Mom and Brenda left at 5am!!! Mucho sad to see them go, but I shall be seeing them again soon enough as I come home in 12 days!!!!! :D :D :D
I love Italy, and I LOVE the experiences I have had here, but I am ready to be among 24 hour conveniance stores, english TV, radio, texting, unlimited nights and weekends, the US dollar, work (hopefully), and MEXICAN FOOD!!!
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Northern Italy
Venice!!
Oh, how I love this city. In the days of Shakespeare, Venice was the place to be….not much has changed. The paved streets are busy with activity, as are the murky blue canals. People are chatting everywhere, shops glitter with the famous Murano glass, waiters beckon you into their particular cafes, and the magnificent domes of San Marco loom over all of it. It is beautiful. Some day, I have to come back.
We arrived after our 8 hour bus ride in only semi high spirits. We had to be up at five to make it here on schedule. I slept the entire way here, and thus never noticed the time go by. We dropped our stuff off at our hotel and went on a walking tour around the city with the various members of staff that were with us. EVERYONE came on the Northern Italy trip. Dr. Hatile, Dr. Flusche, Dr. Waterman Ward (and family), Professor Blue (and family), etc.
It seems like Venice would be a place where one could easily get lost (I nearly did a thousand times), but thankfully it isn’t really that bad. The Basilica of San Marco is just about the biggest central area you could hope for, and signs all over the city lead you right to it. If it’s too far to walk to wherever you need to go, you can always take a water taxi!!!
Venice is expensive, no denying that. I don’t even what to THINK about how much I have spent on gifts so far!! It is going to be a FANTASTIC Christmas!!!!!
After our walking tours, we had free time for awhile. Most of us wandered around the city and met back at the basilica for mass, then went to dinner. The entirety of a cute little trattoria was rented out for us for dinner both nights.
I was dead beat after dinner and so went back to the hotel, showered, and passed out. I brought TWO books with me on this trip and haven’t so much as touched one yet. If the rest of this trip continues to be like day one I doubt I will get an opportunity to read anything more than a dinner menu!
Day two in Venice was just as busy as the evening before. We woke up at about 7:30ish, had breakfast at the hotel, then split up in various groups depending on whichever tour we signed up for the previous week. I signed up for all the tours on this trip based on the prof. that was leading them. Flusche first thing!!! She was taking a group on a tour of the Basilica. I won’t say another word about it, except you MUST experience it for yourself some day. It is a real hodgepodge of architecture. There was a lot of byzantine influence on its construction, so it looks a lot like an eastern church. It is chock full of glittering mosaics, which are absolutely dazzling. The body of St. Mark lies underneath the main altar as well. Go see it, people!
After the tour, I walked around a bit, did some shopping, had a calzone, then hopped on a boat to go to the island of Murano and see the glass blowing factory there. That’s where I did the majority of my gift buying. I really couldn’t help myself. I just saw so many things that reminded me of people back home. Seeing glass blown is extremely interesting. There is no school where you can learn to do it. It is a tradition that must be passed down through a family. To become a master glassblower, you have to practice for about 25 years. Talk about a lifetime profession!!
Professor Blue’s little girls, Hannah and Cora were having a BALL watching the glass being blown. I picked Hanna up and had a front row seat! She was so cute!! VERY well behaved little girls in a room full of glass. When I was their age I probably would have given my parents a heart attack.
We made our way back to the hotel to drop our stuff off and then Lindsey and I went for bellinis before dinner. After dinner I decided to call it an early night and get a shower and crash. I am absolutely beat AGAIN!. Will I ever have enough energy again? I feel old.
Denise isn’t back yet, but I really hope I hear her knock before I pass out…..
Ciao!
Florence!!
I like Florence, don’t get me wrong, but it hasn’t got the romance that Venice does. It is very Americanized and very much a student center. The place is literally CRAWLING with American students studying abroad. It’s no wonder, as there is lots to see.
The first day we checked in, unpacked a bit, cleaned up, went on another guided tour of the city led by Dr. Hatlie, went to mass, went to dinner, and had some free time. Florence is famous for its leather market, which stretches all the way around a church and down the street. I got a leather jacket---still expensive even after some haggling. It is incredibly soft and definitely worth it.
The next day we had mandatory visits to the Ufizzi Museum (did I even spell that right?) and tours with different profs. I went with Blue to hear him talk about Machiavelli. I was a little disappointed. I think I am just museum-ed out, to tell the truth. It was pretty awesome seeing Botticelli’s Birth of Venus though. I’m a fan. After that, not a lot went on. A bunch of people did go to a bar that night that was apparrantly serving 5 shots for 5 euro, but that sounded a little ridiculous to me so I skipped out and sort of wandered around the city for awhile.
The next day, we went to the Academia Museum to see the David and then we took off for Assisi. We haven’t been here long, but I can already say I love it here. It is a very quaint little town. Unfortunately Franciscan churches are not renouned for their beauty—they are usually very starkly decorated. I didn’t go on the guided tour (which was thankfully optional this time), but instead wandered around a bit on my own. Everyone here is very friendly, and it isn’t too expensive. The hotel we are staying in is quite nice too. I did pop into a church too see the garments of St. Frances of Assisi and the body of St. Claire.
Dinner time!!
Ciao!
Assisi!!!
This small town winds and bends all over the hills of Northern Italy. It is impossible to get lost, bored, or hungry here.
Our first night, I wasn't in the mood for the guided tours, so I spent a lot of time on my own just walking around the place. I bought a cannoli and munched on it while I watched the sun go down over the city....the city itself then proceeded to light up like a christmas tree. it was beautiful.
After that I started feeling like a loner, so i made my way to dinner and attempted to be social...no go.....the wine tasting that Monsignor put on for us helped a lot.I spent that evening traipsing around assisi, picking up a few small souvineers, eating gelato, stopping into a few churches to pray, and then going to bed.
The next morning, we woke up early, went to the Basilica of St. Francis, listened to a lecture from Dr. V. and had a few hours to walk around some more (optional tours were available but declined) before lunch. I bonded a bit with some of my suite-mates from back on the Rome campus. Lunch was uneventful, as was the bus ride home....where I now sit writing this.
So much to do tonight!!! classes start up again tomorrow, paper due thursday and exam friday. shoot me.
CIAO!!!!
Oh, how I love this city. In the days of Shakespeare, Venice was the place to be….not much has changed. The paved streets are busy with activity, as are the murky blue canals. People are chatting everywhere, shops glitter with the famous Murano glass, waiters beckon you into their particular cafes, and the magnificent domes of San Marco loom over all of it. It is beautiful. Some day, I have to come back.
We arrived after our 8 hour bus ride in only semi high spirits. We had to be up at five to make it here on schedule. I slept the entire way here, and thus never noticed the time go by. We dropped our stuff off at our hotel and went on a walking tour around the city with the various members of staff that were with us. EVERYONE came on the Northern Italy trip. Dr. Hatile, Dr. Flusche, Dr. Waterman Ward (and family), Professor Blue (and family), etc.
It seems like Venice would be a place where one could easily get lost (I nearly did a thousand times), but thankfully it isn’t really that bad. The Basilica of San Marco is just about the biggest central area you could hope for, and signs all over the city lead you right to it. If it’s too far to walk to wherever you need to go, you can always take a water taxi!!!
Venice is expensive, no denying that. I don’t even what to THINK about how much I have spent on gifts so far!! It is going to be a FANTASTIC Christmas!!!!!
After our walking tours, we had free time for awhile. Most of us wandered around the city and met back at the basilica for mass, then went to dinner. The entirety of a cute little trattoria was rented out for us for dinner both nights.
I was dead beat after dinner and so went back to the hotel, showered, and passed out. I brought TWO books with me on this trip and haven’t so much as touched one yet. If the rest of this trip continues to be like day one I doubt I will get an opportunity to read anything more than a dinner menu!
Day two in Venice was just as busy as the evening before. We woke up at about 7:30ish, had breakfast at the hotel, then split up in various groups depending on whichever tour we signed up for the previous week. I signed up for all the tours on this trip based on the prof. that was leading them. Flusche first thing!!! She was taking a group on a tour of the Basilica. I won’t say another word about it, except you MUST experience it for yourself some day. It is a real hodgepodge of architecture. There was a lot of byzantine influence on its construction, so it looks a lot like an eastern church. It is chock full of glittering mosaics, which are absolutely dazzling. The body of St. Mark lies underneath the main altar as well. Go see it, people!
After the tour, I walked around a bit, did some shopping, had a calzone, then hopped on a boat to go to the island of Murano and see the glass blowing factory there. That’s where I did the majority of my gift buying. I really couldn’t help myself. I just saw so many things that reminded me of people back home. Seeing glass blown is extremely interesting. There is no school where you can learn to do it. It is a tradition that must be passed down through a family. To become a master glassblower, you have to practice for about 25 years. Talk about a lifetime profession!!
Professor Blue’s little girls, Hannah and Cora were having a BALL watching the glass being blown. I picked Hanna up and had a front row seat! She was so cute!! VERY well behaved little girls in a room full of glass. When I was their age I probably would have given my parents a heart attack.
We made our way back to the hotel to drop our stuff off and then Lindsey and I went for bellinis before dinner. After dinner I decided to call it an early night and get a shower and crash. I am absolutely beat AGAIN!. Will I ever have enough energy again? I feel old.
Denise isn’t back yet, but I really hope I hear her knock before I pass out…..
Ciao!
Florence!!
I like Florence, don’t get me wrong, but it hasn’t got the romance that Venice does. It is very Americanized and very much a student center. The place is literally CRAWLING with American students studying abroad. It’s no wonder, as there is lots to see.
The first day we checked in, unpacked a bit, cleaned up, went on another guided tour of the city led by Dr. Hatlie, went to mass, went to dinner, and had some free time. Florence is famous for its leather market, which stretches all the way around a church and down the street. I got a leather jacket---still expensive even after some haggling. It is incredibly soft and definitely worth it.
The next day we had mandatory visits to the Ufizzi Museum (did I even spell that right?) and tours with different profs. I went with Blue to hear him talk about Machiavelli. I was a little disappointed. I think I am just museum-ed out, to tell the truth. It was pretty awesome seeing Botticelli’s Birth of Venus though. I’m a fan. After that, not a lot went on. A bunch of people did go to a bar that night that was apparrantly serving 5 shots for 5 euro, but that sounded a little ridiculous to me so I skipped out and sort of wandered around the city for awhile.
The next day, we went to the Academia Museum to see the David and then we took off for Assisi. We haven’t been here long, but I can already say I love it here. It is a very quaint little town. Unfortunately Franciscan churches are not renouned for their beauty—they are usually very starkly decorated. I didn’t go on the guided tour (which was thankfully optional this time), but instead wandered around a bit on my own. Everyone here is very friendly, and it isn’t too expensive. The hotel we are staying in is quite nice too. I did pop into a church too see the garments of St. Frances of Assisi and the body of St. Claire.
Dinner time!!
Ciao!
Assisi!!!
This small town winds and bends all over the hills of Northern Italy. It is impossible to get lost, bored, or hungry here.
Our first night, I wasn't in the mood for the guided tours, so I spent a lot of time on my own just walking around the place. I bought a cannoli and munched on it while I watched the sun go down over the city....the city itself then proceeded to light up like a christmas tree. it was beautiful.
After that I started feeling like a loner, so i made my way to dinner and attempted to be social...no go.....the wine tasting that Monsignor put on for us helped a lot.I spent that evening traipsing around assisi, picking up a few small souvineers, eating gelato, stopping into a few churches to pray, and then going to bed.
The next morning, we woke up early, went to the Basilica of St. Francis, listened to a lecture from Dr. V. and had a few hours to walk around some more (optional tours were available but declined) before lunch. I bonded a bit with some of my suite-mates from back on the Rome campus. Lunch was uneventful, as was the bus ride home....where I now sit writing this.
So much to do tonight!!! classes start up again tomorrow, paper due thursday and exam friday. shoot me.
CIAO!!!!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Things are winding down and winding up......
One more month to go, approximately, and I will be on American soil again.
I am excited, but there is no denying that this semester has been incredibly amazing, and has taught me a lot. That is NOT me being sappy, that is plain fact.
I have learned a lot about myself and the people around me. Some things are not so nice, some are fabulous. Ive made new friends and discovered new things about old friends. I can get around the world pretty well on my own, I can order coffee almost anywhere in Europe, I can figure out public transportation, I can eat onions without wanting to throw up....really, a lot's changed.
Things on campus are buzzing again. We leave for our northern Italy trip tomorrow bright and early at 6:30am. An eight hour bus ride will take us to Venice where we will spend a couple days seeing all the city has to offer. From there we will go to Florence, and then Assisi. It should be beautiful and informative. Dr. F and Dr. H are BOTH going with us. We have lectures and tours everywhere, and, in keeping with tradition, it is supposed to rain the entire time. Woot.
After we get back from northern Italy, we have a pretty hectic week. Papers due, exmas, a soccer tournament. Then, my mother and sister are coming to see me. I can't wait!!!! I miss my family a lot. Who can blame me, really, they are pretty awesome. I am going to spend Thanksgiving break showing them around Rome and telling them all I've learned. I think my mom deserves a pretty awesome guided tour considering the tuition this oh so wonderful school charges. Hopefully my notes wont let me down....eep!!
Everyone here is just trucking along through the rest of the semester. Tempers seem to run high in my part of the dorm, though I don't quite understand why some people are so pissed off all the time. Nor do I understand why my mere existence seems to constantly offend and irritate.
I suppose the best I can do is let them work through whatever is bothering them and back off......until they are more pleasant to be around that is.
What would be the use of snapping back? To make things more stressful for everyone around us.
I think not. Plus, I don't quite know if I could purposefully take my anger out on people quite like that...I was raised better.
PS. I work very hard for every grade I get. My religion, or "ability to bullshit" has nothing to do with it. I just wanted to put that out there because it happened to be on my mind.
Peace, out.
Mira
I am excited, but there is no denying that this semester has been incredibly amazing, and has taught me a lot. That is NOT me being sappy, that is plain fact.
I have learned a lot about myself and the people around me. Some things are not so nice, some are fabulous. Ive made new friends and discovered new things about old friends. I can get around the world pretty well on my own, I can order coffee almost anywhere in Europe, I can figure out public transportation, I can eat onions without wanting to throw up....really, a lot's changed.
Things on campus are buzzing again. We leave for our northern Italy trip tomorrow bright and early at 6:30am. An eight hour bus ride will take us to Venice where we will spend a couple days seeing all the city has to offer. From there we will go to Florence, and then Assisi. It should be beautiful and informative. Dr. F and Dr. H are BOTH going with us. We have lectures and tours everywhere, and, in keeping with tradition, it is supposed to rain the entire time. Woot.
After we get back from northern Italy, we have a pretty hectic week. Papers due, exmas, a soccer tournament. Then, my mother and sister are coming to see me. I can't wait!!!! I miss my family a lot. Who can blame me, really, they are pretty awesome. I am going to spend Thanksgiving break showing them around Rome and telling them all I've learned. I think my mom deserves a pretty awesome guided tour considering the tuition this oh so wonderful school charges. Hopefully my notes wont let me down....eep!!
Everyone here is just trucking along through the rest of the semester. Tempers seem to run high in my part of the dorm, though I don't quite understand why some people are so pissed off all the time. Nor do I understand why my mere existence seems to constantly offend and irritate.
I suppose the best I can do is let them work through whatever is bothering them and back off......until they are more pleasant to be around that is.
What would be the use of snapping back? To make things more stressful for everyone around us.
I think not. Plus, I don't quite know if I could purposefully take my anger out on people quite like that...I was raised better.
PS. I work very hard for every grade I get. My religion, or "ability to bullshit" has nothing to do with it. I just wanted to put that out there because it happened to be on my mind.
Peace, out.
Mira
Monday, November 2, 2009
TEN DAY
DAY ONE
Today turned out to be an absolutely amazing day. We left the Rome campus at about 5:55pm, got on a bus, and went to Champino airport. There are about 16 of us who went from Rome to Dublin straight away. The plane ride is a little hazy to me, because I slept through most of it. Apparently some woman passed out. It didn’t seem to take too long, and I survived another Ryanair flight.
The Dublin airport is HUGE. Walking through it seemed to take forever. I was in awe of the English and Gaelic signs everywhere. One thing I learned today was that Gaelic or “Irish” as they refer to the language, is taught in schools much like Spanish is taught in American schools (aka DRILLED into the minds of students everywhere, who promptly forget all of it). It is still spoken in the very north and south bits of Ireland. It went a little out of style, and they are trying to bring it back. At Trinity University, they have a dorm where you can speak ONLY Irish.
We checked into our hostel----VERY nice place called the Marlborough Hostel (NOT named after the brand of cigs) and went out to try and find an open bar. We were all thirsty.
We did find one, although I don’t remember the name of it. 10 Euro and two pints later, Denise, Shelsea, Lacy, and I had all made a new friend. His name was Gary (pronounced Gah-ree). He introduced us to some friends of his, and we spent the whole night chatting at Burger King. They like BK a lot in Europe….strange.
That is another thing. PEOPLE ARE SO FRIENDLY HERE. They hear us talking from a distance, pick up on our American accents, and LOVE US IMMEDIATELY.
Gary is a college freshman with braces and skater boy hair. He is a very deep kid and I was impressed. He introduced us to his friends, one of whom is named Fee. I am in LOVE with her name. She and I have the same birthday. By the end of the night we all had our named scribbled on her arm for Facebook purposes. We all just chilled and talked about all things Irish and American. Then we went home. We are SUPPOSED to go out with them tomorrow night, but that is IF she remembers to facebook friend one of us and give us directions to this pub. Hopefully she will, I really like her.
That’s about it for tonight. It is 5am and I am exhausted. CIAO!
DAY TWO
We did NOT get a lot of sleep last night. Waking up this morning was hell, but we managed it. Showered and out the door by 11:30. Went to a souvenir store called Carrols—interesting place for gifts and stuff. Cheap.
We were starving, so we stopped into this small pub for some lunch and a pint. It was only 11am and people were already drinking. Whyyyy am I not surprised!?!?
Men are very forward in this country. They like to come up to you and tell you about how in love with you they are. They aren’t too touchy which is FINE with me. They smell fermented.
Obama is extremely popular. They even have t-shirts with his picture on it. I am keeping my mouth SHUT
After eating, Shelsea and Lacy headed to visit the Guinness Brewery while Denise and I walked around town.
We stopped in at Trinity College, a few stores, walked down the river, etc. We didn’t do a whole lot, really. Mostly, we just took in the city. People watching in Dublin is fantastic.
We did go to the Jamison Whisky Distillery and got a tour. It was fantastic, and I discovered my new drink---yes, it is mine: Jamison and cranberry juice with lime. It rocks. There was a whisky tasting after the tour----I don’t like whisky straight up. We did get a chance to compare Scotch, American, and Irish whiskies. I need to convert my father from Scotch to Jameson—I think he would like it. Another great combo with Jameson is Jameson and ginger ale. Denise declared that one her own. It’s yummy.
