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.

New Friend, New Adventures

I was awoken early this morning by the maid, coming in to clean. I mean, who cleans at 8:00 on a Saturday morning? Why is anyone even up that early?

Since it was pointless to go back to sleep, I went out and got some groceries... meaning lunch meat, cheese, and more chocolate croissants for breakfast. The maid was still here when I got back, and I think she was here for at least 2 1/2 hours... I mean, that's kind of ridiculous, right? The only one who's been here all week has been me, and I've cleaned up after myself. So I'm not sure how she took that long. But I digress.

Following a relatively uneventful morning, I did go out and meet Alex this afternoon! It took a little while for us to find each other on the crowded piazza, but eventually we succeeded. We went looking for somewhere to eat lunch, which is to say we wandered around quite a lot until we found a good place. Actually, the first place we went was a bit out of our price range, which we discovered after receiving our menus, so we awkwardly left before the waiter came back (explaining to him on the way out why we were leaving). But next door was a restaurant whose menus were trilingual- Italian, English, and Russian. Since she's Russian, we decided it was a sign! (Also, it was considerably cheaper.) So we had a nice lunch there before discovering that we were utterly lost. We walked around a bit more and eventually stumbled into Villa Borghese, which was super awesome because it was gorgeous! We strolled through the park taking pictures of the beautiful flowers (and lots of selfies) and also got gelato, because that's really important. From there we managed to find a bus that took us back to the Piazza Venezia, where we could both catch buses that would take us home. I don't know if she managed to get a bus, because for some reason the police had blocked off all the nearby roads, and I didn't think any buses would be coming my way. So I ended up walking home, which I only managed to do successfully because it happens to be the same route my bus takes to school in the mornings and I actually recognized where I was going. Still, that's a big accomplishment for me!

I had a really great time because, aside from just having a friend to hang out with, we spoke Italian all day (even though she knows English) and I got to have a totally casual conversation, not one prompted by a teacher. I think that's the first time that's ever happened!

After several hours of being out in the warm sun, I was glad to get back to the apartment and sit in front of my fan. A shower felt even better, and soon I was all set for a nice relaxing evening. It's also my last evening by myself- my roommates are supposed to come tomorrow! To quote Frozen... "There'll be actual real live people, it'll be totally strange. Wow, am I so ready for this change!"

After an appropriately-priced lunch.

My favorite of our Villa Borghese pictures.

Gelato!

Oh Hey, Weekend! Didn't See Ya There!

This week went surprisingly fast! If the next two weeks go like this, I'll be home before I know it!

My first class today was totally chill. Only four people even showed up, because we've already taken the test, so there wasn't anything to really do. So we split into groups and tried to see who could come up with the funniest captions for some blank comics. Alex and I won, obviously. We also had a really cool discussion about the Roman dialect- every city has its own little things it changes from standard Italian, so it was basically a linguistics discussion about some of these changes in Rome. It was really interesting, but since my teachers teach using standard Italian and my friends are from just about everywhere else, I haven't gotten to hear much of it!

Our topic of conversation in my second class was "How Distracted Are You?" We got a quiz with various things you might do, like forgetting appointments, misplacing your phone, or even forgetting how old you are. We had a good laugh, because if anyone got caught daydreaming, we had all rights to make fun of them today. There was a moment when a cloud covered the sun much faster than usual, and because the lights were out, we just saw the room suddenly get really dark. And we all stopped what we were doing and just stared out the window... until our teacher asked us how our work was coming. And laughter ensued.

Lena-Lisa finished today, which was sad. She's the only person I've known since Day 1 that has been in class every day, so I've gotten to know her better than anyone else. (Not to say I won't continue to enjoy this class, because everyone else is great too- it's just that it will be weird without her.) Still, we're friends on Facebook now, along with several other classmates. I think one of my favorite parts of this experience has definitely been meeting people from new places. From this trip alone, I have already made friends from 16 different countries, and there are probably more to come! My new roommates might be from somewhere else, and I still have two more weeks with new classmates to meet!

My friend Alex and I have been trying to make some plans together (thanks to our teacher- we're the youngest in the class, and she's seen how well we get on when we work together, so she told us we should do stuff outside class too), and although nothing worked out for tonight, it sounds like tomorrow we're going to try to meet up for lunch and see what else comes our way!

Moving On

This morning I got to take another scary test! Except this time, rather than a comprehensive overview of Italian grammar, it was a few well-chosen questions covering the tricky subjects we've been reviewing in class. It's a lot to keep straight in my head, especially since I haven't really done this before. We were all pretty stressed out, but we had a good bit of teamwork before class as we all helped each other cram. But it sounds like we did all right, as we're all moving up! (At least, I think we are. She never explicitly said, "Great! Y'all are going to C1!" But that's sort of the impression I've gotten.) We get a new teacher on Monday, but it sounds like my classmates and I get to stay together- at least, those who aren't leaving.

Speaking of leaving, my classmates Tria and Lena-Lisa (from my second class) finish this week. We all started together, and for the first week it was just the three of us in class. So we've become pretty good friends, and although I am enjoying the company of my other classmates, it won't be the same without them! Tria actually finished today, so we had to stick around to say goodbye. At least we managed to have some fun on her last day, each talking about a prompt from a piece of paper we were given. Oh, the stories we tell! This class just keeps getting better and better.

