Typhoid Molly

My steely resolve has been compromised! At the beginning of the week, I truly did think that I was going to blog more frequently. Then I became infected by typhoid Molly/Kelsey.

Two of my darling roommates became ill with colds/sore throats typical fall sniffles. However, they did not keep their germs to themselves, and had the audacity to get me sick *scoff*! Kelsey says that I sound like a pre-pubescent boy. I have been consuming copious amounts of tea and going to bed very early in hopes of shaking this before I leave for this weekends adventures in Tuscany.

So my apologies about the lack of blog posts over the last two days.

Despite my ailments, I have managed to be somewhat productive. I found the post office this week and was at long last able to purchase stamps. Holy cow! Stamps are expensive over here. I purchased 20 stamps for 32 euro, or about 45 USD. But I love you all enough to justify said stamp purchase.

I have also read ahead in most of my classes. Woot. No pesky bug will keep me from being an over-achiever!! : )

Also, today marks the official one-month date for my time in Rome. So, I find it fitting to list the things that I miss about America (note: people are excluded from this list, I miss you all and don't desire this post to turn into a novel. Hence, I am sticking to material things).

1. peanut butter that does not cost my first born child

2. dryer (when you hang dry clothes they stretch out and are scratchy)

3. standard unit measurements (what does walk 250 meters mean anyway)

4. a home that is not falling apart (plumbing and electrical issues drive me insane!)

5. my car (but my legs will be so toned an awesome)

6. Minnesota weather (high of 85 in Rome today)

7. my dear, sweet, and and mildly indifferent cat, Mo

8. my cellphone

9. talking to people at a normal hour of the day (the sacrifices we make in Rome...)

10. chinese food (I would kill for an egg roll, or a cheese wonton)

11. football season (the Pack is undefeated!!!!!!!)

12. donuts (I really want one with sprinkles, or maple glaze. Wow, I sound like Jim)

13. smoothies (I may need to invest in a blender over here...)

I think that does it for now. I am off to drink more tea.

Due to popular demand....

Yesterday I got yelled at for my lack of blog posts. Therefore, I going to make a more concerted effort to update my blog more frequently. You are welcome in advance, Steph.

Today was pretty normal. I woke up and pulled back the curtains to a beautiful view of Viale di Trastevere and the aroma of baking bread (live next to a bakery). Pretty normal stuff, no biggie. I made a quick milk run because someone had consumed all of it and not replaced it (*sigh*). It was a pretty big emergency as I can not drink my espresso plain. I find it too strong and frankly, icky.

After a quick load of dishes I journeyed off to school for my marathon day (class from 12 to 5:35).

My slavery class was interesting because we talked about the differences between slavery and forced labor. It is an interesting argument because many people feel they are the same, yet they are actually pretty different. Don't get me wrong though, they are both very sad and horrible things to put people through. I still cry while doing the readings. I am also going to start looking for my paper topic. There are so many options and the paper is on 2000 words (far too short)!

Television and Democracy in Media was far too long today. We are very far behind, because the prof tends to go on tangents. So we spent today's class period covering what should have been covered in last weeks lectures. It made for a whirlwind lecture and lots of note taking. Also, I realize that I am in Italy, but I am also attending an American university. So tangents in Italian, and Italian youtube videos do nothing to bolster my understanding of the material, especially when you don't translate them. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Italian was very fun today. We are learning how to say where we work and what we do. So half the class got to assume new identities and the other half did a version of twenty questions to find out who we were. It was really fun. We also sat in a giant circle and conjugated verbs. Boring, but very helpful.

When I was done with classes it looked like it was going to pour. And those of you who know me know how I feel about getting wet. I don't like it. Not one bit. However, I really had to go grocery shopping, so I walked with a purpose to the store and sped around picking up the things I needed. Luckily, I was able to do this beat the rain. Yippeee!

Then I hunkered down and did some homework. Alas, studying abroad in Rome actually does involve some studying. Who knew?

Now I am off to clean up from my delicious dinner of gnocchi with sauteed onions, mushrooms, and zucchini. Here in Rome the "I made it, you clean up rule" does not seem to apply. Woe to me.

Tourists cramp my style

After residing in Rome for nearly a month (I know, I can't believe its been that long either) my roomies and I decided it was high time we explored Rome. Entire epic bus tour and a day filled with tacky tourists.

I was awoken on Saturday morning by Erica bursting into my room, poking me, and blaring some song on her laptop. I think it was her attempt at retaliation for my usual peppiness in the morning (it runs in the family, my brother is sickeningly chipper in the morning *cough* bitterly sarcastic *cough*). I digress. After coffee, a necessity, even for the most morning of morning people, we walked to the bus stop where we boarded our double decker bus tour.

The beauty of this particular bus tour is that we are not kept like caged animals during the day. This company gave us the freedom of "hopping on and hooping off" so we could take our time soaking up the historic nature of these sites.

First stop: Vatican City. Somehow, it is much smaller in real life. I always imagined that it was some huge grandiose city with lots of nuns and perhaps a siting of the Pope. Alas, no such luck. Despite it being smaller than I thought it would be, it was amazing. The piazza was crowded with tourists waiting the get into the museum (the line wrapped all the way around the piazza). Not having the patience to wait in the line, we decided we would come back later when all of those pesky American tourists had left.... Despite the crowds we were still able to get some amazing picture of the colonnades and the Basilica. That being said, I can't wait to go back and actually get to see the things that Vatican City has to offer.

