Vitamin D

The sun came out today and it was marvelous. After days, maybe weeks of dark ominous clouds and rain like no other, I was able to sit outside and read! I even got a little color on my face!

Last week was crazy. I had my first midterm and I think I managed to stay above water while getting most of my reading done for all of my other classes. To celebrate the end of the week, a bunch of us girls, and Garrison, went out for drinks in Trestevere. It turns out that Trestevere is quite the place to be. There were so many people there! I don't think I have ever seen so many people under the age of 35 gather for drinks and yummy snacks.

Saturday, I went out to Villa Borghese to enjoy the mild weather and see a new part of Rome. Villa Borghese is a fabulous park right behind the Spanish steps. It was nice to get out and explore after spending the week in the Library. After dinner and a chick flick we went out to our favorite beer and pizza place where I learned how large a litre really is.

PISA, il Bio Parco, e Pompeii (3 weekends of fun)

Pisa with Carolyn was fantastic! While most of our friends went to the super expensive Firenze, Carolyn and I went to Pisa to see the famous leaning tower. We didn't expect to see much that would interest us, but we were pleasantly surprised to discover that Pisa actually has quite a bit to do, and we didn't have time to do it all!

We took the train from Stazione Termini on a Friday morning and we arrived in Pisa four hours later. The train ride was beautiful. We were going along the Coast the entire time, and when we couldn't see the Ocean we were going through cute little towns with donkeys and such. We brought some tasty snacks along and got a lot of reading done (of course, none of it was for school).

When we arrived in Pisa we decided to walk to our hostel so we could see the town and save a few bucks. There was a lot of great shopping on the main street, and since it was a Friday and raining a little there was hardly anyone outside. Of course, a lot of the stores were closed too because it was nap time for the Italians.

We got to our hostel without much trouble. Our room wasn't anything special (although, the hostel owner came by later and told us they had put us in the wrong room and we needed to switch - no big deal). You don't expect much for 22 euro a night.

Once we were settled into our room we went out to the Piazza dei Miracoli to go up to the top of the tower. We got up no problem! There was no line, and only about 10 other people in the tower.

Climbing up to the top of the tower was well worth the entire trip. You can actually feel yourself leaning over when you're going up the narrow staircase!

There are 294 steps to the top of the tower and each one is more is more fun than the last.

The next day we went back to the piazza to go into the cemetery and baptistery - and of course do some quality shopping. According to Carolyn, the cemetery would be the best place to be in the event of a zombie attack!

Coming back, Carolyn and I got majorly lost. We were wandering around downtown for about 2 hours, but we eventually found our way to a taxi stand and we got home relatively quickly.


After such an eventful weekend we decided to stay in Rome for our next weekend (we also had class on Friday since we had had the Papal audience that Wednesday). A bunch of us went to the zoo (bio parco) and met up with a guy one of our friends had met (he's an American studying architecture). The zoo was a lot of fun because it was cold and rainy so there was no one there. We also got there fairly late so it was feeding time!



This weekend the plan was for Alana and I to fly to Dublin on Friday morning, spend two nights at a hostel in downtown Dublin, see the sights, and then fly back to Rome Sunday night. It would have been so perfect - if only it hadn't snowed! Did you know that it hasn't snowed in Rome since 1985? If I was a doofus and I hadn't just watched Rachel Maddow interview Bill Nye the Science Guy about this very issue I would say that Global Warming didn't exists, but I'm not and I did, so I won't. But really?! It hasn't snowed here since 1985 and it decides to snow on the one day that we need to get out of here! So, because snow is a novelty in Rome, all RyanAir flights were canceled of out of Ciampino airport, and yes, that included our flight. After finding out that we wouldn't be making it to Dublin after all, we had to wait in line for 6.5 hours to get a refund for our tickets, and thankfully we did get that refund.

Saturday we managed to tag along on the school organized trip to Pompeii, and we had a great time. Professor Nicholson led the tour of the site. Pompeii, which is situated right below Mt. Vesuvius was destroyed in 79 A.D. when the volcano erupted and covered the town in magma and ash. There were minor tremors prior to the eruption, warning the people that something worse was coming. Many people were able to escape, but many chose not to leave or couldn't get out in time. The last time Mt. Vesuvius erupted was in 1944 - hundreds of homes were destroyed, and dozens of people were killed. The volcano is expected erupt again, and the next time it happens everything within 15 km of the volcano will be destroyed.

