week 3

Well, it has been quite awhile since I wrote in my blog. I've been busy with school work, teaching English and enjoying Rome:). Heading to Cinque Terre this weekend to hike and maybe go swimming depending on the weather, suppose to rain tomorrow:/ We almost didn't go because there was a train strike but I guess they resolved the problem which was good because I paid 46 euros for my ticket.
Got most of my school work done except the paper for Humanities 300 which I really had wanted to get at least half of it done today. I'll do some reading on the train for culture making and work on the paper when I get back Sat.
Things have been going smoothly here but we did have a little tension going on at our last community meeting. Its life and the sooner people realize that, the better. Would write more but don't want the wrong people reading this. Can't wait for my parents and Nick to come!!!!!! That is all for now, going to try and work on my paper but we will see how far that goes. My roomie is getting sick I think, or allergies. Ciao!

Pompeii and Naples this weekend

We were in Pompeii this Fri and it was amazing!!!!! Professor Szabo and Kristen showed us around a little but after that, we basically had the whole afternoon to wonder around Pompeii. Saw some cast of people who had died and walked on the same streets as they did back in 79AD!!!! How cool is that? The buildings were intact and we could even see the fresco paintings on some of the wall. I could have stayed there for another day because we only got to half of it that one day! I talked to some other people and we might come back and hike to Mount Vesuvius, I also would not mind going to Herculaneum too.
A group of us stayed behind in Naples for the weekend. On Saturday, we had planned to go to the beach in Malta but it was raining, so we headed to Sorrento and wandered around. Over all, it was a fun day minus the rain and cold;) We are going to tour Naples and head home in the evening on Sunday. Thats all for now:)
Ciao

So, I am eating gelato and trying to read The Aeneid because we are going to be gone this weekend!!! Today was calm and we didn't have our Italian quiz because Lucy didn't make enough copies. Film class was great, we watched Open City and it was actually really good!! Did the wash today and still need to make my bed. I don't like line drying because everything is rough. Tried to book plane tickets to Barcelona but they didn't have capital one as a choice, so frustrating because I need to buy tickets ASAP!!!
Going to go make my bed and do some more reading...maybe

I totally forgot to write in my blog for yesterday...oh well, nothing exciting happen. Had classes and my group made chicken catch a tori for dinner. We also made a shepherd cake for dessert. Today was pretty normal too. A couple of us did go to the rome baptist Church and taught English, I was with the young children (age 7-9). They were great learns but the Chinese boys would not settle down. Im in love with the two Sri Lanka girls, Davida and Nathani. They are very sweet, heard workers, and want to learn English. Had dinner there, Pastor Dave's wife, Cathy makes dinner for all of us.
Came back around 9 to trouble in paradise. Guess some girls got into trouble for missing dinner and this was not the first time. Don't know the whole story but whatever. Another issue I have is, shouldn't the RA set a good example for us? Being late to class and coming in your pj's after professor Szabo told us not too? Other than that, everything is going well, the food has been great so far, especially the gelato place a couple of blocks from us:) I got some before going to teach English because it was near our bus stop.
Going to do some reading and drink my tea:)

Start of week 2

Well, I am about to start week two in Rome:) Today was Sunday and the majority of us attended the Rome Baptist Church.  Jess, Kelly, and I went to a panini place for lunch and than did some shopping. Got back around 2:30 and I decided to do some reading for school.
Dinner was fun because we had Pastor Dave and is wife Cathy for dinner along with Jason and Laura. He is the associated pastor I believe and I am also helping him teach English. They have 2 adorable boys, Everett is 5 and Keaton is 18 months. They work for campus crusader and have been in Rome for five years. Kristin and Professor Szabo made roast along with potatoes and salad for dinner. All together, an awesome dinner. Speaking of which, my group makes dinner tomorrow and hopefully it turns out better than last time!
This evening, some of us headed out and saw the Colosseo burn! Yeah, you are all freaking out I bet, but it didn't actually burn. There is a group from Denmark that is going around the world and "fake" burning monuments. Its some kind of major marketing thing, but it was really cool to see!
I still have some more reading to do, so ciao!

