lauren's in rome

Dublin

2008-04-23T15:02:00.005-04:00

So, what to say about Dublin? It was definitely the most, uhm, interesting trip I’ve been on since being in Europe. I’d say the 3 hour plane ride from Rome to Dublin kinda set the stage for the trip… There was a lot (at times too much) turbulence and our landing was less than safe. The wind was blowing somewhere near 40mph and with the wind chill, it was about 35 degrees… And we’ve been getting used to Rome’s 70 degree temperatures, so this was a bit of a shock. Of course we came prepared with our jackets and scarves, but I almost wished I had brought a few more layers.

Upon arriving, we hopped on the 10 euro bus transport that took us within a few blocks of our hostel. It was so nice passing actual homes with real front doors instead of the usual apartment building with the door that lets you into all 20 apartments. It only deepened my wish to get home!

Now that I’ve brought up the haunting word “hostel” let me tell you about our slightly less than wonderful Irish hostel experience. From the ratings on hostelworld.com this place looked decent and was a good price for some of the other shabby hostels in Dublin, so that’s the only reason we booked it. It’s called Litton Lane Hostel and is on Litton Lane (imagine that!). It was once an old recording studio where bands like The Cranberries, U2, and Van Morrison recorded some of their albums, which was a cool piece of history to the building. There were lots of wall paintings attributing to its old musical days, but that was about the only cool thing about this place, except for the fact that the only DVDs they had available for rent were Top Gun and Hostel (hmm, seems a little inappropriate).

We were staying in a 10-bed mixed dorm, meaning we were sharing a room with 8 others, both men and women… Except in this case it was mostly men. Now I have a higher than most tolerance for stinky boys, but this was just nasty. One guy had the strongest foot odor you can imagine that lingered in the room long after he’d checked out. The guy sleeping above me had explosive gas while he slept. The guy across from Liz had a pleasant surprise emerging from his boxer shorts in the morning. So it was just a gross experience. Not to mention it looked like the sheets and bedspreads hadn’t been washed in a few months. Oh, and the bathrooms reminded me a little bit of summer camp, except a lot worse. So there’s that.

Besides the horrible weather and hostel, Dublin was a great trip. We hit all of the typical tourist spots including Trinity College, The Book of Kells, Chester Beatty Library, Temple Bar, and Guinness Storehouse. We also ate some different ethnic cuisines such as Thai (my first Thai experience) and Mexican. Let me just go ahead and say that if any of you are planning on going to Ireland anytime soon, make sure your wallet is full of cash. Everything is pricey. Our dinners ran us about 18-20 euro each… And that’s just for one dish and some tap water.

I’m definitely glad I hit the British Isles while in Europe, especially towards the end, because it was so nice being able to speak English and carry on conversations with locals. It got me excited for my return home in approximately 17 days!

Only 2 days left of class for me, then it’s exams and packing!

Budapest, Hungary!

2008-04-13T10:30:00.009-04:00

It's 4:30pm here in Rome and I'm just waking up. Liz and I left our hostel in Budapest this morning at 4am to catch a taxi to the airport for our 6am flight. It was about as fun as you'd imagine it to be. It's taking a lot for me to go ahead and write this entry simply because I'm still exhausted and want to go back to bed, but I need to write this before I forget how amazing the weekend was.

We arrived in Budapest (pronounced 'Budapescht') Friday morning around 9am and found our hostel quite easily after a 20 minute train ride. We stayed at the Carpe Noctem hostel, which has about a 98% satisfaction rating on HostelWorld.com, so we figured it'd be awesome. Well, I guess some could consider it awesome if they wanted to be drunk or high the entire time they were there (which there were many in that state). I'll keep the hostel complaints/description limited, but let's just say we never really knew who the owners were the whole time we were there, one girl that we did know worked there decided doing sexual things with a carrot would be funny, Liz woke up to one of our roommates having sex with another (nasty) guy at the hostel (I was awake but was unaware this was happening because I had my trusty earplugs shoved in my ears), and the towels smelled like wet dog. Other than that, it was a good time. :)

Friday we decided to hike up to the top of the Citadella hill which has the best view of Budapest you can get for free. It was quite a hike and I think Liz and I made it even harder for ourselves because we just wanted to hurry up and get up there so we took cut thrus that ended up being a straight incline. The view was just as amazing as everyone said it'd be. It was definitely worth it. Liz has a better picture of me up there, so I'll wait for her to upload hers.

After the Citadella, we hiked back down and walked by some of the major sights in Budapest including the Great Synagogue and State Opera House. On the way back to the hostel we grabbed lunch at a place called Al-Amir and got the best gyros in town. One thing I particularly loved about Budapest was the abundance of different ethnic foods. That's one thing I wished Rome had more of. We also decided to be a little gluttonous and got waffles with chocolate pudding in the middle (quite a different taste from the typical spread of Nutella).

We headed back to the hostel to rest for a little while and get ready for our first Hungarian meal. We headed out for dinner around 8pm and went to Pesti Vendeglo, which was written about in the book I bought about Budapest. It said something like this was a good place to go for those having Hungarian for the first time, so it sounded perfect. I got a dish that had roasted piglet, steamed red cabbage, and potato wedges. It was such a dense meal. Neither Liz nor I could finish our plate! But it was delicious and very different than anything else I'm used to.

After dinner we went to another place my book mentioned, a jazz club called Fat Mo's. We were both exhausted so we didn't stay very long, but we did get to see a woman eat from her birthday cake that was a man's crotch. It was highly entertaining.

Friday night was the excellent night where Liz woke up to the sex happening right above her. Poor girl. That's all I feel like saying right there.

Saturday we left the hostel around 10am and headed to an outdoor cafe for breakfast. I got a cappuccino and french toast. The french toast was literally deep fried. It was great, but a little too heavy for breakfast. The great thing about many of the restaurants in Budapest is they all provide fleece blankets to their guests that sit outside. It was very nice!

After breakfast we decided to catch one of the hop-on/hop-off buses, although we never hopped on or hopped off. It was a good way to see the remaining sights that we hadn't seen yet. It was pretty chilly sitting on top of the open-air bus with the freezing cold wind, but we did it anyway.

After the bus tour, we met up with my friend Adam who worked at Camp Harrison last summer. He was born and raised in Budapest, so it was great to be with someone who was so familiar with the area. We went to lunch at a small cafe and then headed over to the House of Terror museum. It was an awesome museum. Highly recommend it to anyone going to Budapest.

Next we headed to a bar/cafe called something in Hungarian that meant the "hole" bar. It was a bar dug into the ground. Pretty cool. There was a band setting up to play later that night so we got to hear their sound check and a couple of their songs. Once they started charging people to get in for the concert, we left and went to a bar with one of Adam's friends. He took us to his favorite spot called the Library on his university's campus. It was a small, underground bar with another decent band playing Cake cover songs. Once we'd had a few beers there (including some awesome Czech beers) we headed to yet another bar that Adam and his friend, David referred to as a "ruin bar" simply because it looks like it could be ruins. It was in a run down building and the bar basically consisted of wooden tables and chairs in a big empty room with cement walls and cement floors. We met up with another one of their friends there. After a few more beers there it was definitely time for bed. We knew we had to get up at 4am, so we said our goodbyes and headed back to the hostel. Adam prebooked a taxi for us so we wouldn't have to worry about it in the morning... And sure enough the taxi was waiting outside for us when we got up this morning!

All in all, it was a great trip. I'm so glad I got to get out of Rome. I'd been getting pretty sick of sitting in the apartment every weekend so this was a nice, refreshing change. We'll be leaving for Dublin, Ireland on Friday for another crazy weekend!

A good city.

2008-04-07T07:11:00.002-04:00

I've been exercising a lot lately (on top of the great distances I walk everyday) and I've really come to realize what a great city Rome is. Only in Rome can you go on an hour long run and pass all of these sights.

Colosseum

Circus Maximus

Palatine Hill

Piazza Venezia

Largo Argentina

Tiber River

I passed many more not so well known sights as well. But really, that doesn't even compare to my Rock Hill or Columbia runs where all I see are houses and the occasional park. I'll be sad when that's all I get to look at again.

Future

2008-04-02T14:14:00.002-04:00

This past week I've been thinking (probably too much) about where my life will take me after graduation next year. It seems so far away, but I know it'll be here before I know it. With a lot of friends graduating in a matter of weeks, I can't imagine the stress/excitement that they're experiencing, especially for those who still have no idea what they'll be doing a month after graduation. I've started thinking about all of my options, and although I'm glad I have a few, I still have no idea what path I'll take. I'll rank my options in the order that I prefer them now (and by now I mean April 2, 2008 at 8:19pm). It could be totally different in 30 minutes.