We ran into Lacy and Shelsea at the distillery and we all headed out for dinner. Mushrooms and garlic, burgers and chips, and bread pudding……so so cooking. We went out for drinks afterwards (I got my Jameson Cranberry) and, after one drink we headed back home for sleep. We are all zonked. Denise and I walked about two triangles all around the city…whew!!!
Tomorrow, we head to Cork!
CIAO
DAY THREE
Woke up super early and showered at the hostel in Dublin. Went and got some last minute gifts. Had coffee and waited for our bus. Bus ride from Dublin to Cork is lovely—about four hours. Arrived in Cork STAVING. It is a charming small town. We are here for less than 24 hours, and don’t have a lot of time to sightsee. Walked around town. Went to eat REALLY expensive dinner. Went to a pub and had an interesting convo with two drunk Irishmen. They said they love Dallas and that Tony Romo is crap. Denise and I just sort of smiled and nodded and inched away. We saw movie---the couples retreat one. HILARIOUS. Internet not working. Pooh. Sleep time.
Oh yeah, we are in a room with about 7 others---mostly men. When we got here there was a dude taking a nap. We woke him accidentally and he got out of bed wearing NOTHING but some tiny underpants. Ick! Denise thought he was cute. hahaha I love her. Tomorrow, my favorite: LONDON. (groan $$)
DAY FOUR
Woke up in hostel in Cork. Missed breakfast. Missed the bus to the airport by five minutes. Had to wait two hours for the next one. Very boring—there really isn’t much to do in Cork unless you know a local or have more time to research, not to mention more time in the city itself.
Finally left for the airport. Not a lot of time to dawdle. Found a West Cork coffee mug. Made me very happy.
Plane to London about 1.5 hours. Very boring AGAIN.
Once we got to London we had a hell of a time finding our hostel. Had to take train to Victoria station. From Victoria station we had to go to Piccadilly. From there went to Russell Square. Our room has 18 people in it~!!~~ HOLY CRAP. After awhile it smells bad and people snore. *sigh…you get what you pay for, I think.
The beds are like barracks with little curtains pulled over them. I sorta like it with the curtains. The showers are crap. You have to continuously push down on this button thingy for water to come out, so only one handed showers are possible.. ….crapppp.
Ate at this interesting restaurant. We weren’t too hungry so we had olives, hummus, red pepper dip, pita, and chocolate cake. Yum yum! After that we went to a pub and watched the Dallas cowboys play Atlanta. With our Jameson of course.
Spent an hour at the pub trying to convince a group of Austrians on holiday that socialized medicine was a bad idea. They weren’t buying it. I will not even get in to how frustrating that convo went.
I love Europeans.
Came home early. The next two days are going to be jam packed with sightseeing.
I HAVE SPENT A MILLION DOLLARS SINCE I LANDED IN LONDON. This town is expensive…REALLY expensive. I mean….SERIOUSLY EXPENSIVE
Watch out.
I can’t think about it anymore. It’s depressing.
CIAO!!
DAY FIVE
Slept pretty well in the bed with the curtains. We woke up, got dressed, and went to breakfast in the hostel---shockingly we made it on time. Breakfast consisted of toast and a cup of cereal----didn’t quite do it for me, but whatever.
From there we took the tube to the area near the National History and Science Museums were—we made it through the National History one and then had to bail, the lines were too long. There truly is something to be said for the British’s ability to queue. They are REALLLLLYYY good at lining up. Whereas the Italians and the Spaniards (and even the Americans at times) just sort of crowd around an opening, the English really do it properly…..and never once leave their spot in line. Very impressive.
The museum was pretty interesting—lotsa stuff about monkeys and minerals.
After the museum we walked in the general direction of Harrods, stopping for lunch at this pub. Denise had some bangers and mash—I tried it—it was ok. I had BBQ chicken, mostly because I haven’t had BBQ sauce since early August. The English managed to screw it up of course, but I was starving so I didn’t care. The Brits aren’t really known for their cooking,
Harrods was fantastic, of course. I got some coffee mugs, a magazine, shot glasses, tea, etc. to distribute as gifts (only to a lucky few, as I am poor).
After Harrods we were really sleepy—I think it was the bottle of red we drank at lunch. Anyway, we sort of gave up—we are such sissies. We headed back to the hostel for a nap which turned into a pretty serious snooze..It’s now about 11:30pm. I am going to drag Denise out to a pub for a snack and a drink soon. We need to do something.
CIAO!
DAY SEVEN
Woke up insanely early---3am to shower and check out.
Got on the train. Ate cold crumpets and honey that we got the night before.
Slept.
Got to Paris.
Dumped stuff at the hostel.
The hostel is awesome fyi. It is called St. Christopher’s. It is very clean, there are only girls in our room, the showers are nice, the people who work there are friendly, there is a bar/café downstairs, and it is in a great location. I CANNNOT speak any better of any hostel anywhere.
Went to Eiffel tower. Had a hot dog under that.
Went on a boat tour.
Walked to the Louvre.
Walked around the Louvre.
Saw the Mona Lisa, among other things that we learned about in class back in Rome. It was fun to see these things up close.
After the Louvre we went souvenir shopping. I got yelled at for throwing my water bottle in the trash can of a shop. What the heck!? *sigh, the French….
Went and had some dinner. Got train tickets for 6am tomorrow. I am really not feeling well….
Went back to hostel. Showered. Chatted with English chick and Mexican chick. I had so much fun translating Spanish….that language is so simple!
Went to bed. Still not feeling so hot, which is probably why this entry is getting so choppy….
DAY EIGHT
Woke up super early to catch the train to Brussels. Neither Denise or I is in a good mood. Both of us are tired and I feel really sick. My throat is killing me.
Once we got to Brussels, we walked around the city, got some food, saw all kinds of chocolate EVERYWHERE, including Neuhaus, which made me a little nostalgic. I did not buy any Neuhaus chocolate out of principle, but I did get some Leonidas Chocolate—good stuff.
What is the deal with this peeing boy fountain thingie? It is everywhere!!! I don’t think it is very appealing, but everyone here loves it. There are even chocolate models of it! Maybe I am just ignorant, but I really don’t understand it at all.
The city is really lovely and quaint. The people are friendly and our hostel is SUPER nice. Denise and I have a room to ourselves.
Both of us are feeling icky, so we will go to bed early.
CIAO!
DAY NINE
Getting from Brussels to Munich was hard on us; we are both in pretty bad moods. I think Denise handles frustration of any kind a little differently than I do. She is a little more….um…..vocal about it and lashes out a little more. I hope I didn’t get on her nerves too much.
Needless to say, we both wanted to get to the hostel and chill. Me because I was feeling like crap, and her because she was tired and wanted to see new people.
There is a tradition that Romers meet up at the Hoffbrau House on the last day of ten day if they can. We planned to see who was gonna show up…..EVERYONE DID~!
The first night in Munich was interesting. We walked all over the city center, ate sausages for lunch, ran into some UDers. I went out for some soup with some people really late then went to bed.
The SECOND day in Munich was Halloween. We went to Dachau Concentration camp. It was definitely intense, though not so much as I thought it would be. I didn’t cry, though I was pretty disgusted the entire time I was there. There is a tense feeling about the place. Visited a Russian Orthodox Church (open but mostly roped off) and did some thinking. Conclusion I came to: What a waste of life over something so stupid and unchangeable. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Made me a little angry. Thank God we figured it out. As a population we can be so thick.
Didn’t take any pictures; it didn’t feel right to. Disrespectful, you know?
After the concentration camp we rested a bit, ate some more German food, and went to the Hoffbrau. Everyone was congregated there and getting pretty drunk pretty quickly. I still wasn’t feeling well so I just got a pretzel and a beer or two and decided to chill. Tried to chat with people, but my voice is GONE. Yikes.
About that sickness thing: I went to a “health professional” and she basically looked at me like I was a plague victim while I described to her what was wrong. She said it was probably tonsillitis (AGAIN!) and gave me some stuff. She said I needed these things OUT and did I want to do it in Germany. I bailed.
Will call dad and get that arranged. I am sick of being sick.
Going home soon. I mean…Rome
I am pretty done travelling and ready to not move for awhile.
Today turned out to be an absolutely amazing day. We left the Rome campus at about 5:55pm, got on a bus, and went to Champino airport. There are about 16 of us who went from Rome to Dublin straight away. The plane ride is a little hazy to me, because I slept through most of it. Apparently some woman passed out. It didn’t seem to take too long, and I survived another Ryanair flight.
The Dublin airport is HUGE. Walking through it seemed to take forever. I was in awe of the English and Gaelic signs everywhere. One thing I learned today was that Gaelic or “Irish” as they refer to the language, is taught in schools much like Spanish is taught in American schools (aka DRILLED into the minds of students everywhere, who promptly forget all of it). It is still spoken in the very north and south bits of Ireland. It went a little out of style, and they are trying to bring it back. At Trinity University, they have a dorm where you can speak ONLY Irish.
We checked into our hostel----VERY nice place called the Marlborough Hostel (NOT named after the brand of cigs) and went out to try and find an open bar. We were all thirsty.
We did find one, although I don’t remember the name of it. 10 Euro and two pints later, Denise, Shelsea, Lacy, and I had all made a new friend. His name was Gary (pronounced Gah-ree). He introduced us to some friends of his, and we spent the whole night chatting at Burger King. They like BK a lot in Europe….strange.
That is another thing. PEOPLE ARE SO FRIENDLY HERE. They hear us talking from a distance, pick up on our American accents, and LOVE US IMMEDIATELY.
Gary is a college freshman with braces and skater boy hair. He is a very deep kid and I was impressed. He introduced us to his friends, one of whom is named Fee. I am in LOVE with her name. She and I have the same birthday. By the end of the night we all had our named scribbled on her arm for Facebook purposes. We all just chilled and talked about all things Irish and American. Then we went home. We are SUPPOSED to go out with them tomorrow night, but that is IF she remembers to facebook friend one of us and give us directions to this pub. Hopefully she will, I really like her.
That’s about it for tonight. It is 5am and I am exhausted. CIAO!
DAY TWO
We did NOT get a lot of sleep last night. Waking up this morning was hell, but we managed it. Showered and out the door by 11:30. Went to a souvenir store called Carrols—interesting place for gifts and stuff. Cheap.
We were starving, so we stopped into this small pub for some lunch and a pint. It was only 11am and people were already drinking. Whyyyy am I not surprised!?!?
Men are very forward in this country. They like to come up to you and tell you about how in love with you they are. They aren’t too touchy which is FINE with me. They smell fermented.
Obama is extremely popular. They even have t-shirts with his picture on it. I am keeping my mouth SHUT
After eating, Shelsea and Lacy headed to visit the Guinness Brewery while Denise and I walked around town.
We stopped in at Trinity College, a few stores, walked down the river, etc. We didn’t do a whole lot, really. Mostly, we just took in the city. People watching in Dublin is fantastic.
We did go to the Jamison Whisky Distillery and got a tour. It was fantastic, and I discovered my new drink---yes, it is mine: Jamison and cranberry juice with lime. It rocks. There was a whisky tasting after the tour----I don’t like whisky straight up. We did get a chance to compare Scotch, American, and Irish whiskies. I need to convert my father from Scotch to Jameson—I think he would like it. Another great combo with Jameson is Jameson and ginger ale. Denise declared that one her own. It’s yummy.
We ran into Lacy and Shelsea at the distillery and we all headed out for dinner. Mushrooms and garlic, burgers and chips, and bread pudding……so so cooking. We went out for drinks afterwards (I got my Jameson Cranberry) and, after one drink we headed back home for sleep. We are all zonked. Denise and I walked about two triangles all around the city…whew!!!
Tomorrow, we head to Cork!
CIAO
DAY THREE
Woke up super early and showered at the hostel in Dublin. Went and got some last minute gifts. Had coffee and waited for our bus. Bus ride from Dublin to Cork is lovely—about four hours. Arrived in Cork STAVING. It is a charming small town. We are here for less than 24 hours, and don’t have a lot of time to sightsee. Walked around town. Went to eat REALLY expensive dinner. Went to a pub and had an interesting convo with two drunk Irishmen. They said they love Dallas and that Tony Romo is crap. Denise and I just sort of smiled and nodded and inched away. We saw movie---the couples retreat one. HILARIOUS. Internet not working. Pooh. Sleep time.
Oh yeah, we are in a room with about 7 others---mostly men. When we got here there was a dude taking a nap. We woke him accidentally and he got out of bed wearing NOTHING but some tiny underpants. Ick! Denise thought he was cute. hahaha I love her. Tomorrow, my favorite: LONDON. (groan $$)
DAY FOUR
Woke up in hostel in Cork. Missed breakfast. Missed the bus to the airport by five minutes. Had to wait two hours for the next one. Very boring—there really isn’t much to do in Cork unless you know a local or have more time to research, not to mention more time in the city itself.
Finally left for the airport. Not a lot of time to dawdle. Found a West Cork coffee mug. Made me very happy.
Plane to London about 1.5 hours. Very boring AGAIN.
Once we got to London we had a hell of a time finding our hostel. Had to take train to Victoria station. From Victoria station we had to go to Piccadilly. From there went to Russell Square. Our room has 18 people in it~!!~~ HOLY CRAP. After awhile it smells bad and people snore. *sigh…you get what you pay for, I think.
The beds are like barracks with little curtains pulled over them. I sorta like it with the curtains. The showers are crap. You have to continuously push down on this button thingy for water to come out, so only one handed showers are possible.. ….crapppp.
Ate at this interesting restaurant. We weren’t too hungry so we had olives, hummus, red pepper dip, pita, and chocolate cake. Yum yum! After that we went to a pub and watched the Dallas cowboys play Atlanta. With our Jameson of course.
Spent an hour at the pub trying to convince a group of Austrians on holiday that socialized medicine was a bad idea. They weren’t buying it. I will not even get in to how frustrating that convo went.
I love Europeans.
Came home early. The next two days are going to be jam packed with sightseeing.
I HAVE SPENT A MILLION DOLLARS SINCE I LANDED IN LONDON. This town is expensive…REALLY expensive. I mean….SERIOUSLY EXPENSIVE
Watch out.
I can’t think about it anymore. It’s depressing.
CIAO!!
DAY FIVE
Slept pretty well in the bed with the curtains. We woke up, got dressed, and went to breakfast in the hostel---shockingly we made it on time. Breakfast consisted of toast and a cup of cereal----didn’t quite do it for me, but whatever.
From there we took the tube to the area near the National History and Science Museums were—we made it through the National History one and then had to bail, the lines were too long. There truly is something to be said for the British’s ability to queue. They are REALLLLLYYY good at lining up. Whereas the Italians and the Spaniards (and even the Americans at times) just sort of crowd around an opening, the English really do it properly…..and never once leave their spot in line. Very impressive.
The museum was pretty interesting—lotsa stuff about monkeys and minerals.
After the museum we walked in the general direction of Harrods, stopping for lunch at this pub. Denise had some bangers and mash—I tried it—it was ok. I had BBQ chicken, mostly because I haven’t had BBQ sauce since early August. The English managed to screw it up of course, but I was starving so I didn’t care. The Brits aren’t really known for their cooking,
Harrods was fantastic, of course. I got some coffee mugs, a magazine, shot glasses, tea, etc. to distribute as gifts (only to a lucky few, as I am poor).
After Harrods we were really sleepy—I think it was the bottle of red we drank at lunch. Anyway, we sort of gave up—we are such sissies. We headed back to the hostel for a nap which turned into a pretty serious snooze..It’s now about 11:30pm. I am going to drag Denise out to a pub for a snack and a drink soon. We need to do something.
CIAO!
DAY SEVEN
Woke up insanely early---3am to shower and check out.
Got on the train. Ate cold crumpets and honey that we got the night before.
Slept.
Got to Paris.
Dumped stuff at the hostel.
The hostel is awesome fyi. It is called St. Christopher’s. It is very clean, there are only girls in our room, the showers are nice, the people who work there are friendly, there is a bar/café downstairs, and it is in a great location. I CANNNOT speak any better of any hostel anywhere.
Went to Eiffel tower. Had a hot dog under that.
Went on a boat tour.
Walked to the Louvre.
Walked around the Louvre.
Saw the Mona Lisa, among other things that we learned about in class back in Rome. It was fun to see these things up close.
After the Louvre we went souvenir shopping. I got yelled at for throwing my water bottle in the trash can of a shop. What the heck!? *sigh, the French….
Went and had some dinner. Got train tickets for 6am tomorrow. I am really not feeling well….
Went back to hostel. Showered. Chatted with English chick and Mexican chick. I had so much fun translating Spanish….that language is so simple!
Went to bed. Still not feeling so hot, which is probably why this entry is getting so choppy….
DAY EIGHT
Woke up super early to catch the train to Brussels. Neither Denise or I is in a good mood. Both of us are tired and I feel really sick. My throat is killing me.
Once we got to Brussels, we walked around the city, got some food, saw all kinds of chocolate EVERYWHERE, including Neuhaus, which made me a little nostalgic. I did not buy any Neuhaus chocolate out of principle, but I did get some Leonidas Chocolate—good stuff.
What is the deal with this peeing boy fountain thingie? It is everywhere!!! I don’t think it is very appealing, but everyone here loves it. There are even chocolate models of it! Maybe I am just ignorant, but I really don’t understand it at all.
The city is really lovely and quaint. The people are friendly and our hostel is SUPER nice. Denise and I have a room to ourselves.
Both of us are feeling icky, so we will go to bed early.
CIAO!
DAY NINE
Getting from Brussels to Munich was hard on us; we are both in pretty bad moods. I think Denise handles frustration of any kind a little differently than I do. She is a little more….um…..vocal about it and lashes out a little more. I hope I didn’t get on her nerves too much.
Needless to say, we both wanted to get to the hostel and chill. Me because I was feeling like crap, and her because she was tired and wanted to see new people.
There is a tradition that Romers meet up at the Hoffbrau House on the last day of ten day if they can. We planned to see who was gonna show up…..EVERYONE DID~!
The first night in Munich was interesting. We walked all over the city center, ate sausages for lunch, ran into some UDers. I went out for some soup with some people really late then went to bed.
The SECOND day in Munich was Halloween. We went to Dachau Concentration camp. It was definitely intense, though not so much as I thought it would be. I didn’t cry, though I was pretty disgusted the entire time I was there. There is a tense feeling about the place. Visited a Russian Orthodox Church (open but mostly roped off) and did some thinking. Conclusion I came to: What a waste of life over something so stupid and unchangeable. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Made me a little angry. Thank God we figured it out. As a population we can be so thick.
Didn’t take any pictures; it didn’t feel right to. Disrespectful, you know?
