Where has the week gone?

My, my I haven't updated since Monday!  So I guess I will just give some random recaps from the past few days!

I 'lost' my keys yesterday after I got back from grocery shopping.  I had them to get into the apartment though so I knew that I didn't really lose them.  But I searched everywhere...I emptied out the 'blackhole purse' and even checked in the fridge...nowhere!  The cleaning lady, Larissa, was here when I got back from shopping so the only thing I figured was that she accidently took them when she packed up all her stuff.  So before class this morning I talked with the housing coordinator today and told her...she said that would be unlikely but she e-mailed the cleaning agency anyways.  I was fortunate that when I got back from class this morning that Leah was here to let me in or I would have been stranded outside for a while.  When I got home Leah said that some random person had stopped by earlier and when Leah answered the door they just said "keys", handed her a set of keys, and left.  So I have my keys back now!  Phew!

Well I am finally using Skype (even though I have to mooch off of Leah's computer to use it) but I have been able to talk to Lisa, my Dad and my Mom this week.  So it was nice to hear their voices and Lisa has a webcam so we could see each other...very cool!  

My mom asked me today how my Italian was coming along...I told her that it's not very good.  But as I was thinking about it later this afternoon I was realizing what kind of valuable things I do know how to say.  Things like: "I would like a medium gelato in a cone with strawberry, coconut and melon"  Ha!  It may not sound that fluent but I am perfectly capable of ordering gelato, pizza, and coffee in Italian!  

The owner's of the EOLO bar, where I get my morning cappucino before school, say 'ciao' whenever I walk by...It makes me happy.  I am starting to feel like a part of the community :) 

I am making dinner tonight: baked 'cornflake' chicken, overnight mashed potatoes, asparagus, and delicious pastries!  I actually did make the potatoes last night...I improvised a lot since American recipes are hard to follow here but I figure I couldn't go wrong with lots of butter, cream cheese, fresh garlic and parmesan!!!  And I just bought some amazing pastries from a Pasticceria at the end of our street....I can't wait!

We (my roomates and I) are leaving for Naples at 5 in the morning tomorrow.  We have to take a train to the big train station...Termini to catch our train to Naples.  We are staying at the Welcome Inn hostel for two nights at only 15 euro a night!  Naples is more of our jumping off point to then travel to Capri and Pompeii.  So I am sure I will have lots to update about when I get back!

I am also in the process of planning a trip to Germany.  Transportation is going to be quite pricey but at least once I get there I will have free accomadations!   I am going there to visit Rachel Fodor, the student who lived with the Batt's last summer; and Adela and Niky Herth, friends I met on my missions trip to Romania 3 years ago.  I am so excited to be able to see them again!  I was just thinking today how 3 years ago I would have never guessed that I would have the opportunity to see them again in this lifetime!  So it will be such an amazing blessing to see them and meet their husbands, Daniel and David (siblings as well)!  And Rachel is a lot of fun as well so I am looking forward to meeting her family and to experience how a European family lives.  

Well I need to start preparing the chicken for dinner and I need to pack...yikes!  So ciao for now!

First Few Classes

So school has started and it feels a little strange being back in school - I think my extra long summer is contributing to the weirdness.

So my first class was Monday morn at 9am and I walked up to campus with Leah and Lindsay. But first, we made a very important pitstop at the Eolo Bar for a cappucino (€1) and cornetto (€.70) (croissant in Italian). I mentioned this bar before (in Friday's blog), where met our new friend Jesse, who works there and also attends AUR. She is from Canada and her boyfriend, Alissandro's, family own the bar. It is very nice to be able to ask Jesse random culture and language questions plus its awesome that we have 'our bar.' Because Italians will go to the same bar every morning for their coffee.

Now, to clear up some possible confusion, a bar in Italy is to be compared to a café in America. When you walk in, you typically greet everyone there, and walk up to the bar to order. In some bars you pay before you order, and then you give your receipt to the 'barista' and they make whatever you just paid for. But, as Jesse informed us, if its the same bar you go to every morning and they know who you are, you can pay before or after. Most Italians stand at the bar and drink their beverage quickly (which is very typical in the mornings before work) while others will sit outside and socialize or read the paper.

