pre-pub crawl.

Accidently skipped my first class today. WHOOOPS! Unfortunately both Lauren and I are sound sleepers and do NOT wake up to my quiet unreliable alarm clock. We now have two set for tomorrow morning, so hopefully we will be up in time! But it was my first class and people were being pulled out of classes all day due to all the legal procedures we needed to complete for staying in Rome. After that tedious process was finished I had my first sociology class abroad which I think I will enjoy. She is from England, with a very thick accent. But we will be studying fashion and design and she seems to have a good idea of how to understand the topic from a sociological perspective, including the history of it throughout the entire country. I have 3 classes tomorrow so I hopefully I will enjoy those as well. I think the work load will be harder than I initially expected.

I forgot to mention one detail about Villa Hadrian that I found to be incredibly interesting. Hadrian was the emperor from 118-138 AD and one of the finest Roman architects. He built this imperial palace which covered over 300 acres of land, and there was one structure I was particularly fond of. It was an incredible egyptian structure which was a courtyard that held a long pool with many statues of naked men surrounding it. Hadrian created this for his young gay lover who committed suicide in egypt. The structure was a typical setting for egyptian parties, therefore Hadrian built this egyptian grounds to honor his young lover and commemorate him within his palace. I guess there were many closeted gay Italians as well to the Greeks Anyways, I just wanted to include that little fact about our Monday adventure. Another little memo I wanted to include about the Monastery (our tuesday adventure) was that it honestly felt like we were in a piece of heaven. Sounds so cheesey, but it was so surreal to be on top of this mountain in this beautiful church, possibly the most in touch with god physically (not emotionally) I will probably ever be. I guess I still have to face the Vatican, so I will get back to you on that. Though it was all that beauty and heavenly atmosphere, don't doubt that it was just a bit eery as well. Being in the presence of all these monks who have taken life vows to chastity (real bummer), stability (never being allowed to leave), and poverty (living as minimally as possible always). That takes some serious dedication. Sorry if there is anyone who considers themselves highly religious, but I grew up without any religion and my mom has attached me with the name of a Heathen. It had a very bittersweet feel. I feel as though I will remember things that I will want to share and will have to go back and talk about previous days to inform you of them. Hope it doesn't get too confusing.

After class we went and had some sub-par lunch. Nika showered while I relaxed and tried to organize, which I feel like I am constantly doing because I don't have enough space in this tiny room for all my stuff! Others went off to Upim (Italy's version of Target for those of you who forgot--MOM), since they had class a few hours later. Nika and I however had the rest of the day off, so we decided to take our first adventure to downtown Rome! We took the bus which was much easier than expected. We had to wait for about 25 minutes, but then of course there was a second bus right behind us the whole way downtown. On the ride we offered our seats to an older man, but he exclaimed in english with a thick accent "I am still very very young!" and refused to take the seats with a huge grin on his face. I thought it was quite adorable. I don't know if I have mentioned this before but we are living in a rich suburb right outside of the city, many gated communities etc which is much different than any place I have lived before. But soon after the kind old man passed up our offer, two middle aged women in long fur coats stared us down until we got the clue to give them our seats. Anyways, our first day here the JFRC (John Felice Rome Center) gave us a book called "Rome with Kids," which has been incredibly helpful to most of us in the program. So I studied that while on the bus as well. We got off at the very last stop in Piazza di Cavour, an incredible location to get dropped off. The Spanish Steps were only a 10 minute walk, same with the Vatican, and the Pantheon. The 990 takes us directly to the heart of the city, and we can get off before this stop and end up in Campo di Fiori, Piazza Navona, and many other ideal locations to walk around in.

We were considering heading over to the Vatican since it was so close, but figured since it was already 4 in the afternoon we might as well see some other sights and save a full day for the sights of the Vatican and St. Peters Basilica etc. Instead we headed towards the Spanish Steps, and got lost several times on our way, but that was part of our goal. On our path we crossed the Tiber River for the first time. That was fairly exciting as well. There are limited bridges, so we were fortunate enough to find one on the first try. On the other side of the bridge we saw a huge beautiful church called San Rocco, as well as what seemed like an art museum for children. It was called Bruno Munan. Build a bear is the closest affiliation Nika and I could come up with, but the children were making incredible paper crafts instead. We want to return to that museum of fun someday before we leave. Hopefully we can begin to understand how they have such artistic talent in this country. As we observed these two buildings walking down Via de Ripetta, we spotted Piazza del Popolo by the large Obelisk standing right smack in the middle of it. It is Rome's largest obelisk which was shipped from Egypt after the first Emperor of Rome--Augusta Ceasar, conquered it. The obelisk is covered in really cool hieroglyphics and there are large statues on either side of it, as though they were balancing the tall tower in place. There were also two enormous matching churches that stand side by side on the east side of the Piazza. Chiesa di Santa Maria are the names of them. Someone offered for us to buy some socks here as well. We were in no need of some pink and blue striped socks. So we wondered and observed for a bit more and continued onward with our Roman adventure.