After the concentration camp we rested a bit, ate some more German food, and went to the Hoffbrau. Everyone was congregated there and getting pretty drunk pretty quickly. I still wasn’t feeling well so I just got a pretzel and a beer or two and decided to chill. Tried to chat with people, but my voice is GONE. Yikes.
About that sickness thing: I went to a “health professional” and she basically looked at me like I was a plague victim while I described to her what was wrong. She said it was probably tonsillitis (AGAIN!) and gave me some stuff. She said I needed these things OUT and did I want to do it in Germany. I bailed.
Will call dad and get that arranged. I am sick of being sick.
Going home soon. I mean…Rome
I am pretty done travelling and ready to not move for awhile.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Perusia
--quick break from talking about Greece to tell you about a random trip---
I had known for awhile that Denise was planning on going to Perusia for a chocolate festival with some girls who live down the hall, but I didn't think I was exactly invited and didn't want to intrude. Well, last night at ten thirty pm Karen came into the room to talk to Denise about the trip and looked at me saying, "You're coming, right?"
That was settled. I was going.
At FIVE FREAKING THIRTY the next morning, Denise and I were up and getting ready to leave. We had to catch the 6am-or-something-like-that bus to the train station. I really wasn't registering much at that point. The cool thing about joining a travel group later on is that you can just follow everyone around and follow instructions and are usually not responsible for much. It was a nice change.
We met up with Karen, Tasha, and Emily eventually and got on the right bus, etc.
The thing was crazy crowded and full of teenagers.
I don't like teenagers much, I decided. They are loud and obnoxious. Was I ever like that? Probably. I was such an idiot when I was in highschool......it always makes me laugh when I see the same stupidity reflected in the younger generation these days.
anyway, these kids were being all loud and moving around a lot. We all just huddled together and ate some egg mcmuffins (yeah we sprung for mickey d's) and waited to get some seats. By the end of the trip we were all sitting, but there was plenty of standing time.
The train from Rome to Perusia is only about 2.5 hours. When we got there, we all decided that it was about bloody time we activated our Eurail Passes, and started getting some discounted train tickets. We hadnt done it earlier because we weren't doing much train travel. Plus, we needed to save them for ten day.
From the train station in Perusia we caught a bus to the center of the town and easily found the CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL!
Nothing was free, unfortunately. It went sort of along the lines of "chocolate, chocolate, everywhere, but not a bite to eat".
I didn't buy too much over the course of the day. I was proud of myself. Mostly, I think that has more to do with the sick feeling I get every time I think about my quickly depleting bank account balance than anything else.
There were so many things to see---even a dude in a yeti costume!
Milka was sponsoring a good chunk of the festivities, along side other chocolate companies whose names I don't remember. Neuhaus was not present...strange....
We were all in heaven, and ambled up and down the streets looking into booths and seeing all we could. The center of Perusia is really a cute area, without the festival. There is a huge cathedral and the center is all the way on the top of a hill. The view was spectacular, and there were plenty of shops to pop into once the cold became too much.
Denise got really excited to find a Body Shop. I must admit, she is slowly converting me...I like their stuff.
It was SO COLD!! I am really worried that I didn't bring enough warm clothing to Rome with me this semester. I think by the time ten day comes around, I will be wearing every ounce of clothing I own. It is parka weather!
Mira was not wearing a parka.
Burr!
I had known for awhile that Denise was planning on going to Perusia for a chocolate festival with some girls who live down the hall, but I didn't think I was exactly invited and didn't want to intrude. Well, last night at ten thirty pm Karen came into the room to talk to Denise about the trip and looked at me saying, "You're coming, right?"
That was settled. I was going.
At FIVE FREAKING THIRTY the next morning, Denise and I were up and getting ready to leave. We had to catch the 6am-or-something-like-that bus to the train station. I really wasn't registering much at that point. The cool thing about joining a travel group later on is that you can just follow everyone around and follow instructions and are usually not responsible for much. It was a nice change.
We met up with Karen, Tasha, and Emily eventually and got on the right bus, etc.
The thing was crazy crowded and full of teenagers.
I don't like teenagers much, I decided. They are loud and obnoxious. Was I ever like that? Probably. I was such an idiot when I was in highschool......it always makes me laugh when I see the same stupidity reflected in the younger generation these days.
anyway, these kids were being all loud and moving around a lot. We all just huddled together and ate some egg mcmuffins (yeah we sprung for mickey d's) and waited to get some seats. By the end of the trip we were all sitting, but there was plenty of standing time.
The train from Rome to Perusia is only about 2.5 hours. When we got there, we all decided that it was about bloody time we activated our Eurail Passes, and started getting some discounted train tickets. We hadnt done it earlier because we weren't doing much train travel. Plus, we needed to save them for ten day.
From the train station in Perusia we caught a bus to the center of the town and easily found the CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL!
Nothing was free, unfortunately. It went sort of along the lines of "chocolate, chocolate, everywhere, but not a bite to eat".
I didn't buy too much over the course of the day. I was proud of myself. Mostly, I think that has more to do with the sick feeling I get every time I think about my quickly depleting bank account balance than anything else.
There were so many things to see---even a dude in a yeti costume!
Milka was sponsoring a good chunk of the festivities, along side other chocolate companies whose names I don't remember. Neuhaus was not present...strange....
We were all in heaven, and ambled up and down the streets looking into booths and seeing all we could. The center of Perusia is really a cute area, without the festival. There is a huge cathedral and the center is all the way on the top of a hill. The view was spectacular, and there were plenty of shops to pop into once the cold became too much.
Denise got really excited to find a Body Shop. I must admit, she is slowly converting me...I like their stuff.
It was SO COLD!! I am really worried that I didn't bring enough warm clothing to Rome with me this semester. I think by the time ten day comes around, I will be wearing every ounce of clothing I own. It is parka weather!
Mira was not wearing a parka.
Burr!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Olympia
Now, then, to describe the Greece trip!!! --a much more worthwhile pastime than studying for my Literary Tradition midterm tomorrow, I can tell you.
When we arrived in Olympia, most of us were pretty tired from the journey, but excited to be in Greece. We checked into our hotel--three or four to a room (Denise and I lived with Lindsay Hurt), had mass and dinner and walked around for a bit. Olympia is a pretty touristy place--there are souvenir shops left right and center. One cool thing about Greece--you can HAGGLE! It's fun--and much easier if you happen to be a girl. he he he! success.
I used the shopping opportunity to get the two things I ALWAYS get in EVERY city we have traveled to thus far--postcards and a tacky coffee mug. As of right now I have 53 postcards to ship (my apologies to those of you waiting on them) and mugs from Rome, Barcelona, Olympia, Delphi, Nafplion, and Corinth. No idea how I am going to get them home, but they have kept this far, so good luck to me.
I was originally going to collect shot glasses from my trip, but I decided coffee mugs would be more useful-- I drink a LOT more coffee than I take shots, so there you go.
Anyway, I got my stuff and made my way back to the hotel to pass out. It was dark, and there wasn't too much to see in the immediate vicinity of our hotel without straying too far and missing curfew.
That's another thing. We have a midnight curfew when we travel on group trips. It blows, but I see the point now. Over the course of the Greece trip we had plenty of people get lost and miss it. It's a good way of keeping track of all 108 of us.
The next day, we made our way to a museum (snore) and to the ancient Olympic Staduim and training grounds. This was the cool bit: we raced!
There was a boys race, a girls race, a mixed relay, and a staff race.
I got to start the boys race! Ready?! Set! GO!
I have never experienced 50 men running at me as fast as they could before, but it was a nice thing to see before I die. I booked it out of the way. Mike McEwan won the boys race---amazing, considering he has chain-smoked since the age of 14.
The girls race was won by Claire Rendoni, and I have no idea who won the other races. I ran it at a jog---I didn't have running shoes on and am a professional klutz. I didn't feel like chancing a broken ankle for any ancient anything.
It took forever to get back to the hotel, mostly because Mr. Rutherford left his camera case COMPLETE with his passport in it back at the stadium and, realizing this half way home, had to go back. I met him on the road looking flustered and asked if he wanted me to go back with him (remembering how he was there for me when I lost my wallet). He nodded and we power-walked all the way back. Nice exercise. It was still there, no worries.
The food in Olympia wasn't so good--at least, not the stuff we got in the hotel for dinner. Thankfully, it got better throughout the trip. Gyros are generally about 2 euro in Greece and are nothing like the ones we make here. Meat (usually pork), cream stuff, seasoning, tomato, onion, FRENCH FRIES, and you're good!
Greeks love potatoes. My aunt, Devon would have a field day here. She is, after all, Ms. Spud.
We all already know that the Mira loves fries. I was in heaven.
BAKLAVA
everyone needs to have it
often.
I tried making it from scratch last year...not enough honey!
Another thing we got to see in Olympia (on the outskirts) was the Orthodox church of St. Nicholas. I got an icon there.
Since I go to a Roman Catholic school, many lectures had to be given in advance about the difference between the Catholic and Orthodox churches, practices, and teachings. Thankfully, we have a great Western Theological Tradition prof who didn't SLANT his information to make us look like schismatic heathens. I was uber appreciative.
There are only two Orthodox peoples in the whole class: myself and a guy named Anton, who is Russian Orthodox.
We got a lot of questions in the Greek churches. It was sorta fun.
We didn't stay in Olympia incredibly long. Next stop--Delphi!
When we arrived in Olympia, most of us were pretty tired from the journey, but excited to be in Greece. We checked into our hotel--three or four to a room (Denise and I lived with Lindsay Hurt), had mass and dinner and walked around for a bit. Olympia is a pretty touristy place--there are souvenir shops left right and center. One cool thing about Greece--you can HAGGLE! It's fun--and much easier if you happen to be a girl. he he he! success.
I used the shopping opportunity to get the two things I ALWAYS get in EVERY city we have traveled to thus far--postcards and a tacky coffee mug. As of right now I have 53 postcards to ship (my apologies to those of you waiting on them) and mugs from Rome, Barcelona, Olympia, Delphi, Nafplion, and Corinth. No idea how I am going to get them home, but they have kept this far, so good luck to me.
I was originally going to collect shot glasses from my trip, but I decided coffee mugs would be more useful-- I drink a LOT more coffee than I take shots, so there you go.
Anyway, I got my stuff and made my way back to the hotel to pass out. It was dark, and there wasn't too much to see in the immediate vicinity of our hotel without straying too far and missing curfew.
That's another thing. We have a midnight curfew when we travel on group trips. It blows, but I see the point now. Over the course of the Greece trip we had plenty of people get lost and miss it. It's a good way of keeping track of all 108 of us.
The next day, we made our way to a museum (snore) and to the ancient Olympic Staduim and training grounds. This was the cool bit: we raced!
There was a boys race, a girls race, a mixed relay, and a staff race.
I got to start the boys race! Ready?! Set! GO!
I have never experienced 50 men running at me as fast as they could before, but it was a nice thing to see before I die. I booked it out of the way. Mike McEwan won the boys race---amazing, considering he has chain-smoked since the age of 14.
The girls race was won by Claire Rendoni, and I have no idea who won the other races. I ran it at a jog---I didn't have running shoes on and am a professional klutz. I didn't feel like chancing a broken ankle for any ancient anything.
It took forever to get back to the hotel, mostly because Mr. Rutherford left his camera case COMPLETE with his passport in it back at the stadium and, realizing this half way home, had to go back. I met him on the road looking flustered and asked if he wanted me to go back with him (remembering how he was there for me when I lost my wallet). He nodded and we power-walked all the way back. Nice exercise. It was still there, no worries.
The food in Olympia wasn't so good--at least, not the stuff we got in the hotel for dinner. Thankfully, it got better throughout the trip. Gyros are generally about 2 euro in Greece and are nothing like the ones we make here. Meat (usually pork), cream stuff, seasoning, tomato, onion, FRENCH FRIES, and you're good!
Greeks love potatoes. My aunt, Devon would have a field day here. She is, after all, Ms. Spud.
We all already know that the Mira loves fries. I was in heaven.
BAKLAVA
everyone needs to have it
often.
I tried making it from scratch last year...not enough honey!
Another thing we got to see in Olympia (on the outskirts) was the Orthodox church of St. Nicholas. I got an icon there.
Since I go to a Roman Catholic school, many lectures had to be given in advance about the difference between the Catholic and Orthodox churches, practices, and teachings. Thankfully, we have a great Western Theological Tradition prof who didn't SLANT his information to make us look like schismatic heathens. I was uber appreciative.
There are only two Orthodox peoples in the whole class: myself and a guy named Anton, who is Russian Orthodox.
We got a lot of questions in the Greek churches. It was sorta fun.
We didn't stay in Olympia incredibly long. Next stop--Delphi!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Post Greece
Hello Everyone!!
We got back to Rome from a ten day trip to Greece this evening. I am totally zonked! I have tons and tons to write about Greece, however it may have to wait until the weekend. We have to finish up some midterms this week, and I need all the sleep time I can get. Plus, some roommate drama is helping to keep the stress levels super high around here. Life is funny. You try extra hard to steer clear of a situation,and it just seems to creep up on you that much more quickly.
I really have a very low tolerance for that kind of thing.
Anyway, Greece was absolutely lovely. If you have never gotten to experience it, I suggest very much that you try and do so. There is an endless amount to learn from each and every city. We journeyed to Olympia, Delphi, Athens, Nafplion, Mycene, and Corinth. Each was different, each was beautiful, and each deserves a blog of it's own.
To get to Greece from Rome is quite a trek, unless you opt to fly direct. We took a 7 hour bus from campus to Bari, then a 12 hour ferry from Bari to Greece. Another few hours on the bus brought us to Olympia. We traveled by bus throughout Greece, then back to port for a 12 hour ferry to Bari and another 7 hour bus to campus again.
While we were gone, our rooms were cleaned a bit and our bedsheets washed. I am hoping that the bugs cease to be an issue once the temperature drops....who knows. They could just get really really cold and seek MORE refuge in the dorm....eww.
This week we have three church summaries due in Western Theological Tradition, a Literary Tradition exam, an Art and Architecture exam, some random quizzes, and sevveerralll reading assignments.
I think its bedtime.
Next post, OLYMPIA!
Ciao!
Mira
PS. My mother and sister will be joining me in Rome for Thanksgiving!!! I am so so so unbelievably excited and can't wait to show them the city! I only wish my dad was coming too....
We got back to Rome from a ten day trip to Greece this evening. I am totally zonked! I have tons and tons to write about Greece, however it may have to wait until the weekend. We have to finish up some midterms this week, and I need all the sleep time I can get. Plus, some roommate drama is helping to keep the stress levels super high around here. Life is funny. You try extra hard to steer clear of a situation,and it just seems to creep up on you that much more quickly.
I really have a very low tolerance for that kind of thing.
Anyway, Greece was absolutely lovely. If you have never gotten to experience it, I suggest very much that you try and do so. There is an endless amount to learn from each and every city. We journeyed to Olympia, Delphi, Athens, Nafplion, Mycene, and Corinth. Each was different, each was beautiful, and each deserves a blog of it's own.
To get to Greece from Rome is quite a trek, unless you opt to fly direct. We took a 7 hour bus from campus to Bari, then a 12 hour ferry from Bari to Greece. Another few hours on the bus brought us to Olympia. We traveled by bus throughout Greece, then back to port for a 12 hour ferry to Bari and another 7 hour bus to campus again.
While we were gone, our rooms were cleaned a bit and our bedsheets washed. I am hoping that the bugs cease to be an issue once the temperature drops....who knows. They could just get really really cold and seek MORE refuge in the dorm....eww.
This week we have three church summaries due in Western Theological Tradition, a Literary Tradition exam, an Art and Architecture exam, some random quizzes, and sevveerralll reading assignments.
I think its bedtime.
Next post, OLYMPIA!
Ciao!
Mira
PS. My mother and sister will be joining me in Rome for Thanksgiving!!! I am so so so unbelievably excited and can't wait to show them the city! I only wish my dad was coming too....
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
In Greece.....Leave a Message
Hello Folks!!
Not a lot of time to write at the moment, just wanted to say hi and that I am in Athens at the moment, and will post an ACTUAL update after I get back to Rome in a few more days. I haven't forgotten about you all, its just been a little hectic and I don't always have internet and such.
Hope everyone on the home front is doing well....missing you bunches!!!
Ciao!
Not a lot of time to write at the moment, just wanted to say hi and that I am in Athens at the moment, and will post an ACTUAL update after I get back to Rome in a few more days. I haven't forgotten about you all, its just been a little hectic and I don't always have internet and such.
Hope everyone on the home front is doing well....missing you bunches!!!
Ciao!
Monday, September 28, 2009
Finally, A Chance to Update
My sincere apologies for not updating much in the last week. We have had a slew of papers and exams and I have also been a little sick.
I am totally and completely well now and the rest of the campus seems to have what I had.....While I feel very sorry for all of them, I am just thrilled I don't have it anymore.
Being sick in bed seems to have its advantages though, I got a 95 on my Art and Architecture exam! Woot!
Over this past weekend, Denise, Michael Rutherford, and I made our way to beautiful Barcelona. For the most part, I adored our time there. There was one small fright during our stay--my wallet was stolen on the metro at 3am. I still have my passport and plane tickets. The only things I lost in the wallet were 100 American dollars, 150 Euro, my drivers licence, a million bus tickets, my student ID card, my permesso di sojourno (permission form to stay in Italy), my debit card, pictures of my parents (my favorite things IN that wallet), and 8 Italian stamps. More about that tragedy in a minute.
After our Western Civilization exam on Thursday morning, the three of us got on a bus for Champino Airport and flew Ryanair straight to Girona Airport in Spain. The trip was a couple hours long, and not too bad considering the cheapness of the tickets.
When we landed we had to take a bus to the middle of Barcelona and two different metro lines to the area where our hostel was. The hostel we stayed in looked a bit like something out of Real World----with a similar "lets all hang out and be poor together" sorta atmosphere. We didn't stick around much at the hostel to socialize; we wanted to see Spain.
By the time we arrived, however, all we really wanted to see was a plate of hot food. We were starving and very tired. All of us had stayed up extremely late the night before studying for that exam, and were eager for some shut eye.
We dumped our stuff and hopped back on the metro in search of food.
It was around midnight at this point, and thank GOD that Spaniards stay up so late to party. Everything was still open--most places didn't shut down until 3am.
We managed to find a decent looking Chinese place about ten feet from the first metro stop we got off of. The menu offered a HUGE meal for about 8 euro. We were a little concerned about the quality of food we were about to get, but were too hungry to care so we ordered it anyway. After about ten minutes of shoveling rice, miso soup, lemon chicken, sweet and sour pork, french fries (yeah!!) and fried calamari down our throats we were full to bursting and wobbled sleepily home.
I have never stayed in a hostel before. Initially, the idea freaked me out, but it wasn't bad at all. At least, not at the Garden House Barcelona. Everyone was INSANELY helpful and friendly and spoke excellent English---unfortunate for me because I was DYING to practice hablando espanol.