Ooppss, almost forgot to write in my blog! Well, what did I do today?  Me and some of the other girls did some browsing in the market where they have everything from veggies to seafood, to clothes, and accessories! Than we went to a typical medieval Italian town called Trastevere. We ate lunch at a little cafe and I got the spaghetti with clams, which I realized I like a lot.  Kylie, Rebekah, and I tried to get a picture with this military guy but he wasn't allowed. He claims to be on duty but he was texting!! I don't think he's allowed to do that on duty, oh well.  It sprinkled for awhile but I didn't mind it, especially because I had an umbrella with me:) That took about all day and I got some homework done, not as much as I wanted though:/ Jenna and I got pizza from a place a couple of blocks away, I got a calzone and it was really good. Oh, I also had a gelato and have decided that someone needs to start one in the States! Thats all for now,
Buonasera!

1 week

It is officially one week that we have been in Rome. There were no classes today, so I went to the park with Kelly and Sofia to do some homework and explore the area. Trying to find a decent price flight to Switzerland and that has not been fun. I am heading to Naples next week with a much of people after our excursion of Pompeii, pretty pump for that! Other than that, nothing exciting happened at the convent. Going to make some dinner now.
Ciao!

I just finished washing the dishes and got my clothes of the drying line, feel like one of those domestic woman back than. Not much happened today, besides classes. We watched a silent film that was black and white for Italian Cinema. We have classes from Monday through Thursday and than its the weekend!!!! Might be going to the beach with Caleb, Mindy, Jess, and Meg, but we don't know because Caleb is planning it and like any boy, he didn't plan ahead of time. If not, than I'll go exploring the neighborhood. Homework will happen in there sometime:)

Day 3

Today was our first excursion and we went to see San Clemente's Basilica and St. Peter's Square! San Clemente's Basilica was okay, but I was not a fan of it being underground and dark. I did drink from the spring water they and down there, don't know how safe it was but one of my professor did it and she lived to tell us about it:) Our assignment was to study something for 15 minutes and than sketch it. This would be one of those time I wish I could draw!
St. Peter's Square was jammed pack with people waiting in line. I have to say, the line did move quickly but the heat was a killer today! Being inside brought back memories of when I went with my class a couple of years ago;) Bernini's work is just amazing and there are no words to describe it.
I did some more exploring with Kelly after our excursion and we got lost but were able to find our way back home, an hour later. Nevertheless, I am beat and heading to bed after I practice Italian.
la notte!
Oh yeah, the Italians like to 2 things in life: 1. smoking and 2. making out in public!

Ciao!

When in Rome, do as the ROMANS do, which was exactly what I did (crossing the street). This doesn't mean that it was safe or even legal;). Just thought I would mention this because everyone has been giving me a hard time about how I cross the street...:)
Well, today was kind of slow considering that I am in Rome but Italian class was amazing!!!!! Lucy, our professor did not speak any English (she did it on purpose) and it was basically sink or swim (I half floated/half sunk). It was really fun and I'm looking forward to our next class on Thursday.
I did 2 things worth mentioning, teaching English at the Rome Baptist Church and making dinner for tomorrow evening. A few of my classmates and I are helping teach English at the church, where I plan to attend regularly. The meeting went well and dinner was provided for us by Pastor Dave's wife, which was a plus:)
Everyone was assigned a cooking group, and that group has to make dinner for the evening. My group consisted of Jenna, Rachel, Mike and me. We made 2 egg casseroles and had a nice time getting to know each other.
Well, thats for all, as I need to go get my beauty sleep and call my family:) Heading to the Basilica tomorrow!!!!!
Ciao!

First day of class

Salve l'amico!
I was not able to post any blogs because our internet was down when we got here. Today is the 4th day I've been in Rome and the first day of classes:) To give you an update on the last few days, our flight went smoothly and we did not lose anyone. Once our flight touched the ground, we were off and running as Italy is 6 hours ahead of the United States. We were met by our professors and took a van to the convent, which is an hour away from Fiumicino Airport..
The convent is located on Via Nomentana, which is about a 10 minute bus ride from the Basilica and maybe 20ish from the Pantheon and Colosseo:). The first couple of days were orientation and on Sunday, we all attended the Rome Baptist Church. Kelly (my roommate) and I went exploring in the Piazza Venezia, which has the Colosseo, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and the Victor Emmanuel II monument, just to name some major sites:). That about brings you up to date on what has been happening the last few days.
This morning, I had only 2 classes: Humanities 300 and Culture Making. I also did some grocery shopping with Kelly and talk about expensive! The euro is currently higher than the U.S dollar, so for a few pieces of lunch meat, it was almost $3! FYI, The Romans don't eat a lot of meat, so for those of you who know me, I like my meat!!! Well, thats all for now and hopefully I will remember to post something at the end of the day.
Ciao!