Second stop: Trevi Fountain. The bus dropped us off a block or so away from the fountain. We knew we were getting close when we could hear the cascades of water. And when we walked around the corner, there it was. This thing is massive! Pictures and movies just don't do it justice. We quickly scampered down the stairs and maneuvered our way through the swarms of people so we could get up close and personal. Before you ask, yes we through coins in the fountain. It is basically required. We did not, however, take the tacky tourist picture to commemorate the moment. I did take note that not all people throw coins in the fountain. In fact, it appeared as though one elderly tourist threw their teeth in the fountain. No joke. I saw the pink gums under the water and quickly asked my roommates if I was imagining things. I was not, they all confirmed my suspicions.

After these two stops it was around lunch time. Originally, I was not going to publicize this, but I have nothing to lose (dignity is already gone). We ate lunch at McDonald's (hence the missing dignity). After a month with no greasy food or burgers, it actually tasted quite good. The restaurant was packed (with Italians, surprisingly) and we had to struggle to find a table. Odd factoid, in Europe, they charge you for catsup packets. Thank goodness for my world traveling roomie Erica.

Fortified after our American lunch we headed off for stop three: the Colosseum. This was by far, my favorite of the three stops. It was so amazing, my words just won't do it justice. Thanks to a European holiday, the entrance was free (as broke college students we rejoiced in this fact). We took our time walking around the structure before going in. Part of the inside of the inside of the building has been converted into a museum. It shows some tools they used to build it, skeletons of animals the Gladiators fought, sculptors, and mosaics.

A nice bonus of this stop is that it is two monuments in one. We were also able to see Constantine's Arch, as it is located right outside the Colosseum. Despite all the wars, this was heavily guarded and preserved as it marked the conversion of Constantine to Christianity (shout out the the Bosch's: thought of you guys when I saw this). I stood rooted in my spot pondering the significance of this arch and what life would be like today if it had not been for the Edict of Milan. I looked around as people breezed past it or only saw it for its artistic value (it is quite beautiful), sad that not everyone cared about its historic significance. Alas, not everyone loves history as much as I do, a fact I must learn to embrace *dramatic sigh*.

This concluded our bus tour and tour of Rome for the day. We trudged home happy that had not walked the whole thing (poor Molly during orientation...) yet too exhausted to cook. Kelsey managed to scrounge up enough energy to make pasta for the clan and we hunkered down to watch Sleepless in Seattle. Yeah for Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks marathons (Friday consisted of You've got mail with freezer pizza)!

All in all, it was a great weekend. It was nice to stick close to home and see some of the sites that Rome has to offer. It really is an amazing city, and I am so blessed to be on this adventure. Erica, Molly, Kelsey and I frequently look at each other with wide eyes and proclaim, "Guess what? We live here, in Rome, for FOUR MONTHS!" Its hard to believe that I am a quarter of the way done with my semester abroad. Time truly does fly when you are having fun, and I will continue to enjoy every moment of it.

Class on Friday? What is this madness?!?

Woe to me (*hand on forehead dramatically*). I had class today. It was so exhausting having a five day school week. I nearly collapsed under the pressures of it all.

Other than that it has been a fairly decent week.

One of the most exciting things that I did was solve my money crisis. Yippee!!! A man at my bank, though well intentioned I am sure, led me astray when it came to my ATM card. So since Florence, and while in Florence, I was cashless. None of the ATMs would take my card. Consequently, I to take a loan out of the Bank of Erica (gotta love generous and understanding roommates). After skyping my parents in a panic they were able to wire me money to tide me over while we figured the whole mess out. Which we have, and now I am at the mercy of the Italian Post.

Speaking of the Italian Post, I still need to find stamps. I am discovering what one of my roomies has already discovered: stamps are impossible to find! Hopefully I discover where they are sold soon, as I have many postcards to send.

Classes are still going well. I am really enjoying them all and learning fascinating things. My international law class is expanding my latin vocabulary, so I will sound really smart upon my return to the states. Also in that class we had a rousing debate today. It was pretty interesting because not many people knew what was going on. My team put up a good fight, but I have a feeling we lost. We were representing Serbia in the Kosovo case, and they lost in real life. So I don't feel to bad.

The sudden Roman cool snap seems to have ended as the last few days have been unbearably hot. Erica says thats Minnesotan for moderately warm. The sass that I have to put up with. Unbelievable.

This weekend we plan to take a bus tour of Rome and explore our own stomping grounds a bit. The majority of the tourists have left and the weather looks good, so it should be a grand old time.

Well I am off to make dinner. Probably a pasta with grilled chicken tonight. I am feeling to exhausted after my five day week to do much else.

Ciao for now.

Trains, planes, but at least we didn't have to walk

Here goes my epic tale of my weekend in Florence. Brace yourselves for awesomeness!

We woke up bright and early (6am) on Friday morning and had a delicious breakfast of biscotti and coffee. Then we hoofed it over to the train station to board the train that would take us to a bigger train station in Rome and then we could board our train to Florence. The train ride, when all said and done, is about 2.5 hours, maybe a little less.

