Ireland...and my first Italian museum

Ciao a tutti! Yes, I have returned to Rome from Ireland and am back to speaking Italian on a daily basis until my brain can no longer form intelligent English sentences. It's funny how your grammar can just get away from you when you are completely immersed in another language...

Ireland, if you haven't heard, is a very quaint country. The entire week I was there was filled with Irish brogues, almost-Americanisms (such as TkMaxx and Eddie Rockett's) and (sometimes green) beer. I flew into Dublin on Wednesday the 16th with the rest of the Americans and Australians who were studying abroad in Europe and were ready for an epic St. Patty's Day. Along the way, I met and held conversations with many people. In and of itself, this wasn't really out of the ordinary, but it took me a little while to figure out why it felt so odd...the reality was that I hadn't really had an introductory conversation with anyone in English for almost two months. Ah, how the time passes! After walking around and exploring Dublin for awhile (and witnessing everyone starting to hit the streets decked out head to toe in green), I met a friend from UD, Katie, and her family, as they were also visiting for the week. We wandered back to her apartment so that I could leave my bag, but then we went out to eat and explored the Temple Bar area, which is one of the larger tourist neighborhoods of Dublin. The morning of the 17th, we all dressed in green and headed to Trinity College to catch the infamous parade. All of the stores up and down the street were closed, with storefronts dressed in green, and people were filling the streets - meaning that although a good number of the streets were completely closed, it was still hard to push through the people. After the parade (and most of us didn't even last that long), we stopped into a bar for a pint - green, of course.

We spent the rest of the day walking around and watching (but not fully partaking) in the shenanigans that have made St. Patrick's Day in Ireland such a tourist trap. After spending the afternoon altogether, Katie and Courtney and I split off to join the rest of the tourists and college students at Temple Bar before heading home.

The next day (Friday) I got up early to catch a bus to Galway so that I could see the Cliffs of Moher. There's really only one phrase I can use to sum up how standing on the edge of that cliff felt: breathtaking. As my new friends Bryan and Elliot decided, God did a pretty great job on that one. Travelling for about 8 hours on a bus that day (to Galway, on the bus tour, and then on to Cork) was completely forgotten once I got up that hill and was able to see the overlook. I'm adding a picture, but I can't accurately convey how awesome they truly are - hope that my crutch of a photo helps! (take a moment to appreciate that I can't even fit their entire length in one picture. think over 600 feet high)

After this amazingness, I jumped on a bus to visit Maureen, another friend from UD. She spent her weekend showing me around her new city, Cork, and it was so much fun learning about a new place from someone who is obviously so in love with her entire experience. We ate fish and chips, scones, the best hot chocolate I've ever had (yes, I was sorry to finish it), watched some rugby, and went to a pub to hear some trag (traditional Irish) music with her friend Carrie. After a few beautiful days in Cork, I headed back to Dublin Sunday evening for one more day of tourism without the madness of St. Patty's. While Katie was at work, I made a second round to some of the tourist spots, but also a first trip to the Guinness factory - who knew that they would include a complementary pint with that entrance fee? That evening, we went out to eat together and then I jumped on yet another bus to the airport, where I hit the climax of every cheap-student-studying-abroad's trip - spending the night at an airport while waiting for an early morning red-eye flight. Although it was a bit uncomfortable, I again, met a lot of interesting people. Travelling from place to place on cheap airlines makes for experiences that are never wanting for people who just want to travel, have fun, and learn about others. I love it!

Overall, Ireland was so much fun - I got to see a whole new part of the world, some more friends from UD, and even got a little bit of family time (not the same as my own family, of course, but it was nice to semi be a part of that dynamic for a while). For the first few hours back in Italy, I almost missed that Irish brogue. However, upon landing at Ciampino (the airport) and having to navigate my way back home in Italian and recognizing sights around me, I realized that there is definitely a reason that I chose to study in Italy - I love it!

Over this last week and a half, life has continued semi-normally. I've gone to classes, wrote my first paper (in Spanish, for my History of Spanish Culture class), went to the Immigration Office to file for a permesso di soggiorno, which is basically permission from the government to live here, and been going on all sorts of little trips around the city with friends from school to discover all sorts of new things. Oh yeah, and my friend Elyse was here this weekend! Elyse is from Boston, but we met in Spain when I was studying Spanish in Salamanca, and she came to Rome this past weekend for a visit. I didn't realize until she came and I became her tour guide how much I know about the city now - not only the sights, monuments, and gelato shops, but also how to get around a city that is twice as big as Columbus (square area) and has around five times the population. One of the most memorable spots (at least for me) was finally making it to the Vatican Museums. Technically not in Rome but in the Vatican City, these museums were the first that I have visited in Italy (and after living here for a month and a half in Rome, I find that somewhat impressive) and they were amazing. The last Sunday of the month is free day in the Museums and they open at 8:30 (and just to make things even more complicated, the spring time change happened this past weekend here), so Elyse and I decided to go along with Marie (Foy, friend from UD). We got there around 7:30 and got inside within the first 20 minutes they were open, unlike those at the end of the line that had to stretch for at least a mile (literally). I think that by spending four hours inside, we were able to see over half of the whole place, but once we got through the Map Room, Raphael's Rooms, and the Sistine Chapel, we were fairly exhausted. But if you ever make it to Rome, this is one stop that shouldn't be missed. I was so impressed by everything that I saw. We finished out the day (after a nap, pizza, and gelato) with Vespers and Mass at San Pietro...and a little shopping. Overall, it was a great weekend, and I'm glad I got to spend it with Elyse.

