Arrivederci, Roma!

Wow. Time really does fly when you're having fun!

What an incredible experience this has been! Not only the being-in-Rome-for-a-month thing, but possibly my favorite part was meeting people from just about everywhere! Over the last month, I have made friends from 21 different countries: Italy, the Netherlands, Mexico, Russia, Switzerland, Germany, the Ukraine, Japan, the US, the Philippines, Korea, Brazil, France, England, Turkey, Australia, the Czech Republic, Venezuela, Colombia, Canada, and Austria. And at first I was surprised how close people were becoming in such a short time, but then I remembered that when I was at Buckeye Girls State, my city of over 50 girls all became buddies in just a week. And everyone here is in the same boat as me, attending school in another country and looking for friends. But I met some really amazing people here, and I'm so glad I have Facebook to keep in touch with everyone!

Rather than bore you with a lot of wordy descriptions, I made you two lists: What I will miss most, and what I will admittedly not be sorry to leave behind.

Top Five Things I Will Miss From Rome:
1) Gelato. Obviously.
2) Speaking Italian with actual Italians. Also obviously.
3) Looking out the window and seeing mountains. Can't get that at home.
4) Bells chiming. Because that means there are nearby gorgeous cathedrals.
5) Casually doing things like having dinner on the Tiber River, because that's just what you do.

Top Five Things I Will Really Not Miss From Rome:
1) Cigarette smoke. Seriously, does EVERYONE in this city smoke? I would like to be able to breathe when I am outside.
2) Ambulances. The sirens here are ridiculously obnoxious and annoyingly frequent.
3) No constant Wi-Fi. It was up... most of the time... except when I was talking to my family...
4) The shower in the apartment. It's one of those showers that just constantly ranges from dragon's breath to ice, and there's nothing you can do about it.
5) Drivers with zero regard for pedestrians. At least in the States, they let you cross- here you have to venture into the street and sort of be like, "Hey! Trying to cross!" And even then they speed up till they're right in front of you.

I actually managed to make it through the airport with little trouble. I'm quite relieved to have that out of the way- as it was the part I was dreading most about the trip, I'm very happy it's over with. My flight really wasn't too bad, mainly because I had a fully charged iPad with my favorite episodes of Doctor Who ready to go. Upon arriving in Philadelphia, I successfully made it through customs and security... the US took me back after all. Then I had to find my gate, which was more difficult than it sounds since the gate on my ticket was housing a delayed flight also to Columbus, but the new gate the chart gave me didn't say Columbus at all. Fortunately, I got that sorted. I made it safely back to Columbus and am now relaxing at home with my family.

I guess this is my last post, since my European adventure is over now. Thank you to all who took time to keep up with my stories, whether you followed them regularly or just kinda checked them out every now and then. I hope you enjoyed reading the blog as much as I enjoyed writing it!

One last shot of Rome.

I think it's official... I'm home!

School's Out

I can't believe today was my last day! Time has really flown by!

My first class was probably the best it's ever been. After reviewing our homework, and getting a boatload for the weekend (so glad I don't have to do that!), and going through a bit of grammar, we each had to share an embarrassing story. It was hilarious, because... isn't the German word for this Schadenfreude? But, because some of us aren't necessarily the best speakers of Italian, the charades were just as good as the stories. (Especially Jack miming getting attacked by a bird.) With the remaining few minutes, we were all handed a game board where each space has a question on it, and took turns answering them. Of course, after class we had to say our goodbyes- several of us finished today, so the room was really busy with everyone trying to hug everyone else. Even though I didn't know most of them that well, those were some nice last moments.

In my second class, we talked about friends- what qualities we value in a friend, how we met a close friend, what sort of friend we are. I'm pretty sure we've done the same worksheet before, but in fairness I think it was with our first teacher. So I got to talk about all my amazing friends and how spectacular they are once again. Somehow, I never seem to run out of material there...

I couldn't believe it when the bell rang, but after saying goodbye to everyone there I had one more thing to do: Collect my certificate to take back to OSU. Now I have an official document that says that I passed a legit Italian class here in Rome. Unfortunately, I'm only certified at level B2, because he didn't want to give me the C1 test when I was only a few days in. But at least I have the knowledge, which is what really matters.

To celebrate my last night in Rome, I went out to dinner with my friends (the same group as the other night). I finally tried spaghetti alla carbonara, which is a traditional Roman dish. It was quite tasty, but what I really enjoyed was getting to hang out with some friends. These are the girls that were there for me this week, and the girls with whom I got to explore parts of Rome I didn't want to visit alone. We spent a couple of hours talking and laughing, though unfortunately I had to head back early to pack and finish preparing for my departure tomorrow.

Check it out- one study abroad down!

Anya, Audrey, Franziska, Gabi, Nuala, me, and Grace at one last dinner.