When we arrived we hustled off to our hostel. Funny story. We wandered for a little bit, and then stepped to the side of the street to whip out our maps and try to figure out where the hostel was located. We then proceeded back down the street, from whence we came, only to realize the unmarked green door we stood in front of while reading our maps, was the door to our hostel. After depositing our bags and checking in, we hit the streets of Florence (not Amelia Bedelia style) to see the sites.

Florence is a darling town. It is large, but much smaller than Rome and very quaint. Instead of small cobblestones lining the street, trying to get you to sprain an ankle, Florence has larger stones that lie in a much smoother fashion. Far easier to walk on, and an added bonus, I was not in constant panic of tripping and breaking a limb.

First item on our list was food and making a list. So we went to a little cafe near the Duomo got some coffee and cornettos (croissants, for you Americans). You may be thinking to yourself, "self, I feel like ate a meal similar to this already...." and you would be correct. However, Europeans have a much different eating style then us. They eat very small breakfasts, have a mid morning snack, lunch at 1 or 2, and dinner at 7 or 8. So rest assured, our second meal was merely an effort to assimilate and refuel our very empty tanks.

Here are the things that made it onto our to-do list: see and climb the Duomo, see the David, go to the Ponte Vecchio, go the Uffitzi Gallery, purchase famous Florentinian leather.

Duomo: A beautiful building located in what I will call the heart of Florence. It seems like all streets will deposit you there. It is a gorgeous structure built by wooden tools and hands. It baffles me that back in the day they made such gorgeous things will so little, and today, we construct buildings with more technology and they won't last nearly as long, and are far less pleasing to the eye. I digress. We (Kelsey, Erica, Molly, and I) thought it would be fun, and a once in a lifetime experience to climb to the top of the Duomo, so we stood in an endless line for said experience. 463 stairs later we emerged sweaty and wheezing to the most beautiful view I have ever seen. As far as the eye could see there were red rooftops, a perfectly blue sky, and hills in the background. We stayed up there for quite sometime taking pictures and enjoying the view, plus none of us really wanted to climb down...

The David: This magnificent sculpture is located in the Gallery Dell'Academia. To see it involved, yet a again, standing in a very long line, though it moved fairly quickly. The museum had a lot of cool exhibits. There was an exhibit on musical instruments (Erica and I, former violinists, drooled over the Stradivarius. Fun fact: I have played a Stradivarius) which was probably my favorite. Though I no longer play the violin, I still really appreciate the craftsmanship of the instruments and the music that they produce. There was another exhibit with sculpture from Lorenzo Bartolini, they were amazing. I never could/can understand how someone can take a slab of marble and chisel things like fabric and make it look so soft and drape-y. Then, for the piece-de-resistance, the David. We stepped out from behind a curtain and it smacked you in the face. It. Is. Huge. Like 16 feet tall huge, and surrounded by a massive crowd and security guards who would practically tackle you if you so much as twitched a finger towards your camera. We all stood there in awe and just soaked up the skills of Michelangelo.

Uffizi Gallery: I suppose if you are really into renaissance art this would be an amazing experience. I, on the other hand like more modern works (loved the MET in New York), so this was kind of a drag for me. Only made worse by the fact that many of the works were nearly identical to those that are in the Gallery Dell'Academia. Let me clarify, I know that there are differences in the art, they are done by different people, and generally depict different things. However, they are all from the same era and all really obsessed with Greek gods and the saints. An odd combo, I know. We spent about an hour in line waiting to get in and another hour in the museum. Then Erica, Molly, and I went to get lunch and shop and left Kelsey to wander around her own personal little heaven.

Ponte Vecchio: This bridge literally has houses and shops on it. How they built it, I have no idea, but it is really cute and it also has a great view. (This might be a good point to say that there really is no bad view in Florence. Everywhere you turn there is something cute, something old, and something that nearly takes your breath away.) Most of the shops are jewelry stores, but there are a few leather stores. This is where Kelsey found herself a read leather jacket. It is fierce.

Florentinan Leathergoods: So, as I said earlier, Florence is known for there leather. A man in a leather store told us that after WW2, they started treating the leather in the river that runs through Florence, and that is how they became known for it. It is super high quality, usually made from lamb or calf. We were all pretty much drooling over the leather and vowed we would not leave Florence without some leather good. Molly took care of this on the first day by purchasing a black leather jacket. She looks very Italian in it. Kelsey, as I said also got a jacket, hers is red. Erica and I both got purses. Hers is a two tone bag that can be both a messenger bag and a backpack. It is soft and slouchy and super chic, very Erica. Mine is a red-brown bag that is an over the shoulder. As a bonus, it has an attachable messenger bag strap (don't panic mom, its super classy). I will only use the strap when I am in Rome, it makes it easier to avoid things like being pick pocketed. I really like it and think it will be perfect for when I get a job, as the real world is rapidly approaching. *gulp* Heres to graduating in one year!

