2008 Woodie Awards
Alright, as much as I should be doing my homework right now, I’m just too excited about what’s coming up that trying to focus is not even worth it! In just four days I will be flying out of Rome to Brussels, Belgium. From there, I will be taking a three hour train ride to AMSTERDAM for the weekend! As if that wasn’t enough, my best friend from Salve, Jenn, is arriving in Rome ON SUNDAY! She’s flying here all the way from the United States for an entire week! And you can only imagine how excited I am considering that I haven’t seen a single one of my friends back home in three months!
I’ve been saving up my two excused absences for each class this entire semester and I’m finally ready to use them up! I plan on showing Jenn all around Rome and exploring a lot of the things I haven’t even seen yet. Of course, Jenn will also get a nice taste of the fine Italian cuisine and Rome’s fabulous night life! On Thursday, my roommates are planning a very large Thanksgiving dinner, complete with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and of course, apple pie! (As much as I have embraced this culture, sometimes you just have to let the real American in you come out!) As for cranberry sauce, well, I had to ask mom to send that from the U.S. since Italian supermarkets don’t carry it. This doesn’t come as any surprise though, especially since I’ve learned that almost 90% of American food products do not exist in Italy or throughout the parts of Europe I have been to.
Anyways, it get’s even better! The following weekend after Jenn leaves is the weekend I have been waiting for all semester! That’s because I’m going to the one place I have been dying to go to for my entire life, the SWISS ALPS in Interlaken, SWITZERLAND! I’ll be tearing up some of the world’s most incredible slopes on my snowboard for four days over the long-weekend from school. Interlaken is supposed to be one of the most beautiful spots in all of Europe and judging from the pictures, I can already see why!
With so much to look forward to you can only imagine why I’m having a bit of trouble focusing on my schoolwork. Unfortunately, the only downfall is that everyday that goes by is just one day closer to me going home. As of tomorrow I will have exactly one month left in Europe. I can’t even begin to think about that though, despite how nice it will to get home and see all the people that I miss so incredibly much!
Until then, it looks as though this last month in Europe might actually be the best one yet! Considering this semester has been the best time of my entire life, I guess you could even say that I’m looking forward to what might be the best month EVER!
After thirty hours of overnight travel and undesirably sleeping on the floors of both a bus and a ferry, I’ve returned to Rome from my week-long break in Greece! My travels began at the World famous Pink Palace Resort in Corfu, one of Greek’s many beautiful islands. The Pink Palace was by far the best hostel I have stayed at in all of Europe. I’ve had to put up with some pretty disgusting hostels, but this one absolutely blew the rest out of the water. (Think bargain resort for college kids, rather than hostel.) We even had our own private room with a bathroom which was a nice change from some of the 20-person dorms I’ve stayed in.
Having given ourselves a big fat ‘F’ for experiencing the culture in Spain, my roommate Kate and I made it our goal to grasp the Greek way of life as much as possible. We enjoyed traditional Greek dancing, a toga party, cheered “Yamas!” with every drink, and even experienced the ancient tradition of having plates smashed over our heads! This customary act of plate smashing is considered to be a part of ‘kefi,’ the uncontainable expression of emotion and happiness. Kate and I also made sure we ordered a Greek salad with every meal and dug our teeth into the some of the other great traditional foods such as gyros, kebabs, and delicious baklava for dessert. Upon our arrival at the Pink Palace we had been greeted with a shot of Ouzo, Greece’s most infamous liquor, to which we all cheered ‘Yamas!’ to of course! We spent our days in Corfu relaxing on the beautiful beaches and soaking in the warm 80-degree weather. We even rented ATV’S one day and went on quad safari of the entire island, taking sight of the gorgeous mountains and scenic ocean views, not to mention the fun we had off-roading through the mountainous hills. On Monday night, we packed up our stuff, enjoyed one last meal in Corfu, and headed for Athens on an overnight bus. Kate and I spent the entire night sleeping in the alley of the bus; not what I would necessarily call a good night’s sleep!
We arrived in the large city of Athens early Tuesday morning, freshened up from our night’s travels and set out on a walking tour of the entire city. Our first stop was the original Olympic stadium. We also went to a museum that was built entirely over ancient ruins and had glass floors for looking down below. Next, we made our way to the Temple of Zeus, followed by the Acropolis to see the Parthenon, built by Pericles in the fifth century BC. The Acropolis, which can be translated as upper city, can’t be missed considering that it is located directly in the center of Athens. The entire city is built around it, with the mountains and the ocean surround the city. It was one of the most incredible views I have ever seen.
During my two days in Athens I soaked in a lot of history, saw some of the world’s most incredible sights, and even did a little bit of shopping with the girls! On our last night in Greece, Kate, our new friend, Lauren, and I all went out to dinner for one last Greek meal. I had lamb, one of Greece’s most popular meats. The food was excellent and the best part was that we had a beautiful view of the Acropolis all lit up at night! So despite the travels and sleeping in the alleyways of busses, my week in Greece turned out to be a great time! I returned to my apartment in Rome on Friday night and as Kate and I walked in the door, dropped our bags to the floor; we looked at each other and agreed that Rome, in spite of being thousands of miles away from the United States, has certainly come to feel like home!