Rabbits and Rubber Chickens

My first class consisted of more subjunctive sequences, mainly weird technicalities that we might find excuses to use twice in our lives if we try really hard. We had to write phrases constructed as, "(thing that happened), not because (random reason), but because (reason for thing happening)." My favorite was, "I went to bed late, not because I wasn't tired, but because I was giving my rabbit a massage." As she was actually serious, we then had to see a picture of her rabbit, and got totally off-topic all talking about our pets. When we got back to our lesson, we were all given another page of blank comics and asked to write captions using the new constructions we learned today. Thanks to my unmatched wit, I finished in class, meaning I don't have any homework! That's a wonderful feeling no matter what level of school you're in.

In my second class, we got to talk about gifts- favorite gifts we had received, least favorites, what it was traditional to give in various circumstances. As per usual, our cultural differences provided some interesting points of conversation, but I think the best part of the day was getting to talk about Henrietta the Rubber Chicken. Henrietta was a family White Elephant tradition- back when we used to do that every Christmas, she kept showing up, because whoever got her would bring her back. Naturally, my family landed her the year before we stopped doing the White Elephant. So she still resides with us, and we named her Henrietta after my eighth grade English teacher's rubber chicken, who would be hidden in a different place in the classroom every day, and at some point during the lesson, someone would realize, "Hey! There's Henrietta!" (My favorite was when she was hidden in the air vent in the ceiling.) And as if that wasn't an awesome enough story, my teacher said that she had once had a student who had two pet chickens... one of whom was named Henrietta. Apparently, that's just a great name for a chicken!

After class, I had to go take a sort of final exam thing to wrap up my credit for OSU. It was basically the test I took at the end of level B2, a lot of filling in the blanks with irregular verbs in weird tenses. Still, my essay question was to summarize a fairy tale, so I did Snow White, which made me smile. Hopefully I'll find out how I did tomorrow, when Massimo (the head teacher) gives me my certificate that I can take back to Ohio State.

Since I didn't go out and do anything of interest tonight, check out this cool picture I made to keep my computer skills in practice! (Yeah, okay, it's nothing complicated. But they're pretty cool pictures.)

A Night on the Town

After consulting my family, my professors back at Ohio State, and my teachers here, I have made an important decision: I am flying home this weekend, a week earlier than planned. I'll still have done four weeks here, which is the minimum amount my teachers had recommended. But it's only a week, and I definitely feel that I need to be home rather than here.

That said... my first class, now part of my last week, consisted partly of reviewing homework (which was rather boring) and partly of discussing different gestures, both in the Italian culture and in others. I think my classmates were just excited at the chance to imitate various vulgar gestures in their respective cultures, but as I'm not in that habit, I just described them.

My second class was a bit more enjoyable, as we talked about what we did and didn't like to do in various situations. So, what did we like to do when we were out with friends, what didn't we like to do first thing in the morning, that sort of thing. We had some pretty amusing conversations, because of course we like and dislike different things.

This evening, I went out with Nuala, Gabi, and our friends Grace, Audrey, Anya, and Franziska for a dinner on the Tiber River as part of a school thing. Not a ton of people went, so we found a nice place to sit and just had a nice time together. It was a beautiful evening, and we had a good laugh trying to teach Anya (who is from the Ukraine) the difference between the words 'puffy,' 'fluffy,' and 'furry.' This of course spawned a discussion about various unusual slang terms in the British and Australian versions of English, most of which I knew, but I still got to add to my vocabulary a bit.

Not a bad view!

Just your typical evening stroll...

I love when monuments are all lit up!

To Meemaw and Papaw

I knew it was going to be a hard day when Dad called this morning to tell me that my grandparents both passed away following a bad car accident. And, as horrible as that already is, the worst part for me is that I'm all the way over here, and not home where I should be. How am I supposed to care about grammar homework when all I want to do is be with my family?

Even in the midst of this tragedy, I am reminded of how loved I am. Everyone here has been so genuinely kind and sympathetic. I have both a priest and a nun in my first class, and both asked me for their names so they could include them and our family in their prayers. And I have seen countless messages, comments, statuses, whatever, on Facebook, from family and friends alike, all thinking about and praying for our family. While a number of my friends and relatives have expressed their condolences directly to me, I'm not connected to most of the Mount Gilead community- the number of messages I have seen sent to my family there is really amazing!

