A Promising Preview

I don't normally like to blog about things that haven't occurred yet - just because I can't add reflections or insert insightful little lines of wisdom.  However, this coming Thursday our class is taking our first of two field trips, the South field trip.  Clever name I know.  So I thought I would give you all a little teaser of what I get to enjoy this week.

Naples

Herculaneum

Sorento

Pompeii (Individual Travel)

Capri (Individual Travel)

You're welcome =]

If I Was James Bond, or Even a Dude from the Ghetto, this Post Wouldn't Be Necessary

To whichever parent passed on the Directionally-Challenged: Can't-Find-Their-Way-Out-of-a-Paper-Bag Gene, I blame this story on you.

All of the Rome students had to visit the housing office today to complete our permit of stay applications.  I traveled there with another person because it's really hard to find - not even the cabbies on our first day here knew what piazza we were talking about.  We get there, wait in line for our turn, sign junk, then leave.  Well I left by myself.  The office complex is a big square with a large courtyard in the middle.  I was looking for a way out and came across a door labeled uscita (exit).  I went out the door and found myself in this jank mini courtyard/exit area.  I see a wall to my right containing a door, behind which I can hear traffic.  I go to the door and you need a key to get out.  I turn around and you need a key to get in the door I just exited.  Immediate thought: scale the wall.  Look up, barbed wire.  One refuge remaining: sketchy staircase to my left.  I usually stay calm in frustrating situations but my heart was definitely starting to pound.  They said to get lost in Rome, but not lost and trapped in Rome.  I take the stairs and low and behold I hear english!!  I go to the door and knock like 20 times (a little excessive but hey, I was panicked.  oh and did I mention that all I had with me was my passport?  yeah...survival skills...)  They respond by saying: "This door doesn't go anywhere...this is our kitchen and there are shelves blocking the entrance with a note that says: Danger, do not open door."  I explain my situation in a nervous high pitched voice and then go down to my mousetrap so they can see me.  They do and say they'll come let me in.  My rescuers and I converse as they lead me to the proper exit and I find out that they share our university building.  How pleasant.  Ironically enough I didn't have one problem finding my way back to studio after this incident.

Yeah I'm gonna party tonight.

Tram Surfin

Some of you have probably heard of the expression sea legs.  Wikipedia (how reliable) defines it as the ability to walk steadily on the deck of a boat or ship.  Just when I think I've developed my "metre legs" (a phrase I've coined to describe the ability to stay upright on trams), I go and wear my messenger bag carrying my super heavy computer.  This paired with the fact that the tram is crammed at 8.30 in the morning just spells danger.  First lurch and I almost put my backside in the face of a poor old Italian lady sitting behind me.  Oh well, she'll prolly die soon from that pack an hour habit that causes her to say "permesso" like her throat is filled with gravel.  I roll my eyes at myself and think great - another day of being an obvious American.  But then I see another Italian almost topple into the next commuter and instantly have hope for my future.  The lesson here?  Bend zee knees and hold on fer deeear life to the closest school bus yellow pole.

Saturday Night

Three words: Italian night club.


Enough said.

Angel Supply Store

Did the Roman Christians alive during the times of the catacombs have these same feelings?  Did they feel this pressure on their chest as I did today?  Did they feel peace knowing that they were praying next to the physical bodies of their lost loved ones, hoping that their souls had moved on to a better place?  Or have chills on their arms, either from the cold or the thought of standing next to and breathing the same air as the dead (500,000 dead to be exact)?  All I know is that I observed, listened, thought and also held my breath till we came up 20 meters to fresher air, free of the heavy thoughts of the past and the Roman "perfume" of our tour guide.

Sweet Surmise

I'm sure you've all heard of gelato...who hasn't.  It's one of the more important things Italy is known for...as far as my stomach is concerned anyways.  Sorry history buffs.

Be warned: not everything is as it appears, or as you assume it is (in my case.)

Friday night was an experience.  Some wine at dinner coupled with the fact that my Italian isn't the best, I assumed that any flavor of gelato I could possibly try would not let me down and it would taste amazing.

I was wrong.

Liquirizia = black licorice.  Not what I was expecting.  It didn't even taste like licorice.

Luckily you always get two flavors in one cup and my other flavor was cream caramel, which was divine enough to smother the grossness of the first failure.

However, I did go back in and get more, a combo I could trust.  Pineapple and coconut.

Never leave a gelateria unhappy.

Friday's Art History Class

Saturation

Today we were awoken with a double-edged sword: the blessing of clouds and the curse of a pool of humidity.  I stepped out onto our balcony and had the brief hallucination of a cornfield, but then sighed in relief as I realized the city was still below me.  Clouds of every color gray floated past the window I face at my studio desk (they floated for the whole seven hours, yes, seven. in studio. bleh.)  Unlike most people I am a huge supporter of clouds.  The soft light made the varied orange hues of the ancient buildings stand out even more, making it even harder for me to concentrate on my axonometric drawing (don't even ask.)  Around 16:30 this afternoon we were met with a rainstorm; when it rains in Rome it pours.  Water ran out of the rusty downspouts, weaving its way through the cracks in the cobblestone and giving a sheen to the granite steps.

On a side note I had a white feather come through the window and land on my desk.  I kept it.

Today had good vibes, good vibes.

Loving the Pace

The professors told us to be patient in Rome; things may not get done right away, there may be inconveniences, but people here just deal with it and don't make a big fuss.  Yet on the other hand, Romans walk with a purpose and drink caffe freddo and caffelattes like it was the last supply of Holy water.  They rush but they're never frazzled.  They honk at red lights and talk passionately with their hands.  Last night was our first time exploring the nightlife and it's a totally different vibe.  People stroll, makeout by the Pantheon, and drink wine till the bars close.  Romans are wise in my opinion; they know how to get s*** done but they also know how to let their hair down.  Ah....la dolce vita.

Among the Lucky Ones..

It is my hope that I have a long life full of travels around the world.  During those travels one of my goals is to master an art that it seems everyone else on my plane has achieved.  I am determined to learn how to sleep on an airplane.  Try as I might, throughout the whole trip from Montreal to Rome (a whole 8 hours) I could not sleep one wink.  But once I inhaled the sweet, sweet air of my new home I was completely revitalized and ready to find the housing office and my apartment.  Which, by the way, was a mess...I'm used to the signage of America.  Needless to say Suzanne (my travel buddy!) and I made it in one (technically two, I guess) piece.

On another note, we made our first Italian friends!  First Suzanne met a guy named Francesco (25) in the Montreal airport.  He was in San Diego for two months and is from Florence.  He was so funny....we had fun helping each other with our languages (he's much better at English than we are Italian).  Our second friend is Cecilia (pronounced che-chee-lee-a in Italian).  I sat next to her on the plane.  She's 20, from a town north of Rome, and was in Boston with her family, visiting family, for the summer.  She's definitely fluent in English.  I was pretty proud to learn that her favorite country to visit is America.  Go us!  She gave me her info and I'm currently adding her on Facebook.  Shout out to the Pops who gave me those biz cards with the studio info on them...gave one to Cecilia and she said she would visit!!

Other events of the day: finding that the apartment is a lot cuter than I thought it would be (see video), eating out at Sale & Pepe (I had the best insolate!), tasting my first gelato of the fall, stracciatella flavored, which is vanilla with chocolate shavings, and last but not least buying my metrebus ticket for settembre (do you like how I'm inserting little Italian cognates for you?? learn with me!!)

My honest to goodness first impression of Italy was: Whoa...it's not as hot as I thought it would be. (today)

The one thing I don't like so far is: Paying for water...but it was delicious so who's to complain.