessive in my opinion. So here's an update on the last couple days. 
My first night out with Carmen was pretty fun! We went to a bar called The Drunken Ship in Campo di Fiori with a bunch of other people from the program. It was an American bar (hence, the title), and even though it wasn't the quintessential Italian bar or club that I was looking for, we still had a good time. We met the bartender who happened to be American as well and he gave us tons of free shots. Unfortunately, I took him up on that a little too frequently. Mistake.
Needless to say, the next day was a struggle and a half. After waking up too early and hauling my a$$ to our second orientation in the Accent center, I spent an insufferable couple hours sitting in an uncomfortable wooden chair in a room with a sauna-like atmosphere listening to one of our professor's present a powerpoint of information that I could have learned by reading the small booklet she had already handed out to everyone. When it finally drew to a close, I trudged back to my apartment and jelled out until the evening. 
Originally, Carmen and I were going to join her friend Ross again with the same group from the night before, but at the last minute we decided to join another group of girls from our program who were going to a discoteca that was only a short walk from the residence Trastevere. 
Yet another mistake. The six of us left at about midnight which may sound crazy late to you, my American friends, but trust me, this is not unusual here. However, after two hours of walking deserted residential streets and asking about 15 different people for directions without a shred of success of finding any discoteca, let alone the specific one we were looking for, I was about ready to cry. But not wanting to sound like a party pooper, I kept my mouth shut. Luckily, Carmen wasn't so worried about that and quietly asked me if I was ready to head back. I could have danced from happiness, even with my aching feet. So we told the girls we had had enough and were heading back. Strangely enough, it took us about 10-15 minutes to get home...funny right? Not so much. 
Today, however, entirely made up for the absolute failure of yesterday. I decided on a whim the day of our first orientation to sign up for a free tour led by another professor from my university called the Baroque walk even though I didn't really know anyone going. It turned out to be probably the best choice I've made my entire time here. The tour was great. The professor knew so much about every monument he took us to and was very enthusiastic about answering any questions we had. Everyone on the tour was also given a little headset so that we could stray a little bit and take good pictures, while still being able to hear what he was saying. 
He took us to monuments created by the two most famous rivaling Baroque architects of Rome, Bernini and Borromini. I had only heard of the name Bernini, but I still found the lecture so interesting. It really made me wish I had taken an art history or architecture class at UCSC before though. We visited monuments such as the Piazza Navona with the Fountain of the Rivers (Bernini) and the church of St. Agnes (Bernoni), the Piazza Minerva, and the church of San Ignazio. 

Piazza Navona

the Fountain of Four Rivers

the church of St. Agnes

Piazza Minerva

a frescoe of San Ignazio

I'm not gonna lie though, the best part of the tour was meeting some of the girls I hadn't had the chance to talk to yet. I really hit it off with a few of them (one of them is even in an a cappella group!), and it makes me so relieved to have found girls that want to do the same things I want to do! After the tour we all grabbed lunch at a very touristy albeit fun place. They played the relaxing tunage of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and Play That Funky Music White Boy. It truly completed the authentic Italian dining experience. Once we finished our meal, Justine, Katie and I snagged some gelato and we all made our way to the Trevi fountain. It was by far my favorite monument of the day. I can't even describe how much I love sculpture, it's definitely my favorite art form. Frescoes are a close second, but there's something about the way a sculptor can chisel a perfect human body from a block of stone, while capturing expression, emotion, and movement. It just renders me speechless.  

Coconut gelato, the real deal

the Trevi Fountain

When we were done taking a bajillion pictures in front of it, we shopped around the area and found some adorable shops. My wallet is definitely going to take a beating this trip, the Italians know their clothes. Shocker, I know. 
And tonight I think we're all going out to the gay bars together! It should be fun, I'm excited. It will be nice not to be hit on by lots of Italian men for a change. Fingers crossed.
Well, I hoped you all enjoyed the novel I just wrote. I might actually have to reconsider how often I write posts. 
Buonanotte! <3

lalala

So today was somewhat uneventful. The highlights were my first cup of coffee (amazing!) and seeing the city center of Rome for our orientation. It was much more what I expected Rome to be, with old buildings and quaint little trattorias. We also had the cutest little family dinner with our apartment which my roommate Carmen and I cooked. It was simple and delicious, with ingredients bought from the local Simply down the street. 
Oh! And I bought my first bottle of wine all by myself! It was a moment. Though to be honest, it wasn't that great. Reminded me of two buck chuck from home. Holla Ethel! Oh well. It was great getting to know all the girls in my apartment better. We gushed about our favorite tv shows, books, and drinks. I even revealed my embarrassing obsession with The Vampire Diaries and they still accepted me! I think we're going to get along great. 

Right now, Carmen and I are getting ready to go out for my first night on the town in Rome. We're playing a station of guilty pleasure music, such as The Backstreet Boys and Michael Jackson, and getting all dolled up, so it's enjoyable. I'll let you know all about it tomorrow! Hopefully I'll get some pics, if I don't get too drunky. No promises. 

Ciao for now! <3

i have arrived!!

I finally landed in Rome this morning after an exhausting day of flying! My mom, sister, and Taylor dropped me off at SFO yesterday morning for my flight to Chicago, where I met a couple girls from my program. We stuck together for our flight to Rome, which was long and tiring since I probably got all of about 10 minutes of sleep during the eight hour flight. My back is achhhiinnggg. I also made the profound mistake of eating the on-flight food. I'm still nursing a nice stomach ache from all the preservatives packed into that chicken pasta. Yech. The one redeeming quality of the flight was the twin middle-aged air stewardesses. And yes, they were wearing identical outfits with the same haircut, jewelry, and fuschia lipstick. But enough whining.
Before we landed I managed to snap a few cool pics from my window.  

My first view of Italy!

After we met up with more people from our program and picked up our luggage from baggage claim, we caught taxis to the Residence Trastevere. We were met by some heads of the program who gave us our room assignments, keys and such. I am in a triple on the fourth floor of the building! It's actually not that bad at all. There are 8 girls in our apartment and we are still waiting for three more to arrive. Surprisingly, the apartment is actually very roomy with plenty of space for us all. 

The view from my bedroom balcony!

My closet

Our kitchen

My bed, actually super comfy

Bathroom

Our common room

After I got settled and took a shower, a group of us girls went out to grab a bite. The neighborhood of Trastevere isn't super nice, but it isn't bad either. If you look down some of the side streets, you can find traces of older parts of the city. 

None of us lasted that long in the heat, which is overwhelming. I'm sitting here writing this at my desk with the fan blowing straight in my face and I'm still covered in a sheen of sweat. As lovely as it is, I think I'm going to finish unpacking.  
Catch you cats lataaaaaaa! Boy I'm tired.

unreal.

I can't believe it's finally here. This is my last day in the US before I leave for Rome. I'm excited and nervous, but honestly, it still doesn't feel real. I'm the kind of person that doesn't get nervous until the last minute, which means I will probably break down in the middle of the airport. Embarrassing. 

The one word that best describes how I feel right now is stressed. So many things are going through my mind that I feel like I'm in a fog. I have so much to do before I leave and only so much time to do it all. I suppose some things will have to fall to the wayside, it's inevitable. Hopefully I don't forget anything that many things. Again, inevitable. 

Mama says making lists helps her de-stress, so here I go..

To-Do: 

Print remaining EAP documents

Call bank 

Apply to vote absentee

Pick up contacts

Shop!

Eat all my favorite foods

Say goodbye to friends

Pack (oy.)

Done: 

Haircut

Shopping

Aaaaaaaaaaand that's all folks! Slowly but surely. Wheeewwwwwwwww.