1) My first option, and the one I most prefer at the moment, is graduate school. Although I haven't taken my actual marketing research course yet (I'll be taking it in the fall), I think that's the area I'll be most happy working in. More job security. A stable work schedule. Lots of math (which we all know I enjoy). There are only three schools (that I know of) in the US that offer Master's of Marketing Research degrees: University of Texas-Arlington, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and University of Georgia. Of course I'm most interested in the program at UGA simply because it's closer to home, I'm more familiar with it, and I have a connection there. The program is very competitive, but I'm going to apply and cross my fingers. The only thing getting in the way of applying is the GRE, which I'll be preparing for this summer. The program is only a year long and starts in June. So I'd be 22 years old with a master's degree and no work experience. But hey, it sounds okay to me.

2) My second option, which I've only started considering in the past few days, is to become a Leadership Consultant for my sorority. I have many friends from my chapter that became LC's after graduating, and all of them have said great things about it. Of course it's extremely challenging because you're constantly traveling and counting on other people to get you from A to B, but they've all said they'd do it again if they could. I think it'd be a great way to see the country and get to meet women from all areas. However, I have two concerns with this option. One is the constant traveling and being away from home. I know it'd be a serious struggle for Mike and me, but I guess if we did it for these 4 months, we can do it for 9 months (since I'd be able to see him more than just a week). My second concern is having to entire the workforce afterwards. After graduation I'll be fresh in the field and fresh out of classes. I'll still be in that "mode" and be able to think in "IMC" terms. I'm worried that if I take this 9 months to a year off after graduation I won't be as "fresh" with everything. But that's probably just me stressing.

3) My third option, the most obvious option, would be to get a job. If I were to do this, hopefully I could get my first job in the NC/SC area so I can still be somewhat close to home during this scary yet exciting point in my life. I'm hoping to have another internship before graduating that could maybe lead to an actual job, but I think that's wishful thinking with the course schedules I'm planning on having these last two semesters. I'm trying to do as much networking as possible right now to hopefully start up some conversations about post graduation.

So there are my three options. I know these options will change and evolve as the next year goes by, but I thought I'd go ahead and document my feelings now. Sometimes I feel like I think too much about my future, but then I see those who don't think at all and end up in the ditch. So I guess it's better to over prepare than to not prepare at all!

Random Thought.

2008-04-01T11:41:00.002-04:00

I had a random thought today as I was washing dishes getting ready to go to class. I don't know whether this is related to living in Italy or not, but I've come to like a lot more foods that I despised only a few months ago. For example, before going to Italy, I hated mushrooms. I'd pick them off my salad, pizza, or whatever else they happened to be on. I think it was a pasta dish at Gattabuia that changed this for me. My favorite dish there is a thick spaghetti-type noodle with a creamy sausage and mushroom sauce. I could eat endless mushrooms with that pasta. Now I know what you're thinking... Sure, you can eat anything when it's covered in cream sauce and cheese, but I've actually started adding mushrooms to many things I eat. I haven't quite acquired a taste for plain, raw mushrooms, but if they're cooked I can eat them any way. Even today, I sautéed some mushrooms and added them to my salad and panini. Delicious.

Another example of this is red wine. Before leaving for Italy I tried a couple of red wines and instantly gagged and wanted to spit them back out. Now this could have something to do with the quality of the wine in Italy compared to Kroger wine back home, but I can honestly say I enjoy red wine more than white here. Chianti is my favorite.

A final example of this, even though there are many more, is salami and other cold cut meats. Whenever my dad ordered a Subway sandwich with cold cuts I always found it to be disgusting. Now I can't seem to make a sandwich without adding a slice of salami or two. I can't believe the flavor I've been missing! Liz and I bought some turkey the first few weeks we were here, but once we discovered the 20 different types of salami and all of the amazing flavor they add to a sandwich, we haven't bought turkey again. It's quite amazing.

Well, I'm writing this from class where we're watching The Chronicles of Narnia and even though I've seen it many times, I better get back to it since I'll have a quiz on the tiniest details on Thursday! Arrivederci i miei amici!

Highlight of the Florence sights

2008-03-31T05:44:00.001-04:00

Highlight of the Florence sights
Originally uploaded by laurensinrome

We'll go counter clockwise, starting at the top:
- Ponte Vecchio (with the Medici's secret tunnel on top)
- Doors of the Baptistry (said to be the start of Renaissance Art)
- Duomo
- Smallest car I've ever seen
- Rape of the Sabine women statue (This isn't the real one, but cameras weren't allowed in the museum where the real one is held)

2008-03-31T05:41:00.002-04:00

Spring break comes to an end.

2008-03-29T16:17:00.004-04:00

An eventful week has passed since I last posted, but once again I won't go into it all simply for the sake of those reading. My mom visited with her friend Fennell, and after a canceled flight, a 10-hour layover in London, and no luggage, she finally made it to Rome. We ended up getting her bags on Tuesday (she arrived Sunday). It wasn't too bad, but it definitely could have been a better journey for her!

Her friend didn't have as much "luck" as her. We were on our first day of sightseeing in Rome and her wallet was stolen from her purse. Apparently nobody warned her of the danger of pickpockets in Rome! So here's a future warning to all those considering a Roman holiday: WATCH YOUR PURSE!

The highlight of their trip was our trip to Florence Wednesday night. We took the first-class train on the way there, which was very nice. It's only a 1hr 45min ride, so it wouldn't have been bad either way, but it was definitely nice to sit in big seats and have free drinks. We stayed in a nice hotel in the center of Florence and saw all of the necessary sights including the Duomo, L'Accademia museum (where the David is held), and the Uffizi museum. Florence is so small compared to Rome, but it was a nice change from the hustle bustle of Rome.

Oh! And how could I forget that I got the coolest leather jacket and purse from the outdoor leather markets in Florence. I'm super excited about them both!!

I still have a few days left of spring break, but I'm already dreading going back to class on Tuesday. It'll be okay though. I can't believe I will be on my way home six weeks from tomorrow! Time flies!

Good day.

2008-03-22T15:16:00.003-04:00

You know it's a good day when all you've done is eat and watch movies. Woke up around 11am, cooked some eggs, watched American Pie, and took a shower. Ate a cheeseburger, watched most of American Gangster, watched 3 episodes of The Riches, 5 episodes of Cycle 9 ANTM, cooked dinner, and now I'm watching Scream. How great is that? However, I am glad I actually have things to do tomorrow. And I'm so excited those things include picking up my mom!

It's been too long!

2008-03-21T10:50:00.005-04:00

In order to avoid making this entry eight pages long, I'm going to attempt a bullet list entry. Things have been crazy around here lately and I finally have a chance to tell you about it all! So here we go...

* Will visited two weeks ago. It was great to see him. We did a lot of hanging out and catching up while he was here. Went to all the essential sights, of course, and spent a couple of nights having fun at Scholar's (which is our new favorite hangout -- an Irish pub).

* Mike and Ross came next. I was so happy to see Mike. The time apart didn't change a thing and I can't wait to see him again. Having Ross here was great too. It was nice to have two guys to hang out with. They could do their own thing while Liz and I were in class and we went on fun double dates every night. Mike left this morning around 5am.

* Midterms went well. Got pretty good grades on all of them, surprisingly. With all of the visitors it's been basically impossible to get any school work done, so I've got to get caught up once spring break is over.

* Speaking of spring break... It's spring break! All of my roommates left this morning for their trips, so I'm in the apartment by myself til Sunday when my mom and Fennell arrive. Needless to say, there has already been lots of cleaning, grocery shopping, and laundry-washing already. The apartment will probably be spotless by the time they get here. My mom and Fennell arrive Sunday and we are planning on doing the "Rome thing" Monday and Tuesday. We're going to Florence Wednesday and returning to Rome Thursday night for more Rome fun on Friday. They leave Saturday morning. Roommates get back Saturday night.

* I register for classes for next semester pretty soon. CRAZY. I don't like to think about it. Right now the schedule I have planned is going to be pretty rough, but I gotta do it if I'm going to graduate in May!

* Oh, and exciting news! Liz and I have booked our trips for April. We're going to Budapest, Dublin, and Venice! I can't wait!

Well, that wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it might be. Sorry it wasn't too detailed, but hopefully I'll have a little more time from now on to update. Hope you're all well!

Roman Sunset

2008-03-13T18:42:00.000-04:00

Video I made from watching the sun set from the Spanish Steps. Enjoy.

Stress, Stress, Stress!

2008-03-12T11:07:00.002-04:00

You'd think after midterms were over I'd be free from all stress. Not exactly. Tomorrow I have two presentations and an essay test. Exciting, right? I have an italian presentation where I have to speak on anything for 3-4 minutes. What I've written takes me about 2 minutes, but I'm honestly not concerned there. Immediately after that, I have to present a reading in my religion class. I'm expected to take up most of the class period... Yikes. That's a lot of talking. Then, immediately after that, I get to go take the essay test!

