While living here in Rome, we have the chance to get to know not only the central part of Rome, but also the neighborhoods and less touristy spots of the city. This is one of the advantages of living with a host family and being emerged into the Italian life. Also, on various Fridays throughout our semester here in Rome, the program assistant, Anna, takes us to a different neighborhood in Rome, so that we can get to know the neighborhoods where other students live and become familiar with ones other than our own. These outings are optional, but I like to participate because I think it’s useful to get to know the other areas outside of central Rome. Anna walks us through the featured neighborhood, showing us places to eat and shop, as well as other things to do in the given area.

The second Friday we were here in Rome was our first night out, and we went to Parioli, which is a neighborhood north of the city, and pretty close to where I live. Anna walked the students to the restaurant where we would eat, called Disco Volante (“Flying Disc”) because it’s a pizzeria. My roommate, Katherine, and I had gone home to drop off our school bags, and so we took a taxi to meet them at the restaurant (we couldn’t use a bus unfortunately because of a transportation strike that day). We had a nice dinner; I ate an interesting Italian smoked cheese dish as well as gnocchi with a tomato sauce. For dessert, I got a very tasty piece of amaretto chocolate cake. Another special dessert that the restaurant had was this ice cream truffle ball, which came in white chocolate and dark chocolate varieties. The white one had a coffee center and white chocolate shavings on the outside, and the dark one had cocoa on the outside and a white center. Some of my friends got these, and I had a bite; they were amazing! We also got wine and waters for all to share.

The bill was surprisingly only a little over 10 Euro a person, which was significantly less than a lot of the meals we’d had at restaurants so far. That’s another advantage to getting to know the neighborhoods: food and shopping outside the center of the city is a lot better priced, less touristy, and oftentimes mom and pop businesses with great homemade food.

After dinner, a group of us headed to a nearby “American” pub and restaurant, called the Crazy Bull (named after an American beer), for beer or cocktails. The cocktails were interesting, because they were made with fresh fruit, and done slowly for better quality, unlike the typical hurried style of packed pubs in other places. I tried a strawberry daiquiri, which was blended with fresh strawberries, rather than a daiquiri mix, and it was sooo good! After socializing for awhile, we headed back home via taxi.

The following Friday night, Anna took us to San Lorenzo, which is southeast of our school, near Termini station. We met her outside of Termini, and then walked to a little trattoria to eat. The restaurant was a little family-run business, and a good place to practice our Italian, as none of the employees know English. I tried the spinach-ricotta stuffed ravioli with cream sauce, which was delicious! Our table also shared a couple orders of oven fried potatoes, which were good. And the dinner was so cheap! It was the kind of restaurant that we’re always looking to find (family run, don’t speak English, good prices), but never can in the heart of Rome, where everything’s so touristy and expensive. It was nice to have a quality, from scratch authentic Italian meal at a great price. That’s what we love about having a local, Anna, show us around the neighborhoods. She lets us know of some of the best places to eat for tasty food and budget-friendly prices.

After dinner, we went for dessert at a pasticeria (pastry shop). I tried three different little pastries, which were really interesting and good. We passed a creperia (crepe restaurant) as we were walking through the town, which some of us made plans to return to in the future! Overall, I thoroughly enjoy our nights out with Anna and appreciate the tips she gives us. And I like spending evenings outside the Centro Storico of Rome, where we can get away from the tourist spots and go where the locals do. To me, that’s what studying abroad is all about: trying to see and live in a place more like a local than a tourist.

Posted by Lisa at 01:55 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

While studying and living here in Rome, we are expected to adopt to the Italian schedule and way of life, truly living as the Romans do! My typical week day goes something like this: my alarm goes off at 7 a.m., I get out of bed sometime within the following half hour, and then I traipse into the kitchen to get a bite to eat. There I find the breakfast my host mom has set out for me. Italians usually just have coffee and a sweet bread/ pastry for breakfast, but we get a little more than that provided for us by the program since Americans tend to be used to bigger breakfasts. So, my usual Italian breakfast spread consists of orange juice, coffee (really dark Italian coffee), cereal w/ fruit and milk, a plate of sweet breads and cookies, and fruit. My host mom sets placemats and table settings along with all the food on the table for my roommate and me every morning (I feel kind of spoiled!).

After eating, I wash my dishes and then wait for a chance to use the shower (when my host mom and brother have finished in the bathroom). After tackling the European-style shower, I get dressed and get my bag together to head to school. My roommate and I walk down our street to a bus stop, where we catch the #2 tram. That takes us to La Piazza del Popolo, from which we walk to school. The whole commute takes about 30 – 40 minutes.