After a long day, I retired to my room for an evening of Doctor Who. Regrets? None.

Guess What Day It Is?

HUMP DAY!

But today was the biggest hump of them all- today I passed the halfway point of my class! So, naturally, I got some gelato afterwards to celebrate.

My first class consisted of a heck of a lot of grammar in preparation for our test tomorrow. It's tricky because, although I understand the concepts, I haven't done a lot of this in Italian before, and it isn't exactly the same in the other languages I know (and we don't have it in English). So tonight I'll have to study a lot!

My second class was absolutely fantastic. We spent the time telling one of those stories where you toss a ball around and the next person continues the tale. Our teacher started us off with a nice, normal beginning: Two friends meeting up in a discotheque. (Apparently those are popular in Europe, because they've been in like every language textbook I've ever used.) We warped it into this fabulously complicated thing with a psycho boyfriend killer and a creepy policeman who was the dead husband's twin... there was a lot of laughing and a number of plot twists that we somehow managed to tie together!

I stayed in tonight so I could study, since I actually sort of have a vague idea of what to expect now. And, a couple of movies later, I'm good to go! (I'm so glad I had a chocolate bar to get me through Willy Wonka.)

All's Well That Ends Well

My first class was pretty good today, as we just continued reviewing this sequence of tenses thing. My teacher also informed us that she thinks we'll have our test on Thursday instead, which makes no sense, but at least it'll be out of the way. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get an idea of what to expect, seeing as how I currently have nothing to go on.

My second class was wonderful! We split into three groups of two and each got a scenario to act out in which we had to be two people angry at each other. In mine, I had to be talking loudly on my cell phone in a museum, and my partner couldn't hear the guide. It was really hard to come up with "mean" things to say, because in real life I would have handled it completely differently. Instead I had to act like the other person was totally offending me and they were the one who needed to change their behavior. I ended up with some ridiculous story about how outside was too noisy for me to hear, but I had to speak loudly because my friend was almost deaf, and I paid ten euros to come in the museum and talk! (To which my partner replied, "...okay, I have nothing to say to that!") Another group had a waiter giving a customer a check for food she didn't order and a ceramic store worker assuring the customer that she was not responsible for the broken vase. We got really into it, so it was a lot of fun! Then we listened to a random story about a guy who got mistaken for a thief in a jewelry store, but we were still too busy making fun of each other to pay much attention to it.

There was supposed to be a dinner tonight at the school, so I was planning to go because hey, food and Italian! I took my shower early, finished my homework and everything, only to find no one out front when I got there. I'm pretty sure that's where the flyer said to meet, but maybe I was wrong? Oh well. There will be other times. They probably would have kept me out pretty late anyway, which I wouldn't mind except that makes it a whole lot harder to wake up in the morning. So I suppose it's just as well.

Instead, I went back to the apartment for a nice relaxing evening with my iTunes library. All in all, not too bad a night.

The Classes Grow

Apparently I partied too hard this weekend, because I seriously did not want to get up and go to class this morning. And when I did, I had a terrible time trying to stay awake! Part of it was that the room was really warm, so I think we were all nodding off. Anyway, we spent the first 45 minutes talking about World War II, which just carries on our tradition of turning our casual "what did you do last night/over the weekend" icebreaker into a long, off-topic thing where at least we're using our Italian. Then we did some exercises with sequences of tenses, which are pretty easy to follow especially when you have the diagram. This one worksheet she gave us had us conjugating verbs in a story... a story which happened to be straight out of the book, where the verbs were already conjugated. Meanwhile on the recto was the diagram we were all "consulting." Amazingly, we did rather well on that activity.

We actually got three new students (from California, Germany, and Russia), including the first person I've met at the school who's younger than me! Nearly everyone here seems to have already left school, and most of the students are much older. Nevertheless, they all seem really nice, and I bet we'll have a lot of fun in class.

We also got two new students in my other class, from Turkey and Australia! (I love this meeting people from everywhere thing.) The girl from Turkey is also younger than me, so lo and behold it seems a couple of high school students actually do go here. Once we had finished our introductions, we proceeded to have a discussion about fashion, which was hilarious because I had absolutely nothing to contribute. I love listening to my new Australian classmate speak- so far everyone here has had more or less the same accent, but she has a strong Australian one that's really neat to listen to.

Having no other plans, I went back to my room to relax a bit and do my homework. I was just sort of done for the day!

I won't promise that this is the last sunrise picture!

And On the Seventh Day, I Was Busy

My first task this morning was to go grocery shopping- real grocery shopping, in the store my family and I went to the first time. There's a pretty nice market at the train station that I usually stop by because it's more convenient, but I was running low on some supplies I haven't found there. First, however, I had to find the store again, which was rather a challenge. I did find it eventually, and even managed to find my way back more easily than I thought.

After I went back to the apartment and put everything away, I went out and started my day of adventuring with some delicious gelato. Then I looked through some of the nearby outdoor markets, and even though I didn't buy anything, they're fun to look through.