But the good news is, that'll probably be all I have to do until after spring break. And MIKE COMES FRIDAY. That's the best news right there. I can't wait to see him. Anyway, I don't know why I decided to post considering I am running out of time to get all of this stuff done! Wish me luck!

Midterms

2008-03-05T07:03:00.002-05:00

Midterms are upon us and I must say I'm not nearly as stressed as I would be if I were at Winthrop. I had my religion midterm yesterday and she gave us all of the questions that were going to be on it last week, so we had plenty of time to prepare. Pretty sure I did well on that one... Don't see how I couldn't have.

Tomorrow I have my history of rome and italian midterms. Not too worried about either of them. I've done fairly well on the two italian quizzes we've had so far, so I don't think it'll be too difficult. I'm in the library right now "studying" for these two exams and I've never seen the library so packed with people. It was hard for me to find a place to sit. Crazy.

Will arrives on Friday and I'm super excited! Midterms will be over and it'll be time to have fun! Ciao for now!

And so it begins.

2008-03-01T15:55:00.004-05:00

The month of visitors has officially begun. My dad arrived in Rome Thursday morning and will be here until Tuesday. It's been so nice seeing a familiar face and having someone to take around the city. We've eaten many delicious meals and have already seen almost all of the famous sites in two days. I think we're going to try some less well-known sites tomorrow along with completing the necessary list of things to do. Three of my roommates are in Brussels, Belgium this weekend and the other two are out with their friends, so I'm hanging out in the apartment by myself. I must say, it's a nice break. It's so quiet and peaceful in the apartment (except for the occasional cat squeal from the cat alley outside).

This past week was a busy one, including another well-loved Friday makeup day. I swear, JCU tries to screw its students in any way possible. I don't think they understand the concept of studying abroad and traveling while studying abroad. But anyway.

I made a pretty big decision this week regarding my summer plans. I received an email from my boss at Camp Harrison from last summer suggesting that I apply for the head female counselor position for this summer. It was something I never considered, but once it was suggested to me, I thought it could be a great idea. Before this offer, my summer plans were pretty nonexistent except for my plans to be in Columbia, working a lame job, and having a whole lot of free time. Although camp is basically the complete opposite of "a whole lot of free time" I think I'll be ready for it. The only not-so-great thing about camp is that I'll only have 2 weeks after getting home from Rome to pack up and move again. It'll be a stressful two weeks, but I think it'll be enough time. So I've sent in my application and plan to hear about an interview this week. I'll update you once I know.

Well, that's about it for now. It's a very chill weekend, which is nice considering next week is midterms (already?). The semester is flying by...

Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure.
Dad and his fellow polizia

Dad and me at the Vatican

Switzerland!

2008-02-25T10:24:00.005-05:00

I'm not sure now is the right time to be writing this because I want to tear out all of my muscles above my waist, but I can't do anything else besides sit on the computer, so I guess it'll work out. I also need to go ahead and make a disclaimer: My space bar has been acting funky lately, so if there are a lot of words that have 2 spaces in between them, that's why. I'm too lazy to go back and fix them right now, so you'll have to ignore them.

Now to the good part.

This past weekend in Switzerland could quite possibly qualify as one of the best weekends of my life. It was everything a weekend vacation should be. I just wish we could have skipped the whole 12-hour bus ride part.

After surviving the hell that was the bus ride, the weekend was fabulous. We arrived in Interlaken around 7am (after sleeping for about 2 hours total on the bus) and had the whole day ahead of us. Liz and I had already decided that we were going to ski both days we were there simply because we're in the Swiss Alps and we couldn't justify doing anything else. I'll just say that I don't think I'll ever be able to ski in the US, especially NC or anywhere on the East coast really, without hating it. The runs lasted over an hour and we basically skied from one town to another and had to ride a train back to the top. Beautiful.

We also went night sledding Saturday night. It was crazy. I thought the ground would be at least a little lit up, but not at all. It made it that much more awesome. All you could really see was the white of the snow and the black of the edge of the slope (otherwise known as a cliff). There were times where I was probably going 30 mph down a snow path about 5 feet wide. I felt so adventurous. Some of the roommates did NOT enjoy the whole cliff risk, but I thought it made it that much more fun. We had a traditional Swiss dinner afterwards, which was good, but doesn't even compare to my love for Italian food. We had cheese fondue, hashbrowns with an egg on top, and beer. Definitely different than the pasta and pizza we've become accustomed to here.

I can't believe all of my visitors start coming this week! I also can't believe February is almost over! Time is FLYING by. Soon it'll be April and I'll be getting ready to come home. Ah! I don't want to think about it.

So here's the schedule for visitors:

Thursday 2/28 - Tuesday 3/4 = Dad
Friday 3/7 - Thursday 3/13 = Will
Friday 3/14 - Friday 3/21 = Mike & Ross (for half of the week)
Sunday 3/24 - Saturday 3/30 = Mom & Fennell

I can't wait! Here are some pictures from the weekend and a link to the video!

Our hostel, Balmer's Herberge

The video will be posted once it is processed by YouTube.

Before I get to that.

2008-02-25T03:19:00.005-05:00

Before I update you all on the amazing weekend I had in Switzerland, I figured I'd cut and paste the emails I've been receiving from a Gary Westfall. They're pretty freaking hilarious, and if he thinks I'm his daughter, that makes it even better. Know your own daughter's email!

Subject: Auto Insurance
Here is a copy of the insurance coverage that I buy.
Use it for the limits of coverage when you shop around for insurance.
The car info is also on the page.
Will be mailing the title to you this week so you need to make getting insurance a priority.
Love,
Dad

Subject: Hello
Hi Joe & Michael:
Lauren needs your mailing address to send you something related to Susan's 50th birthday.
Send it to me too so that I will have it. Cell phone number too please.
call me on my cell if you need to 804/402-0139
Hope things are well. Only 6 months until Holden!
Gary Westfall

Now for an email from Joe who is referred to in the above email...

Subject: Our home address and cell number
Hey Lauren....hope all is well in Atlanta. I am so proud of your accomplishment of getting a new career started....after all the drama last summer, it worked out perfectly as it should. Heard you have a b-friend.....cute? Of course. Gary said you have a need for our info, so here it is: 3500 N. Lake Shore Dr. #13B. Chicago, IL, 60657. Cell...773 425 3823. Let me know whats up.....Joe and Michael

How great is all of this?

I obviously replied telling Gary that he has the wrong email, but I did enjoy reading these, simply because I have no idea what it's talking about.

Goodbye!

2008-02-21T07:54:00.002-05:00

Leaving for Interlaken, Switzerland tonight at 8pm!

It'll be the first long bus ride I've had since 8th grade. It'll be an experience!

Look out for a big update and photos on Monday!

Daily dose.

2008-02-17T07:39:00.001-05:00

It’s been another rather uneventful weekend around these parts, but I know how all of you count on these entries for your daily dose of awesomeness, so I thought I’d be nice. Just kidding… Kinda

Friday we had class, which was pretty awful. However, the great part about it was that I didn’t have my CO299 class that lasts until 8pm, so I was done at 5. Some roommates and I went to our favorite “local” (and by local I mean within a 10-minute walk) bar, Stairs, with some friends from school. I called it an early night and went home around 2am.

Yesterday, I slept in until almost 1pm and finally got out of the house around 2pm. Liz and I went to the park Villa Borghese, which was about a 45-minute walk from our apartment. It’s a huge, beautiful park full of restaurants, beautiful views of Rome, statues, temples, and museums. We saw about 30 percent of the park during our 4-hour stay there. We walked around, getting lost, snapping random pictures of ourselves, and laughing at the teenage Italian boys running their rented go-carts into walls and each other. We decided that when Mike and Ross come to visit we’re totally renting these car/bike things that hold four people while everyone pedals to help it move. They look completely fun and annoying all at the same time. We also happened upon a small pond full of ducks and a gigantic swan that entertained us for a good 30 minutes. You can also pay 3 euros to rent a small boat to paddle around on the pond. It doesn’t look too fun, so we decided not to do that with guests.

We left the park around sunset to make it back to the Piazza del Popolo that has a great view of Rome from the top of the huge fountain that borders the piazza. We made it just in time to watch the sun set behind the cityscape of Rome and snapped a few good pictures as well.

We made the long hike back home and decided that a good meal was in order. We tried an osteria around the corner from our apartment. It had a few different options than the normal places we go, so it was worth trying (although it still comes nowhere close to my all-time favorite).

I woke up feeling somewhat sick again this morning, so I think I’m going to take it easy today. Liz and I are planning on doing the Colosseum tour tomorrow, so look for an update from that.

Ciao!

Classes update.

