Day 3

Orientation begins!
Yesterday we began with Orientation meetings at Temple Rome- our new campus! It was surprisingly easy to get to from the Residence, and while it is a 30 to 40 minute walk (1.5 miles away), the time goes by very fast, and the confidence I receive from actually getting myself from Point A to Point B is better than I expected it would be, and one of the few things I like about living in an entirely new situation. Once we arrived, we were given some introductory speeches by Dean Stromann and Gianni, which covered many topics, such as directions and transportation, advising and general safety throughout Rome, and conduct and culture when handing everyday transactions with Italians. I suddenly felt extremely excited and confident about figuring out how to live in a new country. Needless to say, that confidence disappeared a bit once I was forced to actually speak to an Italian. Trying to buy metro passes was a fail, as nearly everyone in my group purchased the wrong one, and had our first disappointment in loosing euros. Everything I purchase seems so much more complicated than it should be, as I keep trying to convert my spending to American dollars. I realize this week will just be a big longing for a money tree (or euro tree now), and I am prepared to keep myself on budget once all the initial purchases are made. One thing I love is how cheap but delicious the market is. We pass it on our way to school every day, and it is considered one of the best in Rome, with locals coming from all over to sell the freshest foods. I have been able to purchase apples, peaches, nectarines, and grapes, all for cents each. The fruit is a major part of a normal diet here, and will be my breakfast, lunch, and a common snack for me here. This combined with my newest interest: running, should be a decent way to stay healthy and come back home smaller than a house, or large condo if I work at it enough.

Last night, Leann, Adam, Paul, Amanda, Allison, Pasquale, and I went for our first Italian dinner: pizza and beer. Let me just say, stumbling through Italian was embarrassing and enlightening at the same time. We were lucky enough to get a waitress who spoke a bit of English (necessary at this point in the game). We ordered pizza with Gorgonzola and speck, which is similar to ham, and it was delicious and cheap. But I understand that when I get home, pizza will be the last thing I will want! For now, it is perfect.

Today was epic. It was wonderful.

Temple planned walking tours for us, so at 11am we were split into groups of 10-15, were randomly assigned a professor, and headed out to explore Rome for 4 hours. Adam and I lucked out and got our Italian teacher, Daniela Curiouso, as our leader! We could not have been happier. At just under 5 ft., Daniela is a spry middle aged but very fashionable Italian woman, with a strong accent and assertive mannerisms. She was as helpful as any leader could be, and from the moment I met her I knew she would be a great teacher. She had an exciting day planned (each group did something completely different) by taking us NORTH of campus (as in, to an area totally off our map, and opposite from everyone else), toward her own home. We took a tram up Via Flaminio, toward a huge soccer stadium, where the 1960 Olympics were held.

Also in this area was a huge track field with enormous statues of various athletes, which was a great place to stop. 

Afterward, we went to a local market for lunch- Italian style. Boy, was this an adventure. We stopped at a stand that sold meat (cold cuts), bread, cheese, and other lunch items in order to make paninos, or sandwiches, My first lesson was in etiquette, as asking for 3 topping was too much and borderline inappropriate. Italians typically choose one or two toppings, such as one meat and one cheese, or one cheese and tomato, in order to fully enjoy each flavor, where in America we can stack a whole grocery store's worth of food on our bread. I will never make that mistake again! It was also overwhelming to learn so many new words in such a fast paced market, and only a few things stuck, such as prosciutto crudo (smoked) and pomodori secchi (dried tomatos)- these two items along with ricotta cheese were on my delicious panino. We took our food to a courtyard for a modern art museum, and I ate on a chair cut out of the grass- literally the mound of grass was shaped like a hug chair. Here is a photo from another interesting chair- burrowed into the ground:

And then.. the best part! Daniela ran into an Italian college student who lived near her, and brought her and her friends over to our group to interact and answer questions! Their English was so much better than our Italian, but it felt good to interact with Italian college student and get advise from their perspective. I even got their e-mail addresses for future contact!

We then walked to a local bar and order cafe freddo- basically cold coffee, and we learned bar (remember bars sell coffee drink primarily) etiquette, such as sitting fees and tipping, as well as various names for other coffee drinks (all of which I look forward to trying!).

WE WERE SUPER TIRED! But we walked back to Temple's campus, for yet another activity: Professor Mario Teleri's cooking demo! He was great, and gave alot of advice on where to buy what ingredients, how to properly prepare and cook great pasta sauces, and most importantly, how to enjoy and savor each meal- because this is what Rome is all about! I was of course pumped to go food shopping, and picked up a few things from the grocery store just a couple of blocks from our Residence in the short 10 minutes left before closing. Tomorrow morning, Leann and I will go to the market and pick up all our fresh produce- I cant wait to cook Italian style! Overall, these first few days are overwhelming and exhausting, but staying busy has been good for me, and I look forward to each new experience that comes with each new day.