Check out the Pink Palace at http://www.thepinkpalace.com/
Seeing as one of my number one goals while studying abroad in Rome was to learn how to do as the Romans do (i.e. stress less!) I guess you could say that I’m failing pretty miserably right now. While I’ve certainly learned to enjoy fine food and wine, my hopes of enduring less stress in my life is not quite working out, or at least not right now. It’s the night before my first of four midterm exams and all I can think about is how bad I’m going to do. Well, that and the fact that I’m going to be in Greece for seven nights in LESS THAN ONE WEEK! Oh, and my mom is visiting from the United States right now so, rather than studying like I should be, I’ve been playing tour guide for the past 48 hours And lets be serious, I’m living in ROME! Who really wants to focus on school when there is so much beauty all around you? I’m surrounded by incredible ancient forums, magnificant basilicas, runway fashion and, oh ya, let’s not forget those Italian men! So, what I’m really trying to say is that studying abroad certainly teaches you how to find a balance between work and pleasure. And we all know I’ve had my fair share of pleasure over here in Italy!
Like I’ve said before, there is never so much as one dull moment. This weekend my mom and I went to Venice, which was AMAZING! While nothing quite compares to the beauty of Italy’s Amalfi Coast, Venice was certainly a close second! I couldn’t believe that people actually live on these beautiful islands with no cars and no means of transportation other than boats along the canals. By last night we had seen pretty much all of Venice and returned to Rome where we enjoyed a traditional Italian meal next to the Pantheon. After dinner, when we were both absolutely stuffed, I decided to show my mom the Spanish steps, as well as the famous Trevi fountain.
Today, we woke up bright and early and headed to the Vatican just in time to catch the end of the 10 o’clock mass being broadcasted throughout St. Peter’s Square. We waited in line for almost two hours to get inside St. Peter’s Basilica, or as it’s called in Italian, Basilica de San Peitro. It was certainly worth the wait to be able to see this remarkable cathedral, which I learned is the second largest basilica in the world! (It was HUGE!) After a long day we finally returned to my apartment earlier this evening where I showed off my new cooking skills to my mom! I made her one of my favorite dishes: seafood scampi in a white wine sauce over linguine. I guess you could say living in Italy has also encouraged me to brush up on my cooking skills!
I’m sure you can understand by now why I’m having trouble focusing on school! But let’s just say that, while I may not be living like an Italian in terms of stress, I’m most definitely taking great pleasure in most other aspects of the Italian lifestyle. After all, I wouldn’t want to let go of all my American ways though now, would I?
With midterms right around the corner, it’s hard to believe that I’ve already been in Italy for over a month! I’ve already done so much traveling and yet the best trips still await me! (Greece for fall break in TWO WEEKS!) This weekend, however, I will be staying here in Rome to play in a powder-puff football game against one of the other American universities in Rome, as well as to check out a few of the things I haven’t yet seen. My friends and I plan on exploring some of the catacombs, or underground cemeteries, that can be found all throughout the city. We’re particularly interested in the the catacombs of St. Callixtus which originated during the middle of the second century. This specific network of catacombs covers over 90 acres and in it are buried tens of martyrs, 16 popes, and many other Christian followers. And as if kicking butt in powder-puff football and exploring catacombs weren’t enough, I’m also taking a day-trip to Perugia, Italy on Sunday to attend Europe’s largest chocolate festival, Eurochocolate! I can’t wait to indulge in chocolate all day and to see the chocolate sculptures, which I’ve heard are pretty amazing. One of the most rewarding things about being in Europe is that every weekend offers something uniquely interesting and fun, whether I stay in Rome or travel. You just never know what to expect!
The nightlife in Rome is also great so you’re sure to ALWAYS have an absolute blast! There is everything from dance clubs that always pump the best techno beats to small bars, perfect for people watching those in the streets and meeting locals! At the end of every night many of the American students tend to end up at one particular bar called Scholars that stays open until 4 o’clock in the morning, two hours later than most pubs. The funny thing about Europe is that they play a lot of American music from over six or seven years ago, including Backstreet Boys, Brittany Spears, and pretty much any other music you can think of that you would never hear in the U.S. anymore. As each night draws to an end, Scholars becomes completly packed full of Americans who have been out partying all night and who for just those two hours can’t seem to get enough of this horribly out-dated music! It’s great and this is just one of the many things I know I will look back on and laugh about from my time in Europe!
There is NEVER a dull moment over here!
Ok, so I never thought I would be writing a blog, or moreover, why on earth anyone would ever want to read about my life. I guess you could say I never really expected to be living in Italy though either.
That being said, let me just start off by saying that if you are not planning on studying abroad, THINK AGAIN! I’ve been in Rome, Italy now for almost a month now and it has already been such an incredible experience. I’ve pretty much had the best month EVER!
Aside from taking classes at The American University of Rome, Salve’s affiliated school here in Italy, I’ve been doing a lot of traveling and sightseeing. I spent the first two weeks getting to know Rome and exploring all the amazing achitectual sights and ruins in this city and since then I’ve been doing a lot of traveling on the weekends. I’ve been to Florence, Capri, Positano, Pompeii, Pisa, and Barcelona, Spain. My favorites were Capri and Positano which were absolutely beautiful! The train system and cheap flights through RyanAir make it really easy to do this sort of traveling every weekend and there are also some great companies like Bus2Alps and EuroAdventures that do all-inclusive weekends complete with tours and sightseeing!
I plan to spend the next two weeks in Rome since there is still so much I haven’t seen or done! Rome is such a large city with SO MUCH to do! If you are thinking about studying abroad I would DEFINITLY suggest doing an entire semester, rather than just a summer intersession because there is no way I could imagine going home yet…
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