The bedrooms were uber cramped, with three sets of bunk beds in ours. Three other random people--two men and one woman each traveling alone, shared ours. We weren't eager to make friends, though I am sure we could have. We kept to ourselves.
Even though it was terribly late, I took a shower and paid .50 euro to shoot an email to mom and dad letting them know I was still alive.
The next day, we didn't head out of the hostel until about 11:45am. Starving again, we decided to treat ourselves to the Hard Rock Cafe Barcelona. We hadn't had a real burger in about a month and a half---pasta can wear on a soul. I promise we did experience real Spanish food and sangria.....once......as far as food went in Spain, it was really a blended culture experience.
After the HRC, we wandered around a bit. I bought a coffee mug and some postcards.
The huge unfinished church was charging admission, so I flat our refused to go in. God wouldn't charge admission, and any so called church that does clearly isn't the Lord's idea of a groovy hangout. Mike went inside, and from what he told me it was lovely. Denise and I relaxed on the from steps and people watched.
Spaniards like to make out in public and grope eachother even more than the Italians do....and they are....loud about it. It was gross. Blech
After that, we made our way to a huge park called Parke Guell. You have to do some uphill trudging, which I didn't like, but it is well worth it. The park is looveelly and the very tip top provides an amazing view of the city. We sat up there and split a pitcher of Sangria. I like Sangria....
The buildings and art in the park was designed by Gaudi....the entire city of Barcelona is really one big, weirdly designed, Gaudi playground.
From the park we walked a bit more and ended up back at the hostel to change and get a little prettier for the evening-time.
That night we had our Spanish food...the only Spanish food we would eat that trip. We snacked on tapas and a bottle of wine for dinner--none of us was terribly hungry. We then made our way to a flamenco bar to watch some dancing. The show was amazing---only about half an hour to forty five minutes long. Admission was seven euro. Worth it, I thought. Spanish women are so beautiful.
After the flamenco club place, disaster sorta struck. We walked around the city some more. There was a huge music festival going on, so everyone was out wandering from free concert to free concert. There are DEFINITELY no open container laws of any kind in Spain, so everrryonneee was drunk and drinking. We stopped and bought soccer jerseys in some small shop and then raced to the metro. Five minutes after getting on the train, I looked down and saw that my purse pocket was open and my wallet was missing. This was a close one, considering my passport was right next to my wallet. I about had a heart attack. We retraced our steps to make sure I hadn't dropped it anywhere. It is 2:30am by this point and all these drunk people were stumbling home.
Eventually, we found a police station and I filled out a police report---Looking back, I am not sure why I did that. Nothing will come of it, and I think I knew that at the time, but I was just scared and upset and wanted to be DOING something.
I got in touch with my mom and my bank and froze my card for now. The license, ID, permesso, stamps, and buss tickets are all replaceable. I was REALLY upset about losing the pictures of my parents and all that cash. Mom ended up bailing me out for it in the end, which I didn't really deserve but still appreciated.
Ladies.....WATCH YOUR DAMN PURSES!
I was REALLY uspet and just wanted to go home at this point. I was sleep deprived, scared, depressed, homesick....just not feeling so hot. I got better the next day after I realized how lucky I was that nothing else had been taken.
I got off easy---wont be happening again I can assure you.
After a little sleep, the three of us spent our last day in Barcelona eating and sightseeing just like the day before, only I had no cash this time around. I had to open up a tab with Denise...still currently open. Tomorrow I am going to wire a bunch of money to her account and she will withdraw it and that will do until my new card gets here in the mail. It's damn annoying.
I'll say it AGAIN
LADIES WATCH YOUR PURSES~!~!~
Saturday, we went around to the beach. It is beauuuttiffulll. There are tons of things going on all up and down it too. Cafes, people selling things, bars, people building elaborate things out of sand, topless women who REALLY shouldn't be topless, bicyclers, skaters, joggers, ice cream eaters, you name it.
Eventually we ran into a place called the Icebarcelona...it is an ice bar. Pictures on facebook.
What I learned in there is that while it really is a cool thing to see once in your life.....its really uncomfortably cold in there.
DONT WEAR FLIP FLOPS
My mother chose that exact moment to call and let me know that she was bailing me out for the cash I lost. Though, this will most likely mean that she will not get to come see me for Thanksgiving break :(
I officially invite anyone who would like to learn about Rome for five days in November to come see me :)
just let me know you are coming so I don't make travel plans. i sorta need to save money for ten day anyway. THAT will be an expensive trip.
The ice bar was really the last thing we did in Barcelona. We started our treck home at around 6pm...arriving in Rome tired as can be around midnight.
Ciao all of you!!
I am totally and completely well now and the rest of the campus seems to have what I had.....While I feel very sorry for all of them, I am just thrilled I don't have it anymore.
Being sick in bed seems to have its advantages though, I got a 95 on my Art and Architecture exam! Woot!
Over this past weekend, Denise, Michael Rutherford, and I made our way to beautiful Barcelona. For the most part, I adored our time there. There was one small fright during our stay--my wallet was stolen on the metro at 3am. I still have my passport and plane tickets. The only things I lost in the wallet were 100 American dollars, 150 Euro, my drivers licence, a million bus tickets, my student ID card, my permesso di sojourno (permission form to stay in Italy), my debit card, pictures of my parents (my favorite things IN that wallet), and 8 Italian stamps. More about that tragedy in a minute.
After our Western Civilization exam on Thursday morning, the three of us got on a bus for Champino Airport and flew Ryanair straight to Girona Airport in Spain. The trip was a couple hours long, and not too bad considering the cheapness of the tickets.
When we landed we had to take a bus to the middle of Barcelona and two different metro lines to the area where our hostel was. The hostel we stayed in looked a bit like something out of Real World----with a similar "lets all hang out and be poor together" sorta atmosphere. We didn't stick around much at the hostel to socialize; we wanted to see Spain.
By the time we arrived, however, all we really wanted to see was a plate of hot food. We were starving and very tired. All of us had stayed up extremely late the night before studying for that exam, and were eager for some shut eye.
We dumped our stuff and hopped back on the metro in search of food.
It was around midnight at this point, and thank GOD that Spaniards stay up so late to party. Everything was still open--most places didn't shut down until 3am.
We managed to find a decent looking Chinese place about ten feet from the first metro stop we got off of. The menu offered a HUGE meal for about 8 euro. We were a little concerned about the quality of food we were about to get, but were too hungry to care so we ordered it anyway. After about ten minutes of shoveling rice, miso soup, lemon chicken, sweet and sour pork, french fries (yeah!!) and fried calamari down our throats we were full to bursting and wobbled sleepily home.
I have never stayed in a hostel before. Initially, the idea freaked me out, but it wasn't bad at all. At least, not at the Garden House Barcelona. Everyone was INSANELY helpful and friendly and spoke excellent English---unfortunate for me because I was DYING to practice hablando espanol.
The bedrooms were uber cramped, with three sets of bunk beds in ours. Three other random people--two men and one woman each traveling alone, shared ours. We weren't eager to make friends, though I am sure we could have. We kept to ourselves.
Even though it was terribly late, I took a shower and paid .50 euro to shoot an email to mom and dad letting them know I was still alive.
The next day, we didn't head out of the hostel until about 11:45am. Starving again, we decided to treat ourselves to the Hard Rock Cafe Barcelona. We hadn't had a real burger in about a month and a half---pasta can wear on a soul. I promise we did experience real Spanish food and sangria.....once......as far as food went in Spain, it was really a blended culture experience.
After the HRC, we wandered around a bit. I bought a coffee mug and some postcards.
The huge unfinished church was charging admission, so I flat our refused to go in. God wouldn't charge admission, and any so called church that does clearly isn't the Lord's idea of a groovy hangout. Mike went inside, and from what he told me it was lovely. Denise and I relaxed on the from steps and people watched.
Spaniards like to make out in public and grope eachother even more than the Italians do....and they are....loud about it. It was gross. Blech
After that, we made our way to a huge park called Parke Guell. You have to do some uphill trudging, which I didn't like, but it is well worth it. The park is looveelly and the very tip top provides an amazing view of the city. We sat up there and split a pitcher of Sangria. I like Sangria....
The buildings and art in the park was designed by Gaudi....the entire city of Barcelona is really one big, weirdly designed, Gaudi playground.
From the park we walked a bit more and ended up back at the hostel to change and get a little prettier for the evening-time.
That night we had our Spanish food...the only Spanish food we would eat that trip. We snacked on tapas and a bottle of wine for dinner--none of us was terribly hungry. We then made our way to a flamenco bar to watch some dancing. The show was amazing---only about half an hour to forty five minutes long. Admission was seven euro. Worth it, I thought. Spanish women are so beautiful.
After the flamenco club place, disaster sorta struck. We walked around the city some more. There was a huge music festival going on, so everyone was out wandering from free concert to free concert. There are DEFINITELY no open container laws of any kind in Spain, so everrryonneee was drunk and drinking. We stopped and bought soccer jerseys in some small shop and then raced to the metro. Five minutes after getting on the train, I looked down and saw that my purse pocket was open and my wallet was missing. This was a close one, considering my passport was right next to my wallet. I about had a heart attack. We retraced our steps to make sure I hadn't dropped it anywhere. It is 2:30am by this point and all these drunk people were stumbling home.
Eventually, we found a police station and I filled out a police report---Looking back, I am not sure why I did that. Nothing will come of it, and I think I knew that at the time, but I was just scared and upset and wanted to be DOING something.
I got in touch with my mom and my bank and froze my card for now. The license, ID, permesso, stamps, and buss tickets are all replaceable. I was REALLY upset about losing the pictures of my parents and all that cash. Mom ended up bailing me out for it in the end, which I didn't really deserve but still appreciated.
Ladies.....WATCH YOUR DAMN PURSES!
I was REALLY uspet and just wanted to go home at this point. I was sleep deprived, scared, depressed, homesick....just not feeling so hot. I got better the next day after I realized how lucky I was that nothing else had been taken.
I got off easy---wont be happening again I can assure you.
After a little sleep, the three of us spent our last day in Barcelona eating and sightseeing just like the day before, only I had no cash this time around. I had to open up a tab with Denise...still currently open. Tomorrow I am going to wire a bunch of money to her account and she will withdraw it and that will do until my new card gets here in the mail. It's damn annoying.
I'll say it AGAIN
LADIES WATCH YOUR PURSES~!~!~
Saturday, we went around to the beach. It is beauuuttiffulll. There are tons of things going on all up and down it too. Cafes, people selling things, bars, people building elaborate things out of sand, topless women who REALLY shouldn't be topless, bicyclers, skaters, joggers, ice cream eaters, you name it.
Eventually we ran into a place called the Icebarcelona...it is an ice bar. Pictures on facebook.
What I learned in there is that while it really is a cool thing to see once in your life.....its really uncomfortably cold in there.
DONT WEAR FLIP FLOPS
My mother chose that exact moment to call and let me know that she was bailing me out for the cash I lost. Though, this will most likely mean that she will not get to come see me for Thanksgiving break :(
I officially invite anyone who would like to learn about Rome for five days in November to come see me :)
just let me know you are coming so I don't make travel plans. i sorta need to save money for ten day anyway. THAT will be an expensive trip.
The ice bar was really the last thing we did in Barcelona. We started our treck home at around 6pm...arriving in Rome tired as can be around midnight.
Ciao all of you!!
Friday, September 18, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Catching up!
Sorry, it has been a hectic couple of days and I haven't really gotten to update.
When I left off, we were headed to Capri, right?
Well, previous Romers have said that the first trip you take on your own while in Rome is usually a gigantic cock-up.
This was not entirely true, but pretty close. It was expensive, that's for sure, and mostly due to lack of efficient planning.
When UD had finished with us in Naples, they had a bus drop those of us who wanted to travel that weekend off at the train station and the port of the bay of Naples.
Denise, Anne, Shelsea, and I had no problem whatsoever getting our ferry tickets and boarding the boat. It was a pleasant enough ride, though they don't let you go up on top of the boat...you had to stay below deck where the seats were arranged very similarly to those in airplanes. It was weird--like boarding an aircraft only...on a boat....hmm..
It only took us about an hour to get from the Bay of Naples to Capri. When we exited the boat we had to figure out how to find our hotel. We had with us some very bad directions written by someone whose first language was DEFINITELY not English, and followed them as best we could.
The busses in Capri look like matchboxes with wheels. It is shocking how many people you can cram into these things! It costs about one euro sixty to ride around in these things...insane huh?
We took the bus to Anacapri, exited outside of the church, Santa Sophia, and started walking in what we thought was the direction we were supposed to be going.
Each of us had a heavy backpack and a purse and we were all a little cranky due to hunger and sleep deprivation over the last few days.
We walked for a MILLION YEARS!
The streets in Capri look more like alleys, and they have absolutely NO layout pattern whatsoever.
Not long after we started walking, we were dead lost. I think we walked straight across the middle of the island clear to the other side before a bus came along and we flagged it down, asking the driver where the heck our stupid hotel was.
Eventually, we stumbled upon Bussola di Hermez, a charming hotel run by a very sweet Italian couple.
Immediately upon entering, they provided us with lemonade, a map, and four VERY COMFY beds in an extremely cute bedroom with its own bathroom. We were all in much better moods at that point.
It was getting late, however, and we wanted to get to the beach and catch some sunlight if we could. We rushed into our bathing suits and back out to the lobby where the hotel-owners told us how to get to a beach.
There are no sand beaches in Capri....actually, I wouldn't describe the beach we were at as merely a "rock" beach either..."Cliff beach" would be closer to the truth.
There were still some people left lying out on huge rock slabs or else paddling around in the small cove nearby, but I still don't understand how anyone could call this a "beach"....
Anyway, we all bravely took a dip--it was surprisingly cold for the Mediterranean. Eventually, the waves started smashing up against the rocks pretty violently, and we thought we had better get out if we didn't want to die.
We walked around the cliff--yes CLIFF for a bit, and had a few drinks at a small cafe while we watched the sun set. It was quite lovely :)
After the sun had set, we got back on the bus and made our way back to the hotel to change and ask the hotel-people where a good place to get some food was.
They weren't around, so we just sorta walked out of the hotel and made for the church again. Churches are in the middle of piazzas--piazzas have restaurants....this was our logic anyway.
We ended up running into a HUGE group of other UD-ers, who had just had dinner. They pointed us in the direction of a trendy pizzaria, and made us promise to meet back up with them for drinks after dinner.
The pizzaria was awesome. There was a soccer game on--Naples v. Geneva. Naples was winning, and all the Italian men on the island were there cheering and getting quite drunk. Don't worry, we never once felt uncomfortable, nor were we approached by anyone.
Denise and I split a bottle of wine, Shelsea and Anne had some Peroni (an Italian beer that I recommend you try), and we all got Pizzas :)
Pizza in the united states is crap. I see that now.
I know what you're thinking, and I definitely agree with you. I had drunk quite a lot by the time we finished with dinner. I don't drink a whole lot, but this trip was a definite exception to the rule.
We had tiramisu for dessert--did I spell that right?
It was the most delicious, light, fluffy thing I have ever had. We don't make that stuff correctly back home either.
After dinner, just like we promised, we met up with our friends from school at a bar. I split a beer with John Teresi---PROOOBBAAABBLLYY shouldn't have done that.
I was feeling fine, and thought "what the hell, i'm on vacation"
After THAT, Andrew and Dave told us about this bar/club/lounge place that was supposed to be pretty neat, so we all thought we'd check it out.
DEFINITELY a bad idea.
This place had no cover charge, but charged you 10 euro for your first drink and 8 euro for each after that.
8 euro is average for a cocktail in Italy.
After the walk to this place, I was really starting to feel the effects of that bottle of wine..."now mira",
myself said to myself
"this probably isn't a good idea. it is probably going to be really expensive, and you will get sick"
"shut up"
i said to myself.
only, i said it out loud, and Dave looked at me funny.
Despite what you are NOW probably thinking, the night didn't turn into the disaster that it probably should have.
Thank God for my Eastern European roots and high alcohol tolerance.
We had about two drinks each at RED--the name of the club.
They were delicious. This place has really perfected the ratio of sugar to alcohol. I thought I was drinking lemonade.
We spent a few hours at the club...and at one point thought it would be a good idea to get up and dance---nobody else was, but who cares!
After that we stumbled home and passed out.
Pretty uneventful, really. I was just so shocked with myself for drinking that much over the course of the evening that I think I expected something catastrophic to happen. I wasn't even hung over the next day.
sweet.
Regardless, I don't think I will be doing that again. It was a really pricey and slightly ridiculous evening.
The next day, we got up super early and ran to catch the bus, so we could catch the ferry, so we could catch a train, so that we could catch the metro, so that we could catch ANOTHER bus back to campus.
Class started at 2:15pm--and we raced through the door, panting and quite dirty (we ran out of clean clothes AGES ago) ten minutes late.
Everyone giggled.
On the whole, it was a good weekend.
Next time, I am planning better.
When I left off, we were headed to Capri, right?
Well, previous Romers have said that the first trip you take on your own while in Rome is usually a gigantic cock-up.
This was not entirely true, but pretty close. It was expensive, that's for sure, and mostly due to lack of efficient planning.
When UD had finished with us in Naples, they had a bus drop those of us who wanted to travel that weekend off at the train station and the port of the bay of Naples.
Denise, Anne, Shelsea, and I had no problem whatsoever getting our ferry tickets and boarding the boat. It was a pleasant enough ride, though they don't let you go up on top of the boat...you had to stay below deck where the seats were arranged very similarly to those in airplanes. It was weird--like boarding an aircraft only...on a boat....hmm..
It only took us about an hour to get from the Bay of Naples to Capri. When we exited the boat we had to figure out how to find our hotel. We had with us some very bad directions written by someone whose first language was DEFINITELY not English, and followed them as best we could.
The busses in Capri look like matchboxes with wheels. It is shocking how many people you can cram into these things! It costs about one euro sixty to ride around in these things...insane huh?
We took the bus to Anacapri, exited outside of the church, Santa Sophia, and started walking in what we thought was the direction we were supposed to be going.
Each of us had a heavy backpack and a purse and we were all a little cranky due to hunger and sleep deprivation over the last few days.
We walked for a MILLION YEARS!
The streets in Capri look more like alleys, and they have absolutely NO layout pattern whatsoever.
Not long after we started walking, we were dead lost. I think we walked straight across the middle of the island clear to the other side before a bus came along and we flagged it down, asking the driver where the heck our stupid hotel was.
Eventually, we stumbled upon Bussola di Hermez, a charming hotel run by a very sweet Italian couple.
Immediately upon entering, they provided us with lemonade, a map, and four VERY COMFY beds in an extremely cute bedroom with its own bathroom. We were all in much better moods at that point.
It was getting late, however, and we wanted to get to the beach and catch some sunlight if we could. We rushed into our bathing suits and back out to the lobby where the hotel-owners told us how to get to a beach.