So far this sounds like an awesome weekend, right? No problems:Florence, one weekend, in and out? Wrong. An adventure can not end like that, it has to go out in Italian public transportation style. Like a fiasco. So we get from Florence to Rome Termini (the big station on the other side of town) just fine. Erica and I had purchased our tickets from Termini to Trastevere back in Florence, but Molly and Kelsey had not. So they went a ticket stand to get them (note: it is 10pm and the only way to get a ticket was self-service). The first machine ate their money, but the second one worked. Score. Crisis averted, no. We had 45 minutes until our train left as the earlier one was cancelled on Saturday. So we go to our platform to wait. There is already a little Italian man there, so we had some company. We are all exhausted to the point of being loopy so we are just chatting and having a grand old time. Then we all notice the Italian man sprinting in his red loafers away from our platform. Collectively we say, must stink to find out your at the wrong platform, poor man. Hope he makes it. Turns out he had good reason to run, our platform had been changed and they announced it in , you guessed it, Italian. So none of us knew. It is now 10:20 and the next train leaves at 11:30. So we figure we will take a bus. Only we are at the odd point between the day buses and the night buses, so they run pretty infrequently. After wandering around with our bags for what seemed like an eternity, we gave up trying to find a bus (mainly because we had no clue what bus to take to our apartment). For about a nano-second we toyed with the idea of walking. Then realized it would be about an hour walk in the dark with all of our bags, and Molly had 18 blisters on her feet, two of which were on her heels and bleeding. So we walked, Molly hobbled, to a taxi stand near the train station and we got a cab. Best 12 euros we ever spent. The man drove like a maniac and I feared for my life, but he got us there in about 10 minutes and dropped us off at the door. It was now nearly midnight and we had not yet eaten dinner. We were so tired we actually considered making a french fry and hot dog pizza that Kelsey bought. I, finding that idea repulsive, had nutella on biscotti, and stumbled into my room.

All in all it was quite the adventure. I saw a lot of awesome things and had a great time with my roommates. My conclusion, it was a weekend well spent. Sorry for the crazy long post, hope you enjoyed! (pictures soon to follow)

Mad Cooking Skills

Sorry for the infrequent blogging, but now that classes have begun I have decidedly less to talk about. I assume that you all would rather not read a play by play of my class lectures.

All in all it has been a fairly decent week. I decided that it was high time that I eat some fresh fruits and veggies. So far, my diet has been pretty heavy on the carbs. My dear roommate, Erica, suggested that I go to the open air market. I took her up on her suggestion and was quite delighted. The market was super cute. It was a bunch of stands with fresh tomatoes, onions, beans, and various other fruits and veggies. There was also a fish stand, a cheese stand, and a meat stand. I did, however, stay away from those. I heard my brother in my head ranting about food safety and temperature violations. Hence, I stuck to the veggies. I got a large assortment and commenced adding them to my pastas (zucchini and mushrooms, yum!).

Also, my mother finally responded to my email (so slow on the uptake, gosh mom) with her recipe for special cucumbers. The recipe called for cider vinegar, which is very hard to find in Italy. So I trekked to the local international store (with delicacies like peanut butter and campbell's soup) and emerged victorious! I then scampered back to the apartment to make my cucumbers. It was a bit challenging with the conversions, but I made do, and I dare say that my cucumbers turned out better than my mom's.

I also branched out and made tuna salad this week. That too, was quite the adventure as I was not entirely sure that I was buying tuna. Turns out I was right, and tonna does mean tuna. Sadly, it was packed with lots of oils of some kind. I will try another brand next time. I used some of the bell peppers and onions that I got at the market with a dash of paprika and mixed it all up. Put it on some bread, throw it on the stovetop, and you have a hot sandwich of delicious tuna goodness. I am turning into the quite the little chef, if I do say so myself.

So, I know you probably don't want to hear about all of my classes, but indulge me for a moment. I LOVE PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW!!!!!! It is by far my favorite class. We get to talk about high profile international law classes, debate international issues, and generally read about awesomeness. I can not wait for the debates to happen and to write my twelve page paper. So excited!!!!!

My other exciting adventure was trying to find an adapter. I wandered all over Trasteverre (my neighborhood) before finally finding one. The minute I walked through the door the man had me pegged for what I needed and handed it right over. Apparently I have "American college student studying abroad" stamped on my forehead. Oh well. Saved me from speaking my broken Italian.

That is pretty much my week in a nutshell. If I have forgotten anything I will add an addendum. For now I am off to bed. I have an early morning tomorrow because I am off to spend the weekend in Florence. What a sad, sad life I lead : )

Shoutouts to my newest readers, Uncle Mike and Aunt Kreise. Glad to hear that you are reading about your favorite niece's European adventures. If I go to France I will be sure to send you a postcard, I know that is your favorite country, Uncle Mike...

Pilgrimage to the Gap

I figure after a long weekend, its time to update the blog. So here it goes.....

On Friday we did an excessive amount of shopping. Erica, who has been in Europe for a year, needed many new things. So Kelsey and I accompanied her on her journey to replenish her wardrobe. The most exciting part of this day for me was visiting the Rome Gap. For those of you who don't know I work at the Gap back home, and really enjoy it (I miss my 1603 family). Hence, it was a goal of mine to go to the new Gap (it opened just a few weeks ago). After wandering around the shopping district for a while, I finally saw the hallowed blue square sign. As we got closer I saw that there was someone handing out balloons that said "Hello Rome!" with the Gap logo. There were also people riding around on blue bikes, with the same logo, handing out directions to the new store. When we walked in I went weak in the knees. It was gorgeous. There was a man in a suit opening the doors and greeting us, and there was a mural of Gap through the ages. The store is the biggest store that I have ever seen. There was even a seating area with fashion books and books on Gap's history. They have personal shoppers, ridiculous amounts of fitting rooms, and two levels of pure Gap goodness (the top is the kid's store, which is also massive). So cool! Also, a genius marketing ploy: they had their employees wearing shirts that said "I'm wearing Curvy" or "I am wearing Real Straight" and of course, the corresponding pair of denim. I thought it was cool, but my friends were confused. Needless to say, I quite enjoyed my time there. I even picked up a few things that I desperately needed (denim skirt and sleeping shorts). It is still super hot here, the temps this weekend have been in the high 80s low 90s.