If it’s a Tuesday or Thursday, I have class from 9 am – 12:30 pm (with a coffee break partway through). If I don’t have morning class, I usually come to school a little later, and then just do homework or work on my laptop (since the only place I have internet access is on the wireless network at my school). Some mornings I’ll do a little work at home or shop or wander around town before heading to school. From about noon to 4:00 pm, we have lunch break, during which time I either get together with friends to go to a café or restaurant, or grab some food to go or some groceries to eat at the school for lunch (to save time and money). I then usually hang out or do my Italian homework before Italian class at 4:00.

Our intensive Italian classes goes for three hours (Monday thru Friday) until 7:00 p.m., with a coffee break halfway through, although it’s more of a gelato break for most of us students. After class, we commute back home via tram #2. My roommate and I arrive at our apartment to the greeting of Cristina and Rudulfo, our host mom and brother. If the table hasn’t been set, we help with that, and then usually eat within an hour of our arrival home (so dinner’s around 8:00 or 8:30 p.m. which is interesting to get used to!).

We eat dinner in the traditional Italian style, consisting of four to five courses (and lasting a solid hour or more)! We usually start with a pasta or risotto dish, then have a cheese/frittata/meat/fish dish (she always changes it up), then salad or caprese, next fruit, and sometimes dessert in addition to the fruit. Some nights we finish with naci liquor, which is an alcohol our host mom’s friend makes homemade from walnuts, and is apparently good for the digestion. After we stuff ourselves at the encouragement of Cristina: “Mangiate! Mangiate!” (Eat! Eat!), we attempt to haul ourselves into our rooms to do some homework or reading before falling asleep. And therein ends my typical Italian week day!

Posted by Lisa at 04:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

At our school here in Rome, we students all take two Italian courses, and two or three additional courses (with a choice of theology, English, philosophy, ethics, biology, and art). I am taking the theology course, with is called “The Papacy and the Development of the Church in Rome” as well as an English class, entitled “Text and the City: Reading Rome.” The English class meets Tuesday mornings, and the theology class, Thursday mornings. My first Italian course meets every evening during September, and the second course meets the same time throughout October. The language courses are done this way so that we can have them consecutively rather than simultaneously. It works well for us students, though, because it means we have no evening classes during November and December. I am really excited for those last two months because I will only have class two mornings a week, and four day weekends!! It will be the ideal time to travel as well, with all the time I’ll have off!
Although our morning classes are 3-3.5 hours long, the teachers keep it interesting by holding classes throughout the city and taking us on tours of monuments and churches while teaching, rather than sitting and lecturing in the classroom for that long period of time. For example, my English class has been held on the Spanish steps, in the Villa Borghese (a big park in the northern part of the city), and at the John Keats museum. And my theology class has visited Ss. Apostoli church as well as St. Paul’s Basilica, where our professor lectured as we walked around. I really think that having classes on location around the city truly enhances the learning experience, and makes the classes so much more interesting and fun. It’s also a great way to learn my way around the city and to learn more in depth information on the history of the city!

Posted by Lisa at 04:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The weekend turned out to be rainy, which cancelled our beach and Vatican plans for Saturday and Sunday. Instead, I ended up sleeping in and taking it easy Saturday at my apartment, which was much needed after having so many activities the past two weeks. Sunday, I wanted to get out of the house, so I got in touch with some friends, and we arranged an outing to the movies and dinner. About eight of us got together and met at a cinema, not too far from our school in Centro Antico, which plays English films. Four of us walked there from the Spanish steps with just two umbrellas, and when it started to pour, we kind of got soaked! Especially, poor Katherine! We stopped for a few minutes in a store until the rain subsided and Katherine almost bought a new shirt because her’s had gotten so wet. Once the rain let up a bit, we walked the last block to the theatre, and were glad to be out of the rain!
Sarah had looked up movies and times, and we decided to see “The Queen” (or “La Regina” in Italian), which is a British film about Lady Diana and the Royal Family’s reaction to the death of Princess Diana. It was an interesting and educational movie, we thought. It even included some real news footage of Princess Diana and all the people in England who mourned her death. It was the original version, so it was in English (not dubbed in Italian), and had Italian subtitles. The theatre was small, with just two screens/rooms, and a ticket box office. There were no concessions like we’re so used to in America. So, we were rather hungry and thirsty after the movie was over, and decided to go to the Spaghetteria, where some of us had eaten before. We had a great dinner there; I got spaghetti with a walnut, cream, parmesan sauce, which was delicious! We like this restaurant also because it’s reasonably priced. Our food and drinks came to 10 Euro a person (which included service fees as well; you don’t tip as much in Europe as you do in America). After dinner, we of course had to stop for our daily dose of gelato! Then we parted ways to catch our various buses and trams to take us to our Italian homestays.

Posted by Lisa at 01:08 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)