Finally I have some time to sit on the couch and talk about my time in Rome so far. Yesterday, Codie, one of the girls who lived in Rome last semester, took me, Bonnie and Kara to get lost in the city. She explained to me how the bus system works, but I'm still a little confused. I'm getting used to the tram though! We had to find our way to our school on Via Dei Delfini, then we went to Fontana di Trevi and the Spanish Steps. Both were very busy and we didn't spend too much time at these places, but now I know how to get there. We did walk up the Spanish Steps and up towards a park that overlooks the entire city.
Today was my first day of class. I had Italian and the teacher, Elda, is hilarious. She taught the class our ABC's and basic pronunciation and everything is starting to make sense already. I feel like I've already learned so much more Italian than I could ever learn back home. I also realized just how much Spanish I do know because I want to be able to speak Spanish to the Italians hoping that they'll understand me. The most important things to know right now are how to order food and ask "where" (dove).
Me and some of the other girls discovered the supermarket (alimentari) today. It's called "Simply."
It's probably about half the size of an Albertson's grocery store. Of all the awesome monuments and fountains I've seen so far, this grocery store probably evoked the most emotion from me. It was such a relief to know that I could buy soap and food for the apartment.
I think I'm addicted to caffe. Italians don't eat breakfast the way Americans do. They have a small caffe or cappuccino with a pastry. Caffe out here is not coffee, it's espresso, but they don't use that word. The cappuccino's are delicious! And their desserts are......... just so freakin' delicious!!! I had pear with red wine sauce, tiramisu (mine can't compare), some kind of cream puff that tastes like what you think a beautiful cloud might taste like, and chocolate prepared in many different ways. I haven't had gelato yet, but hopefully I will tomorrow. I haven't been here a full week yet, but I can already say that I'm not worried about having a bad meal out here. I even ate what I thought was a fish (at least when I ordered it), but it was actually meat. At the first group meal with Dr. Touchette, we were given the choice of a second course between something with pork and the other was veal. I thought that the non-pork dish must have been some kind of seafood or vegetarian dish, so that's what I ordered. It turns out veal is not a fish or vegetarian in any way. It was surprisingly good and I might even order it again. There's also this little pizza place near the school on Largo Argentina where the pizza is cheap, but better than any pizza I've ever had and it's eaten like a sandwich.
Italians. They drive crazy, look beautiful, wear lots of black and everyone smokes, even teenagers. I live in Trastevere where Italians are not so nice because the area is a tourist area. They are nicer if your in the non-tourist areas. They appreciate it more if you try to speak Italian to them and you'll get better service if you do. Codie, the girl who lived in Rome last semester (not my roommate Codie), took me to a local Italian bar to get a caffe and pastry. I was eating my pastry and making a mess. The bartender gave me the entire napkin holder and just laughed at me. He even gave me an extra chocolate candy :) It was the first time I felt like Italians were human and not so foreign.
There's so much more I could say, but I am very tired and I will be going to bed now. To be continued....
Buonanotte!
