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Published: September 4th 2014
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Monday (9/1/14) First day of class! I am already really enjoying my Italian singing class. It might be my favorite class this semester. We had to sing in front of the class twice on the first day, but I'm glad we did, because I feel like I have already improved quite a bit. I really like the natural approach to singing, and the professor is such a professional. She's in her sixties and still performs all around the world. My Italian class is full immersion as the professoressa teaches the class in Italian, which is a struggle but I enjoy the challenge. And my philosophy class seems rather straightforward, so that shouldn't be too bad except for the required readings. I also finally bought a mosquito net for our window, now that I knew exactly where to buy it and the store was open. No more pesky mosquito bites. Sean and I also enjoyed some gelato in between my classes. I tried a scoop of chocolate mixed with a scoop of mint. Molto buono. I find it to be much better tasting than ice cream. I will surely miss it.
That night we also went out to
a local bar called FooDoo. It was a bit of a walk, but it was one of the only good bars opens late. Sean tried a Charlie Chaplin and I ordered the FooDoo Spritz, which had Aperol, prosecco (sparkling white wine), mineral water, and it was garnished with an orange slice and some weird fruit with green seeds, that were also in the drink. I assumed I was supposed to eat the seeds out of the fruit to go with the drink as I was given a spoon. It was certainly interesting. I could only describe the drink as tasting pink, which was its color. I later did some research to discover that the fruit was a passion fruit. Having never seen one before, It was very weird looking.
Tuesday (9/2/14) Today was sign-ups for the study trips. I got down to wait in line at around 8:30, when the business office opened at 9 am. There was already about 40 people in line waiting. They were mostly going for Turkey and Tuscany though. Sean and I were 45 minutes late to our 9:30 class because the line was rather slow moving.
We got into the study trips we wanted though, and we didn't miss anything. The Roman Catholicism class is probably my worst one. The professor, Ted Bohr, is quite the bore, as he speaks in a monotone voice and lectures on nothing. Thankfully, it's a partial on-site class, so we'll be going to the Vatican next week.
After obtaining all my books and a small afternoon nap, Sean and I went to get gelato and to try to find somewhere for me to buy a monthly bus pass. Everyone else cleaned out all the tabbachi stores yesterday but I was in class so I couldn't go with the group. We also made a stop at Simply, the local grocery store, and I picked up a couple of liters of Fanta arancia for our mini fridge. That stuff is just too delicious.
For dinner, we ate at the basement cafe Rinaldo's. The small pizza there with salami (pepperoni) was very delicious. I also tried a bottle of Sprite, with is much better than the American version.
Wednesday (9/3/14) Today I tried out the gym in the second basement. It is quite small and
doesn't have much, But there are free weights, which is enough for me to stay in shape, working out once or twice a week. I also attended my Honors class for the first time today. It was super lengthy and dragged on because la professoressa lectured the whole time, which apparently isn't how the class will be from now on, thankfully.
After dinner, Sean and I went out exploring with Sam, Jessica, and Angelina, since it was her birthday. We went into downtown Rome and saw Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, and Campo di Fiori. We also ate the best gelato in Rome (allegedly, which I agree so far) at La Gelateria Frigidarium. They had a caramel, chocolate, and hazelnut cookie flavor that was amazing. Then we went to explore the lively Trastevere neighborhood, that is always hopping with busy restaurants and several American bars. The G Bar that we went to had a special that night of one euro shots. After that, we went to wander around the Tiber River bar tents again before returning to campus.
Thursday (9/4/14) Having only one class at 2 pm on Thursdays is nice because I
can sleep in. And today I did laundry for the first time. It was a bit confusing what all the different options meant on the washer, but I just picked the middle option that had a 40 on it. After my Italian class, I decided to get off campus for a bit and go explore the northern part of the neighborhood. We were given local maps that had important places labeled on them. It also showed a nearby street that would get me to the northern most part of the neighborhood quickly. It was not a street though, it turned into a gravel path behind the telecommunications building that cars weren't allowed to go down. And the next section wasn't even meant for people to travel. I only knew it was there because of the map, so I kept looking and spotted a small opening between some branches and the wall next to them. This lead to some small stone steps that turned into a steep dirt path that brought me all the way to the next major street. It was full of thorny trees, and there was some weird gate in a brick wall just off the path. Then
I headed to the soccer field that was labeled on the map. I never did find it, because all that was there at that location was a mental hospital. But right near there had a good spot to catch a glimpse of all the buildings and apartments that were down the hill in the downtown area. I'm pretty sure I could see the Vatican. I returned to campus and spotted four stray cats hanging around the dumpsters just in front of our campus. Someone had been leaving a bowl full of water for them, and they were rummaging through the garbage. I had a chill night just hanging out in the dorms with friends, since we had to get up early the next day for our mandatory orientation weekend trip to Umbria.
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