On Saturday It was simply too hot to do anything. We all slept in and were doing homework, lounging and such when we had a great hankering for coffee. So after much coaxing, I went out of the apartment sans makeup to go down the block and get a cappuccino (Erica promised that if we saw cute boys we would scream and run away). The coffee was delicious, and we saw no boys. So all in all, a success! This was also the day my roommates went from great to epic. I was skyping with my parents and we were talking about my grandma and date night. Most Friday's we take her to a restaurant called Lakeshore Grill in Macy's. This has been going on for over a year, and we have befriended the staff (Max, Ourida, Brenda, and Claudia I miss you all). Anyway, at this restaurant they serve popovers, the most delicious bread item ever, and I was bemoaning my inability to find them in Rome. My roommates, who overheard this, asked what a popover was. Moderately appalled that they had never heard of them, I described them as a fluffy muffin (they now call them fluffins). Long story short, I continued to talk to my parents (in another room) and my roommates decided to google popovers, found a recipe, and made them for me as a surprise. Erica, the baker extra-odinare, did a fantastic job. We even recreated the honey butter, which makes popovers that much more delicious. I love my roomies!!!

Today, was, well, interesting. I woke up early-ish this morning because Erica and I planned to go to church. While showering, in that blasted itty-bitty shower, the shower head sprung a leak. So, the bathroom floor flooded, the shelves got wet, the hair dryer was soaked, and my darling black dress was sopping wet. We did manage to fix the shower head (the nozzle had come loose and needed tightening) but my morning was off to a wretched start. Due to this unfortunate leak, my hairdryer was unable to be used (rather not be electrocute thank you very much) and I had to go to church with undone hair. Bleh. To make matters that much better, the pre-planned route that Erica and I had to get to church was screwed up because the tram was not running this morning. Yippee! So Erica and I wandered around for a good thirty minutes trying to find a bus that would take us to the right location, and were only five minutes late for the service.

This church, called Rome Baptist Church, is unlike any service I have ever been to before. The church is self is super tiny and not air conditioned. It is also packed (like shoulder to shoulder, kids on laps, and out of chairs and pews) because it is the only English service. We hope it will become less crowded when tourist season ends. I digress. The hymns were ones I had never heard before, and the choir (bless their hearts) could not really sing. Also, die to the small size of the church, we had to sit through both a children's and adult's sermon. The sermon, was decent, but no Pastor A, and the congregation frequently threw out choruses of "Amen." And to top it all off, at the end of the service, all the new people had to stand and introduce themselves. We did manage to meet some other study abroad kids (from a different school) but it was, none the less, awkward. I would love the ability to poke around for a different church, but Erica and I agree that an English church service is better than none (Italian would be cool, but more cultural, less spiritual).

After church, Erica and I went to grab a bite to eat (service started at 10:30 and ended noon) and totally lost track of time. By the time we returned home it was about three in the afternoon and Molly and Kelsey thought we had died. I assure, we did not.

The rest of the afternoon was spent on homework (yes, Jim, I do study). Made some good headway on the reading and will do more tonight. I will also probably plan my trip to Florence. The roommates and I are planning to go next weekend. Woot woot!

P.S. The berry bars turned out dreadfully. The crust rose to the top and the berry/lemon gel did not set. It turned into a dish of gelatinous goo, tasty though. We all grabbed a spoon and a corner of the dish. It will be made again, and hopefully in turns out. This makes the score oven:3 and erica:2, I am rooting for us to come out ahead.

At Long Last, Weekend!

After an exhausting four day week I have a three day weekend. Yippee!! And no, this is no special Roman holiday, this is a weekly occurrence. Yeah for no class on Fridays (thats right Jim, no class on Fridays). So what did I do with this new found freedom, you may ask? The answer, homework. My human trafficking professor assigned a gargantuan amount of reading. Like five chapters. You might think that this is nothing, and normally I would too. However, these five chapters are particularly long, extremely dense, and very depressing. So, two chapters in, and three tissue boxes later, my roommates decided to rip my readings from my hands. Those two are crafty, let me tell you.

After convincing me that I did not have to do all my homework in one night (because I actually have a whole weekend, what? No speech tournament? Again, I say what???) they guided me into the kitchen to bake yet another recipe that Erica found. This time it is Berry Lemon Bars. They are currently baking, but I will let you know how they turn out. The last recipe we attempted was delicious. We made peanut butter cupcakes with a chocolate ganache. It cost us one of the precious peanut butters that we found, but man, they were worth it.