Well, I'm headed to bed. Tomorrow I'm going to play catchup on homework, and maybe start even working ahead. There's another transportation strike tomorrow, and it's just not worth the headache trying to fight my way into the city along with the rest of the population in order to get to a class that probably won't even happen (because no one else in the class is going to try to go). 

Until next time, or a dopo,

Heidi

La Dolce Vita

Che bella giornata in Roma...
What a lovely day in Rome today! Of course, all of the true Romans are still walking around with sweaters and/or large winter jackets. I tried, but 70 degrees Fahrenheit is just too much - so I took my coat off, but the long sleeved shirt is keeping me warm. How's Ohio?
But really, Rome is such a lovely city. I'm still getting used to the craziness that is Roman driving and public transportation, but it's all just a part of the cultural experience. In case you don't know, crosswalks are optional here - and you really only ever see tourists waiting for the green light. Everyone else just steps out in traffic because they know that the drivers will stop - or at least slow down significantly. My American mind doesn't completely understand why this system is seen as more efficient, but I also don't really know why it is okay for the professor to take a 15 minute cigar break...before he starts class. This is my third week of classes, and I'm almost to the point that I can keep up with the professor's lecture as I take notes - how exciting! I'm only taking four classes this semester, but when added to the classes that I took in Spain, it will end up equaling a full semester. In my free time (before homework and term papers set in) I have been wandering around the city. Once you begin to know Rome, it is much more approachable as a group of smaller towns (which is what it was originally) rather than a big city.
One of the rules of Rome today is that no building can be built higher than San Pietro (St. Peters of Vatican City), so there are no skyscrapers to be found. It is just neighborhood upon neighborhood, each with its own sights, its own traditions, and its own culture - what fun it has been discovering them! I'm not a professional yet, but I'm working on it. For example, I have four go-to gelato shops in four different neighborhoods in Rome. What else does a girl need to know, anyway?
My two favorite places so far are the Vatican (Piazza San Pietro) and the Trevi Fountain (which gets its name from the tre vie, or three streets, that meet there). The Trevi Fountain is just one of those places that you see in every Roman movie that becomes 100% more real once you are there to witness it. The last time I went was with Marie, who is also a student at UD and is living with the Italians at our residence.

The Vatican is literally around the corner from my school (and two blocks down the street), so whenever I have an hour to kill (which is long enough that I want to go somewhere but not quite long enough to go very far) I go to Piazza San Pietro and tourist watch. Somehow it is so much more satisfying to watch tourists with their maps now that I usually don't need one anymore. I've gotten to the point that I can guess where they are from just by their mannerisms and what they are wearing. The Vatican is probably one of the most visited sights in Rome, and I find it super interesting to see people drawn from all over the world to this one place that means so much to me as a Catholic. It's also a great place to just go hang out for an hour or two.

Other daily events would have to include food. Yes, I'm almost a gelato expert (I have four favorite shops across the city) and can also spot the difference between good pizza and tourist traps, but I'm also loving Italian oranges. They aren't shipped from a long way away, and they are called blood oranges - for the most part, like American oranges, but with a hint of red and about 5 times more juicy. Mom, you'd be so proud - I eat one every day.

Rome is great and all, but one of the other great parts about it is that it's close enough to a lot of interesting places, so we can take day trips. This past Friday, about half of Rome went on strike - including a number of schools, firefighters, and all public transportation. Since we couldn't do anything in the city anyway, Marie, Amanda and I (all from UD - Go Flyers!) went to Assisi. It was a great day trip, full of clean air, open countryside, castles, and Medieval art - and of course, a lot of saints (Saint Francis, Saint Clare...). Overall, it was a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the life in the city, and Assisi is such a beautiful little town - we all loved it.

As I finish up this post, I'm going to share a little story from earlier today. I originally sat down in a park right beside Castel Sant'Angelo to write this blog because it has been such a beautiful day. The park that I chose is relatively unvisited by tourists and is below street level, so most of the sounds from the street are also lost in the trees. I was online and a friend called me on skype. While Greta and I were having our conversation, a little two-year-old Italian waddled over to where I was sitting. I looked at him for a little bit, and he looked back at me, and ended up wanting to watch what I was watching. So I continued my conversation for a little while, but was soon joined by his older sister and his mother, all three of which had just arrived from Venice for three days in Rome. After a short and somewhat awkward conversation between all of us, the family went on their way. This sort of thing happens every day - not necessarily with toddlers, but with everyday people who just want to learn about everyone else. It's why I'm here, but it's also pretty cool when the feeling is mutual!

Early tomorrow morning, I fly to Ireland to visit two friends from UD. I'm sure that when I come back, I'll have more to share with you. Until then, ciao!