We finally made our way to our original destination of Piazza di Spagna. We traveled down Via di Babuina which we slowly figured out on our own, but confirmed later on by the books, that this street was the main shopping center for the luxury and top of the line designers. We saw Prada, we saw Gucci, we saw Bvlgari, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Chanel, and we even saw Tiffany & Co! (Thats for you Haley). I took pictures of all these stores as we walked to the Piazza. The stairs were beautiful leading up the to church at the top of the hill. There was a nice little fountain at the bottom of the Spanish Steps as well. Once we reached the top of those countless steps we entered another classy church, and we were far enough up to see far across the city. We could see several domes, including that of St. Peters. It was an astounding view. We trudged back down, and decided we had done a full days work and needed to get some food into our systems asap. In walking back we passed the Spanish Embassy as well which was quite gorgeous in itself. Its almost as though every corner you turn you find some amazing piece of architecture. Rome is quite the elegant city if I say so myself. Its totally possible that you have NO idea what the building, structure, piazza, fountain, or sculpture may be, but its incredible none the less. We passed a couple more shops including Mango, the North Face store, and Timberland. In trying to find that ONE bridge that crosses back to the Piazza that we needed to be at (Piazza Cavour), we found a stand with the flags that I am dying to buy--the rainbow flag that says "Pace" on it. I'm sure most of you have seen it before, but I can't wait to get one and hang it in my room. I love rainbows and I love peace. What can I say? I'm a colorful peacemaker at heart... or something. Anyways, in attempting to get directions, the lady quickly started speaking to us in english because we had lost all hope of understanding anything she was saying in Italian. Again, I literally can't wait until I have some proficiency in the language. She ended up sending us in the semi-wrong direction, but she told us that she was with several different organizations who were working to organize a demonstration tomorrow in downtown Rome to fight for Palestine. She sort of briefed us on the topic, and we acted naive as though she was informing us of something we didn't already know. After about 10 minutes, we continued on our way. Nika and I were both thrilled that there would be this demonstration going on tomorrow downtown, and planned on going until we realized none of our documentation is final, and if were to get in trouble and god forbid arrested... we would most likely get deported. So that plan is out.

We ran into a couple friends in search of gelatos as we headed back to the bus, it began to drizzle and as it became a little more chilly it turned into a light flurry. Once we got on the bus we chatted about our productive day, and then asked two much older women this time (but again in long fur coats) how to get to Upim. They were extremely kind and told us exactly which stop to get off at and how to get there. Nika and I FINALLY made it to Upim. We found it hard to believe, but it was quite the nifty little store. It has essentially everything you could ever possibly need, just like target. The only thing it lacked was school supplies, which most of the students at the Rome center are in need of. But I got some champagne glasses to drink our Italian wine out of, and then headed to the grocery section. I won't bore you with the details of my grocery list, but I definitely got some wine, coco puffs, and peach juice! My favorite. We were rushing to make it back in time for dinner so we hopped in a cab, and you will never believe it. Once we told the man "Via Massimi, 114-A. Monte Mario," (Monte Mario is the neighborhood), he had no idea where to go! We must have bad karma with taxi's for who knows what reason. But he found his way with a little direction from us and we finally made it back around 7:00.

We dumped our groceries and headed to the "formal attire" dinner. We had not been informed of this so we showed up disheveled and in jeans. We snagged some food and wine and headed to Renaldo's Cafe downstairs. We ate our food which was better than normal, probably because the administration had to eat it and was participating as well. It was a reception for the vice-president who had just made a speech to the whole Rome center. I guess he told the group he hoped for us to gain six things: friendship, knowledge, exploration about yourself and the community, and to carry on the success and reputation of the JFRC. I was slightly disappointed I missed it, but heard that he had limited ideas of his own. He openly admitted that he makes decisions solely based on how he thinks Abraham Lincoln and Jesus Christ would handle the circumstances he is faced with. Not exactly my cup of tea. Anyways, Lauren and I played some ping pong for a while which I always enjoy. And we finally came upstairs to relax for the evening.

Others came to hang out and drink wine before they went out for the evening, like I have said, our room is the designated hang out room which is fine by both Lauren and I. We are participating in a Pub Crawl tomorrow all over Rome, so she and I decided to stay in tonight and take it easy. While everyone was here, we booked our hostel for Barcelona, 11 Euros a night. Pretty darn cheap if you ask me. We are all getting pretty excited about that trip considering its 3 of our 21st birthdays. I would have never known I would be celebrating my 21st birthday in Rome and Barcelona, but it doesn't sound too shabby after all. I am hoping to do a big celebration upon my return to the US with family and friends to not only celebrate coming home but my 21st as well. I'll miss spending it with those who I love the most, but I think these people will more than suffice.

Updates for future planning--I am considering going to Paris for Valentines day. How romantic and classic would that be? Nika wants to go, and I have a friend Brittany who is studying abroad there now as well. I am trying to convince my high school friend Molly who is in London to come as well but I don't know if that will all happen in such short notice. On top of that the Festivale in Venice is that next weekend which we are all DYING to go to. We will probably just take the train up there for the weekend and enjoy the celebration all weekend long. Take some water taxis along the way. Venice is my dream city. I have wanted to go there ever since I was a child. It seems heavenly to me. I will keep you posted on those trips though. Prague is a must and we are trying to orchestrate when that will happen.

Just a random fact: I LOVE the clementines here. I haven't stopped eating them essentially since I got there. I eat about 5 a day. Maybe more. I heard there is a fruit wagon down the street where you can buy cheap fruit, and there is a huge market we all plan on going to Sunday morning as well. Last random fact of the night because its 3:30 am, and I don't understand WHY I am still awake. Especially since I choose not to go out so I can get a decent nights sleep since that has yet to occur. Anyways, I have to buy flats. Girls do NOT wear tennis shoes out at night, which is a REAL bummer for me. For those of you who know me, know how much I hate flats, and I have always refused to wear them, but the only fancy shoes I have here are heals. And every girl has already discovered it is impossible to function in heels on these cobble stone streets. So I guess I am finally conceding and giving in to the fashion statement of flats.

OOOoooh, unfortunately going to bed this late plus having paper thin walls means I get to hear a drunken girl puking down the hallway. Again, those of you who know me, know how much I HATE vomiting. Eeeeew.

Goodnight everyone. Buona Notte.
Love,
Nora Claire.