Also, after a week and a half I feel like I know my way around the kitchen. Now, don't get me wrong, I have cooked before. Ask my family, I have whipped up some delicious meals (blackened chicken alfredo anyone?), but this kitchen is just plain weird. We have a gas oven and stovetop, that we have to light. Seriously. We have to open the oven, turn on the gas, and light it before we bake. I feel like I have stepped into a vignette of the 1920's (maybe I have my eras wrong, I don't know, I don't profess to be a history buff). Anyway, I digress. Tonight I made myself roasted potatoes with basil and garlic and a chicken breast with a pesto sauce. It was quite scrumptious, If I do say so myself.

Very exciting news (awkward transition, but I have always struggled with those)!!! Today Erica and I met with some ladies from Campus Crusade. They came to our apartment, showed us the ropes of the public transportation, and then we went out for coffee. We chatted for quite some time. They gave us tips of the best coffee in Rome, the best gelato, when to go to the touristy spots, and some good places for shopping. However, my favorite part of the afternoon was them showing us a church! Before I came I was a little nervous that I would be unable to find an English speaking church, but it turns out that there is one a mere bus ride away! It is the only English speaking church in Rome, and it turns out that it is Baptist. Some may call this luck, but I say it wasn't luck, it was Providence (quick, name that movie). Erica and I plan on attending this Sunday. I will let yo know how it goes. Melissa and Beth Ann (the Campus Crusade ladies) also invited us to help with some events that they plan and host. Erica and I both said we would love to help. How cool is that? I can meet Italians my age, socialize, and talk about my faith. I think it sounds like a pretty cool deal.

On the docket for this weekend. Shopping (we all forgot something in the panic of packing for four whole months), the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, bus tour (?), and perhaps hitting up some museums. Who knows. I don't have to do it all right now, I do have four months! : )

Wait, I have to study...?

I guess my lovely, lazy days of wandering Rome and getting familiarized with my surroundings are over. Or finito, as the Italians might say. Yesterday my classes began, and I am so excited. Its nice to have a set schedule and a purpose for each day. I have an amazing set of classes, and am so excited start the readings (I am a nerd, I know). Okay, so here goes the class life of Kate:

Class One: Human Trafficking and Contemporary Slavery (Mondays and Wednesdays 12-1:15). This class may sound super morbid to some, but to me it is awesome. I am so excited to learn about this growing problem. Also, a huge bonus, it is taught by one of the world's leading experts on the subject Silvia Scarpa (very Italian with a super heavy accent, my name was Kate-ah Beesohnna, no joke). She told us that she spoke at the world conference on it and she has several books out on the subject. Intimidating, yes. A challenge I fully embrace...have you met me? For the class I have to write a 2000 word research paper and do a 10-15 minute presentation. Each has to be on a separate topic. Right now I am pondering doing one on India and one on the Phillipines. One for sure will be on India. I saw some missionaries speak at my church a few years ago from the red light district of India and the work that they have done with these women and children. I found it fascinating and look forward to researching it more. The other topic is more up in the air.

Class Two: Television and Democracy in Italy. This is also taught by a super Italian man. He is rather hard to understand. This class also sounds really interesting to me. It combines media and politics and the impact that it has had on Italian society. One of the people that we are focusing on in this class is Silvio Berlusconi, the president of Italy. The thing that most interests me about him is how many pots is hands are in. He owns several television channels, a newspaper, is the owner of the Milan soccer team, and the leader of the country. Its seems so strange to me, because in the states we allow our politicians to only be politicians. If they have holdings in any companies (like financial businesses, media, or sports) they must sell them, and our President has to have his finances in a blind trust. Berlusconi has control over nearly everything, for example, when people protest him his television channels don't show it. Needless to say, this should be an interesting class.

Class Three: Italian 101. The syllabus is in Italian. Seriously?! Hopefully by the end of the semester I can actually read it. The way this woman teaches is like no other language class that I have ever had. She speaks almost all Italian and does not really translate what she is saying. She puts phrases up on the board and has us guess what the subjects and pronouns and things are. It is an interesting approach, and I am curious to see how it plays out.

Class Four: Public International Law. So perfect for me. A semester of talking about political theory, international crises and how it effects us, bring it on! On our midterm and final exam she has a law school question. So it will be like a case study of a country, or the description of an international situation, and we have to discuss both sides of the crisis and what ethical dilemmas it brings up and how to deal with them. Super logical, and super awesome. Also we get to debate in the class. Again I say, BRING IT ON! As a forensicator (speech and debate) I have spent the last two years honing this skill. I relish in debates. My mom's exact words when I told her we would debate in class: "poor saps." The class is all upperclassman, may who want to be lawyers, so I feel like some good arguments will come up, and I look forward to hearing them and rebutting them.

Things I also managed to do in the last two days: find my mailbox on campus (I welcome letters), locate the library, print about 100 pages of reading, copy a chapter of a book for more reading, purchase my last and very elusive textbook, and find campus IT. Probably the most exciting thing I did was sign up for my first excursion. Next weekend I will be going to Tuscany do go horseback riding and general touristy things. "Excited" is not a strong enough word.

Also, tonight I cooked myself a most delicious dinner. Rigatoni with fresh basil, mozzerella, sauteed mushrooms, and carrots in a red sauce. Odd combo (I opened the fridge and was like, "what in here slightly resembles dinner...."), but strangely good. Things to do, find a fruit and veggie vendor (things they really don't sell in grocery stores) and get some meat, protein is probably a good thing.