There are no sand beaches in Capri....actually, I wouldn't describe the beach we were at as merely a "rock" beach either..."Cliff beach" would be closer to the truth.
There were still some people left lying out on huge rock slabs or else paddling around in the small cove nearby, but I still don't understand how anyone could call this a "beach"....
Anyway, we all bravely took a dip--it was surprisingly cold for the Mediterranean. Eventually, the waves started smashing up against the rocks pretty violently, and we thought we had better get out if we didn't want to die.
We walked around the cliff--yes CLIFF for a bit, and had a few drinks at a small cafe while we watched the sun set. It was quite lovely :)
After the sun had set, we got back on the bus and made our way back to the hotel to change and ask the hotel-people where a good place to get some food was.
They weren't around, so we just sorta walked out of the hotel and made for the church again. Churches are in the middle of piazzas--piazzas have restaurants....this was our logic anyway.
We ended up running into a HUGE group of other UD-ers, who had just had dinner. They pointed us in the direction of a trendy pizzaria, and made us promise to meet back up with them for drinks after dinner.
The pizzaria was awesome. There was a soccer game on--Naples v. Geneva. Naples was winning, and all the Italian men on the island were there cheering and getting quite drunk. Don't worry, we never once felt uncomfortable, nor were we approached by anyone.
Denise and I split a bottle of wine, Shelsea and Anne had some Peroni (an Italian beer that I recommend you try), and we all got Pizzas :)
Pizza in the united states is crap. I see that now.
I know what you're thinking, and I definitely agree with you. I had drunk quite a lot by the time we finished with dinner. I don't drink a whole lot, but this trip was a definite exception to the rule.
We had tiramisu for dessert--did I spell that right?
It was the most delicious, light, fluffy thing I have ever had. We don't make that stuff correctly back home either.
After dinner, just like we promised, we met up with our friends from school at a bar. I split a beer with John Teresi---PROOOBBAAABBLLYY shouldn't have done that.
I was feeling fine, and thought "what the hell, i'm on vacation"
After THAT, Andrew and Dave told us about this bar/club/lounge place that was supposed to be pretty neat, so we all thought we'd check it out.
DEFINITELY a bad idea.
This place had no cover charge, but charged you 10 euro for your first drink and 8 euro for each after that.
8 euro is average for a cocktail in Italy.
After the walk to this place, I was really starting to feel the effects of that bottle of wine..."now mira",
myself said to myself
"this probably isn't a good idea. it is probably going to be really expensive, and you will get sick"
"shut up"
i said to myself.
only, i said it out loud, and Dave looked at me funny.
Despite what you are NOW probably thinking, the night didn't turn into the disaster that it probably should have.
Thank God for my Eastern European roots and high alcohol tolerance.
We had about two drinks each at RED--the name of the club.
They were delicious. This place has really perfected the ratio of sugar to alcohol. I thought I was drinking lemonade.
We spent a few hours at the club...and at one point thought it would be a good idea to get up and dance---nobody else was, but who cares!
After that we stumbled home and passed out.
Pretty uneventful, really. I was just so shocked with myself for drinking that much over the course of the evening that I think I expected something catastrophic to happen. I wasn't even hung over the next day.
sweet.
Regardless, I don't think I will be doing that again. It was a really pricey and slightly ridiculous evening.
The next day, we got up super early and ran to catch the bus, so we could catch the ferry, so we could catch a train, so that we could catch the metro, so that we could catch ANOTHER bus back to campus.
Class started at 2:15pm--and we raced through the door, panting and quite dirty (we ran out of clean clothes AGES ago) ten minutes late.
Everyone giggled.
On the whole, it was a good weekend.
Next time, I am planning better.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Wearing The Same Clothes Three Times---and Other Things I Did in Naples and Capri
Hello People!
There are 5 of you now! I feel so very loved!
When I last spoke to you, it was to let you know of my safe arrival in Pompeii and my visit to the ancient city there.
After two nights in Pompeii, we hopped back on the buses and headed to Naples.
The entire way there, I kept thinking about all of the stern warnings I got from my family:
"Don't go to Naples! In fact, avoid southern Italy."
Well, here I was, headed straight into the lions den. I couldn't help but chuckle a little. I should probably tell you straight away that we were not spending more than three or four hours in Naples in order to see the Museo Nazionale; Naples Archeological Museum.
Our Art and Archetecture prof. was called back to Rome last minute on urgent goodness-knows-what business, so we had a "self-guided tour" of the museum.
This was our second "self-guided-tour" so far, and I am sure there will be more. It's really difficult to navigate 108-120 people through a museum without trampelling a small herd of Germans somewhere along the way, so we do this "self-guided business" in order to keep the bloodshed down to a minimum.
The way this works is that we are given a handout with directions through the museum and small descriptions of the various things we need to take note of. We look, snap a few pictures, and move on. The pictures end up on facebook, so you can get a good idea of the stuff we are studying. Unfortunately for US, we have to memorize all sorts of info. about these things, as they are bound to end up on Exams. Speaking of which, I have my first Art and Arch. exam on Monday.
Nothing spectacular happened in the museum, really.......oh wait....I forgot about the penis room. You might get a kick out of this--or blush furiously; either way, I am going to tell you about it :D :D
Ancient Romans believed that the image of an erect...phallus....was a symbol for strength or luck or some combination of the two. Much of their art and sculpture includes erect......well you get the idea.
There is one room in this architecture museum that is solely dedicated to this sort of art, and we had to go in there.
Now, remember that I go to a REALLY REALLY REALLY conservative Catholic school.
Penises are not usually part of the curriculum.
my
classmates
were
freaking
out!
It was priceless. Granted, it was a little awkward, but we had just traipsed through an ancient BROTHEL the previous day and nobody was complaining then.
Did you know that the beds in brothels were made out of stone? Ouch!
By lunchtime, Naples was feeling prettttyyyy dirty.
Lunch consisted of sandwiches and juice packed for us by our hotel and eaten sitting on the steps outside the Museo Nazionale.
I do reccommend checking facebook for picture updates--I got some amazing stuff from that museum.
Naples is a major culture center....just be careful when you go.
We didn't have any problems in Naples, though we really only passed through. Immediately after lunch, Denise, Anne, Shelsea, and I took off for Capri.
Thus begins one of my more ridiculous weekends. All the previous Romers say that your first independent travel weekend never goes really well because you are still
getting used to planning your own trips.
So true, though we still managed to have fun for the most part.
Spent WAY too much money, but whatcha gonna do....*sigh
From the museum, we went to the port of Naples where a ferry would take us to Capri.
Just so you heathens know, Capri is pronounce Kah-pri NOT Cap-ree
I found out the hard way.
The ferry was interesting. This about the way the inside of an airplane looks---and put that on the inside of a huge boat. It wasn't the sort of ferry where you could go up on deck and look around---we had to stay dowwwnnn belloww.
Ferry tickets were about 16 Euro each way.
The ferry only took and hour, and all of a sudden we were there!
Capri is definitely beautiful, though it was very touristy.
When we got off the ferry, we had to catch a bus to Anacapri to find our hotel, Bussola di Hermes.
The bus costs 1.60 Euro per ride.
Here is where our interesting little....for lack of a better phrase I will say "travel quirks" started popping up.
Yikes!
Its 12:30am and I have class tomorrow.
More later!
There are 5 of you now! I feel so very loved!
When I last spoke to you, it was to let you know of my safe arrival in Pompeii and my visit to the ancient city there.
After two nights in Pompeii, we hopped back on the buses and headed to Naples.
The entire way there, I kept thinking about all of the stern warnings I got from my family:
"Don't go to Naples! In fact, avoid southern Italy."
Well, here I was, headed straight into the lions den. I couldn't help but chuckle a little. I should probably tell you straight away that we were not spending more than three or four hours in Naples in order to see the Museo Nazionale; Naples Archeological Museum.
Our Art and Archetecture prof. was called back to Rome last minute on urgent goodness-knows-what business, so we had a "self-guided tour" of the museum.
This was our second "self-guided-tour" so far, and I am sure there will be more. It's really difficult to navigate 108-120 people through a museum without trampelling a small herd of Germans somewhere along the way, so we do this "self-guided business" in order to keep the bloodshed down to a minimum.
The way this works is that we are given a handout with directions through the museum and small descriptions of the various things we need to take note of. We look, snap a few pictures, and move on. The pictures end up on facebook, so you can get a good idea of the stuff we are studying. Unfortunately for US, we have to memorize all sorts of info. about these things, as they are bound to end up on Exams. Speaking of which, I have my first Art and Arch. exam on Monday.
Nothing spectacular happened in the museum, really.......oh wait....I forgot about the penis room. You might get a kick out of this--or blush furiously; either way, I am going to tell you about it :D :D
Ancient Romans believed that the image of an erect...phallus....was a symbol for strength or luck or some combination of the two. Much of their art and sculpture includes erect......well you get the idea.
There is one room in this architecture museum that is solely dedicated to this sort of art, and we had to go in there.
Now, remember that I go to a REALLY REALLY REALLY conservative Catholic school.
Penises are not usually part of the curriculum.
my
classmates
were
freaking
out!
It was priceless. Granted, it was a little awkward, but we had just traipsed through an ancient BROTHEL the previous day and nobody was complaining then.
Did you know that the beds in brothels were made out of stone? Ouch!
By lunchtime, Naples was feeling prettttyyyy dirty.
Lunch consisted of sandwiches and juice packed for us by our hotel and eaten sitting on the steps outside the Museo Nazionale.
I do reccommend checking facebook for picture updates--I got some amazing stuff from that museum.
Naples is a major culture center....just be careful when you go.
We didn't have any problems in Naples, though we really only passed through. Immediately after lunch, Denise, Anne, Shelsea, and I took off for Capri.
Thus begins one of my more ridiculous weekends. All the previous Romers say that your first independent travel weekend never goes really well because you are still
getting used to planning your own trips.
So true, though we still managed to have fun for the most part.
Spent WAY too much money, but whatcha gonna do....*sigh
From the museum, we went to the port of Naples where a ferry would take us to Capri.
Just so you heathens know, Capri is pronounce Kah-pri NOT Cap-ree
I found out the hard way.
The ferry was interesting. This about the way the inside of an airplane looks---and put that on the inside of a huge boat. It wasn't the sort of ferry where you could go up on deck and look around---we had to stay dowwwnnn belloww.
Ferry tickets were about 16 Euro each way.
The ferry only took and hour, and all of a sudden we were there!
Capri is definitely beautiful, though it was very touristy.
When we got off the ferry, we had to catch a bus to Anacapri to find our hotel, Bussola di Hermes.
The bus costs 1.60 Euro per ride.
Here is where our interesting little....for lack of a better phrase I will say "travel quirks" started popping up.
Yikes!
Its 12:30am and I have class tomorrow.
More later!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Arrived Safely in Pompeii
Hello Everyone!!!
Blogspot tells me that there are now four of you who follow this blog, for which I am very flattered. Woot!
Yesterday morning, every dorm at the UD campus got the oddest wakeup call EVER. Each room has a phone, and apparently the phones all can act as speakers if need be. Well, at 7:30am, Steve (one of the RAs) voice blares over the speaker system...
"Hellooooooo....it's time to get uppppp everyoneeeeeeeeeee!!!! This is your wakeeuppp calllll.....Rise and shinneeeeee". It it hadn't been 7:30am, I would have laughed.
The night before, a girl named Lizzy and I had the bright idea to split a bottle of wine and chat for three hours. It would have been no biggie if we had only had one bottle. I'm not a huge drinker, but I TOTALLY overindulged (so did she) and we ended up staggering back to our rooms giggling at midnight.
When we got our wakeup calls, I sorta felt like death.
I skipped breakfast to shower. Thankfully, Nisi brought me a pastry. The whole class loaded up on busses and drove for three hours to Pestum (southern italy). The only reason we stopped at Pestum is to see some well preserved Greek temples. I have pictures, and four lucky people get postcards from Pestum! Well--three of you, my parents have automatic dibs.
From Pestum, it is only about an hour to Pompeii. When we got to the hotel, we checked in, ate dinner, then had a lecture until about 11:10pm. We were all sleepwalking by the time it was over and stumbled up to bed.
This morning, we got up around 7am, scarfed down some croissants, and went straight to the ancient city of Pompeii. Once there, we had another lecture and split into groups. Dr. Hatlie took one group, and Dr. Flusche took another. Just like in our tour of St. Peter's we each had a portable radio-like-thingie with a headset that allowed us to listen to the prof. as she spoke through a microphone. This is an AMAZING invention, as it means that I can stray quite a ways from where the prof. is standing and still hear them clear as a bell.
THREE HOURS we walked around this hot, dusty ancient ruin. THREEE HOURRRSSSSS--way too long considering the heat.
I can't describe this place to you very well, you're gonna have to look at pictures once I manage to get them all up. We did go into an ancient brothel...no pictures of that i am afraid.
When the visit was over, we picked up our bag lunches and sat wherever we could find a seat to eat. Those who wanted to could then take the bus to climb Mt. Vesuvias--a volcano that is still active and hasn't erupted since the 1940s. I didn't go. I was hot and tired, and ended up walking around the town a bit before going back to the hotel to take a nap.
When I woke up, I did some homework before dinner. While we were eating, there was a musical group playing ancient Roman music--no joke!
These guys study ancient instruments and such and reproduce them--complete with dance and costumes. It was pretty cool to watch.
After dinner, Denise, Shelsea, Anne, Lacy, and a new friend named Michael all went down into the down (near the Bay of Naples) for drinks. Curfew on trips is at midnight, so we had to hurry back.
Tomorrow, we leave for Naples at 10am and visit a museum there (anoootheerrr lecture) and then we are FREE until Monday at 2 when we have class again.
Shelsea, Anne, Denise, and I are going to CAPRI!
Blogspot tells me that there are now four of you who follow this blog, for which I am very flattered. Woot!
Yesterday morning, every dorm at the UD campus got the oddest wakeup call EVER. Each room has a phone, and apparently the phones all can act as speakers if need be. Well, at 7:30am, Steve (one of the RAs) voice blares over the speaker system...
"Hellooooooo....it's time to get uppppp everyoneeeeeeeeeee!!!! This is your wakeeuppp calllll.....Rise and shinneeeeee". It it hadn't been 7:30am, I would have laughed.
The night before, a girl named Lizzy and I had the bright idea to split a bottle of wine and chat for three hours. It would have been no biggie if we had only had one bottle. I'm not a huge drinker, but I TOTALLY overindulged (so did she) and we ended up staggering back to our rooms giggling at midnight.
When we got our wakeup calls, I sorta felt like death.
I skipped breakfast to shower. Thankfully, Nisi brought me a pastry. The whole class loaded up on busses and drove for three hours to Pestum (southern italy). The only reason we stopped at Pestum is to see some well preserved Greek temples. I have pictures, and four lucky people get postcards from Pestum! Well--three of you, my parents have automatic dibs.
From Pestum, it is only about an hour to Pompeii. When we got to the hotel, we checked in, ate dinner, then had a lecture until about 11:10pm. We were all sleepwalking by the time it was over and stumbled up to bed.
This morning, we got up around 7am, scarfed down some croissants, and went straight to the ancient city of Pompeii. Once there, we had another lecture and split into groups. Dr. Hatlie took one group, and Dr. Flusche took another. Just like in our tour of St. Peter's we each had a portable radio-like-thingie with a headset that allowed us to listen to the prof. as she spoke through a microphone. This is an AMAZING invention, as it means that I can stray quite a ways from where the prof. is standing and still hear them clear as a bell.
THREE HOURS we walked around this hot, dusty ancient ruin. THREEE HOURRRSSSSS--way too long considering the heat.
I can't describe this place to you very well, you're gonna have to look at pictures once I manage to get them all up. We did go into an ancient brothel...no pictures of that i am afraid.
When the visit was over, we picked up our bag lunches and sat wherever we could find a seat to eat. Those who wanted to could then take the bus to climb Mt. Vesuvias--a volcano that is still active and hasn't erupted since the 1940s. I didn't go. I was hot and tired, and ended up walking around the town a bit before going back to the hotel to take a nap.
When I woke up, I did some homework before dinner. While we were eating, there was a musical group playing ancient Roman music--no joke!
These guys study ancient instruments and such and reproduce them--complete with dance and costumes. It was pretty cool to watch.
After dinner, Denise, Shelsea, Anne, Lacy, and a new friend named Michael all went down into the down (near the Bay of Naples) for drinks. Curfew on trips is at midnight, so we had to hurry back.
Tomorrow, we leave for Naples at 10am and visit a museum there (anoootheerrr lecture) and then we are FREE until Monday at 2 when we have class again.
Shelsea, Anne, Denise, and I are going to CAPRI!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Campania Trip
When we go to Pompei and Naples tomorrow, we will be staying at the Vesuvian Intitute--I forgot to mention that in the schedule.
You know you go to UD when.......
You know you go to UD when you realize how many "Your mom" jokes you can make about
Oedipus.........
--Said Amanda this morning
ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oedipus.........
--Said Amanda this morning
ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
My Schedule
So, as some of you were wondering about my travel plans in future, this is where I am going to be....
Today is September 9th
Sept 10 Rome, on Campus
Sept 11-12 Pompei and Naples with school
Sept 12-13 CAPRI with friends!!!
Sept 14-16 Rome, on Campus
Sept 16 Field Trip to the Ara Pacis
Sept 17-20 First free weekend for travel--- Sorrento, most likely, with friends
Sept 21 Exam!
Sept 21-24 Rome, on Campus
Sept 23 Field Trip to the Forum
Sept 24 Exam!
Sept 25-27 Second free weekend for travel
Sept 28-Oct 1 Rome, on Campus
Sept 30 Field trip to San Clemente and an exam!!
Oct 2-11 GREECE TRIP!!
Oct 12-15 Rome, on campus
Oct 14 Field trip to the Tempietto
Oct 15-18 Third free weekend for travel
Oct 19-22 Rome, on campus
Oct 21 Field Trip to Vatican Museums
Oct 22 Exam!
Oct 23- Nov 1 FALL BREAK (10 DAY!!!) CAMPUS CLOSES AND WE MUST LEAVE
Nov 1--6 Rome, on campus
Nov 6-8 Fourth free weekend for travel
Nov 9-10 Rome, on campus
Nov 11-16 School trip to VENICE FLORENCE AND ASSISI
Nov 17-20 Rome, on campus
Nov 20 Exam!
Nov 21-22 Fifth free weekend for travel
Nov 23-25 Rome, on campus
Nov 25-29 THANKSGIVING BREAK--campus is still open
Nov 30-Dec 10 Rome, on campus
Dec 2 Papal audience and field trip to baroque churches
Dec 4 field trip to the Galleria Borghese
Dec 7-10 FINAL EXAMS!~!