Conveniently, right next to the train station I found a great way to spend the afternoon- the National Museum! It was pretty cheap to get in, so in I went to check it out. Suffice it to say, it's definitely been my busiest picture day since our family outings!

On the first floor, there were lots of statues, mostly busts. The interesting thing was, unlike most of the other museums and places we went, they weren't usually of anyone- the plaques just said "young woman" and the like. Actually, most of the attention seemed to be on the various hairstyles, which denoted the person's social class. I guess I should start paying more attention to what I do with my hair!

The basement floor was my favorite. The sign just said pottery, but actually their main exhibit featured coins from throughout Roman history! I was expecting, you know, a couple of displays with a few really old coins and a variety of increasingly more modern counterparts. What I did not expect were 59 separate showcases, each containing an average of 50 coins, from that many different historical periods. It dates back to really-stinking-old Rome and goes through such eras as the reigns of Trajan, Hadrian, and Constantine; Gothic, Byzantine, and Lombardian control; the time of St. Peter; the lira; and eventually today's currency. There was also a bit about engraving the coins, why certain designs were chosen. Also in the basement were the promised pieces of pottery and various types of jewelry with lots of gold and precious stones, but I didn't learn as much from plaques that just said stuff like "assortment of gold pieces."

The second floor was back to statues, though at least here they seemed to be focused on recognizable figures, mostly Roman gods. I wasn't as impressed with the quality of the statues, though- almost all of them were badly broken, missing heads, arms, legs, you name it. And just about all of them were missing noses, so maybe the Egyptian ways were popular during that particular sculpting period and everyone wanted to copy the Sphinx.

The third floor, though, was dedicated to mosaics and frescoes from ancient Roman homes. These were also really cool, because although the paintings were faded and a lot of the mosaics were incomplete, envisioning them in a room of tricliniums made the things I learned in my Latin class that much more real!

I did find a couple of shirts I liked on my way back, so that's another thing I can cross off my list.

Then it became laundry time, because hey, at least I have the drying rack to myself! So I got that out of the way before making dinner, which was some spinach and cheese tortellini I picked up this morning. I mixed them up with olive oil and Parmesan cheese like Mom and I do at home, and voilà! Dinner. I even made enough that I can have some tomorrow too.

Hopefully today was satisfyingly interesting!

The National Museum.

The sign says it's Athena, but I'm not sure how they know...

A cool (and surprisingly complete) mosaic.

New shirts!

So Begins the Week of Solitude

Well, I'm officially on my own now. The couple who owns the place came up shortly after Isabel left to clean up and get their rooms ready for their next inhabitants. Rosa also told me that my new roommates (I think she said both girls) will arrive next Sunday, so it looks like I get to be master of the house for a week.

(That's two Les Mis song references, for anyone who's counting.)

I am excited to meet them and share some fun memories together. It's just too bad they aren't coming tomorrow instead, because now I'll only get two weeks with them instead of three. Still, that's plenty of time to become friends! However, this time it will actually be a first contact situation for all of us, unlike last time where Bart and Isabel had already been living here for several weeks (with another roommate) and gotten to know each other- so this is both an exciting and dangerous prospect. I'm optimistic, though. I haven't had a bad roommate situation yet.

I was planning to go out and explore some more today, and maybe do some shopping (I still need an Italy/Rome shirt of some sort), but that never happened. I was waiting out the warmest part of the day, but then I ended up reading one of the books I bought last week. I love getting in the zone when I'm reading in another language- after a while I don't even notice it isn't English. And, as happens when I have free time to read, I totally lost track of time. So, I guess it gives me something to do tomorrow. It's a lot harder coming up with good things to do while I am flying solo!

My family seems to think I'm not doing enough exciting things, so I guess I'll have to figure out how to step it up a notch. This week will be hard because it's no fun to go adventuring alone, but hopefully something cool will cross my path. At least next week I can post roommate stories!

I'm Getting Dangerously Close to a Social Life...

Finally, it's Friday! I keep forgetting how much I love weekends.

So, a funny story from the bus this morning: I often see priests and nuns, but the priests are usually wearing all black with the white collar. A guy got on this morning dressed in a long white robe with a frilly thing at the top, and getting a split-second glimpse of him, my immediate thought was, "Oh my gosh! It's the Pope!" Then, of course, I realized that the Pope would NOT be taking a random public bus, but it was still pretty exciting for about half a second.

As it turned out, we didn't have our big level-up test today. It sounds like it will actually be next Friday, so at least I have another week to study... whatever I'm supposed to study. I really have no idea. In fact, we spent most of the class talking about food, so when we all started complaining about being hungry, we all helped each other out by making each other hungrier.

In my other class, we got the special surprise of listening to one of my classmate's CDs! She had told us she was a singer (for hotels and cruises and the like) and that she and her siblings had all had a lot of musical training, but lo and behold she also has a CD! The best part was, one of my other classmates brought it in. So that was very exciting, especially since one of the tracks we listened to was an original song in her native language. She's from the Philippines originally, but obviously her work has taken her all around, so she sings in several languages. I guess I'm lucky to be friends with a star now!