2008-02-14T17:40:00.004-05:00

Since I have nothing more exciting to talk about than classes, I figured I'd write about them. I'm only taking four classes (13 hours) and even though that may seem like a light course load, I've found myself having more work to do than most semesters. I'll break it down by class just because I know you're all THAT interested in it all.

Oh, and disclaimer: This entry will contain a lot of complaining, so sympathize don't criticize!

History of Rome & Ancient Italy 9am-10:15am
Now, I'm sure you're all thinking "Man, history of Rome IN Rome! How interesting and exciting!" Well, that's what I thought. However, just like any history class, it's bogged down with all sorts of seemingly useless information with a few interesting facts crammed in here and there. However, I'm going to have to go ahead and claim this to by my favorite class of them all, simply because the professor is actually worth my attention. She is a very peaceful woman from the US. She actually wrote part of our textbook (that I've hardly opened, but we'll get to that in a moment) and went to UNC - Chapel Hill for her Masters or PhD, not sure which. Either way, she's the only professor I can actually stand listening to for more than 10 minutes.

Now to the issue of reading. I usually have a normal amount of reading to do for my classes at Winthrop but I never feel overwhelmed with things to do. Here it's a constant feeling of "I'll never reach the end" regarding the endless readings I have to do each night. I understand that most students get reading assignments and simply ignore them all and make decent grades. However, I've somehow convinced myself that these classes are different than those other classes where the reading is more of an assumed "optional" assignment. Beginning with my history course, we are currently reading Livy's Early History of Rome and we're supposed to be reading into Book II (around 200 pages in) and I'm about halfway through Book I and unmotivated to get any further. Our other book, the actual textbook, is way too text heavy and takes about 40 minutes to read two pages. It's too much to try and retain for one night, so I've basically given up on that one. Time to move on.

Italian 102 1:45pm-3:35pm
Now I'll start this by addressing the fact that all language classes are way too long. There is no way you can hold a 20something's attention for more than an hour on a subject they don't understand. Our professor, although young and somewhat trendy, speaks minimal english and chooses to only speak Italian to the 15 girls in the class who have only had one semester of Italian (meaning we know how to say "I am hungry" and "Where are you from?"). We spend the entire class staring at her with confused looks trying to pick up key words here and there that we might understand. We usually end up looking at each other asking "So, uh, what are we doing?" when one person usually chimes in with a very elementary deciphering of her instructions. Basically my only problems with this class are the time issue and the whole understanding the professor thing. Other than that, it's your typical language class.

Introduction to the Study of Religions 3:45pm-5:00pm
Key work in the title of this class is "Study." Now most would look at the name of this class and think "Oh cool, I'll get to learn about all of the religions!" But no, my dreams were crushed when I found out that this class is an introduction on how to study religion, not actually studying religion. We discuss how to look at and critique religions from different viewpoints. Even though I wish I were in the "Intro to Buddhism, Islam, Zen, etc" course, this class does have its interesting moments. I swear the professor is a witch, which makes it fun at times. She knows her stuff but she is definitely very philosophical, which is a part of the academic world that I do not particularly get along with. I'm trying my best to adjust, but it's usually just frustrating. At least after this semester I'll know how to study those religions I thought I'd leave here knowing? Maybe?

Christianity and Modern Media 5:15pm-8:00pm
I'd first like you to look at the time of this class. Problem one, it's a night class and it's very hard for me to stay focused in any class after 4pm. Problem two, it's almost 3 hours long. Now to the positive (there aren't many). Plus one, we watch a film every Tuesday, which takes up the entire class period. Plus two, I'm getting my MCOM elective I need to graduate. And that's all the positive I've found.

I'm not really sure where to start on this professor, and I'm not sure I actually want to start on him. To make it simple, he is extremely full of himself and I think he'd choose to carry on a 10-hour conversation with himself before he actually listened or agreed with one of his students. Anytime a student makes a suggestion or tries to answer a question, they are immediately shot down by his "sarcasm" that is definitely meant whole-heartedly. He thinks he knows all and how DARE you challenge the truth? Now, I do give him props in that he knows his stuff. But he has completely lost my interest in the subject. I came in totally ready to dig deep into the films and learn things I never would have learned in any MCOM class at Winthrop, but he lost me the first time he made me feel like a complete idiot for no reason. I really can't say much more without repeating myself, so I'll end with that one. Liz said she had a professor like that once, so at least I can complain to her and have her understand. I also found out that one of my roommates has him for another class and hates him equally as much.

Maybe one day when he doesn't piss me off I'll write some of the cool things I've learned, but until then I can't think of anything but what an ass this guy is. Maybe I'll eventually get used to it, but I really don't think that'll be happening anytime soon.

--------------------------------------------------

Although this entry sounds quite negative, I'm still fully enjoying myself here. I just wish classes would stop getting in the way! I went to see the Vatican and a beautiful church that I had been blindly passing everyday on my way to class. I'll post pictures.

Also, one week from today I'll be on a bus on my way to SWITZERLAND! Oh, and I need some opinions... Some of my roommates are paragliding while we're there. I know I'm definitely skiing one day, but I can't decide if I want to ski a second day or be crazy and go paragliding. Thoughts?

Lauren does the Vatican.

Santa Maria in Trastevere

How's Rome today?

2008-02-12T12:00:00.000-05:00

I found this conversation to be really funny. I could be the only one, but it made my night.

billywoots: hows rome today?
LaDyWestfall87: rome is good
LaDyWestfall87: she's a little constipated today though
LaDyWestfall87: too much cheese last night
billywoots: she should get some exlax
LaDyWestfall87: she tried... but one bottle just wouldn't do the trick
billywoots: damn
billywoots: hahaha
LaDyWestfall87: poor girl
billywoots: for real
billywoots: maybe if she drinks a ton of beers she'll get the runs and feel all better
LaDyWestfall87: this is true
LaDyWestfall87: i think she might get a little out of hand tonight
LaDyWestfall87: i can feel it in the air
billywoots: good for her

Nothing too interesting.

2008-02-11T11:58:00.000-05:00

Well, another weekend has passed here in Roma and I must say it wasn't too interesting. Although, I'm sure it was much more interesting than any weekend in Rock Hill would be. I went out basically every night this weekend, which is totally unlike me, but it was definitely fun. Some of our roommates had friends visit from Florence, which turned out to be rather interesting. One of their friends was a complete psycho and we now have a red wine stain on our fresh, white walls to prove it. Long story short, he ended up leaving all of us and walked around Rome all night and took a train back to Florence at 7am without his friends. His other two friends were very nice and fun to be around though, so I guess it was worth dealing with the asshole.

We also tried a new bar called Stairs that we pass on our walk to school everyday. It's in the quieter part of town, so it was a nice change to not be crammed into a smoky bar. We befriended the bartender, Fabrizio, who would join us in our drinking every time we bought something. I had a delicious strawberry shortcake martini, and although it was scrumtious, I wouldn't say it was worth the 5 euros I paid for it.

I have my first graded assignment tomorrow in Italian class. A quiz. How awful. I set aside today to get things done and to actually study for this quiz, but alas, my plans were foiled when our landlord came in to install wireless in our apartment. Ever since then I've been sitting in our trendy living room browsing the internet, accomplishing nothing.

Liz and I just made our weekly grocery run and did a pretty great job this time. We got some interesting foods to hopefully create interesting meals for the week ahead. I think tacos are in store for tonight, which is super exciting. A nice change from pasta and pizza.

Oh! I just remembered something somewhat exciting from this weekend. I decided to go on a walking tour of Rome by myself Friday. It was great. The weather was PERFECT and I got to go wherever I felt like going. I'll finish with some photos from my tour and of the weekend.

Colosseum

Roman Forum

Jessica, Me, and Ashley at Stairs

Michael (visitor from Florence) and me at Magnolia

So excited!

2008-02-07T07:31:00.001-05:00

Liz and I just booked our trip to Interlaken, Switzerland for February 21-24. I couldn't be more excited!!

Fat Tuesday in Roma.

2008-02-06T10:02:00.000-05:00

Apparently all of the men come out in their wive's clothes to celebrate Fat Tuesday. At least these men thought it'd be a good idea.

Video of weekend.

2008-02-04T11:19:00.000-05:00

Here is a video I made of our weekend adventures. It goes in order of everything we did, so enjoy!

Weekend Update

2008-02-03T10:52:00.000-05:00

I'm afraid to start writing this entry in fear that it might never end. It's raining here today and the forecast shows it's going to rain for the next few days. The poor cats behind our apartment are frantically searching for cover and Liz and I both secretly want to let them inside, but know we'd both end up with rabies and fleas if we ever did such a thing. But I really should get to the important things.