Dec 11 FLY HOMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Today is September 9th
Sept 10 Rome, on Campus
Sept 11-12 Pompei and Naples with school
Sept 12-13 CAPRI with friends!!!
Sept 14-16 Rome, on Campus
Sept 16 Field Trip to the Ara Pacis
Sept 17-20 First free weekend for travel--- Sorrento, most likely, with friends
Sept 21 Exam!
Sept 21-24 Rome, on Campus
Sept 23 Field Trip to the Forum
Sept 24 Exam!
Sept 25-27 Second free weekend for travel
Sept 28-Oct 1 Rome, on Campus
Sept 30 Field trip to San Clemente and an exam!!
Oct 2-11 GREECE TRIP!!
Oct 12-15 Rome, on campus
Oct 14 Field trip to the Tempietto
Oct 15-18 Third free weekend for travel
Oct 19-22 Rome, on campus
Oct 21 Field Trip to Vatican Museums
Oct 22 Exam!
Oct 23- Nov 1 FALL BREAK (10 DAY!!!) CAMPUS CLOSES AND WE MUST LEAVE
Nov 1--6 Rome, on campus
Nov 6-8 Fourth free weekend for travel
Nov 9-10 Rome, on campus
Nov 11-16 School trip to VENICE FLORENCE AND ASSISI
Nov 17-20 Rome, on campus
Nov 20 Exam!
Nov 21-22 Fifth free weekend for travel
Nov 23-25 Rome, on campus
Nov 25-29 THANKSGIVING BREAK--campus is still open
Nov 30-Dec 10 Rome, on campus
Dec 2 Papal audience and field trip to baroque churches
Dec 4 field trip to the Galleria Borghese
Dec 7-10 FINAL EXAMS!~!
Dec 11 FLY HOMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Just an Update.....
Hello folks (all...what is it?....three of you who read this)!!
I'm sorry I haven't been very devoted to this blog, but I have a lot to do on a daily basis and keeping up with this thing takes a lot more effort than you think.
So...what has been happening.....lets see....
We went on TWO very exciting and informative field trips this week. The first was to St. Peter's Bascillica (typical) and the second was to Cerveteri. Cerveteri is an Etruscan necropolis. If you ask me, it looks like Hobbiton. If you ever go, watch Lord of the Rings first and you will see what I'm talking about.
As per usual, see facebook for pictures.
Kennith has my St. Peter's notes and Denise has my Necropolis notes.
I NEED TO TYPE THEM UP!!!!
After Cerveteri (pronounced cher-vet-er-ee), students had the opportunity of going to the beach or getting dropped off at the train station to go....anywhere they wanted. The majority of those who did not choose to go to the beach went to Cinque Terre, a series of five villages all strung together. Apparrantly, you can hike from one to another.
From what I heard, a bunch of UDers took the train, hiked around, and went camping on the beach. They didn't shower for three days. Also, they had to get to wherever they went at their own expense.
Naturally, I went to the beach for free, showered, and slept in a bed.
No regrets whatsoever.
The beach was BEAUUTIFFULL. Again, pics on facebook.
While at the beach, we slashed around in the waves, laid out, and drank beer (ALWAYS drink out of a cup in Italy. If they give you a bottle of beer, ask for UN BICCHERE!!---that is, if Ispelled it right.)
Drinking out of bottles in Italy is soooo trashy.
You drink out of beer bottles in America, don't you?
When you order a Corona, you just shove a lime in the bottle and chug away, don't you?
Yes you do, don't lie.
Trashy.
Just trashy.
After the beach, we came home and were fed and put to sleep.
It was HEAVENLY. I neglected all homework and just passed right out.
Today, I paid for my laziness.
We (myself, Nisi, Elijah, Shelsea, and Anne) went Church hopping).
For Western Theological Tradition we were given an assignment to visit two churches a week and write a page about each of them. We are to include a physical description of the church in addition to a passage about how the church makes us feeeeelllll. I HATE WRITING ABOUT HOW STUFF MAKES ME FEEEEEELLLLL.
We visited the churches, and I'll post what I write about them on here so you will have a better idea of what I'm getting at.
I also wrote my first Philosophy of Man assignment; an Argument Analysis of a passage in Plato's Phaedo.
Wanna see?
To those who have already read it for editing purposes, I apologize for my redundancy....
Mira Pejovich
Professor Blue
Philosophy of Man
9 September 2009
Argument Interpretation: Phaedo 73c-75c
In the Phaedo, sections 73c-75c, Socrates explains to Simmias and Cebes that what is referred to as “learning” is actually recollection. He also expands upon the Theory of Forms a second time using the subject of Equality. Finally, Socrates proves that human knowledge of Equality must have existed before birth.
Socrates begins by stating that when someone sees an object, it will remind them of another object. For example, when a person sees a garment that someone they love usually wears, that person will think of the one they love. The loved one is then recalled to memory by the garment. This sort of recollection can occur between two things that are similar and two things that are different. When one sees a picture of their friend, they recall their friend. The friend is similar to their picture. When this kind of recollection occurs between two things, the one recalling must ask if the similarities between the two objects are lacking in any way—that is to say, whether or not they posses any major differences. If the similarities in both the object seen and the object recalled are indeed analogous and lack nothing, they can prove to be equal, or else they are unequal.
Socrates mentions that a stick is equal to a stick and a rock is equal to a rock. This is true, though it is not his main point. No two objects, no matter how equal they are, can be Equality itself. There is a distinction between the general and the particular here. Two equal sticks, themselves, are particulars. They are two equal things. They are not Equality, nor are they Inequality. They are merely an example of equality that helps to recall the idea of equality and thus better understand it.
Also, the two sticks may be equal in some senses and unequal in others. Though they are both sticks, they may be unequal in length or shape. This furthers the claim that they are not Equality itself, as Equality cannot be Inequality.
Finally, the human ability to detect similarity and equality in objects comes from the senses, claims Socrates. Humans see, smell, hear, touch, and taste things that bring into their minds the memory of another thing—this is the very act of recalling. Past things are recalled to our minds due to the similarities they share with the present. If humans gain the ability to use their senses at birth, then the ability to detect similarities and thus judge equality must be brought about around the same time.
Yeah, I know, I am awesome and philosophical now. Look out Dallas!
I'm sorry I haven't been very devoted to this blog, but I have a lot to do on a daily basis and keeping up with this thing takes a lot more effort than you think.
So...what has been happening.....lets see....
We went on TWO very exciting and informative field trips this week. The first was to St. Peter's Bascillica (typical) and the second was to Cerveteri. Cerveteri is an Etruscan necropolis. If you ask me, it looks like Hobbiton. If you ever go, watch Lord of the Rings first and you will see what I'm talking about.
As per usual, see facebook for pictures.
Kennith has my St. Peter's notes and Denise has my Necropolis notes.
I NEED TO TYPE THEM UP!!!!
After Cerveteri (pronounced cher-vet-er-ee), students had the opportunity of going to the beach or getting dropped off at the train station to go....anywhere they wanted. The majority of those who did not choose to go to the beach went to Cinque Terre, a series of five villages all strung together. Apparrantly, you can hike from one to another.
From what I heard, a bunch of UDers took the train, hiked around, and went camping on the beach. They didn't shower for three days. Also, they had to get to wherever they went at their own expense.
Naturally, I went to the beach for free, showered, and slept in a bed.
No regrets whatsoever.
The beach was BEAUUTIFFULL. Again, pics on facebook.
While at the beach, we slashed around in the waves, laid out, and drank beer (ALWAYS drink out of a cup in Italy. If they give you a bottle of beer, ask for UN BICCHERE!!---that is, if Ispelled it right.)
Drinking out of bottles in Italy is soooo trashy.
You drink out of beer bottles in America, don't you?
When you order a Corona, you just shove a lime in the bottle and chug away, don't you?
Yes you do, don't lie.
Trashy.
Just trashy.
After the beach, we came home and were fed and put to sleep.
It was HEAVENLY. I neglected all homework and just passed right out.
Today, I paid for my laziness.
We (myself, Nisi, Elijah, Shelsea, and Anne) went Church hopping).
For Western Theological Tradition we were given an assignment to visit two churches a week and write a page about each of them. We are to include a physical description of the church in addition to a passage about how the church makes us feeeeelllll. I HATE WRITING ABOUT HOW STUFF MAKES ME FEEEEEELLLLL.
We visited the churches, and I'll post what I write about them on here so you will have a better idea of what I'm getting at.
I also wrote my first Philosophy of Man assignment; an Argument Analysis of a passage in Plato's Phaedo.
Wanna see?
To those who have already read it for editing purposes, I apologize for my redundancy....
Mira Pejovich
Professor Blue
Philosophy of Man
9 September 2009
Argument Interpretation: Phaedo 73c-75c
In the Phaedo, sections 73c-75c, Socrates explains to Simmias and Cebes that what is referred to as “learning” is actually recollection. He also expands upon the Theory of Forms a second time using the subject of Equality. Finally, Socrates proves that human knowledge of Equality must have existed before birth.
Socrates begins by stating that when someone sees an object, it will remind them of another object. For example, when a person sees a garment that someone they love usually wears, that person will think of the one they love. The loved one is then recalled to memory by the garment. This sort of recollection can occur between two things that are similar and two things that are different. When one sees a picture of their friend, they recall their friend. The friend is similar to their picture. When this kind of recollection occurs between two things, the one recalling must ask if the similarities between the two objects are lacking in any way—that is to say, whether or not they posses any major differences. If the similarities in both the object seen and the object recalled are indeed analogous and lack nothing, they can prove to be equal, or else they are unequal.
Socrates mentions that a stick is equal to a stick and a rock is equal to a rock. This is true, though it is not his main point. No two objects, no matter how equal they are, can be Equality itself. There is a distinction between the general and the particular here. Two equal sticks, themselves, are particulars. They are two equal things. They are not Equality, nor are they Inequality. They are merely an example of equality that helps to recall the idea of equality and thus better understand it.
Also, the two sticks may be equal in some senses and unequal in others. Though they are both sticks, they may be unequal in length or shape. This furthers the claim that they are not Equality itself, as Equality cannot be Inequality.
Finally, the human ability to detect similarity and equality in objects comes from the senses, claims Socrates. Humans see, smell, hear, touch, and taste things that bring into their minds the memory of another thing—this is the very act of recalling. Past things are recalled to our minds due to the similarities they share with the present. If humans gain the ability to use their senses at birth, then the ability to detect similarities and thus judge equality must be brought about around the same time.
Yeah, I know, I am awesome and philosophical now. Look out Dallas!
Friday, September 4, 2009
Squirrel Nutkin
Dr. Hatlie tells us that if we have a nickname that we would like to go by, feel free to share it.
Kenneth raises his hand.
Could you call me Squirrel Nutkin after the Beatrix Potter novels?
Alrighty.
Kenneth raises his hand.
Could you call me Squirrel Nutkin after the Beatrix Potter novels?
Alrighty.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Here is an Example of a GOOD bad Idea....
After a LONG day of class, with a decent sized stack of reading to do for class tomorrow, going to Albano with some new friends instead of going straight back to campus for dinner, study, and bed.
Dinner in Albano then consisting of gelato and beer.
hmm.......ok, you are asking yourself wherein this idiocy lies the good idea......
WALKING back to campus from Albano instead of taking the bus. Sweating for two miles really wakes you up. I read like mad tonight! Go me!!
Dinner in Albano then consisting of gelato and beer.
hmm.......ok, you are asking yourself wherein this idiocy lies the good idea......
WALKING back to campus from Albano instead of taking the bus. Sweating for two miles really wakes you up. I read like mad tonight! Go me!!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Gelato
The teeny town of Albano is absolutely adorable. There is a huge grocery store, a little shopping to be done, and the best gelato I have had thus far.
I forget the name of the gelateria, but it's straight down the street on your right after the bus drops you off. Prices range from 1-5 Euro depending on the size you want--THEY LOAD YOU UP!
The purpose of this post is not to write about Albano, but the entire gelato-thing here in Italy. It is part of the culture, and if you don't like it, stay home.
Gelaterias in Italy are more common that Starbucks in NY. The prices are all pretty much the same, as are the flavors. I am of the opinion that the quality differs, depending on where you go. Some gelato is a little too melty for my taste. This sounds odd, but we have really hard ice cream back home.
Another thing---who came up with BALLS of ice cream? Was that the US? Italy doesn't do it. They use flat scoop like things instead. If anyone knows who invented the ice cream scoop as we Americans know it, do tell.
Anyway, here are some flavors for you (because sometimes, as in the gelateria in Albano, it is not obvious what the flavors are in English) I am not going to even begin to pretent that I did this myself. I found it online
ACE- orange carrot and lemon
After Eight- Creme de Menthe
Albicocca- apricot
Amarena- Cherry
Ananas-pineapple
Arancia- Orange
Bacio-chocolate hazelnut
Banana
Biscotto-biscotti
Caffe- Coffee
Cassata- cream with dried fruit and dark chocolate chunks
Champagne
Cioccolato-chocolate
Cioccolato Biano- White Chocolate
Cioccomenta- Chocolate Mint
Cocco- coconut
Cocomero-watermelon
Cubana- Chocolate Cream with Coffee
Eolie- cherry and nuts
Fichi- fig
Fiore di Fragola- strawberry vanilla
Fior di Latte- cream
Fior di Panna- cream?
Formmagio- cheesecake
Fragola- Strawberry
Frutti di Bosco- Mixed Fruit
Gianduia- chocolate and hazelnut
Kiwi
Lampone-raspberry
Limoncello
Limone- lemon <-------ONE OF MY FAVORITES~!!!!
Lipari- rich pistacchio
Liquirizzia- Liquorice
Malaga- Rum Raisin
Mango
Marron Glace- Chestnut
Mascarpone-cream cheese
Mela Verde- green apple
Melone-cantalope
Mirtillo- blueberry
Mora- blackberry
Nutella- chocolate & hazelnut
Nocciola- hazelnut
Noce- walnut
Pera- pear
Pesca- peach
Pinoli- pine nut?
Pistacchio
Pompela Rosa- pink grapefruit
Riso- rice
Stracciatella-choc chip <-----ONE OF MY FAVORITES
Tiramisu
Torrone- nougat
Vaniglia-vanilla
Visciola-?
Yogurt
Zabaione- Eggs and marsala
Zuppa Inglese- Trifle cherrie and chocolate
To anyone who has ever heard me bitching about how the chocolate chips in mint chocolate chip and chocolate chip ice cream aren't big enough---I HAVE FOUND THEM!!!!
They are REAL chips of chocolate (big ones too!!) and they are delicciousss.....
Here is another cool thing about getting gelato in Italy, it doesn't matter when you get it!
There are several rules in Italy about WHEN you can eat/drink certain things. NEVER order a cappucino after 10am!!! Never eat dinner before 8pm (even though we eat at 7 on campus)!!!! Things like that. GELATO CAN BE EATEN ANY TIME AFTER 11am-ish.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Enjoy!!
Ciao!
Mira
I forget the name of the gelateria, but it's straight down the street on your right after the bus drops you off. Prices range from 1-5 Euro depending on the size you want--THEY LOAD YOU UP!
The purpose of this post is not to write about Albano, but the entire gelato-thing here in Italy. It is part of the culture, and if you don't like it, stay home.
Gelaterias in Italy are more common that Starbucks in NY. The prices are all pretty much the same, as are the flavors. I am of the opinion that the quality differs, depending on where you go. Some gelato is a little too melty for my taste. This sounds odd, but we have really hard ice cream back home.
Another thing---who came up with BALLS of ice cream? Was that the US? Italy doesn't do it. They use flat scoop like things instead. If anyone knows who invented the ice cream scoop as we Americans know it, do tell.
Anyway, here are some flavors for you (because sometimes, as in the gelateria in Albano, it is not obvious what the flavors are in English) I am not going to even begin to pretent that I did this myself. I found it online
ACE- orange carrot and lemon
After Eight- Creme de Menthe
Albicocca- apricot
Amarena- Cherry
Ananas-pineapple
Arancia- Orange
Bacio-chocolate hazelnut
Banana
Biscotto-biscotti
Caffe- Coffee
Cassata- cream with dried fruit and dark chocolate chunks
Champagne
Cioccolato-chocolate
Cioccolato Biano- White Chocolate
Cioccomenta- Chocolate Mint
Cocco- coconut
Cocomero-watermelon
Cubana- Chocolate Cream with Coffee
Eolie- cherry and nuts
Fichi- fig
Fiore di Fragola- strawberry vanilla
Fior di Latte- cream
Fior di Panna- cream?
Formmagio- cheesecake
Fragola- Strawberry
Frutti di Bosco- Mixed Fruit
Gianduia- chocolate and hazelnut
Kiwi
Lampone-raspberry
Limoncello
Limone- lemon <-------ONE OF MY FAVORITES~!!!!
Lipari- rich pistacchio
Liquirizzia- Liquorice
Malaga- Rum Raisin
Mango
Marron Glace- Chestnut
Mascarpone-cream cheese
Mela Verde- green apple
Melone-cantalope
Mirtillo- blueberry
Mora- blackberry
Nutella- chocolate & hazelnut
Nocciola- hazelnut
Noce- walnut
Pera- pear
Pesca- peach
Pinoli- pine nut?
Pistacchio
Pompela Rosa- pink grapefruit
Riso- rice
Stracciatella-choc chip <-----ONE OF MY FAVORITES
Tiramisu
Torrone- nougat
Vaniglia-vanilla
Visciola-?
Yogurt
Zabaione- Eggs and marsala
Zuppa Inglese- Trifle cherrie and chocolate
To anyone who has ever heard me bitching about how the chocolate chips in mint chocolate chip and chocolate chip ice cream aren't big enough---I HAVE FOUND THEM!!!!
They are REAL chips of chocolate (big ones too!!) and they are delicciousss.....
Here is another cool thing about getting gelato in Italy, it doesn't matter when you get it!
There are several rules in Italy about WHEN you can eat/drink certain things. NEVER order a cappucino after 10am!!! Never eat dinner before 8pm (even though we eat at 7 on campus)!!!! Things like that. GELATO CAN BE EATEN ANY TIME AFTER 11am-ish.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Enjoy!!
Ciao!
Mira
Monday, August 31, 2009
The Rome Cap Bar
I am thinking that UD's cappuccino bar (Cap. Bar) in Irving should think about remodeling itself after the one on the Rome campus. THIS Cap Bar not only has coffee drinks and tea, but sodas and snacks as well. I believe the Irving campus is missing out on some serious income by not carrying some cheap soft drinks (a soda fountain would be great) at their Cap. Bar.
Granted, these things can be found in the student store, the Rat, and the PDK but at all three places in Irving they are seriously overpriced and not AS easily accessible as drinks at the Cap Bar.
Another cool thing about the Cap Bar over here is the addition of four huge black leather couches. I am in love with them---sitting on one right now as a matter of fact.
Come on UD!!!! Make campus more comfy!!!!! We, the student who live there, will love you for it.