After our little entr'acte, we got down to business discussing good and bad qualities in people. There was a list of things to choose from (honesty, courtesy, modesty, etc. on one side and their opposites on the other), and we had to choose which we valued most in a person and which of the bad traits ticked us off the most. It was an interesting debate, because although obviously we all liked the good traits, there were different "orders" to our preferring them. Which do you value more, honesty or loyalty? Modesty or courtesy? That sort of thing. It certainly gave us plenty to talk about.

Then... wait for it... I did an actual sports thing tonight! Bart, Isabel, and I met our friend Pablo at the Piazza Venezia to watch the Italy vs. Costa Rica match in the World Cup. Unfortunately, Italy lost 0-1, but honestly I don't think we were really watching the match... we were too busy talking. Still, I think Dad was impressed that I was in attendance.

After that we went out to dinner with their friends Carem and Edward, who I hadn't met before, from Phoenix (though with Lebanese heritage) and London. We had a lot to talk about and just had a good time chatting and joking. I really am making friends from all around the world!

Sadly, this was my last night with my roommates! Bart leaves really early tomorrow morning, so tonight was goodbye. Isabel will still be around for at least part of the day, but then she will go too. So, I'm happy that we finally got to go out and do something fun together! Considering that I've only known them for two weeks, we've become really good friends and I'm going to miss them!

Finally, a roommate picture!

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, by the piazza.

Actual Stuff!

Yes! It's true! I actually got out and did something productive today.

Of course, school came first, with a return to the passato rimoto in honor of our test coming up. I'm really confused on how that's supposed to work; initially, I heard it was supposed to be every two weeks. Now it sounds like it's every four, at the end of each cycle of lessons- which, nevertheless, is supposed to be tomorrow. But when I asked my teacher about the test tomorrow, she said we didn't have one. So, I don't know if it's next week, or not delivered in class, or what's supposed to happen. I don't even have to take it as far as getting credit goes, but I don't want to miss the opportunity.

In my other class, we did the same sort of thing as yesterday, each getting a piece of paper with something to talk about. Mine were to name my three favorite cities (Venice, Salzburg, and probably Paris) and to list, according to me, the pros of playing sports. I like doing those because most of them are personal questions, so it's fun to see what people say.

I went back to the apartment, hoping that since the weather was finally nice, my roommates and I could do something. Unfortunately, they were both out, so I had a bit of free time before I went to meet my friend Haley and her family for dinner. Their trip just so happened to overlap with mine, so we figured we had to see each other at least once! We met up at Trevi Fountain (which Google Maps said was about a 25-minute walk, but either it's a liar or it hates me) and found a sort of snack bar thing for dinner, where people just kept bringing us different sorts of munchies. From peanuts and pretzels to different toppings on pieces of bread to a couple of bowls of rice, we had plenty to try! We also had a lot to talk about, since they had just been to many of the same cities my family and I visited. (I've been seeing their pictures on Facebook and thinking, "Hey! We were just there!") And, of course, it was just nice to see someone from home.

Obligatory cool sky shot.

Familiar faces!

So, they have a Korean church in Rome! Who knew?

Disney For the Win

I was a bit worried when class began this morning- at 9:00, I was still the only one in the room! Fortunately, my teacher showed up soon after, followed (eventually) by the rest of my classmates. Even then I had to wait until after the break before we finally got around to reading our bios! (I don't think I've mentioned it before- we have a fifteen-minute break at 10:30 to sort of break up the day. We can grab a snack or just get out of the room for a bit.) Needless to say, my presentation was by far the awesomest of all. Of course, I was the only one with a PowerPoint, which Dad helped me switch over to Italian (the slides are so fancy, I can't edit the text on them). I also enjoyed doing someone like Walt Disney because he is known worldwide. I had no idea who the people my classmates picked were, and while my American classmate did Maya Angelou, the others didn't recognize her name either.

I was feeling pretty good by the time I got to my second class. We took a different approach to our conversation today, with my teacher giving us each a slip of paper with something we had to talk about. Mine said, "You're taking a bike ride around Rome. Describe what you see." So, you know, I was talking about riding down the streets, seeing both Italians and foreigners, lots of souvenir shops and clothing shops and the like, the Colosseum, the Pantheon, Circus Maximus... and of course, getting gelato. This spawned a 20-minute discussion about where the best gelato was in Rome and different kinds of gelato different places are known for, which spiraled into desserts of all kinds, with my Swiss classmate talking about chocolate places where she lives... we had all made ourselves quite hungry by the end of that lesson! (So, naturally, I had to stop by and get some gelato after class.)

For as nice as it was all day (we actually saw the sun for the first time in ages), it started raining ten minutes before we got out. And, of course, I had forgotten my umbrella, because it was still hanging in the shower, where I'd put it after walking home in the rain yesterday. Fortunately, it wasn't raining hard. Actually, something weird I've noticed- you would think that when it's raining, the buses would be even more crowded than normal. That's certainly how it works at Ohio State, with people who would normally be walking trying to get out of the rain. Instead, the buses the past few days have been almost empty! I'm not complaining; it was just surprising.

I actually finished my homework early, but since my roommates had other plans and it was still grey and rainy, I just stayed in again. It sounds like it's supposed to get nice soon... I certainly hope so!

My favorite slide from the PowerPoint. Thanks, Dad!