This weekend was our first trip away from Rome and I must say it went very well and got me very excited about the trips to come. We left our apartment around 7am (by far the earliest any of us have been awake thus far) and caught a taxi to the Termini station about 10 minutes away. I guess before I go any further I should define the "we" in all of my statements. We includes me, Liz, two of our roommates (Ashley and Jessica), and our friend Brooke. Okay, now I can continue.

The train to Naples took about 2 hours and it was quite an experience. We were approached by a young guy who told us in simple Italian that he hadn't slept in 3 days because he'd been partying in Rome. We tried for about 20 minutes to get rid of him because he looked like he was high on some powerful drugs and we knew he didn't have good intentions, but he never seemed to get the hint even when all of us said "Ciao" and waved goodbye. We eventually just had to close the door and the curtains on him mid-sentence. He stayed outside our door for about 10 more minutes and proceeded to light a cigarette that he had just bummed off another passenger. He obviously missed the memo that trains are "non fumare."

We arrived in Naples around 10:30am and made our way to our hostel, Bella Capri, which was about a 20-minute walk from the station. It was a great hostel and the staff gave us many suggestions on what to do in Naples and the surrounding area.

We already knew we wanted to go to Pompei so we decided to make the 2-minute walk to the bus station and catch the 30-minute bus ride to Pompei. Getting around in Naples was very simple, which made the trip that much better. We made it to Pompei and walked around for a few hours snapping hundreds of pictures. The weather couldn't have been better for the day. It made for great pictures.

After Pompei, we headed back to Naples and decided to eat at the restaurant we had all read about in the book Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. It is a famous restaurant, not only from the book, but in Naples itself. Everyone knows about it and it was even on the map the hostel gave us, so we had no trouble finding it. Apparently it is only open for lunch, so when we got there close to 5pm they were serving their last guests. Thankfully they served us as well. The menu is very limited offering only 2 types of pizza, so all 5 of us ordered the same pizza Elizabeth Gilbert ordered when she visited, Margherita doppia mozzerella (basically a pizza with tomato sauce and extra cheese). The way Gilbert writes about the pizza in the book made it seem like it was going to change my life and although it wasn't life-changing, it was pretty good. I think what made it so delicious was that all of the ingredients were extremely fresh and you could tell.

After lunch (yes, we considered that lunch), we headed to a train station that was supposed to take us to the top of a hill where a huge castle was that overlooked the entire city of Naples. Well, we made it to the train and rode up to what we thought was the castle stop, only to find out that we went to the other side of the hill to another part of Naples. Long story short, we rode the train for about an hour trying to figure out how to get to this castle, only to give up and leave.

We made one more stop to the Piazza Plebiscito, which was beautiful at night. We took a few pictures and decided to head back to the hostel since all of us were wiped out. On the way back to the hostel we ran into a garbage protest (see issue here). I took some video footage of it, so look for that soon. It was a really cool experience.

We rested for a bit at the hostel and then headed out for dinner around 10pm. We wanted to go to McDonald's simply because it was cheap but realized that Naples closes a bit earlier than Rome on a Friday night. We ended up going to a Chinese restaurant and were annoyed by a table of Neopolitan men the entire time. The main difference between Rome and Naples is the MEN. I thought they were bad in Rome, but now that I've been to Naples, I can't complain. Anywhere you go, men stare at you, whistle at you, make nasty comments to you... It's very tiring.

This is already quite lengthy, so I'm going to try and cram the rest in very quickly.

Saturday morning we woke up early and headed out to find Mt. Vesuvius (the famous volcano that covered the city of Pompei). It was quite an experience trying to navigate the train systems to get to the volcano, but we eventually got there. Saturday's weather was not so great, but that didn't stop us. We made it to Vesuvius, paid 10 euro to ride to the middle of it, and hiked the rest of the way. Apparently the tour guides that normally take people to the crater are on strike, so we got to go by ourselves. Once we started hiking, all we could see was white because we were surrounded by clouds. It was a very strenuous hike, but we weren't giving up. We made it to the top in the freezing rain and strong winds. Even though we couldn't see a thing at the top, we still did it and that's all that matters.

We headed back to Naples to catch the train back to Rome and made it back around 6pm. It finally hit me that Rome is my home and it felt so good to be back in our apartment. Overall, it was a great weekend and I can't wait to go explore again!

ugh

2008-01-28T17:00:00.000-05:00

fever + sore throat + nothing to do all day = video.

enjoy.

Posting from apartment... AKA Barely Any Internet

2008-01-26T16:52:00.000-05:00

What a crazy few days it’s been. With all of the things happening at JCU and all of the things just happening with Liz and me, it’s been one hectic week. I’m so excited to say that we FINALLY moved into the apartment we were supposed to move into 2 weeks ago and I must say it was WELL WORTH THE WAIT. It’s a beautiful apartment with a huge living room, brand new kitchen, basically all brand new furniture (All of it’s IKEA), even towel warmers! Who has towel warmers in their apartment? Oh, we do.

We drew out of a hat (or really, Liz’s pocket) for each room because each has its good and bad features. Liz and I drew the room with the bunk beds, and although that doesn’t sound like a good choice, we have our own bathroom, so it far outweighs the whole “feeling like we’re at summer camp” situation. Another room has a king sized bed, and a twin bed. The third room has two twins. I’m happy with our choice, especially because of the bathroom, and it has the most privacy, which I’m sure I’ll be very happy about in a few weeks.

I meant to write a couple of days ago about the absolutely fantastic dinner Liz and I had at our favorite restaurant, Gattabouia, which when looked up in our Italian-English dictionary was simply translated as “clink.” It’s the same restaurant we went to with our roommates the first night we were in Rome, so that gives it a little bit of a head-start since it was our first true Italian meal. However, I can honestly say that this restaurant is my favorite so far and will most likely remain my favorite. It’s not too expensive, the owner greets you with a glass of spumante the second you sit down, the wait staff is very friendly, and old torture weapons adorn the walls. Even though we noticed, and had deep discussions over, the torture weapons the first time we were there, we didn’t think that they might have something to do with the restaurant itself. This last time Liz and I decided that since the dictionary simply said a gattabouia is a “clink” that this restaurant must be an old prison. Well, we proceeded to ask our waiter, and we were very much correct. In fact, he pointed below my chair, and suddenly I realized that I was sitting on the “trap door” that leads down to the actual prison. This information only makes this restaurant better in my mind.

The best part of the night was when our waiter sparked up a conversation with us. He asked where we were from, what we were doing in Rome, how long we’d be here, and we think he asked for our phone numbers, but we tried to ignore the question. He then asked if we’d had a limoncello yet. Now, I already had an idea of what this was since some man ordered one for my mom before I left, but I hadn’t ever tasted or seen this beverage. He told us to wait one moment, and suddenly returned with two limoncellos. Although they tasted somewhat similar to sweetened Lysol, it was such a great experience simply because it was free. I must say, however, that I will not be purchasing one with my own money any time in the near future.

Last night Liz and I decided to go out with two of our roommates, Ashley and Jessica, and another girl we’ve become friends with, Brooke. We, of course, ended up at Campo di Fiori, just like every other American in Rome, but definitely had a better time than the last time we’d gone. We met many new people and talked to some we already knew. We got home around 3am and made sure to immediately go to bed since we had to be at our new apartment, ready to move in, at noon.

And that’s where we stand now. Finally in the place we belong. Finally with our actual roommates. And finally settled. It’s a great feeling.

Email from the President

2008-01-24T11:08:00.000-05:00

"Dear John Cabot students,

I regret to inform you that in the past two days John Cabot University has had to face two very tragic and sad events.

Yesterday morning we learned that one of our degree-seeking students, Alessandro Mioni, a member of the Gladiators soccer team, had died the night before in a moped accident. Alessandro was a strong, energetic young man who was admired and loved by many. The news of his death was a heartbreaking shock for us here.

This morning we were struck by another tragedy. One of our visiting students from the University of South Carolina, Ms. Karen M. Young, was found dead by the river a few hundred yards from Ponte Sisto, near the University. According to initial medical examinations she died of natural causes, but we will not know until the autopsy is performed. Karens family and home University have been notified.

As many of you know, courses were cancelled today in mourning for these two unrelated tragic losses. The University remains open as usual and all Staff members are present should any of you feel the need to be with others during this time. Our JCU psychologist, Elaine Luti, is also on campus and available to those who may need her during this incredibly emotional time. Classes will recommence on Monday as usual.

Please join us in this moment of reflection and in extending our solidarity to the families, friends, and colleagues who are most touched by these losses.

We have planned a memorial service for Alessandro on Tuesday. To our immense regret, we must now mourn two of our students - Alessandro and Karen.

I am taking this opportunity to extend to the Mioni and Young families my most sincere condolences on behalf of all of us here at John Cabot University

Regards,
Franco Pavoncello
President
John Cabot University"

And another.