Granted, these things can be found in the student store, the Rat, and the PDK but at all three places in Irving they are seriously overpriced and not AS easily accessible as drinks at the Cap Bar.
Another cool thing about the Cap Bar over here is the addition of four huge black leather couches. I am in love with them---sitting on one right now as a matter of fact.
Come on UD!!!! Make campus more comfy!!!!! We, the student who live there, will love you for it.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Getting from Campus to Rome
In order to get from UD's Due Santi campus, one must take both the bus and the metro IN ADDITION to doing quite a bit of walking.
It isn't far getting from the campus to the bus stop, but any walking done on the street outside the school should be done with great care. Cars go whizzing by at insane speeds, and counting on the Italians NOT to hit you isn't always a safe bet. Once you get to the bus stop, there is no telling how long you will wait. We have a "bus schedule"--which serves as a set of guidelines as to when the bus might show up. Give yourself about a half hour window for any public transportation you plan on doing in Italy, and NEVER cut it too close, if you have to be somewhere by a certain time. Early is better than late.
The bus can take you several different places, but to get into the city of Rome, you want to go to Anagnina (pronounced ah-na-nin-ya for you American types). Once at the Anagnina metro station (where you get dropped off), take the metro (underground) to Termini. There are two different metro lines, and Termini is the only place where they meet so you can switch lines if you need to. Termini is also pretty far into the city, so my recommendation is to get off there and walk. It's a nice area, really.
TICKETS:
You need a ticket to ride the bus and a different one of the metro. Upon boarding the bus, you have to stick your ticket into this little machine that validates it and spits it back out at you. You must do this upon entering the metro as well. If you run out of tickets for whatever mode of transportation, just pick more up at any Tabbachi. There you go!! Getting around in Roma is super easy.
Another note: while riding the metro, try to be invisible. Just sit down and stare out the window at nothing, and nobody will bother you.
It isn't far getting from the campus to the bus stop, but any walking done on the street outside the school should be done with great care. Cars go whizzing by at insane speeds, and counting on the Italians NOT to hit you isn't always a safe bet. Once you get to the bus stop, there is no telling how long you will wait. We have a "bus schedule"--which serves as a set of guidelines as to when the bus might show up. Give yourself about a half hour window for any public transportation you plan on doing in Italy, and NEVER cut it too close, if you have to be somewhere by a certain time. Early is better than late.
The bus can take you several different places, but to get into the city of Rome, you want to go to Anagnina (pronounced ah-na-nin-ya for you American types). Once at the Anagnina metro station (where you get dropped off), take the metro (underground) to Termini. There are two different metro lines, and Termini is the only place where they meet so you can switch lines if you need to. Termini is also pretty far into the city, so my recommendation is to get off there and walk. It's a nice area, really.
TICKETS:
You need a ticket to ride the bus and a different one of the metro. Upon boarding the bus, you have to stick your ticket into this little machine that validates it and spits it back out at you. You must do this upon entering the metro as well. If you run out of tickets for whatever mode of transportation, just pick more up at any Tabbachi. There you go!! Getting around in Roma is super easy.
Another note: while riding the metro, try to be invisible. Just sit down and stare out the window at nothing, and nobody will bother you.
Friday, August 28, 2009
I give up.....
I have decided that I have gotten too far behind with this blog to do a decent job updating you all on every little detail. Therefore I have decided that each new post will be on a different subject. A class, a new friend, a trip we've taken, etc. It is just easier for me to describe one thing at a time rather than jumping through a very detailed narrative.
Now, if you visit my facebook page, I am going to upload some pictures! :D
Ciao!
Mira
Now, if you visit my facebook page, I am going to upload some pictures! :D
Ciao!
Mira
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Catching You Up -- Part III!!!!!!!!!!!
I have almost got you all caught up to the present.
The "Academic Orientation" that the administration put us through was not worth relating here. Let's skip that, shall we, and move on straight to our first visit into the city of Rome itself.
Again, we all loaded onto buses and we shipped directly into the heart of the city where we were divided into groups. Each group was paired with a prof. or SA who would lead them through the city to St. Peters Basilica. The aim was not so much sightseeing (though you can't help but to sight see a little when in Rome, even if it is unintentional) as an opportunity for our group leaders to give us tips on how to get around in the city.
For example, when crossing the street, be fearless. Traffic will never slow down, so don't bother waiting for any breaks at any crosswalks. Stop lights don't mean squat over here either. The trick is to just go--traffic will slow for you....most of the time. If it doesn't look like it's slowing, walk faster.
The small groups each made their way to St. Peters, where the whole group would meet for mass at 5pm. The line to enter the church--to get through the metal detectors, I should say, is always pretty massive. To enter, one must also be dressed properly. Ladies must have their shoulders covered and may not wear shorts or skirts above the knee. They are very strict about this rule. I saw one lady tie an oversized sweatshirt around her waist, attempting to make it look like a long skirt, so that she could enter the Basilica. Surprisingly to me, it worked. She looked pretty ridiculous though.
St. Peters Basillica takes my breath away, and always will. Mass was in Latin and Italian.
Ahh!! Called away from the computer for awhile. Be right back.
The "Academic Orientation" that the administration put us through was not worth relating here. Let's skip that, shall we, and move on straight to our first visit into the city of Rome itself.
Again, we all loaded onto buses and we shipped directly into the heart of the city where we were divided into groups. Each group was paired with a prof. or SA who would lead them through the city to St. Peters Basilica. The aim was not so much sightseeing (though you can't help but to sight see a little when in Rome, even if it is unintentional) as an opportunity for our group leaders to give us tips on how to get around in the city.
For example, when crossing the street, be fearless. Traffic will never slow down, so don't bother waiting for any breaks at any crosswalks. Stop lights don't mean squat over here either. The trick is to just go--traffic will slow for you....most of the time. If it doesn't look like it's slowing, walk faster.
The small groups each made their way to St. Peters, where the whole group would meet for mass at 5pm. The line to enter the church--to get through the metal detectors, I should say, is always pretty massive. To enter, one must also be dressed properly. Ladies must have their shoulders covered and may not wear shorts or skirts above the knee. They are very strict about this rule. I saw one lady tie an oversized sweatshirt around her waist, attempting to make it look like a long skirt, so that she could enter the Basilica. Surprisingly to me, it worked. She looked pretty ridiculous though.
St. Peters Basillica takes my breath away, and always will. Mass was in Latin and Italian.
Ahh!! Called away from the computer for awhile. Be right back.
Catching You Up -- Part II!!!!!!!!!!!
After our first dinner in Rome, Denise and I spent a few minutes chatting with Kennith, Elliot, and Elija and a few other interesting people we met over the course of the evening. We didn't stay out late, though, because we realized that we finally had an opportunity to sleep.
Let me tell you, I am not a fan of these beds. The sheets feel a bit like sandpaper and the mattresses are just about as soft as slabs of granite. I wasn't about to start complaining though. I threw together a few words on DAY ONE of this here blog and passed out. The alarm woke me up about six hours later. Day Two on our schedule promised a busy busy day!!!
Breakfast was served in the mensa at 8am. In Italy breakfast is not the huge hog fest it is in the states. I am not a huge breakfast person, so this suits me. There was some toast, salami and ham (thinly sliced), some cereal, croissants, and juice. Everything was delicious!!
There is something I must say.
The water here on campus tastes like flat tonic.
We drink from the taps here and it is not what you would call tasty--though it is perfectly safe to drink. I may be jumping the gun here, but I absolutely cannot mention the icky campus water without telling you all that the water in the city is the most amazing stuff you will ever drink. 300 year old aqueducts running through the city of Rome are still fully functioning. All over the city there are beautiful rock fountains from which come this ice cold, DELICIOUS water. Please oh please send me water bottles, so I can collect gallons of it when I return to the city. That way I wont be subjected to this nasty stuff. I can't believe this liquid dare masquerade as water in front of us--us who have had the pleasure drinking REAL water....water that tastes like.....like......I'm sorry, there are no words.
Where were we.....ah! Breakfast!
I suppose I should tell you how the mensa is set up. It is very small, considering how many people it accomodates. The line for food (served cafeteria and buffet style) often runs snaking around the room and out the door! It moves pretty swiftly, though, so there is never much loss of temper. I, personally, could never bring myself to do anything that I think might incur the wrath of the mensa ladies. These women scare me. No joke. They do not smile or make conversation. They are quite formidable. We all think they know a fair amount of English, however much they refuse to speak any of it. I'm fine with it if they don't want to speak our language, why should they? We are in their country, their rules apply. I do wish they would be a little more patient with us though. All of the students here are very enthusiastic about learning about Italian culture and WANT desperately to pick up some Italian. The mensa ladies don't seem to be softened by our confused stares and stammers.
Here is the process by which we are fed by these women:
1. Grab a tray (students use brown trays and faculty, staff, and guests use blue ones).
2. Mensa lady scoops up whatever pasta is on tap that day and ladles it into a bowl and puts it on the counter, meanwhile rattling off something in very rapid Italian that sounds somewhat like they are accusing you of murder.
3. You hesitantly reach for the bowl.
4. Mensa Lady says something to you that you can't understand. You stop reaching for the bowl, now wondering if it was not actually meant for you. She looks at you, ladle held threateningly in her gloved hand, and speaks sharply to you again, gesturing at the pasta and vegetables in front of her.
5. You think 'Ok, she is asking me what I want'. You only want pasta. You point to it. She pushes the bowl towards you again. Oh, so that was meant for you. Great. You take it. No problem.
6. When you try to make a break for it further down the line, she starts talking to you, gesturing towards the veggies you didn't want. You cant understand the actual words she is saying now, though there is no mistaking THAT tone. Italian. Catholic. Healthy Food. Guilt. Oh no, you aren't going to eat those vegetables? You're screwed.
7. You nod, gulping, as Mensa Lady, scoops up a hefty portion of steamed carrots and green beans and dumps them onto another plate and shoves it on the counter. You grab it and run, stopping only to sieze a roll on your way to the water.
The moral of today's story : You will eat whatever the Mensa Ladies decide you will eat. Deal with it.
In a little while, I will do my last bit of updating, and tell you about our first trip into the city. At the moment, one of my lovely roommates is starting to snore and I must go "accidentally" drop something heavy so she wakes up.
Ciao!
Mra
Let me tell you, I am not a fan of these beds. The sheets feel a bit like sandpaper and the mattresses are just about as soft as slabs of granite. I wasn't about to start complaining though. I threw together a few words on DAY ONE of this here blog and passed out. The alarm woke me up about six hours later. Day Two on our schedule promised a busy busy day!!!
Breakfast was served in the mensa at 8am. In Italy breakfast is not the huge hog fest it is in the states. I am not a huge breakfast person, so this suits me. There was some toast, salami and ham (thinly sliced), some cereal, croissants, and juice. Everything was delicious!!
There is something I must say.
The water here on campus tastes like flat tonic.
We drink from the taps here and it is not what you would call tasty--though it is perfectly safe to drink. I may be jumping the gun here, but I absolutely cannot mention the icky campus water without telling you all that the water in the city is the most amazing stuff you will ever drink. 300 year old aqueducts running through the city of Rome are still fully functioning. All over the city there are beautiful rock fountains from which come this ice cold, DELICIOUS water. Please oh please send me water bottles, so I can collect gallons of it when I return to the city. That way I wont be subjected to this nasty stuff. I can't believe this liquid dare masquerade as water in front of us--us who have had the pleasure drinking REAL water....water that tastes like.....like......I'm sorry, there are no words.
Where were we.....ah! Breakfast!
I suppose I should tell you how the mensa is set up. It is very small, considering how many people it accomodates. The line for food (served cafeteria and buffet style) often runs snaking around the room and out the door! It moves pretty swiftly, though, so there is never much loss of temper. I, personally, could never bring myself to do anything that I think might incur the wrath of the mensa ladies. These women scare me. No joke. They do not smile or make conversation. They are quite formidable. We all think they know a fair amount of English, however much they refuse to speak any of it. I'm fine with it if they don't want to speak our language, why should they? We are in their country, their rules apply. I do wish they would be a little more patient with us though. All of the students here are very enthusiastic about learning about Italian culture and WANT desperately to pick up some Italian. The mensa ladies don't seem to be softened by our confused stares and stammers.
Here is the process by which we are fed by these women:
1. Grab a tray (students use brown trays and faculty, staff, and guests use blue ones).
2. Mensa lady scoops up whatever pasta is on tap that day and ladles it into a bowl and puts it on the counter, meanwhile rattling off something in very rapid Italian that sounds somewhat like they are accusing you of murder.
3. You hesitantly reach for the bowl.
4. Mensa Lady says something to you that you can't understand. You stop reaching for the bowl, now wondering if it was not actually meant for you. She looks at you, ladle held threateningly in her gloved hand, and speaks sharply to you again, gesturing at the pasta and vegetables in front of her.
5. You think 'Ok, she is asking me what I want'. You only want pasta. You point to it. She pushes the bowl towards you again. Oh, so that was meant for you. Great. You take it. No problem.
6. When you try to make a break for it further down the line, she starts talking to you, gesturing towards the veggies you didn't want. You cant understand the actual words she is saying now, though there is no mistaking THAT tone. Italian. Catholic. Healthy Food. Guilt. Oh no, you aren't going to eat those vegetables? You're screwed.
7. You nod, gulping, as Mensa Lady, scoops up a hefty portion of steamed carrots and green beans and dumps them onto another plate and shoves it on the counter. You grab it and run, stopping only to sieze a roll on your way to the water.
The moral of today's story : You will eat whatever the Mensa Ladies decide you will eat. Deal with it.
In a little while, I will do my last bit of updating, and tell you about our first trip into the city. At the moment, one of my lovely roommates is starting to snore and I must go "accidentally" drop something heavy so she wakes up.
Ciao!
Mra
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Catching You Up!!
I have a little under an hour before my first day of classes begins, so I thought I would try to finish telling you about my first two days here. Ideally, by this evening I will be able to tell you about TODAY, and thus be completely up to date.
Last post, I left off just as all of us had finished unpacking and organizing our stuff. I swear Nisi brought an entire pharmacy with her!!! It's somewhat amusing to see her little pill bottles lined up in the closet like chess pieces.
After unpacking, we trooped into the mensa for lunch. The pasta, potatoes, meatballs, and salad all had one thing in common---OLIVE OIL!!! It was delicious, but some people aren't quite used to the amount of oil everything was cooked in. We had water, juice, and coffee to drink--the glasses in italy are half the size of those in the states and their contents can easily be drained in one gulp. We do have ice on campus, but it is the only ice available for miles. Europeans don't do ice. *upturns nose at the very idea!
Lunch was another opportunity to meet a few more of my new classmates, all virtually humming with excitement at being in Europe. I don't think most of these students have been out of the US before this. Some have never tasted wine, some have never traveled alone, and some are seasoned experts at all of the above. I won't waste precious free time going into detail about everyone just yet, I promise you shall get to know my classmates as well as I do over the next few months (hopefully, unless I do something stupid and find myself ousted from all campus society for the remainder of the semester).
After lunch, we were taken on campus tours by the four RA's. I will take a minute to note that this campus is virtually CRAWLING with authority figures. We have four RA's and two SA's (student assistants). The RA's rank higher than the SA's, who are members of the class chosen to make sure the rest of us are following the rules, observing quiet hours, etc. The RA's are college graduates responsible for making our day to day activities run smoothly and for making sure that we don't kill eachother. They would be the big bosses, I guess. Dr. Peter Hatlie is the dean of the Rome campus and my guess is that if I do anything stupid enough to lead me to his office, someone had better be at the airport the next day to pick me up.
That aside, Steve and Cindy Bird, Jon Polce, Mary Schultz (the RA's) and Anton, Hannah, Joe, and Erin (the SA's) all seem to be really neat people who don't take themselves too seriously or regard themselves as being the right hands (all 8 of them, hah!) of God. For this, I am thankful. I like them all. Dr. Hatlie seems to be a very jolly sort of person. He is also my Western Civilization prof. so I imagine I will get to know him better and have more to say after doing so. The same can be said for just about everyone here, I suppose.
The campus tours aren't worth detailing for you, I don't think. I plan on making some videos and taking plenty of pictures for you to see in the next few days. Neither is the VERY long orientation meeting that followed worth telling you about (have I mentioned that by this point I HAD NOT SLEPT YET!).
Here is, for the sake of this blog, what you DO need to know about campus:
1. for the first few days we have a curfew (12am) and we must sign in on a clipboard with the SAs.
2. there are two classrooms: Aula Magna and Aula Minore. ALL of my five classes are in either one or the other classroom.
3. i have seen no AC in any building on campus--just a lot of fans, and BOY IS IT HOT!
4. food is served in the mensa by very eccentric Italian ladies who I don't think like us very much so far.
5. we have "A days" and "B days" and our classes vary depending on which day it is. On A days I have Philosophy from 8am to 9:30am, Literary Tradition III from 9:45am to 11:15am, and finally Art and Architecture from 11:30am to 1pm.
6. the entire grade is in the same Art and Arch. class together, otherwise we are split in half. ouch!
7. beer and wine can be consumed on campus almost anywhere unless it is after 10:30pm, in which case it cannot be consumed in public places. No hard alcohol allowed.
8. clothes and shoes must be worn outside of the suites at all times.
9. No drinking alcohol out of the bottle. We must always use cups.
10. Visiting hours must be observed when visiting a member of the opposite sex. Doors cannot be completely closed in such cases.
11. ............there is more, but it escapes me at the moment.............
RANDOM FACT!
Did you know that until recently there has never been an Italian word for "privacy". I think that says something about the culture.
Following the tedious orientation meeting, there was an opening Mass and Convocation. Boring. Unnecessary to describe. This was followed by a HUGE DINNER!!! My small table of four or five people polished off two bottles of wine during this four course meal. Of course, pasta was included. Everything was delicious.
I will tell you more about dinner and the activities of the following day later this afternoon. For now, it is class time!
Ciao!
Mira
Last post, I left off just as all of us had finished unpacking and organizing our stuff. I swear Nisi brought an entire pharmacy with her!!! It's somewhat amusing to see her little pill bottles lined up in the closet like chess pieces.
After unpacking, we trooped into the mensa for lunch. The pasta, potatoes, meatballs, and salad all had one thing in common---OLIVE OIL!!! It was delicious, but some people aren't quite used to the amount of oil everything was cooked in. We had water, juice, and coffee to drink--the glasses in italy are half the size of those in the states and their contents can easily be drained in one gulp. We do have ice on campus, but it is the only ice available for miles. Europeans don't do ice. *upturns nose at the very idea!
Lunch was another opportunity to meet a few more of my new classmates, all virtually humming with excitement at being in Europe. I don't think most of these students have been out of the US before this. Some have never tasted wine, some have never traveled alone, and some are seasoned experts at all of the above. I won't waste precious free time going into detail about everyone just yet, I promise you shall get to know my classmates as well as I do over the next few months (hopefully, unless I do something stupid and find myself ousted from all campus society for the remainder of the semester).