A Bit More Disney Magic

I definitely earned some Brownie points in class today when I turned out to be the only one who had done my homework! (I wish I got actual brownies, but alas no.) So I got to read my nice neat pre-written paragraph to the class, while everyone else had to make stuff up on the spot. Therefore, since they are all likely to do tonight's assignment, I have found another way to suck up to my teacher. We were instructed to write a biography for someone famous from our country, and who should I choose but Walt Disney? So not only am I writing about one of my favorite people through history, but I'm reusing my old government PowerPoint (with lots of cool pictures) to entertain my classmates. Definitely one of my better projects.

In my second class, we actually spent an hour and a half talking about the weather- mainly extreme weather conditions like hurricanes, earthquakes, and the like. Our substitute likes to talk, and even when she poses questions to us, she elaborates so much on the point she is trying to make that it takes several minutes before you can respond. She's nice and everything, don't get me wrong, but I don't feel like we've done as much talking lately.

It downpoured just as I was on my way home, but I've been here all night working on this Disney project. Hopefully it goes well tomorrow!

A... Good Monday?

I thought good Mondays were supposed to be one of those oxymoron things, that the universe didn't do? Well, either the universe took today off or it chose to show me a bit of kindness today, because I had a surprisingly good day.

Well, okay, it didn't get off to a fantastic start. The thunderstorms continued, and last night/this morning there was a particularly violent one. I mean, I like storms and all, but it is a bit hard to get back to sleep once you've woken up. Still, it was a fair price to pay.

When I got to class, I found that I was able to speak more easily today. It could have just been a fluke, of course, but maybe everything I learned last week is beginning to sink in. Words are coming together more easily- we had a sub in my second class, and when we were introducing ourselves, she was like, "This can't be your first time in Italy. What? No, you speak too well!" It's one thing to hear that from a waiter in a restaurant where all I have to do is order food, but hearing it from a teacher during a proper conversation... that means a little more.

Anyway, in my first class we are reviewing for our level-up test at the end of the week. I'm not sure I fully understand this concept, but it sounds like every two weeks we have the chance to go on to the next level. I don't know how it works or what to expect, but I expect we'll find out more as the week progresses. Also, since it's Monday, we got a new student today from Brazil! We lost three, though, so our class is still small.

There's also a new French guy in my other class! We actually have a net gain of one since we didn't lose anyone at the end of last week. It's fun to have another Romance language person- sometimes we were able to help each other out by giving the French word for the Italian one we were looking for. We also have a substitute teacher this week while our regular teacher is in Paris. I was there once. It's pretty nice.

It was actually really nice this afternoon, but it looks like the storm is back tonight. I do like the cooler weather the storms bring, though, so as far as I'm concerned this is not a bad thing.

Sorry for the similar image, but this one is a sunrise over the mountains.

Mission Accomplished

It's hard to believe I've been here a week already! It's really flown by.

It was storming when I woke up, but after breakfast I decided to go for a walk and check out the streets near the apartment. I was looking for a Milan magnet- it's a family tradition to get magnets from the places we go, and somehow ours from Milan has gone missing. Unfortunately, the souvenir shops only seem to carry Rome-themed merchandise. Not surprising, seeing as I am in... well, Rome.

I went down to the train station to look through the shops there. After searching maybe a dozen stores, I finally found one cheap little magnet. It's not as nice as the one we actually bought from the city, but it has the cathedral on it and it says Milano. So at least we have something, though I'm just waiting for its long-lost counterpart to show up right about now.

To celebrate my success, I visited the bookstore on the other side of the hall. This was probably a big mistake, because anyone who knows me knows that putting me in a surprisingly large bookstore has consequences. Especially when I stumble across a section containing Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, the Kane Chronicles, the Hunger Games... the single solitary reason I did not walk out with the entire Harry Potter series (and a lot more) is because I managed to remember that I didn't want to lug all those books back. Even then, I ended up getting a couple.

It's a good thing I went out when I did, because the tempest returned this afternoon! Nevertheless, I had to get some gelato in honor of Dad, as a special Father's Day request, so I waited till it had died down a bit before going to find some. (It was delicious.)

Other than that, my evening was quiet. I watched more Once Upon a Time (I am re-addicting myself to this show, it's a problem...) and finished my worksheet for tomorrow. One of these days I'll learn not to procrastinate so much, but today is not that day.

My roommates made it back safely. They said they had a good, but exhausting, trip, which is understandable for two train rides, reuniting with a friend, and exploring a new city in 36 hours!

In addition to FaceTiming my family, I got a surprise call from my cousins! It was a lot of fun to talk to them and catch up on Westervillian news. For as much fun as I am having abroad, I can't wait to go home and jump right into Vacation Bible School with them and the rest of our families, and soon after go see them in The Music Man!

A rainbow after the storm!

A Room of One's Own

It was SO nice to sleep in this morning. I strongly dislike getting up early, so it was lovely to wake up, check the time, and say, "Eh, back to sleep."

For my first weekend at the apartment, Bart and Isabel decided to go to Florence to visit my predecessor (who had my room before me). I'm sure they wouldn't have said no had I asked to go, but they didn't really invite me, so I didn't want to intrude. Instead, I got the place to myself all day, and should have it until sometime tomorrow evening.