2008-01-24T10:40:00.000-05:00

After my History of Rome and Ancient Italy class ended this morning at 10:15, the Dean began putting up signs around campus that said something along the lines of "Due to the tragedies that have befallen two of our students this week, classes will be cancelled today." I suddenly realized that it said TWO students and realized I had no idea another student had died. Well, I brought the news back to the apartment and other roommates and none of them seemed to know anything either. I didn't think too much more of it until Liz and I came to school about an hour ago to check email.

Liz's mom informed US that a USC study abroad student was found dead by the river last night, from what they think is a seizure. Come to find out, it was someone we knew and hung out with a few nights ago. My concern comes from the fact that JCU hasn't spoken a WORD about this incident... And I don't really like the fact that I heard this from someone thousands of miles away before I heard anything from the city I'm living in. I've looked for any news story about it but have come up with nothing so far. If any of you see any news stories about it in the US, please let me know because I'd be interested in finding out more information. From what Liz and I could tell, this girl was a little too into partying and told Liz this past Saturday that "she had hardly slept since she got here." So I wouldn't be surprised if there were other factors involved in her death.

Anyway, I need to move away from this stuff and focus on more exciting things.
Liz and I made our first homemade dinner a couple of nights ago and it was delicious and CHEAP (most important part of the meal). Even though we were somewhat limited in our cooking supplies, we made some pretty great pesto and noodles. I also had a great breakfast this morning, consisting of strawberry yogurt and fresh kiwi.

I guess I have an even LONGER weekend this weekend, thanks to no classes today. Since I don't have class Monday, I have a 5 day weekend. Liz and I walked about 2 miles to the other side of Rome to pick up our textbooks today. Let me just say, this semester will probably have be reading more than I ever have in one 4-month period. As much as this is a great thing, because reading is always good, I don't see how I'm going to fit all of it in. I guess I'll be using all of my free Mondays and Wednesdays to read... How fun is that? I guess it could be worse.

I'm hoping we will get a great dinner tonight to makeup for the past 2 days. Maybe we'll go out afterwards as well to get our minds off of everything. I hope everyone stays safe in the USA this weekend. I love you all!

Sad day around JCU

2008-01-23T08:43:00.001-05:00

Yesterday around this time, the campus was buzzing with people. The outside courtyards were filled with people taking their hourly cigarette break and enjoying some espresso. Walking through the courtyard this morning, I realized that it was much less crowded and much quieter than it has been any other day, but I didn't think too much of it.

A few minutes later, I checked my email and found one from the President of the university that said:

"It is with great sadness I inform you that one of our students, Alessandro Mioni, passed away last evening as a result of a motorcycle accident. Alessandro, a Junior, was an active member of the JCU community. He played on the soccer team, and he always worked with Student Government events and during Arrivals and Orientation. Alessandro was a friend to all. We will greatly miss him.

Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to all his family and friends.
President Franco Pavoncello"

Unsure of who this person was, I went to my one source of information, Facebook, and typed in his name. As soon as his picture came up I recognized him. Now the fact that I didn't recognize his name says how well we knew each other; however, he is the one JCU ambassador that I've spoken to on more than one occasion. He was always very helpful and nice and seemed to be a really cool guy. I even spoke with him yesterday for a few minutes.

I walked back into the courtyard a few minutes later and realized that it was so quiet because almost everyone was crying and hugging each other. My heart sunk and my mood turned from a little uncomfortable to pretty sad. I didn't know this guy, but the fact that I saw him yesterday smiling and being the social guy that he seemed to be, kind of puts things into perspective.

After that, I decided I needed to take my mind off of it, so I thought it'd be a good idea to catch up on some USA news. Why I thought this would be a good idea, I'm not sure, because there don't seem to be many good things on the news these days. Of course the first article that catches my eye is that Heath Ledger was found dead yesterday. What?! I immediately had to read the article... And watch the 4 videos that accompanied the story. So today doesn't seem like it's going to be so happy and exciting. How fabulous that now I have to read a 50-page article on the many reasons Jesus could have been crucified.

I think I should have just stayed in bed this morning.

Good news!

2008-01-22T10:14:00.000-05:00

We've finally received word that our apartment will be ready to move into by Friday! So we will finally be able to get settled and UNPACK. I can't wait. It's going to be so great.

On a less exciting note, classes started today. I went to my first class (History of Rome and Ancient Italy) at 9am (definitely the earliest I've been up since we got here) and the professor didn't show up. Finally around 9:15 after we all stared at each other wondering who would be the first to leave, the assistant dean of students came in to tell us that "they're not really sure what's going on with our professor." I'm not really sure what to make of that comment, but I'm hoping I can keep that class because it seems interesting. He told us to look for an email sometime today explaining the situation, but I have yet to receive said email.

Liz and I are in the same Italian 102 class, along with 14 other girls. There isn't a single male in the class. How weird. The teacher seems nice, minus her ability to speak a lot of english, so I guess we'll see how that goes. Everyone in the class just had a really confused look on their face the entire time she was talking. I'm hoping she realizes that none of us understood a word she said today, and will not understand her during future classes unless she throws some english into the mix.

I have my Christianity & Mass Media class in an hour. I'm very curious about this one. From the syllabus, it looks difficult and very different from any class I've ever taken; however, it does look very interesting. We apparently will be watching a movie every week and then discussing how christianity plays a role in it. Some of the movies listed on the syllabus include Bruce Almighty, Sister Act, Veggie Tales, and The Nativity Story. I'm pretty excited about that.

Enough for now. Buona sera!

one week down.

2008-01-20T10:11:00.000-05:00

I need to start this entry by pulling out my notebook that has my "Remember to write about this" notes. The last day or so has been so eventful that I actually had take notes so I wouldn't forget anything... But I'll try to sum it all up quickly so you don't spend half of your day reading this (although I think most of you would stop reading after about 3 minutes).

Part I.

Being our first Sunday in Rome, I really enjoyed turning on the tv this morning to see the HUGE MASS of people at the Vatican Mass. It almost humors me that this many people got up probably at the crack of dawn to see the Pope (if they were close enough) in this TINY little window about 8 stories from the ground. When the TV backed out to show the view, all you could see was this little tiny white speck in the window. I definitely need to go to some event at the Vatican while I'm here, but that seemed almost a little ridiculous to me!

Part II.

Yesterday Liz and I went on a tour sponsored by the school called "Ancient Fountains of Rome." We didn't really expect it to be TOO interesting (considering all we were seeing were fountains), but we thought it'd be a good way to meet some new people. The tour started with about 70 people trying to navigate the tiny streets and trying to dodge cars as we crossed the busier ones. It wasn't good. I'll make a long story short here... We didn't end up seeing many fountains, but instead the tour guide took us to all of the popular sights (Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, etc). Liz and I kind of wanted to "spread out" our sight seeing, but he kinda ruined that for us. The best part of the day was when we got to the Spanish steps and the guide turns to all of us and says "Okay, we are done. Ciao!" and walks away. We all looked at each other like "Is he kidding?" but no he wasn't. Thankfully, Liz had a map so we (plus another girl we met) slowly navigated our way home. There was another tour scheduled today, but we figured it'd be fairly similar so we decided to skip it.

Part III.

Last night was my favorite night in Rome so far. Even though we were incredibly tired from walking all day, Liz and I decided to suck it up and go out. We went out with our other roommates around midnight to a bar called Friends. By the time we got there, it was packed so we all ordered a drink and went outside. It's legal to drink on the streets in Rome, so everyone just hangs out in the middle of the road all night. We ended up meeting these Italian teenagers who told us they were 18, although they surely looked younger. Only one of them spoke English, so Liz and I tried to practice our Italian with him while he practiced his English. It was pretty cool once we actually were able to carry on a simple conversation with him. We found out his name was Elio, he was from a small town about 50km outside of Rome, and his family is from Naples. I'm not sure what else we talked about, but I enjoyed it very much.

I also found the other girl from Winthrop that's here. We saw each other outside of Friends and ended up talking for a good 30 minutes. Hopefully we'll be able to grab lunch or dinner sometime soon.

After buying a Peroni and spuli (I think that's what it's called... it's a ball of potatoes, rice, and tomato sauce... fried... I think), we headed to a guy's apartment to sit on the roof. I really hope our final apartment has a rooftop because it was so nice being able to sit up there and look out over the city. We met a really cool guy named Dan who was visiting from Florence. He's been studying there since September and I must say I was very jealous of his Italian skills. He said that Liz and I must come visit him in Florence so he can show us all of the great places to go... I think we might have to take him up on it.

Well, I've made it through all of my notes and even though I didn't talk about everything in as much detail as I wanted to I hope you all have a good idea as to what I'm up to! I've been putting all of my pictures on Facebook and most of them on Flickr, which is linked on this page. So make sure to look at all of my pictures!

day 4.