After lunch, we were taken on campus tours by the four RA's. I will take a minute to note that this campus is virtually CRAWLING with authority figures. We have four RA's and two SA's (student assistants). The RA's rank higher than the SA's, who are members of the class chosen to make sure the rest of us are following the rules, observing quiet hours, etc. The RA's are college graduates responsible for making our day to day activities run smoothly and for making sure that we don't kill eachother. They would be the big bosses, I guess. Dr. Peter Hatlie is the dean of the Rome campus and my guess is that if I do anything stupid enough to lead me to his office, someone had better be at the airport the next day to pick me up.
That aside, Steve and Cindy Bird, Jon Polce, Mary Schultz (the RA's) and Anton, Hannah, Joe, and Erin (the SA's) all seem to be really neat people who don't take themselves too seriously or regard themselves as being the right hands (all 8 of them, hah!) of God. For this, I am thankful. I like them all. Dr. Hatlie seems to be a very jolly sort of person. He is also my Western Civilization prof. so I imagine I will get to know him better and have more to say after doing so. The same can be said for just about everyone here, I suppose.
The campus tours aren't worth detailing for you, I don't think. I plan on making some videos and taking plenty of pictures for you to see in the next few days. Neither is the VERY long orientation meeting that followed worth telling you about (have I mentioned that by this point I HAD NOT SLEPT YET!).
Here is, for the sake of this blog, what you DO need to know about campus:
1. for the first few days we have a curfew (12am) and we must sign in on a clipboard with the SAs.
2. there are two classrooms: Aula Magna and Aula Minore. ALL of my five classes are in either one or the other classroom.
3. i have seen no AC in any building on campus--just a lot of fans, and BOY IS IT HOT!
4. food is served in the mensa by very eccentric Italian ladies who I don't think like us very much so far.
5. we have "A days" and "B days" and our classes vary depending on which day it is. On A days I have Philosophy from 8am to 9:30am, Literary Tradition III from 9:45am to 11:15am, and finally Art and Architecture from 11:30am to 1pm.
6. the entire grade is in the same Art and Arch. class together, otherwise we are split in half. ouch!
7. beer and wine can be consumed on campus almost anywhere unless it is after 10:30pm, in which case it cannot be consumed in public places. No hard alcohol allowed.
8. clothes and shoes must be worn outside of the suites at all times.
9. No drinking alcohol out of the bottle. We must always use cups.
10. Visiting hours must be observed when visiting a member of the opposite sex. Doors cannot be completely closed in such cases.
11. ............there is more, but it escapes me at the moment.............
RANDOM FACT!
Did you know that until recently there has never been an Italian word for "privacy". I think that says something about the culture.
Following the tedious orientation meeting, there was an opening Mass and Convocation. Boring. Unnecessary to describe. This was followed by a HUGE DINNER!!! My small table of four or five people polished off two bottles of wine during this four course meal. Of course, pasta was included. Everything was delicious.
I will tell you more about dinner and the activities of the following day later this afternoon. For now, it is class time!
Ciao!
Mira
August 26, 2009 DAY TWO
Thank you to those of you actually reading this for being patient with me last night.
The administration here at the Due Santi campus has had all of us students running around like mad for the last two days. It feels a bit like freshman year orientation all over again. Though classes start tomorrow, we must all still attend orientation meetings in the evening for the next two days. Exhausting!!! There has not been much free time allotted us since our arrival, though I suppose that is due to the fact that they are trying to cope with the necessity to give us so much vital "Rome Survival" info. in such a short time. I feel quite brain dead at the moment, and I have class at 9:45am tomorrow morning!!!
I suppose I should begin at the beginning in order to catch you up on how my last 48 hours here have progressed. My father dropped Denise and I off at the airport on the morning of August 24th and watched as we went through customs---I tried not to tear up both then and while saying goodbye to Mom earlier at home. It wasn't easy. I hate goodbyes.
Nisi and I found the rest of the Romers who would be departing from Dallas for Newark, NJ at the gate and proceeded to sit there eating hash browns and diet coke waiting for our flight. Now I feel I must mention that I entered this Rome semester knowing only about 5 or 6 of the 110 (approximately) students I would be joining in Italy. Much meet and greet to be done!!!
At the airport we met a few people, namely one Kennith Spence, who I feel merits mention simply because he cracks me up. Outspoken (in the good way, though I am not sure if he would admit to being so), and opinionated (again in the good way), Kennith is a transfer student in his senior year at UD. He came from Oklahoma and also switched majors from Science to Politics when switching schools. Kennith has a girlfriend named Nancy who, I believe is still at OK and they have been together for years. It's adorable :) . He has been a source of much amusement in the last two days, and I am excited that he will be doing some traveling with Denise and I later on in the semester. Nisi and I also met (and sat on the plane next to) a girl named Theresa F. (can't for the life of me spell her last name), who we later found out is one of our suite-mates. She is outgoing and unfailingly sweet to everyone. I haven't spend as much time with her as I would have liked, but she is definitely awesome company.
The plane ride from Dallas to Newark was uneventful. Denise, Theresa, and I chatted and read our books most of the way there. Not much to report . I did sit in the middle of a three seated row, which I normally detest on airplanes. I didn't mind, due to the good company, though I am a window seat girl to the hilt. Thankfully, I was granted this during the long flight to the Rome Fumicino airport.
During our two hour layover in New Jersey, I bought two toothbrushes (which I had inconveniantly forgotten to pack), called Mom to make my last farewell, sniffed back a few tears, called T-mobile to freeze my service, and had lunch with Kennith and Denise. That was my last American Hamburger as well as the last time my phone touched my hand. *sniff!
I sat next to Lacy de la Garza on the following 8.5 hour trip. She is in my year and also made most endearing by her sweetness. We chatted a bit, and then tried to sleep. Two sleeping pills later, I was still AWAKE with the backache from hell. I can't sleep sitting up, it's final. I wasn't in a great state of affairs by the time we hit Rome. For one thing, I was hungry!
The food on both airplanes was abysmal. From Dallas to NJ they gave us this turkey hot dog like thing which tasted like a sponge with mustard. From NJ to Rome they fed us a dinner consisting of six penne noodles, a half dollar sized piece of chicken in desperate need of any flavor whatsoever, a hockey puck named "bread" and the most delicious brownie ever. Later they gave us three grapes, two pieces of melon, and a mini croissant for breakfast. I ate it all. Go me! My digestive system deserves the purple heart.
FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY arriving in Rome, Nisi and I had a tough job finding our bags at baggage claim. I stood there, biting my nails and praying that my bags made it. Thankfully, they had. Us, the sheep, were then loaded onto four busses and shipped to campus. The UD Rome campus is small, but lovely. We have a vinyard! I can't really describe this place for you in words...I wonder if I can upload pictures.......What I can say is that the air here tastes like the breath of life itself. It sounds corny, but there really aren't words. When you live in Italy, you can feel yourself living with every breath of fresh air that passes through your body. Corny? Yeah, I know.
Remember what I said earlier regarding the admin. here running us off our feet? It began immediately upon our arrival. We unloaded, got our room assignments, and had an hour or two to unpack before lunch was served. The rooms here are arranged in suites. When you open the door to the suite you find yourself in a small entrance hall type room with some coat racks and shelves near to the ceiling. Immediately in front of you is the bathroom. To your left is one bedroom and to your right, another. Ours was the one on the right.
The bathroom has a long mirror with two sinks and a shelf, a separate bathroom stall, and two showers each with a neon orange shower curtain. Much better than I expected!!! As I said earlier, Theresa F. is in the other room along with two other girls whose names are beyond me at the moment, which I feel sort of guilty for. They are all very sweet and bubbly girls. Denise and I are joined in our room by Amanda Poulin, also in our year at UD. Amanda is quiet, polite, smart, and (like just about every UD girl I know) uber sweet.
The bedrooms here are set up somewhat awkwardly. You enter through the door and to your left is a long desk with two rows of green shelves above it. The desk is only big enough for two at a time. The shelves, thankfully are more than big enough for the thirty something text books we are each given upon arrival. To the left is a closet with six shelves. We shoved toiletries and undergarments in there. Immediately opposite the door are the beds and more closets. These all take up the entire wall opposite the door and are.....interestingly arranged.
The left side of the wall is a set of bunk beds. Denise ALWAYS is on top, so there was really no question there. Amanda got the bottom bunk. I don't mean she won it in an arm wrestle or anything, I had just never really had a top bunk before and wanted to see what its like. This brings me to the right side of our bed-wall. This has only a top bunk sort of thing--only it is on top of three small closets. It sounds cool, but after two nights I can already say that it is a royal, Roman, pain in the ass. Picture three short closets with hangers for us each to store clothes. All good? Ok, now sitting atop these closets is my loft kind of bed. How do I GET on that bed you might ask? The greenish metal ladder is detachable and hangs from a "ladder hanger" in the middle of the "bed-wall". I have to take the ladder off the hook and attach it to the bed where it hangs in front of one of the closets each time I want to get up to bed. Whoever's closet I happen to hang it in front of is then blocked. I would just hang it in front of mine, but this isn't always a great idea. The place where the ladder is MEANT to hang from is in front of Amanda's closet. She has to move the ladder to get to her closet and I am then a bit stuck. I think I might ask her if we can switch closets, though I think she wants that one because it is closest to her bed. Hmm......dilemma. See what I mean? Ah, well, its nothing really.
Now where was I? Oh yeah, unpacking. In the middle of this mad dash to make beds, hang up clothes, organize desks, shower, etc. Denise and I discovered that our friends who had gone to Rome the previous semester had left us several boxed filled with useful things they didn't end up using towards the end of their trip (deodorant, tampons, soap, cleaning supplies, floss, extra bus tickets, notes, stc.). While I know I will be very thankful for most of these little goodies later on, for a moment there I was a little peeved to have yet more crap to unpack. PLEASE keep in mind that at this point I was hot, stinky, hungry, and sleep deprived. My attitude towards everything was........affected. I think everyone was pretty grumpy at that point, but we had a long day ahead of us. It was only about 9am in Rome. Our already long day was just beginning.
It's 1am now and I am starting to get that loopy dizzy feeling that only an intense need for sleep brings. I think it might be better if I stop now and finish up tomorrow. I promise I will try to catch you up asap. I just want to make sure I don't leave anything out.
Sleep!!!!
Ciao!
Mira
The administration here at the Due Santi campus has had all of us students running around like mad for the last two days. It feels a bit like freshman year orientation all over again. Though classes start tomorrow, we must all still attend orientation meetings in the evening for the next two days. Exhausting!!! There has not been much free time allotted us since our arrival, though I suppose that is due to the fact that they are trying to cope with the necessity to give us so much vital "Rome Survival" info. in such a short time. I feel quite brain dead at the moment, and I have class at 9:45am tomorrow morning!!!
I suppose I should begin at the beginning in order to catch you up on how my last 48 hours here have progressed. My father dropped Denise and I off at the airport on the morning of August 24th and watched as we went through customs---I tried not to tear up both then and while saying goodbye to Mom earlier at home. It wasn't easy. I hate goodbyes.
Nisi and I found the rest of the Romers who would be departing from Dallas for Newark, NJ at the gate and proceeded to sit there eating hash browns and diet coke waiting for our flight. Now I feel I must mention that I entered this Rome semester knowing only about 5 or 6 of the 110 (approximately) students I would be joining in Italy. Much meet and greet to be done!!!
At the airport we met a few people, namely one Kennith Spence, who I feel merits mention simply because he cracks me up. Outspoken (in the good way, though I am not sure if he would admit to being so), and opinionated (again in the good way), Kennith is a transfer student in his senior year at UD. He came from Oklahoma and also switched majors from Science to Politics when switching schools. Kennith has a girlfriend named Nancy who, I believe is still at OK and they have been together for years. It's adorable :) . He has been a source of much amusement in the last two days, and I am excited that he will be doing some traveling with Denise and I later on in the semester. Nisi and I also met (and sat on the plane next to) a girl named Theresa F. (can't for the life of me spell her last name), who we later found out is one of our suite-mates. She is outgoing and unfailingly sweet to everyone. I haven't spend as much time with her as I would have liked, but she is definitely awesome company.
The plane ride from Dallas to Newark was uneventful. Denise, Theresa, and I chatted and read our books most of the way there. Not much to report . I did sit in the middle of a three seated row, which I normally detest on airplanes. I didn't mind, due to the good company, though I am a window seat girl to the hilt. Thankfully, I was granted this during the long flight to the Rome Fumicino airport.
During our two hour layover in New Jersey, I bought two toothbrushes (which I had inconveniantly forgotten to pack), called Mom to make my last farewell, sniffed back a few tears, called T-mobile to freeze my service, and had lunch with Kennith and Denise. That was my last American Hamburger as well as the last time my phone touched my hand. *sniff!
I sat next to Lacy de la Garza on the following 8.5 hour trip. She is in my year and also made most endearing by her sweetness. We chatted a bit, and then tried to sleep. Two sleeping pills later, I was still AWAKE with the backache from hell. I can't sleep sitting up, it's final. I wasn't in a great state of affairs by the time we hit Rome. For one thing, I was hungry!
The food on both airplanes was abysmal. From Dallas to NJ they gave us this turkey hot dog like thing which tasted like a sponge with mustard. From NJ to Rome they fed us a dinner consisting of six penne noodles, a half dollar sized piece of chicken in desperate need of any flavor whatsoever, a hockey puck named "bread" and the most delicious brownie ever. Later they gave us three grapes, two pieces of melon, and a mini croissant for breakfast. I ate it all. Go me! My digestive system deserves the purple heart.
FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY arriving in Rome, Nisi and I had a tough job finding our bags at baggage claim. I stood there, biting my nails and praying that my bags made it. Thankfully, they had. Us, the sheep, were then loaded onto four busses and shipped to campus. The UD Rome campus is small, but lovely. We have a vinyard! I can't really describe this place for you in words...I wonder if I can upload pictures.......What I can say is that the air here tastes like the breath of life itself. It sounds corny, but there really aren't words. When you live in Italy, you can feel yourself living with every breath of fresh air that passes through your body. Corny? Yeah, I know.
Remember what I said earlier regarding the admin. here running us off our feet? It began immediately upon our arrival. We unloaded, got our room assignments, and had an hour or two to unpack before lunch was served. The rooms here are arranged in suites. When you open the door to the suite you find yourself in a small entrance hall type room with some coat racks and shelves near to the ceiling. Immediately in front of you is the bathroom. To your left is one bedroom and to your right, another. Ours was the one on the right.
The bathroom has a long mirror with two sinks and a shelf, a separate bathroom stall, and two showers each with a neon orange shower curtain. Much better than I expected!!! As I said earlier, Theresa F. is in the other room along with two other girls whose names are beyond me at the moment, which I feel sort of guilty for. They are all very sweet and bubbly girls. Denise and I are joined in our room by Amanda Poulin, also in our year at UD. Amanda is quiet, polite, smart, and (like just about every UD girl I know) uber sweet.
The bedrooms here are set up somewhat awkwardly. You enter through the door and to your left is a long desk with two rows of green shelves above it. The desk is only big enough for two at a time. The shelves, thankfully are more than big enough for the thirty something text books we are each given upon arrival. To the left is a closet with six shelves. We shoved toiletries and undergarments in there. Immediately opposite the door are the beds and more closets. These all take up the entire wall opposite the door and are.....interestingly arranged.
The left side of the wall is a set of bunk beds. Denise ALWAYS is on top, so there was really no question there. Amanda got the bottom bunk. I don't mean she won it in an arm wrestle or anything, I had just never really had a top bunk before and wanted to see what its like. This brings me to the right side of our bed-wall. This has only a top bunk sort of thing--only it is on top of three small closets. It sounds cool, but after two nights I can already say that it is a royal, Roman, pain in the ass. Picture three short closets with hangers for us each to store clothes. All good? Ok, now sitting atop these closets is my loft kind of bed. How do I GET on that bed you might ask? The greenish metal ladder is detachable and hangs from a "ladder hanger" in the middle of the "bed-wall". I have to take the ladder off the hook and attach it to the bed where it hangs in front of one of the closets each time I want to get up to bed. Whoever's closet I happen to hang it in front of is then blocked. I would just hang it in front of mine, but this isn't always a great idea. The place where the ladder is MEANT to hang from is in front of Amanda's closet. She has to move the ladder to get to her closet and I am then a bit stuck. I think I might ask her if we can switch closets, though I think she wants that one because it is closest to her bed. Hmm......dilemma. See what I mean? Ah, well, its nothing really.
Now where was I? Oh yeah, unpacking. In the middle of this mad dash to make beds, hang up clothes, organize desks, shower, etc. Denise and I discovered that our friends who had gone to Rome the previous semester had left us several boxed filled with useful things they didn't end up using towards the end of their trip (deodorant, tampons, soap, cleaning supplies, floss, extra bus tickets, notes, stc.). While I know I will be very thankful for most of these little goodies later on, for a moment there I was a little peeved to have yet more crap to unpack. PLEASE keep in mind that at this point I was hot, stinky, hungry, and sleep deprived. My attitude towards everything was........affected. I think everyone was pretty grumpy at that point, but we had a long day ahead of us. It was only about 9am in Rome. Our already long day was just beginning.
It's 1am now and I am starting to get that loopy dizzy feeling that only an intense need for sleep brings. I think it might be better if I stop now and finish up tomorrow. I promise I will try to catch you up asap. I just want to make sure I don't leave anything out.
Sleep!!!!
Ciao!
Mira
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
August 25, 2009 DAY ONE
So, here my adventures begin. I am now in beautiful Marino, Italy where I will be spending the next four months--not including side trips to Florence, Venice, Assisi, Naples, Pompeii, Greece, London, Doublin, Spain, Montenegro, France, Germany, and Austria. That is assuming that all plans actually GO according to plan, which usually doesn't happen.
Marino is a (somewhat) quiet town approximately ten miles from the center of Rome and Vatican City. After thirty-six hours of travel and orientation, all that I really have the energy to report is the mere fact that I made it here safely. Truly, I suppose that is all that really matters at the moment. I am missing everyone back home, but am looking forward to telling you all about my adventures in Europe. I promise my writing will improve after 8 hours of sleep and a decent meal, and hopefully you will find some entertainment value in my ramblings.
Until tomorrow!
Ciao!
Mira
Marino is a (somewhat) quiet town approximately ten miles from the center of Rome and Vatican City. After thirty-six hours of travel and orientation, all that I really have the energy to report is the mere fact that I made it here safely. Truly, I suppose that is all that really matters at the moment. I am missing everyone back home, but am looking forward to telling you all about my adventures in Europe. I promise my writing will improve after 8 hours of sleep and a decent meal, and hopefully you will find some entertainment value in my ramblings.
Until tomorrow!
Ciao!
Mira
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