The Beginnings...

Well, at last, on day 5 in Italia, I finally have internet access. So many wonderful things have happened over the past few days...allow me to try and relate some of them...

So, January 8th at the bright hour of 6am my plane took off from Reno, passing through Denver and Washington DC before heading to Rome. Naturally the flights went well...19 hours of sitting, sleeping, reading, eating, and some movie watching (I watched Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants II). In Washington DC I met up with the rest of the students studying here through the USAC program, and all looked really bright actually. Everyone seemed very friendly, and we were all excited, impatient, and a little nervous.

But when the plane landed in Rome, trouble struck for me. I had left Reno with one large suitcase and one smaller one, but when we arrived in Rome, only the big suitcase was there. After waiting for half an hour I simply told the rest of the group to go ahead out of the baggage claim and to head to Viterbo with the people who were greeting them (I wasnt technically travelling with the group so I didnt think the coordinators would be waiting for me too..), and there I found myself...alone in Italy only minutes after leaving the plane. Well, the suitcase didnt arrive so first I had a lovely time talking to the airport staff about this, though I did have the wonderful help of an Italian woman who spoke English perfectly and whose suitcase was also missing. It turns out my suitcase never left DC, so they told me it would arrive the following day, but that I should expect it in Viterbo (an hour from Rome) about 2-3 days later...Italian time, of course! For those curious, yes, the suitcase has now arrived.

In any case, there I was with a humongous suitcase in Rome, and the only way to get to Viterbo was by taking 2 trains and a bus. The worst part of this, though, was that even though I had taken 2 years of Italian in Reno, it had been at least 8 months since I had last spoken it. This was definately an experience that helped me remember my Italian. I first met a very kind and helpful security guard in the airport that guided me to the first train, and from then on I had help from many people trying to figure out which stop to get off on and if I was heading the right way. All in all, though, I would have to say that it went quite well. It took me several hours, but soon enough I found myself at the hotel our group was staying at for the night in Viterbo. I met the USAC coordinators here, Stefano and Francesca, along with their assistants, Nicole and Ilaria. And the rest of the night held no real surprises; we were simply fed a wonderfully delicious 4-course Italian dinner of risotto, pasta, salad/potatoes/meat or cheese, and a dessert cake. Era molto molto delizioso, certo.

The following day, Stefano took our group out on a short tour of Viterbo. Its a beautiful little place, truly. The older part of the city is enclosed by castle walls. The streets are all cobblestone and the buildings are stone as well. Just like any good European city, every few blocks there is a piazza (plaza) with a fountain and a church that make for excellent meeting spots. Viterbo is a city from the Middle Ages, and one thing it is known for is the Palazzo dei Papi (Papal Palace), named so because the Popes took refuge here at one point before establishing Vatican City. In the Palazzo dei Papi we also learned the origins of the word "conclave"....it comes from the italian phrase "con clave" which literally means "with a key." At the death of one of the Popes, the cardinals were gathered and ordered to elect another, but they did not want to (I dont know why not). In order to pressure them to make the decision, the cardinals were all locked up in a rectangular room (we looked into it, nothing but stone walls). When they still didnt elect a new Pope, the roof of the room was taken off so that the cardinals would all get rained on, and they were starved. Nevertheless, they held out for 2 long years before finally electing a new Pope. And thus we have "conclave," because they were literally locked up..

In any case, we took our short tour and then all moved into our living situations. Some of the students are in shared apartments, while others of us (including me) are in the residence halls/dorms, which are really quite nice. We each have our own room and bathroom, as well as maid service that comes every 2 days unless we specifically request that they dont. In our backyard are 2 donkeys, which one of my new friends, Chris, named Bill and Bertha on the first morning that we heard them hee-hawing out back. They are really beautiful though; I love looking out my window to see them. =) The only real problem with the residence halls is that they are located outside of the city walls, in the newer, far more industrial and fast-paced part of the city, whereas all of the apartments and neat places to hang out are in the city walls where we all prefer to spend our time. Still, Viterbo is a city of only 60,000 people, so nothing is ever very far away.

And all of us have quickly become good friends, though there are factions within the group. We are about 45 new students with about 5-6 students that were here last semester and are staying for this one as well. Everyone is really nice though. One of my favorite new friends is a Korean-American girl named Seul, from Maryland, who lives just a couple doors down from me in the dorms. But there are also others...Lauren, Chris, Aaron, Alex, Coreen, Derrick....who I definately enjoy spending time with as well, and several of them are actually from Reno!

Schoolwise the past 2 days we sat in orientation to learn what classes we would be in and what would be expected from us. Our first language classes were today. I am in Italian Composition, and it was absolutely wonderful. My instructor, Christina, is a beautiful Italian woman with golden curly hair and a tremendous smile. She makes Italian very fun, mostly because, although the class is entirely in Italian, she speaks slowly and clearly so we can understand, and she encourages us to talk and make mistakes. This class has only 5 new students, and then 2 of the returning students that are doing a more advanced track. It looks very promising though. The rest of my classes are Italian Conversation, Roman Civilization, and the Renaissance in Italy, but none of those begin until next week.

So all in all, life in Italy has been amazing. Its shocking to me that we have been here for less than a week, because when I walk around or talk to people I already feel a lot more comfortable. The streets are more familiar, I can find my way around, and even understand a lot more of the language. We have gone grocery shopping on our own and been able to ask for help before. Its really amazing how quickly you can pick up something like this when you are just fully immersed in it all the time. There is so much more to write, but I feel that now is not the time. I hope all of you in the United States are safe and well and I send my love that way.

A presto!
Kally

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