So what did I do with all my free time? Go shopping? Buy out a gelato stand?

As it happened, I stayed in and watched TV and may or may not have had a Disney karaoke session. Basically, it was my typical Saturday, except in an apartment in Rome instead of in my room at home. (Hey, that rhymes! I'm a poet, and I didn't even know it.) It rained, so I didn't particularly fancy going out, but it should be nice and cool tomorrow. It sure is nice now! If it isn't too nasty, I'll probably explore the nearby streets. Gelato, definitely.

I had a pretty decent Wi-Fi connection this afternoon, so I talked to my family. They are living the highlight of the year: Yard work! I'm so not sorry I'm missing that.

That's about all I've got for today. Not the most exciting day of the trip, but a nice one all the same.

Friday the 13th

Lucky for me, I managed not to have any bad luck today! My teacher explained that in Italy, it's Friday the 17th instead, so it looks like I'll manage to avoid their unlucky time.

In fact, I had a pretty great day, although it started off as sort of a confusing one! My first class begins with reviewing our homework from the previous night. Today was no different, but as it turns out, the homework was riddled with a complicated grammatical phenomenon none of us knew about. We actually had to spend the first hour and a half going through it, because it's one of those really obscure things that's really hard to explain. The worst part is, it's a fine point of a topic we thought we knew, so it took some getting used to. We played Italian Taboo afterwards though, which totally made it worth it! All that time playing with my cousins has paid off. The teams ended up tying, which was surprising since my team had a considerable lead for most of the time. Also, because it's the end of the week, several of my classmates are finished now. Unfortunately, they're the ones I've gotten to know the best! So, Monday will probably bring a few new students.

In my second class, we talked about love. Love at first sight, marriage, dramatic relationships, the works. Amazingly, we didn't make it personal at all, just talked about it as sort of a phenomenon. I feel like we could have gone a lot deeper than we did, because we didn't talk about any good stories with true love or anything. I think that's more the direction I expected it to go, but it was mostly a vocabulary session as we learned lots of new amorous terms.

After class, I actually did a little shopping! (This is very unusual for me.) I ended up getting a few things for some friends, as well as something for me- a Percy Jackson collection in Italian. That's another thing I've really missed- reading. I didn't bring any books with me because I didn't want to carry around the extra weight, but this is a souvenir. Besides, reading Harry Potter in other languages has really helped me, so I figured, why not?

Unfortunately no adventuring has happened today, since my roommates ended up having plans. (Shocking, right?) But that's okay. Honestly, I'm glad to just relax and enjoy a Friday night. I think I had a pretty decent first week, but everyone knows Saturdays are the best!

Quality Roommate Bonding Time

Apparently today wasn't that memorable, since I totally failed at recalling what I did in class today when talking to my family tonight. Eventually I managed to piece together a vague recollection of studying the past conditional in my first class and talking about various types of communication (e.g. email vs. letters vs. texting) in my second class. That was an interesting conversation, because obviously different people prefer different methods of communication for different reasons. We also learned some common Italian texting abbreviations, like xké for perché. Yeah, apparently x means per? I'm still working on that.

My day got more exciting afterwards, when I met my roommate Isabel at one of the nearby cafes. We got a snack and were planning to head out from there, but decided to go back to the apartment first to drop off our backpacks. Neither of us are very fond of the buses, so we walked partway back before catching a (slightly) less crowded bus. Probably due to the lack of fresh air, it was stifling inside, and we were super hot and sweaty by the time we got to the station. It was a unanimous vote that we take a shower before going anywhere!

We got back, showered, and changed, and overall felt much better. We were hoping to go out and explore Rome with Bart- the inside of the Colosseum is on our list, as well as a pretty place Isabel knows. Unfortunately, the weather has begun to turn nasty- it's only sprinkling a little, but we've had some thunder and lightning, and we decided we'd better not venture out much today. Instead, we decided to make dinner! After checking out what we had in the kitchen, Isabel and I made a quick trip to the grocery store to pick up a few things.

When we got back, we turned the kitchen into a sauna as we lit a couple of burners on our gas stove to make our magnificent meal. My family and I had gotten some pasta and tomato sauce the other day, so we built our dinner around that, putting some spices in the sauce as well as zucchini and mushrooms we fried up. It was really quite tasty!

After dinner I got to FaceTime with my family. It was a bit difficult to carry on a conversation at first, with the Wi-Fi as crazy as it is, but we finally got a good connection. They seemed glad to be home, and I can't say I blame them! They've been running around Rome longer than I have, since they did some extra stuff while I was in school, and I know I was glad to finally get to relax some.

In total contrast to my previous statement, hopefully Isabel, Bart, and I will get to fulfill our adventuring plans tomorrow, weather permitting.

Spaghetti à la Andrea ed Isabel.

Back to School

As much as I enjoyed our family vacation, I have to admit that it's nice to settle down for a bit. We spent the last two weeks going from place to place, city to city, hotel to hotel. We were rarely anywhere long enough to unpack much and get comfortable, which was just as well because we were out all day, every day touring the most amazing places. Don't get me wrong- I loved every second. Well, maybe except for lugging our suitcases over the bridges in Venice when it was really, really hot. But with the exotic part of our trip over, my life can sort of become routine again. Although I'm studying in another country, school is school, you know? Wake up, get ready, go to class. I've done that for fourteen years!