On our way back from Pompeii we hit a bit of traffic - no big deal. Our giant tour bus was trying to merge onto the freeway, but this being Italy, no one wanted to let us in. Finally, we've squeezed our way into a lane and we're waiting for the car in front of us to move, but now the guy behind us is inching his way forward. Wait just one minute, buster! It's our turn! So, we're about to ram this guy off the road when I look out the window and I see that he has stuffed animals in the rear window - I miss you, dad!

Bisogno un nuovo caricabaterie, per favore!

I finally got a charger!!!

About two weeks ago the charger for my computer died and I was forced to borrow my friend's charger when I could, and use the REALLY slow computers on campus. It wasn't terrible seeing as how I got a lot of homework done, but it is nice to have my old friend back.

As soon as my charger died I went to the computer guy on campus and begged for help. Unfortunately, his English is not very good, and neither are his directional skills. Il Signore sent me to Roma Computer Center but I couldn't find it! It was cold and I was tired, so I decided to go back to school empty-handed.

My next attempt to find a computer store was even less fruitful. I spent my Monday morning (since I don't have class on Mondays) walking around Il Fiume Tevere in the hippest neighborhood in Rome looking for a computer store suggested to me by my mom's coworker. Besides the fact that I was completely lost and it was an epic fail, Trestevere is a really cool place.

Completely frustrated with technology but having no other choice, I resorted to buying the charger online. Of course, having something sent to Italy from the US is not practical in the least bit, so I was looking at Italian websites...in Italian! Even having the pages translated didn't help, so I had one of the SLAs (like an RA but paid) find me a place to go - the first place I was supposed to go!

So, it's Thursday and I had some time to kill between classes and I figured I'd give this first place another try. Of course, with some new directions and a deep-seeded hatred for the school computer I made my way to Roma Computer Center, said "Bisogno un nuovo caricabaterie per il mio computer," and presto, I have a new computer charger! YAY!!!

Unfortunately, I've wasted so much time writing this oh-so-thrilling blog entry that I don't have enough time to add pictures from the past few weeks. I'm REALLY sorry, but I have to go to bed early because I'm off to DUBLIN in the morning! Thank you so much for putting up with my terribly boring blogs lately, you'll be in for a real trip come Sunday night!

I love it when you call me "il Papa"

Today I woke up at 6am to attend a papal audience. We were told that the good seats get taken really quickly, and we didn't want to end up standing outside in the cold so we left early, but it turns out that no one really goes to see the pope in the winter. So now it's about 3:30 in the afternoon and I'm exhausted! But it was so worth it.

The papal audience was crazy. We had fun admiring all of the Swiss Guards and their fantastically flamboyant outfits. We waited inside for about 2 hours but at least we were warm.
Finally, the Pope came out and he read some stuff in five languages - I had trouble paying attention because I got distracted by the tiles on the walls (there are 294 of them). Then the bishops go through a list of all the groups attending and they get up, cheer, and if they feel so inclined, they sing! No one told us this, so of course we were unprepared. Ah well, I still got to make a fool of myself in front of the Pope. (The polish bishop did not appreciate when people interrupted him to cheer and sing. Where's the love?) A lot of people go to the papal audience in costumes to represent their country or group. There were a few couples there in their wedding outfits because they wanted to get blessed before their weddings, and then there was a group of circus kids with outfits that outdid the Swiss Guards. It was quite an event.













Good news - my computer isn't dead, it's just the charger that's dead!

And the computer went "fizzle..."

As it turns out, things do break in Italy. In fact, they break when you really really don't want them to, just like in the States! My computer charger died and/or the connection is bad. Either way, I have to find time to go to an Italian computer store and ask for help...in Italian. It's not the worst thing, but it means that you won't be getting any pictures for a while. Too bad because I have some great pictures of PISA!

My friend Carolyn and I went to Pisa this past weekend. We had a great time exploring the town and climbing all 294 steps of the tower, but I'll save the details for the pictures. It was a great trip with some great cheap food.

I thought I'd take this chance to describe to you the John Felice Rome Center. There are about 240 students here and a lot of them aren't from Loyola. Most of us live on the main campus but because there are so many students this semester they had to put some of them in as hotel down the street. Our classes are in the same building as our rooms, which gets a little weird when you're taking a shower. It's a very old building with marble floors and very thin walls, so sound travels really well...too well. There are not secrets at the JFRC. Also, because it's such an old building, everything needs a little jiggle, shove, push, tweek, and love. Hot water? Well, it's always a surprise! All of these flaws are actually endearing and they add a very unique charm to the experience of living abroad, so long as you don't have excessively oily hair or need light on demand.

As soon as I get my computer working I'll get you some new pictures!

Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIC!!!! Double didgits, you are so cool! We'll get together for a birthday cake as soon as I get back. Ciao!