Well, I haven't posted in a week... sorry about that. It was just because this past week was so busy being my first week of class, Lucie visiting, and of course, my birthday. I think I will just give you a quick overview of the main events:
Last Sunday, I visited Santa Maria della Vittoria for mass with my roommate Anna. This is the home of my most favorite sculture The Ecstasy of St. Theresa by Bernini. This also happens to be the closest church to my apartment (win win situation). The mass was probably the cutest thing I have ever been to. First of all, the priest was this sweet old man with big black square glasses who definitely thought he was an opera singer. At every hymn, he stood up, front and center and put the microphone as close to his mouth as possible (oh, and I must add hand gestures were absolutely necessary). Every person in the congregation also did what ever they felt like doing. Standing up and sitting down whenever; they sang to their own pace; and let me just say, the communion line had no order what so ever.... I couldn't help but smile the entire time. After mass, we went to get some lunch. The two men working absolutely loved us. And by the end of the lunch we got free penne pasta "just to taste", a free little dessert called Dolce Mandorla, which tasted just like Mommas' Ricciarelli, and two bottles of wine to take home for only 3 euros each. He really wanted to give me the wine for 5 euros, but they didn't have the right change in the cash register. So he said' "just bring me 2 euros next time".
- My first week of class was just wonderful. I have never been so excited for school! Here is a list of my classes:
- Italiano - My teacher is hilarious her name is Elda and has crazy curly hair and never stops talking. So far my fav class. We watched Anthony Bourdain: Roma the other day to see what the Roman Specialties are and where the best places to taste cheeses and meats and where to get the most Authentic Italian dishes. One of the biggest specialties is Caccio e Pepe (which I so happened to try my second night in Roma, by accident) and Roman style Artichokes (which just so happen to be my favorite food). We will get a chance to visit a market during one of our classes to practice buying.
- Photography- So excited for this class because we will never be in the classroom. Every session we will be exploring Rome and we will even have a few night sessions for nightlife photography. (Thanks mom and dad for my wonderful Cannon I got for my bday)
- The Culture of Food and Wine in Italy- EVEN MORE EXCITED FOR THIS CLASS. Every single session we have a chef come in and prepare dishes from a specific region in Italy and we taste wines that pair with each type of dish. We also have to keep a food journal documenting everything I eat and all of the wines I try. I also have to write a restaurant review and prepare my own regional Italian meal for my roomates: Antipasto(appetizer), Primo piatto(first course): pasta, riso (rice), zuppa/minestrone (soup), Secondo piatto (second course): carne (meat) and pesce (fish), Contorno (side dish): insalata (salad), patate fritte (French fries), contorni misti (mixed vegetables), etc., Frutta (fruit), and Dolce (With an accompanying vino of course).
- International Marketing- My teacher is a funny, old, British man who has the biggest sailors mouth (every other word is "Bloody" or "hell"). I am very interested in this course though becasue it just consists of a presentation each week on an international case study, so we actually only have to go to class once a week. He also told us our textbooks are useless so that saves me a good 50 euro.
- The New Testament and the Eternal City- This class consists completely of excursions! Not a bad way to take theology. Practically every place on the list are places I have been dying to go to like: San Clemente, the Catacombs, the Scavi Tour, An audience with the Pope, San Luigi dei Francesi, St. Paul outside the Walls, and the list goes on and on.
My roommate Lucie arrived on Wednesday which was so exciting :) It is so funny having all of these Providence people you spend everyday with back home reuniting in a foreign country... I was sooo lucky to have her here for my birthday and just made the weekend so much more fun. After class on thursday, I came home and the girls decorated the apartment (with random items from the Chinese shop down the street). It made me so excited to start the birthday weekend! On my actual birthday, we had a class excursion to the Colosseum, the Forum, the house of the Vestal Virgins and the other main locations around the heart of Rome. (Being such an art history nerd, I couldn't think of a better way to spend my Bday). Lucie just pretended she was a student and tagged along for the ride. That night, we went back to Piazza del Popolo for a bday dinner. Afterwards we went to the Famous night club, White, which is also a Gelato shop during they day, to celebrate my 21st. The Italians LOVE American music, but they have contributed some good songs that we have come to love (and have become our theme songs) that we are hoping become big in the states: "I Follow You" by Lykke Li and "Musica" by Fly Project. 
Julius Caesar's Cremation Spot
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| "She doesn't even go here" - Mean Girls |
Sunday, I met with a family friend, Matt Kopp, at the Vatican for mass. (I MADE IT THERE ALL BY MYSELF ON THE METRO) He gave me a tour and I was completely overwhelmed. I barely took any pictures because I was just in awe by the beauty, the size of the building, and the ornate decoration of the interior. Of course, I teared up when I saw the Pieta and I also had a chance to say a prayer at JPII's tomb, which was brought upstairs into the main church on his beatification. Mass was supposed to be at 13:00, but the priest just decided not to do it (very Italian, I am figuring out). So instead we went to grab lunch and then he showed me around the St. Thomas Bernardi House where he and the other Catholic Studies students are living. I then went back home to Lucie, who was dying to get out of the apartment and explore. She went with me to Mass at Santa Maria della Vittoria at 18:30 and had the same experience as I did the first time I went there. Now both of us could not stop grinning and giggling at how adorable the priest was. His entire homily consisted of the repetition of three words "Piccolo" and "Bambino Gesu" which were very stressed when spoken and hand gestures, of course, accompanied. Afterwards, we went for an Italian meal at restaurant just down the street. Lucie and I were the only ones in the entire restaurant and were literally treated like celebrities. First, the entire kitchen staff leaned out from behind their window the entire meal, next they called the owner out to also watch us and then we had three different waiters taking turns serving us. For antipasti, we ordered prosciutto and mozzarella, and Roman style artichokes. I then ordered the Penne Arrabbiata and Lucie ordered the Tortellini e Funghi. They begged us to stay for dessert, which they claimed made you lose calories when you ate it, but I really wanted to take Lucie to get my favorite coconut gelato down the street. Once we got our Gelati, we took a stroll to the Spanish steps and window shopped. Even though I have been there twice already, this third time was the most beautiful because it just had rained which made the cobblestones sparkle and the lights reflect off of everything. We did not escape the Indian flower vendors though. Every one came up to us saying the same thing: "Beautiful flower for beautiful girl. I give to you for free!" But then by the end of the convo, they always said, "could you please just give me a small coin?" Overall, I had a great date night with my Minnesota twin.
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Well, that overview was not as quick as I thought it would be, but I love to share the little stories that, to me, are more important than the big events.
Bacioni
xxxx
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