I had an 8 AM class last semester at Ohio State. It wasn't my first one, but it was my first while I was living off-campus. I had to get up extra early to not only get ready, but make the trip to class in the unpleasant winter weather. I am so not a morning person, but here getting up is a little easier, possibly because it's actually light at 6:30 in the morning. When I can wake up to sunshine instead of pitch-black and more snow, it's generally a better feeling.

Nothing terribly exciting happened today. In my first class, we started working with the pluperfect tense, which I've never done in Italian. It's just like in Spanish and French, though, so it's not like it's a new concept. I won't pretend I haven't made any mistakes, but I'm trying really hard to learn from them instead of beating myself up over them. (That's a work in progress.) I just pray that the day will come when my speech is smooth, my vocabulary plentiful, and my homework without errors... at least when it's my turn to read.

In my second class, we talked about what it was like to come to Italy from another country, which was neat because, since we all come from different places, we all notice different things that are new or strange to us. I got to share some stories from our trip, comparing different Italian cities since we have been to north, south, and central Italy now. My teacher was surprised to hear my story about the buses here: I told her that at Ohio State, when the bus gets too full, the driver will actually tell students, "Sorry, wait for the next bus." In Rome, that's totally not a thing. No matter how full the bus is, and just when you're thinking that no one else could possibly squeeze on board, several people manage it at the next stop. I still haven't been Mona Lisa Squished again, though, so I guess there's always room until that happens.

I went out to "do homework" with Bart and Isabel after unwinding a bit with some Once Upon a Time. I think I actually managed to finish one of my activities in between talking about everything from how our classes went today to the weather in Ohio. Apparently, Amsterdam doesn't do eighty degrees to snow in two days, but then... does anywhere but home?

I'm so glad I'm getting on with the two of them. We're planning to have a bit of fun tomorrow, so I hope that works out. They're not here for that much longer, and I'm excited to spend some time with them before they go. Even just one good roommate memory is worth it!

My Biggest Challenge Yet

Possibly even scarier than the first day of school is the second day of school, because the first day everyone's nice to you and you get off easy and you don't really know the flow of things yet, so there's no telling what's normal or abnormal.

My first class begins at 9:00 AM. In the States (or at least in the schools I've been to, so... in Westerville/Columbus), that means the teacher starts teaching right at 9:00. Up through high school, walking in late meant a detention, or maybe a warning if the teacher was nice. In college, they can't technically do anything to you, but coming late means missing vital information.

But now I'm in Europe. Doing culture units in my language classes, I always learned that Europeans were way more relaxed when it came to time. I didn't understand quite how much until today, when I was sitting in my chair at 8:30 and only two other students had showed up by 9. Even my teacher arrived a couple of minutes later, and students continued to trickle in as late as 9:30. And that was no big deal! She was just sort of like, "Oh, we're super lenient when it comes to mornings and time. No biggie." Well, okay then. Guess I'll be showing up at noon from now on.

(Not really. I have enough of my mother's genes in me that I am ALWAYS in class.)

We got a couple of new students, which I'm guessing will be an ongoing thing. Who knows, my class may never be the same from day to day! Okay, it probably won't be that extreme. But every week, for sure. When we had all introduced ourselves, we spent the class talking about fairy tales! (Because, being stories, they use that tense we're working with.) It was really cool to hear the Italian names for the stories, like Biancaneve for Snow White. However, the main thing it did for me was implant a burning desire to go home and watch all my Disney movies and Once Upon a Time... which is not helpful when you're trying to focus.

My other class also went really well. It looks like all we have to do every day is talk for an hour and a half about whatever the daily topic is. Today's was money and the economy, which wasn't super exciting. Fortunately, my teacher promised a happier topic for tomorrow. I'm looking forward to seeing what that is! I enjoy this class because it doesn't feel like "school." Yes, we have to answer questions, but the atmosphere is much more casual and it's very stimulating to force myself to communicate in Italian for that long. I'm still not very good at speaking fluidly and spontaneously, but that's what I'm looking forward to improving. My teacher is also great about explaining stuff in Italian- if we don't know what a word means, or if we don't know how to say something, she is wonderful about interpreting our jumble of words describing our thought or explaining a new word in a way we understand. I also don't have homework for this half, which is always a plus.

I got one last evening with my family tonight. We went out to dinner, and then they came back to the apartment for a while. Saying goodbye was definitely the hardest thing I've had to do thus far. (Yes, even harder than my placement test.) It's funny- I've always wanted to study abroad, and I've been waiting for this moment pretty much my whole life. Now that it's here, I'm terrified! Going away to college was one thing, but being by myself in another country will be much harder. Luckily, we have plenty of ways to keep in touch, and I'll see them in a month. I guess it's time for the next chapter of this big adventure!

My first classroom.

My second classroom.

First Day of School!

This morning I felt like Nemo: "First day of school! First day of school!"

I got up extra early to make sure I had enough time to get ready and get off and everything. I also had to be at school early to take the placement test, and I didn't want to be late for that!

