Now that that's out of the way...2008 started out awesome. The Christmas approach with the Wood Pile never fails to help make for a grande ole celebration to bring it home. Family (that's me with Nelson and Ali's baby Kennedy), friends, and the ungodly amounts of food are a must. This New Year's Eve was one of my most favorite as a handful of my closest friends came to Dallas to rock. The night was all planned out, but nothing happened according to plan - which turned out to be better because of the people I got to celebrate it with. Thanks to all who brought in 2008 with me. I hope everyone else had as much fun as I did.
Rome.
After staying up all night packing I got on my flight. Mom dropped me off at DFW, where I was happily mistaken as a marine, where I was finally setting out on my own. There was a layover in Philadelphia, and off to Rome. I switched seats with a girl on the flight so she could sit by her parents and ended up sitting by a Roman mother and her 2 daughters. One of the daughters flipped through the little black book of Rome that Asher, Missy, and Gaia got me and circled all the restaurants, bars, etc that she loved. She spoke as much English as I did Italian so we flipped through a translation book, watched The Bourne Ultimatum in Italian, etc. This was the flight. Having stayed up for 2 straight nights (1 packing and the other on the plane) I arrived in Rome. My cell phone wasn't working, I couldn't get my debit card unfrozen in the 3hrs I was between flights in Philly (yeah, no cheese steak either), and I was going to pick up my apartment keys at a convent where a friend was staying. The train into town was easy and my mental picture of 'Chicago but different' proved to be pretty close to reality. Once in town I realized that I was miles from where I needed to be and talked a cabby down in price (at first accidentally) to get there. After arriving at the convent (cobblestone streets are no fun with rolly-anything), I sat in a small room for my friend trying my best not to sleep but failing a couple of times. After my friend arrived and I learned that there were no keys yet, I went to stay at a hotel that the lady who was working the desk setup for me. I walked a while, took the 15 Euro cab ride to who knows where, went in a gate, and walked up to what looked like someone's house. It was a bed and breakfast that was owned by an older couple. I spoke Spanish with the Father of the house while we watched his wife prep the room and bathroom. After saying goodnight I took a picture of myself in my room. I showered and got in bed to list some things or make a plan or something before sleep and found myself drifting in and out of consciousness. I was able to do whatever I needed to and slept 12 hrs. I remember thinking it fitting as I correlated my delirious entry to Rome like that of Dante's entry to Hell, and it made me feel all the more far from home the next day. Here's me, my room, and it's morning view.
Charming, ain't it. The first full day in Rome has been my favorite to date. After eating wafer bread and jam with warm milk and an espresso I headed out into the unknown. One of the few things I understood the wife say is that the bus tickets can be bought at a tabacchi (small vendors throughout the city). I bought a ticket for 1 Euro but decided to walk since I had the time and the weather was inviting. The walk was great. I used the maps at the bus stops to find my way since I found I was off of any map I owned, and saw that I had about a 5 mile walk before me. One woman tried to speak to me in Italian and I could only say 'no comprende' as I kept walking. As I neared more urban territory the white noise of any city (cars, people walking, trolley, etc) tasted different to my ears as it was mixed with the Italian language dancing in the air around me. Lately I've enjoyed walking with my headphones on (it's been easy to get goosebumps during certain songs), but I'm glad that I didn't think to do that on the first day. I walked in circles a bit, went through a few markets, was surprised at how many people had dogs, and finally decided to rest my ankle at an outdoor cafe. I later learned that I was resting right in front of the door to where a group of my friends were living and where I resided until I moved into my own apartment. After a rest I walked uphill off the major street with the trolley and; you probably wouldn't be far off from picturing the next neighborhoods I saw as the architypical Roman streets: winding, narrow, hilly, etc. I got to the top of a hill and noticed 2 Americans that i chatted with for a bit. They gave me a map and, after we traversed the top, proceeded to the base where we parted paths. The top had views over the whole city. It was also large enough for a park with meandering paths, statues, and mobile vendors.
Did you know: the white building above with the winged charioteers is called 'the wedding cake' by the locals since has a large, layering base and totally disreguards the surrounding environment. After the hill I called a roommate and met up with some of the class. Since then I've been in a watered-down Italian culture since I speak English all the time. That first day really imprinted on me what it means to be in a foreign place where nobody knows who you are, what you're saying, or what the deelio. It really made me want to learn Italian.Since then I've moved into an apartment with 2 roommates in a neighborhood that's been described as the Beverly Hills of Rome, started my studio course which will probably be the best one I've ever done, and daily life has started to get some structure. As I am one who loves change you can count on each day being different as I continue to explore both the city and the culture.
Ciao!