 I've been trying to think of a good story to share, but how do I choose just one? There are all those summers up at Lake Erie, playing in the lake or going to Cedar Point during the day and relaxing in the cottage at night. The call I would get every birthday, even at Ohio State- they checked my schedule with my parents so they knew when I was free. The time we got to go see Papaw get his Mount Gilead Citizen of the Year award. The stories he told us about how much trouble he would get into (but for some really great reasons!). Making sure my favorite color was still blue every Christmas, so they got the "right" present. Those hours of "Where's the Bunny?" with Meemaw (similar to Where's Waldo), even though we went through the book the last time I was there. Being pulled on a sled behind Papaw's truck one snowy day. The time my cousin Amanda and I stayed with them, and during our bath we pretended we ran a McDonald's and passed Meemaw various toys through the sliding door. Keeping the lids on Amanda's, Heather's and my favorite cups straight when we were little and that was a big deal.

They were both wonderful people, and I am so proud to be their granddaughter.

Even those who are gone

Are with us as we go on

Your journey has only begun

Tears of pain, tears of joy

One thing nothing can destroy

Is our pride- deep inside

We are One

--Simba, The Lion King 2

C1, Day 1

This morning I actually got to have some company before school! Bart and Isabel were always still asleep when I left (I think their classes started later), so it was really nice to get up and have breakfast with someone. When I went to the kitchen, Nuala was boiling water for tea, and asked if I wanted some. I said sure, so she got out a tea bag for each of us. The box said English Breakfast tea, but one sip, and Nuala said, "This is NOT English Breakfast, it's Earl Grey!" And it was possibly the most British thing I've ever experienced in my life. (Which is redeeming, since she doesn't care for Doctor Who, Sherlock, or even Harry Potter.) The funny thing is, even before she tried it, I thought it tasted like Earl Grey too, but I thought I was just having an "all-teas-taste-alike" moment. Glad to know I'm not going crazy.

No comments from any of you lot about how I'm already crazy.

Of course, I also got to go to school with them, which seems like a really small thing, but when I've made the journey on my own for three weeks, I enjoyed having someone to go with for a change! We successfully made it to school, and they both got in line to register for their placement test. I, on the other hand, went on to my first day in level C1, where I was excited to find that my friends Olivier (from my second class) and Pablo were joining us! It looks like a couple of previously-B2 classes were combined to make this one, so not everyone here was a brand-new student- just new to me. Still, now I have new classmates from Russia, the Philippines, and Venezuela. We also got a new teacher, who is a lot more... hm, how to describe her? She's nice, but seems a lot more businesslike. Not that she doesn't have a sense of humor, but she is very quick to correct you if you make a mistake, sort of like she doesn't want to waste time on us trying to wade through grammar until we come up with what we're trying to say. The other teachers I've had will help you if you are clearly struggling, but try to let you work things out on your own. With her, the moment you misspeak, she jumps right on it. I'm not sure which method is more effective- on the one hand, I am glad to know the proper way to say things. On the other, I am often aware of when I make a mistake, but I don't have a chance to correct it myself.

My other class was as delightful as ever. We got two new students, so we still have six, from the US (though she lives and works in Japan) and Colombia. We spent most of the class posing ridiculous questions to each other: "When was the last time you...?" (ate pasta, read a book, ate gelato, and other stupid things). With the remaining few minutes, we learned some phrases for various social situations- when to say congratulations, when to wish someone luck, what to say after "buon appetito!" So now we can fill those awkward silences.

After a little bit of time to unwind at home, Nuala and I walked back to the school to attend a sort of informal lecture thing on getting around Rome. (She really likes walking.) We ended up *ahem* taking the scenic route, so it took an hour to get there. (Oh, the irony.) We met a couple of her friends there, also new today from Australia and Canada. Gabriela was initially going to stay and meet us as well, but ended up going home after class because she was tired. I can't say I blame her- I'm wiped out too!

C1, here I come!

Roommates, Meet the Roommates!

Yes, you were supposed to sing that to the Flintstones theme tune. I'm so glad you have it stuck in your head now!

Finally, the moment we've all been waiting for: The arrival of my new roommates! Nuala is from England and unfortunately is only staying a week, so I might even get one last roommate before I go (if her spot is taken right away). Gabriela is from the Czech Republic and is staying for two weeks, so we'll finish at the same time. Plot twist: I am actually the oldest of the three of us! That's super unusual for me, since I am almost always the youngest among my friends. They are nineteen and eighteen, both having recently had their birthdays. We got talking right away, sharing personal details and all that good stuff, and it didn't take long at all for us to hit it off.

We went out for a walk together, down to the Colosseum and back. I thought we were actually going to, you know, SEE the Colosseum when we got there, but apparently not. That ended up killing quite a lot of time, so we were ready to make dinner when we got back. It was at this point that we realized we probably should have let the hamburger thaw in our absence, but nevertheless we eventually managed to shape it into patties. They were actually pretty good! We ate out on the balcony, since it was a nice evening.

I think we were all glad to be done tonight. They both just got to Rome today, and both have to start class tomorrow! (And I was just tired because we walked all over.) I can't believe tomorrow starts my penultimate week of class. How time flies!

Nuala, me, and Gabriela.