Fortunately, I found my way back to the bus stop, got on the right bus, and made it to school with time to spare. The test wasn't quite as bad as I had feared; although my professor at school told me to expect grammar questions, I had also heard that it would be a much more arduous process with lots of sections and lots of stupid passages to read and stuff. Luckily, it was just the grammar, most of which I was very familiar with. I know I missed a couple (for which I am still kicking myself- I KNEW I should have spent more time reviewing irregular future stems!), but I thought I did pretty well overall. There was also an oral component where I had to speak with the instructor for a few minutes. To my surprise, that also went smoothly. He told me to come back in an hour (at 10:15) for my class assignment.

When I returned, they started handing out textbooks based on the level achieved. When they finally called my name, I had no book- they said my teacher would give it to me when I got to the room. Talk about suspense! Still, at least they didn't kick me out. I went to my new classroom, only to find no one inside! There were still books and bags and purses and the like, but no people. Obviously, they had to come back sometime, so I sat and waited. Finally, people began to arrive, including my teacher, who gave me a B2 workbook. I'm in a high enough level!

There were seven students in the class, as well as my teacher. The students, who were all older college students or adults, are from all over the place: Russia, Switzerland, Germany, even Japan! I felt very awkward, because they were clearly in the middle of the lesson (it was 10:30, and class started at 9), but they still stopped so we could do introductions. After that, we were working with the passato rimoto, a literary past tense that I covered last semester. At least I wasn't totally lost!

Then, to my surprise, I switched classes to go the intensive component. There are only three of us in this class, a woman from New Jersey and a girl about my age from Switzerland. After the formal classroom atmosphere of my first class, this one seemed extra laid-back. We basically just sat talking for an hour and a half about "what is art?". Our teacher gave us a page with various examples: Someone who built a ship from 22,000 matchsticks, a gorilla who painted something resembling a banana, a computer that made a 3-D image, someone who perfectly copied a Van Gogh, a cook who made a new dish, and several more. We basically had a ToK (theory of knowledge, for you non-IB folks) discussion about what constituted art and what it meant to be an artist. Deep stuff, considering that we pretty much stuttered over our words and had to circumlocute all the good stuff.

School was out after that, so I got myself a nice helping of gelato to celebrate a successful day. Then I returned to the apartment to meet my roommates! We actually met briefly last night; it turns out that they've both lived here for a while, so they already knew each other and were out together. Their names are Bart and Isabel, and they are from the Netherlands and Holland (respectively). We sat out on the patio to do our homework together, which is to say we pretty much spent the whole time chatting. They seem awesome, but unfortunately they're both done with their classes in a couple of weeks. I'm not shocked; classes are ongoing at the school, and can start and end at any time. If I'm lucky, though, someone might come in before I go!

My family came tonight, so I went out to dinner with them. It was fun to tell them about my day, since none of us had any idea what to expect going into this. Although it will be really weird without them here (and able to be called every night), it looks like I'm off to a pretty good start- I have a nice place, good roommates, and, so far, interesting classes. I can't wait to make more friends and get really good at Italian!

La Scuola Leonardo da Vinci!

Move-In Day

I think my vacation has officially come to an end! Tonight I face my first school night in over a month as I prepare for my first class tomorrow. I'll have to first endure the scary task of my placement test, which will determine what level of class I will be in. I have to make at least B1 (A1 and A2 are lower, with B2, C1, and C2 higher) in order to get credit for OSU. The problem is, I have no idea what that entails and if my three semesters of Italian have rendered me capable... my family can vouch for the fact that I'm kind of freaking out about it!

In the midst of panicking, my family helped me move into my new apartment today. The people who met us here and showed us around were really nice, so I'm looking forward to my stay here! It's not at all like the email said, which described it as a single room self catered apartment with a shared bathroom and kitchen. Instead, it's basically a suite that I share with two other people, though I have my own room. There are two bathrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, a living room, and even a balcony! There's no AC or wi-fi, but we got a fan while we were out, and there's a pretty decent nearby signal that I am currently using.

We went shopping for a few essentials, meaning that my mom got to look around an Italian supermarket. In Europe it's much more common to have smaller specialty stores, so a big market like that is harder to find. Fortunately, there's one very close by! (That's not to say I can find it again.) They have far fewer products, and even fewer brands of each product. Still, we got stuff like pasta, strawberries, milk, and the like, so I should be set for at least a couple of days, until we can go shopping again.

One of my roommates, Bart, had already moved in, but he was out with friends all day, so I haven't met him yet. I only even know his name because of a note he left. My other roommate (a girl) is supposed to be here sometime tonight, but I haven't met her yet either. I am reminded of being the first to move into my dorm at Ohio State and eagerly awaiting the arrival of my three wonderful roommates, though the four of us had been emailing back and forth for some time before actually meeting. This will be a first encounter for all of us!

Since it's already pretty late, I guess I won't be posting anything about them tonight! Tomorrow I'll tell you all about my first day and (hopefully) details about my roommates!

My room.

The living room. (My room is behind the glass doors on the right.)

The bathroom.

The dining room.

The kitchen.

The view from the balcony. Not bad!