2008-01-18T13:16:00.001-05:00

Well, we're coming to the close of day 4 here in Rome, and I must say it's been quite an adventure thus far. We're still in our temporary apartment and will hopefully move out Monday or Tuesday. If it's much later than that, we're going to have a problem. It sucks because everyone else is bonding with their roommates and is meeting lots of new people. Liz and I are in an apartment together, and although we're next door and across the street from our other roommates, it's still hard to get to know each other and find times to hang out because we never know when anyone is home. It's really starting to frustrate me and I hope it gets better.

Liz and I also seem to be the odd ones out with our roommates. The other four have been hanging out a whole lot, while Liz and I either sit in our apartment or try to venture the city on our own. We make attempts to hang out with them, but it either seems that they're not interested or we're reading them incorrectly. We're planning to do a JCU-sponsored tour of Rome tomorrow to hopefully meet some new people because as of right now, we're pretty alone.

However, Liz and I did have an AMAZING dinner last night at a restaurant called La Scala. It's right down the street from the school and is a pretty nice place. I had a pizza with smoked mozzerella and bacon. It wasn't the best pizza I've ever had, but it was good. We also had focaccia and an insalata mista (mixed salad) where we made our own balsamic vinaigrette. We each had a glass of a wine from the Lazio region of Italy (where Rome is located). Our waiter, Hiron, was very nice and helped us with our Italian. Liz and I thought he might ask us for our phone numbers, when we decided just to tell him that we didn't have cell phones. He asked us many other questions, but thankfully not that one.

We've been trying to practice our Italian because the language barrier can be quite frustrating. However, until classes start it's going to be pretty hard to learn new things.

We visited the Pantheon today, which surprisingly was pretty close to us. It's so hard for me to understand exactly how old some of Rome's architecture is. The Pantheon was built around 125 AD which is about 2000 years ago. My mind can't really process how old that is, but it's pretty damn old. We also did some shoe shopping because both of us were lacking in the boot department. Ever since we got to Rome we've noticed that EVERYONE has boots on. I don't know if the South just hasn't caught on to the boot phenomenon yet, or what. But we both bought a couple of pair of shoes, including boots. I don't really have any pants to wear with mine yet, but I'll hopefully find some soon.

Well, that's about all for now. We're hoping to go to bed somewhat early tonight so we can get up for the early tour tomorrow. Buona sera!

Ciao Roma!

2008-01-15T11:04:00.001-05:00

Well, we're on day 2 here in Rome and I must say that it's been a lot different than what I expected; however, at this point, I'm not really sure what I expected. Getting to our apartments was a complete mess, and I feel like it all should have been a LOT more organized than it was considering that SAI is a company and this is their job. Anyway, enough with the negative.

We (as in me and my 5 roommates) were temporarily moved to individual (2 person) apartments because our original apartment is not completed yet. Apparently its a very nice apartment and we'll love it when we actually get to move in (and nobody is giving us a straight answer on when that will be).

I feel pretty rested so far, considering the 6 hour time change so that hasn't been too bad. Liz and I went in search of food this morning, since we hadn't eaten since we got off the plane yesterday at 6am. It took us about an hour to find a small shop to go inside. We were both pretty nervous about the whole speaking italian thing, so Liz simply asked for "Corn Flakes" and I picked up some milk, crackers, and apples (without having to ask for it). We went back to the apartment and enjoyed our first Italian meal, although I must say it was pretty lacking on the "Italian" side.

We then decided to try and find the school (since we were the only people who didn't get directions). We got lost a couple of times, but ended up finding a really cool outdoor market that I know we'll be returning to. We made it to the school, which should only be about a 10 minute walk away, in about an hour. Either way, it was a fun adventure.

It's now raining and we didn't come with any rain gear, so it looks like we'll be walking home in the freezing rain. We finally figured out how to turn on the heat in our apartment after literally freezing in the bed under about 4 blankets. But you can't exactly set the heat to come on throughout the day, so I'm sure when we get back tonight it'll be cold again and we'll have to bare it for an hour or so before it warms up. Also, the hot water lasts maybe 2 minutes. I got a good start to my shower and then frantically rinsed my body and hair before it turned freezing. Liz tried about 30 minutes later and it was completely cold the entire time for her. I'm really hoping that is different in our actual apartment, because if there are going to be 6 of us trying to shower everyday... Cold water is NOT going to work!

I'm missing a lot of American things that I take for granted, like eating... But I can already tell that this experience is going to be life changing, and I'm super excited about it. I also changed my class schedule so I only have classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which will be fabulous. Oh, and on a funny note... Liz and I went to take the italian placement exam earlier and all that happened was a professor asked us where we took italian 101 and told us that we should be in 102. I'm glad we didn't freak out and just change back to 101 before taking the placement test.

Well, it's back to some orientation meetings... Then searching for a real meal in the rain!

Arrivederci!

umm...

2008-01-12T22:21:00.001-05:00

I'm moving to Rome tomorrow.
What?

I can't feel my toe.

2008-01-09T17:41:00.000-05:00

I got my ingrown nail "operated on" today and my toe is still completely numb. I HATE the way novocaine makes your body feel. I wish it would go away... From what they told me, it should go away by around 7 tonight. Either way, it was not a good experience and I pray that I don't ever get one again. I almost passed out after he shot me about 20 times with novocaine. It's not that I'm afraid of needles or freak out when they stab with me them... I think it's just a reaction my body has to strange things being in my body. Everytime I have to give blood I get dizzy and have trouble breathing which is what happened today. It's such an exhausting experience. Mike had to fan my face for about 10 minutes because I was dripping with sweat and apparently my face was ghostly white. They I started crying just because of how scary that feeling is. I wasn't scared about the actual procedure, I was just overwhelmed from the dizzy/hard-to-breathe experience. Once he started actually working on my toe, I was not in the best of moods. He kept trying to make small talk as I wiped my tears and as he started cutting my toe nail. It was rather painful considering the amount of novocaine he put in me. But like I said, I don't EVER want that to happen again. Maybe I'll just grow out my toenails to like world record length so I won't have to worry about cutting them again. Good idea, right?

On another note... I can't believe I leave in 4 days. It definitely hasn't sunk in yet. I don't really want it to sink in because I think I'll be too emotional if it does. Okay, enough rambling... Time to play with my numb toe.

I knew it would happen.

2008-01-05T18:36:00.001-05:00

Something always has to go wrong (with my body) before major events in my life. I usually come down with strep throat or bronchitis or something but this time I have an infected ingrown toenail. Let me just say, it's A LOT more painful than I ever thought it could be. I probably made it worse by trying to make it better and now it hurts to walk on it. I went to the doctor today and all he did was look at it and tell me that I need to see a podiatrist. Well, considering I leave in a week, it's somewhat important that I see this guy ASAP. Apparently they're going to cut off a chunk of my toenail which makes me nauseous just thinking about it. I'm trying to take care of it now so hopefully when I go see the guy he'll just say that I need to put some cream on it rather than undergo such a major (in my opinion) and disgusting procedure. The doctor gave me an antibiotic today to help get rid of the infection (which has also brought a long a nice fever). Why does this always happen? I guess I'll never know. But at least I'm always prepared for SOMETHING to happen, right? Or maybe the always prepared thing MAKES something happen... Who really knows.

italian address!

2008-01-02T23:10:00.000-05:00

I found out my new Italian address today, as well as the names of my 5 other roommates (including Liz). It's going to be CRAZY living with 5 other people and having to share (probably) one bathroom. However, I have noticed that some people are living with 7 and 9 other people, which would be simply awful. Our apartment is on the 1st floor, which should be interesting. Liz and I are wondering how we will line dry our laundry on the first floor, but we're hoping it's the first floor of apartments above a business or something.

The apartment is on Via Cardinale Marmaggi, which is about 1 mile from the school (but that's driving, so I'm sure it's shorter walking). We're in the Trastevere quarter of Rome which is supposedly the really eclectic, college-aged, cheap-but-amazing restaurant district.

Here is a picture. The arrow is our building.

View Larger Map

Our other roommates seem pretty cool, so I'm excited to meet them. Only 10 more days!

Also, I forgot about my "Italian word of the day" promise, so I'll try to remember from now on... I'll take this one from my new Italian phrase book.

Mi lasci in pace! -- Leave me alone! >> Which is what I'll probably have to say to some Italian men when they follow me on the street because of my blonde hair.

Ciao!

Goodbye to Sigma

2007-12-27T23:26:00.000-05:00

I made this video for my sorority to tell them I'll miss them. I'm slowly getting better at the whole video creating thing... But I love it!

Comment please!

Christmas Video

2007-12-26T10:54:00.000-05:00

First try with the new video camera mixing program... I think things will only get better!