Off to do some homework. Most people would probably type a "bleh" or a *groan* here, I on the other hand can't wait to read about international law (see previous comment about nerdy-ness)!!!

A Taste of Home (or two...)

It rained *happy dance*!!! This means for the first time in a whole week I have been able to sleep comfortably. And today the high is only 79 degrees. I think I can handle this.

So brief update on yesterday, since I failed to blog (bad Kate). We wandered around Rome and discovered that nearly everything is closed on Sundays, so my effort to find school supplies was a bust. We did however manage to find some pretty pink flowers from a vendor to place in a vase on our dining room table. As I type their sweet smell is wafting towards me, courtesy of the fan.

In our wanderings we did manage to find one grocery store that is open on sundays. It is about a 15 minute walk from our apartment. Sounds not that bad, right? Wrong. When you are carry grocery bags it is very, very far away. Worse when one of your bags breaks on you during the walk home. Good thing we had an extra one just in case (totally could have been a girl scout)! The most exciting part of this grocery store is the fact that we found salsa and peanut butter!!!! As if Erica and I did not already have "American" stamped on our heads, we audibly squealed with joy. Oh the simple pleasures. On the downside, the teeniest jar of peanut butter here set us back around 7 US dollar. Worth it, very worth it.

You may be thinking about now, it was Sunday, why have we not heard about church service? Now before you start pointing fingers and calling me a heathen, I am working on it. My roommate Erica has a connection with a leader of campus crusade. This woman works with the Italian universities, not John Cabot, but, she has agreed to meet Erica and I for coffee and give us the low down on the English speaking church scene in Rome. It looks like we will be meeting with her on Thursday, so if all goes well I should have a church by this Sunday. In the mean time I think I will just have to watch Wooddale online. Perhaps I will see my parents heads from their standard second row pew...

The best part of the day was skyping with my whole family, though the peanut butter is a close second, sorry family. This is the first time since my arrival in Rome that I have been able to see all of them at once. It was so nice to be able to catch up with them and hear all of their stories. They also informed me that people in church are reading my blog. Yippee!! I thought for sure that it would just be my family and Mrs. Abele. So thanks for reading Mr. and Mrs. Bartlett. I hope that you are enjoying the tales of my adventures thus far. I am glad that the wonders of technology allow me to keep in touch with you all back home. Makes the whole being a trillion miles away thing easier.

Well, I am off to class. So, until next time...

Hot Potato

Today was another crazy hot day the thermometer reached a whopping 93 degrees. Great day to get textbooks, no? Thats what we thought too. Sadly, we did come here to study and not just explore, so off to get textbooks we went. We had a map, so we thought we could knock that little task off our lists lickety-split. How wrong we were....

The journey began by trying to track down bus 116. The directions told us the wrong location so we wandered around for a while before we were successful. Once we got on the bus, we realized that it was going the wrong direction (we needed 116t, not 116) so we got off at the first stop and went across the block to the other bus stop. When the bus approached the stop we got on and realized that it was the same bus we got off. Turns out at the end of the line it turns around and goes the other direction. Who knew? Then came the most frightening experience of my entire life. Sitting in the bus while the driver careened around the roads like a mad man. There were times when I thought he was going to take the lives of several pedestrians (he did not).

When we got off we were near the Spanish Steps, so we thought we would explore before we got our books. So we took some pictures and sat in the church at the top of the stairs and listened to part of the mass. It was such a beautiful church and the homily (though I understood only bits of it) seemed very good, it held the nuns in rapt attention.

After climbing down and around the stairs we were famished, so we went off to find lunch. We settled on a cafe that had an air conditioned inside (remember, crazy hot day). That was a very interesting experience. Our server gave Erica a plate of potatoes (that came with her meal, or so we thought) and then came and took them back. He walked back to the kitchen and two minutes later brought the same potatoes out and gave them to the table in front of us. It was so weird (and very much like a game of hot potato). The couple caught on to what had happened and spoke to him in rapid Italian, they got a free dessert. Then the table next to us got their food before us, even though they came after us. It was like they gave preference to native Italians. Like I said, strange.

Next we went off in search of the bookstore. What was supposedly 250 meters away turned into a 30 minute walk. Then when we got there, they did not have one of my textbooks. Awesome. So I will be going to amazon or something to get the book. Luckily I don't have readings from it right away, so I do have some time. Here is the best part of the story, bus 116 picked us up right in front of the bookstore. This also means that it would have dropped us off in front of the bookstore. Conclusion, we were given awful directions to find the bookstore. What took us the majority of the day conceivably could have taken one hour. But, at least this way we got to see the Spanish Steps. "Boo" for bad directions, but "yeah" for exploration!

Tragedy: A Near Miss

Today was, well, interesting. We attempted to do laundry and discovered that are washing machine is very fussy. We got our whites done just fine, but when we tried to do our darks we had a minor flood in the bathroom (the door hadn't shut all the way), and we smelled burning. Turns out the electrical plate was scorched from the other tenets and was getting worse from our laundry. So we had very soggy (no spin cycle) and slightly soapy clothes (shortened rinse cycle). We will be filling out a maintenance report to get that fixed. I feel like an electrical fire would be a bad idea...