Ok, so after we had our breakfast I went to class. It was Roman Imperial Art and Architecture and every class except for one is on site, which basically means that when we learn about the Pantheon our class will be at the Pantheon...how cool is that! The subject matter seems amazing - it's all about ancient Rome from 300 BC till only about 300 AD. However this professor, Prof. Jan Gedeyne, is to say the least, intense. He doesn't really like people a whole lot and at some points even though he was intimidating, I found it slightly funny. But not like "ha ha" funny, just amusing. One of the things that scares me the most is that he talks with his eyes closed. (The surgeon who removed my wisdom teeth did the same thing and ever since then it just freaks me out!) He does not like study abroad students. He also does not like architects. Not good for me! I talked to Jesse about him this morning and she confirmed everything, but she also added that he says a lot of that to 'provoke' students (aka..make them angry so then they want to prove him wrong) and that he actually is funny (ha ha funny) if he likes you . So right now I am a provoked, irritated student who is freaked out by him but who wants to try hard to prove him wrong. So I guess his tactic worked on me.

After class I went to this amazing Pizza place by school, which Nick and Jill from MKSD told me about. You tell them how big of a piece you want, they cut it for you and weigh it...so you pay by the weight. This is probably the 6th time I've had pizza...but don't even think that it's a 'cop out'...Pizza here is so different, so abundant, and sooo delicious! I chose a 'white' pizza layered with fresh pomodorri (tomatoes), sliced fresh mozzarella, olive oil, and basil. I got it to go and went across the street to a large park, where I had my quiet time and enjoyed a fantastic lunch!

At 12:30 I had my second class, Photography with Lorenzo. He is a professional photographer and teaching is his 2nd job. He seems like he is very nice and laid back, the complete opposite of Prof. Gedeyne! We pretty much just talked about camera basics, apperature, shutter speed, film and light. This class is not on site though and we have to develop our film before each class at a photograpy store (€€€ - yikes!). But I am hoping that I will learn how to use a manual and be able to take some awesome pictures that you can all purchase from me when I return so I can start to pay off all the debt I will have!

So today, Tuesday, my morning started off at the same time as well as with stopping at Eolo Bar before class. Lindsay, Sarah and I all have Intermediate Drawing together (as well as with all of the other Philly U architecture majors). Our Professor, Tim Allen, (hehee) is my first American professor - he moved to Rome 10 yrs ago and he is a painter. He is very funny and he is very passionate about what he teaches and about what we do- so that is exciting. After going through the syllabus, we all went into the 'centro' of the city to buy supplies. He prearranged everything with the owners- so we paid for bags full of italian art supply goodies; it felt like Christmas except I had to pay for it (€€€€- ah!) We than went to a nearby Piazza which had a convienent view of the back of the Pantheon to draw for a bit. Needless to say I am definetly out of practice and it will take a while to get back into it. I am dreading this week's assignment because we have to draw a self-portrait. And for those who may know...the last self-portrait I did for Drawing freshman year did not turn out so well. It's probably not a good thing when the professor can't tell whose self-portrait it is!

Well after class Sarah and I got the tram, but got off at the wrong stop so we walked a really long way back to our apartment. I made a quick lunch (piece of bread, chunk-o'-fresh-mozzarella, and yogurt) and we headed up to campus. I didn't have class but I needed to buy a book- so after doing that I ate my lunch in the Park again. On the way 'home' I had an interesting ("in a good way!") experience in trying to by stationary at a nearby paper store...but that's a story for another time I suppose.

Earlier this evening I had Photography again, and we just took the bus to a camera store to buy film and such. So it was helpful to be shown exactly where to go, but it will be conveinent because it is right around the corner from our 'supermarcato' (grocery store). So from the store I just walked back to my apt.

Leah is making dinner tonight (we each have a cooking night - i am thursdays!) and she is cooking as I am typing this and it smells incredible. Lindsay and Sarah said that they could smell it from down the street. She's making veal with prociutto (ham) topped with fresh basil; risotto with onions and fennel; and sauteed zucchini and peppers...and all the other Philly U people eat at McDonald's - pahhh! It's 10:30pm here so we are definetly adapting to a more Italian time table! We are definetly making our best efforts to adapt and learn as much as we can....

Oooo dinner is ready...bueno appetito!