Christmas laughs

2007-12-18T21:58:00.001-05:00

I vaguely remember Dave Barnes releasing a similar Christmas video last year... But I find this one to be hilarious. Please watch and feel the Christmas loooove.

On another note, I MADE MY FIRST 4.0 THIS SEMESTER!

Lauren, The Cop

2007-12-15T02:31:00.000-05:00

I just finished my first "ride-along" with a Richland County Sheriff Deputy. Going into it, I was pretty apprehensive and almost planned for it to be my last night alive. I thought putting myself in dangerous situations where I'm the helpless unarmed passenger staring at the whole situation in awe wasn't the best idea. Although I still agree that it's not the safest place to be, I must say that it far surpassed my expectations in the fun department.

I rode with a Master Deputy named Kai. She was loud and fun but knew how to get down to business when necessary. Obviously I rode the night shift (officers work from 7pm-7am), but left about halfway through because let's face it, Lauren can't stay up past 3am. Anyway, right off the bat we were called to an armed robbery off of Alpine Road. We FLEW down Two Notch Rd. at about 100mph passing cars and slammed on brakes when cars would try to get out of the way and end up getting in the way. We searched some parking lots for the guy that robbed the gas station, but gave up after about 30 minutes.

Shortly after that adventure, we were called to the apartments across from Spring Valley High School for a vandalism problem. A 15-year old had thrown a can of paint on some girls car and obviously she wasn't too happy about it. We pulled up and Kai jumped out of the car to chase this guy down and ended up taking him down with my dad and another officer.

I won't go into too much detail about everything else that happened, but I'll list it just because I think it's interesting and it was definitely a night of many "firsts" for me. Basically the whole night was one big first.

- Went to a hit-and-run accident in the Best Buy parking lot on Two Notch. Some van with a handicap trailer backed into some lady's car and left a big hole in the front bumper. They didn't think it was too important to stay and let the lady know, so they left. But apparently, the police will not investigate incidents on private property so the lady was S.O.L.

- Pulled over an attorney, who thought being an attorney would get him out of a ticket for running a red light. Well, Kai was nice and actually only gave him a warning, but not after we had a good laugh over his "Well, I AM an attorney" speech.

- Called BACK to the SV apartments on a call of some teenagers drinking and smoking in an alleyway... Never found them.

- Called to a house near Percival who complained that they had people in their house disturbing them... Even though they were the ones that invited them inside. Got there and the people had left.

- Drove around many apartment complexes around Cola that have had a lot of car breakins lately... Didn't find anything.

- And the worst of the night was our last call before I left... We got a call that a car was driving Southbound in the Northbound lane of I-77. So we get on 77 hoping to find this car and stop him before he did something stupid. Ended up finding him after he slammed head-on into another car. We were the first people on the scene except for an off-duty firefighter who had stopped to help. Both cars were smoking really bad and the innocent people's car doors were open and I could see them laying inside, one of them screaming for help. There wasn't much we could do until EMS got there, which seemed to take at least 10 minutes. As I'm sure you all figured, the guy driving the wrong way was VERY drunk and had no injuries whatsoever... While his victims had internal bleeding, definite external bleeding, broken bones, and bones protruding from their skin, among other things. The drunk driver asked the firefighter if there was "anything else they needed from him" acting like he was just going to leave. I couldn't believe it. Needless to say, he'll be going to jail tonight. I just hope those other two people are okay.

Well, after 7 hours of playing "cop" I can't say that it's a future career possibility, but I can say that I'll probably be doing that again. I've never experience such a rush, especially when we're flying down one of the busiest roads in Columbia at 100mph, sirens going, barely passing cars. I think that's something we all should experience at least once. I can now see why cops get on such a power trip sometimes... Because it feels pretty damn awesome knowing that you can go as fast as you want and take down any idiot who tries to cause problems.

I'd say I've written enough for tonight. I need to get some sleep!

"Great Success!"**

2007-12-13T21:09:00.000-05:00

**The subject of this entry must be pronounced in the "Borat" style...

The "Great Success" is in reference to my shopping trip at Old Navy today. I've been continuously searching for new khakis and casual pants for the past few months, but have come up short (literally). It's hard for me to find pants that are long enough and I'm not even that tall. Well, apparently Old Navy got the memo and started making longer pants. I went there today and tried on about 10 pair of pants, all which fit and were long enough. I actually had to narrow my choices for once. It was a great feeling. So if any of you reading this have some free time in the next few days, go to Old Navy! It could have just been my size that miraculously fit perfectly... But try your luck.

Also, I'm watching the movie Casper with Christina Ricci for the first time in about 8 years. It's great. I'm kind of half paying attention, but from the scenes I have watched, it's taking me back to about 5th grade. It's a good night for that kind of movie.

Since I've been home I've been sleeping til about 10:30 or 11am, which is super weird for me. I wake up around 8:30 and fall right back asleep. I'm not complaining though since I had to wake up at 7am or before all semester.

Hopefully I'll be able to sleep in late tomorrow since I am doing a "ride-along" with a Richland County Sheriff Deputy tomorrow night. My dad is working tomorrow night so he thinks it'll be a good time for me to try it. All I basically do is sit in the passenger seat and watch everything the officers do all night. I'll be starting at 7pm on the shift that runs til 7am, but hopefully we'll leave much earlier than that because I'll probably pass out if I stay up that late. I'm a little scared so I hope nothing too crazy happens where I end up hiding in the floorboard of the car or something. Wish me luck!

12 days until Christmas! Ahhhh!

these are a few of my favorite things

2007-12-09T21:05:00.000-05:00

In my mind, it's winter break... Except I still have my Italian exam on Tuesday. But at this point, I could care less about it.

I realized today that I have two favorite "things" about Christmas. The first is the traditional panoramic size Christmas card with the typical family picture with the entire family wearing matching attire. It gets me all happy and giddy everytime. I love checking the mail, only during the month of December, for this very reason.

And before I move to the second thing... Here is a preview of this year's Christmas card from the Kinsella family.

The second of my favorite things about Christmas is picking wrapping paper. I like to wrap all of my gifts in the same paper so it's easy to tell what's from me. Picking the "right" paper can be a tough decision for me. I like to pick the simple papers with fun designs. This year's paper is red and silver with giant mittens. It's super fabulous.

I don't know why I enjoy the above two "things" so much, but they instantly make me feel all warm inside and remind me that Christmas is coming. I'm sure everyone has a few things similar to this...

On a separate note, I'm very dissatisfied with this week's weather. 78 degrees in December? I don't think so. Bring on the cold front! I'm not saying I want a white Christmas, I'm just saying I'd like to be able to wear pants and possibly a light jacket on Christmas day.

not much longer

2007-12-02T14:02:00.000-05:00

There are 3 exams, 2 presentations, and one 10-page paper standing in my way of the end of this semester. Ten days from now, those will all be over and I won't know what to do with myself. After my pre-departure workshop with the study abroad coordinator, I've started freaking out about all of the things I need to do before I leave. I have a page long list of things to do once I have the chance. At this point, it's really hard to imagine me leaving everything behind for another country. But I'm hoping that becomes easier to accept in a few weeks once it's crunch time.

All I can really hope is that I make it successfully through the next ten days, without too much distraction. Oh, and the good news is, today is my last day as president of Sigma! Yeah!

rome schedule

2007-11-26T15:02:00.001-05:00

So after much work and frustration, I finally got my schedule somewhat near the way I wanted it... Who knew classes would fill up so quickly? Certainly not me...

Anyway, here's what I've got.

Monday/Wednesday
12:00-1:15 CO399 - Popular Music & Mass Culture
3:45-5:00 CL231 - History of Rome & Ancient Italy

Tuesday/Thursday
10:30-1:15 AS199 - Basic Photography (Thursday only)
1:45-3:35 IT102 - Introductory Italian II
5:15-6:30 NS202 - Global Warming

59 days until departure!

2007-11-14T16:53:00.000-05:00

And so it begins... 59 days from now I will be living in Italy. A country I've never been to, nor been close to. Europe is a big box full of surprises for me and I can't wait to see all of it. This will be my main way of staying in touch with my friends and family back home. Hopefully you'll all remember this and visit it often, since I know you are already obsessed with my daily happenings anyway.

And just in case you want to read about what my best friend is doing, which will be somewhat similar to what I'm doing, you can read her blog too... http://almostfiction.typepad.com

I'm assuming I'll have a place where I can update this fairly often or else it will be pretty pointless... But I'll be sure to update it as much as I can. I probably won't be doing much posting for the next few weeks since I'm not in Rome yet, but hey, you can check back anytime you'd like.

Oh, one more thing... I'll try to do an "italian word of the blog" each time I post... Just so you can get a little taste of what I'm learning!

Let's see... the first word will be...

la barba - beard

Good luck using that word today.