On the bright side we had a fantastic lunch. There are many little bistros on the way to campus and we were positively famished so we stopped at one that had the cutest menu design (obviously the best way to choose). The man who was our server was the cutest little man ever, his name was Francesco. He came up to us and greeted us in Italian but then quickly switched to English and loudly proclaimed "Champagne for everyone!" and did a little jig. We laughed and all took water instead. He took a picture with Molly, sang to us, and was generally a jovial fellow. When he took our orders he informed me that no I could not order pizza (they only had it at night) when I switched to an artichoke pasta he also said no (not in season) he then proceeded to pick for me. I ended up with an mushroom, pea, and bacon fettucini. He picked well. Francesco was talking to us about school, and Rome, and the fact that we should definitely come back and eat at his restaurant again. The decision was unanimous, we will, and soon.

After lunch we had an orientation session which was very poorly planned. They wanted to do a walking tour of Rome in two hours showing us all of the major monuments (Spanish Steps, Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, the Roman Forum, and the Pantheon). However, they did not communicate that to us. So none of us had fully charged cameras and two of them were not in good walking shoes. Also, my very enthusiastic (extreme sarcasm) orientation leader encouraged us to get lost from the group or ditch. He himself said rather loudly he had other things that he wanted to do. It was one of the oddest things that I have ever experienced. So my roommates and I took his advice and "got lost" and we explored in the other side of the Tiber river (we have really only explored by our place) and found a kitchen store. So we got some tupperware for our delicious meals that we will cook and some silicone cupcakes cups so we can bake away (as I type we are making cookies, yum yum). We also picked up our student IDs so that we get into both campuses (they have a guard at both to keep the rif-raf out), and Kelsey and I made our first video blog post (twopeasinpasta.blogspot.com). What I find really comical about the whole orientation process is what I still don't know: how to log into their computers, do I have an email, where is my mailbox, where are the computer labs, and how the library works. These are basic things that I feel should be covered under any orientation and am a little surprised that they have not covered.

The day of odd and near electrical fires ended with a new, and all together different, electrical fiasco. My laptop charger died. I am thankful that it was not my whole laptop, but chargers (with American voltage) are hard to acquire in Rome. Thankfully two of my roomates have macs, so I should be able to limp along. But it will be a tad inconvenient, especially when school starts on Monday. Woe to me *dramatic hand to forehead*!

Update on the cookies: they are now out of the oven and so delicious. However, they baked together, so they are more of a chocolate chip bar, less cookie. But yummy none the less.

Just finished skyping with my dad. It was so nice to see his face, even though he was in a hideous St.Thomas shirt. Bleh. I am all about the black and gold. GO GUSTIES!!!!

I'm Melting!!!

It is hotter than the inside of a cow's stomach. Seriously. Who knew that it would be over 90 degrees in Rome, certainly not this girl. However, I finally did manage to get some new clothes (2 dresses and a skirt), so hopefully I cease to die of heat exhaustion. Though that is highly unlikely, I like things at 68 degrees, and I don't think that will happen for another month or so. Rats.

Other than the obnoxious heat, today was a good day because we went on an excursion *claps giddily*! First we went to an archeological site called Ostia Antica. It is an old Roman city that was originally located at the mouth of the Medditteranean, but then the Tiber river flooded and changed courses, so its no longer located on the coast. Any way, the city flooded and preserved everything and now archeologists are working on uncovering it. The city was pretty cool. It was amazing to see that buildings that were constructed over 2000 years ago are still standing. The streets, however, were a disaster. There were tree roots everywhere and the stones that once had been flat and smooth were jutting up at odd angles. The guide, who I swear was part billy-goat had no problem navigating them. I, on the other hand, thought I was going to die, or at the very least break a limb. Tragic. Also, he was like a wind up toy and got more and more energy as the tour progressed. The rest of us were more dissuaded by the heat, and decidedly less excited about looking at yet another bath house, and began to slow down. Now that I am back in the comfort of my palatial apartment and out of the oppressive heat I enjoy the memories of the tour and the pics that remain.

The Second excursion was to an organic farm and historic residence called Borgo di Tragliata. It was quite possibly one of the coolest things that I have ever seen and undoubtedly the most delicious food (sorry mom). Everything they served us came from the farm, it was so fresh!! They served us eight dishes: pecorino cheese with honey of the Borgo, white and tomato pizza, red chicory ham and mozzarella tart, cous-cous with vegetables, spaghetti American style, chicken with peppers, roasted potatoes, and apple cake with raisins. The course was served over two hours, so while we were all full, it actually was not all that bad. Also, we desperately needed the sustenance after walking between three to five miles at Ostia Antica. After our meal we got to take a tour of the facilities which were beautiful. The farm has been there since the medieval times and they have done a wonderful job preserving the grounds. They have antique furniture in the rooms and ivy climbs the buildings. It was ridiculously charming.

The evening ended with my first family dinner. My roomies and I decided it was high time we cooked for ourselves, and it was delicious. We made a farfalle (bow tie for you Americans) with mushrooms, basil, chicken, and mozzarella. Then we gathered around our dining room table to consume said food and chat. It was a lovely little bonding experience.

Now I am putting my feet up, as they are a bit tired (also you can see the outline of my flats in a lovely suntan, yeah for whole days outside), and relaxing. Perhaps I will find out what textbooks I need to purchase...