Orientation

Wednesday, June 10th: Orientation Day 1

The beginning of orientation for IES also coincided with the beginning of sweaty, over-crowded and lengthy bus routes. First, we missed the early 9:15 AM bus so we had to wait over 30 minutes to catch the next one (In that amount of time, we probably could have walked... if only we knew the way!). As the reliably prompt person that I am, I really despise the unreliable Italian bus system! :( The bus doors couldn't even really close, people were piled on top of each other (as if it was no big deal), I couldn't face forward so it was nauseating and I felt very claustrophobic! There were lots of "Scusi"'s and "Permesso"'s on the bus, which are probably the only two Italian words we know. I guess I'll have to "get over it" considering we'll be taking the 870 or the 44 bus almost daily.

We finally got off the bus, walked to the center, and were welcomed by the IES Staff who discussed procedures, academics, safety, etc. We had lunch out on the terrace (terrazza) and the view was really great and the food was even better! Since I didn't have to take a language placement exam, a bunch of us went out to just explore Rome! We had our maps out and everything, just like real tourists, and ended up at Piazza Navona! It was beautiful! We then followed the signs to the Pantheon (gorgeous!) and then we saw Trevi Fountain (ahhh!!). Look! It's me at the Pantheon! :) It was really fun to just wander around and try to get a glimpse of some really beautiful and historical Roman sites. Tomorrow is our guided tour of Rome so hopefully now we will all go back to those places and start to learn about their history. We almost couldn't find our bus route home, but sure enough, it was just across the street and we made it back. I'm sure I'll have more insight tomorrow after a good tour of Rome.

Thursday, June 11th: Orientation Day 2

There wasn't much of an orientation today: I had to pick up my books in the town center and then napped (finally!) before our guided tour of Rome! Thomas, our tour guide, was awesome! He had a lot of amazing stories to tell about the sites we went to. We went to a lot of the places I'd already seen but it was still really fun and informative. We went to: Piazza Navona, Pantheon, The Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Venezia, and the base of Capitoline Hill. (The picture is of me and Lizzie at the Spanish Steps!) We stopped along the way for gelato at a recommended place: I tried something NEW and got sage and raspberry mix alongside milk chocolate. The milk chocolate was to die for! :) The tour lasted from 6:30 PM to almost 10-10:30 PM. We then went out to dinner near Piazza Navona at a place called Navona Notte. I ordered spaghetti tomato and basil and caprese bruschetta (not the most adventurous but I was so hungry at this point after a 3.5 hour tour!). We were at dinner until 11:45 and, thankfully, caught the midnight night bus back to the apartment. Tomorrow is our day trip to the Lazio Coast: Terracina and Sperlonga. We get to go to the beach! YAY!

I'm having a really good time getting acquainted with Rome and hanging out with all the people in our group. I hate when we get lost, go figure, but I guess that's supposed to be half the fun. I also have never gotten this little of sleep but.. when in Rome, right? I'm excited for classes to start so I can start learning Italian! :) Buon asera!

Friday, June 12th: Orientation Day 3

We went on our first field trip with IES to Terracina and Sperlonga today. In Terracina, we saw beautiful views overlooking the water on Monte San Angelo and saw the old ruins of temples at the Tempio di Giove Anxur. We drove to Sperlonga and saw some more old Roman ruins, caves, and statues at Grotte di Tiberio - ruins of Villa Tiberius and Grottoes. Our tour guide wasn't all that great, but the sights were very pretty! The picture is of most of our group at Terracina at the Tempio di Giove Anxur. We're blocking the gorgeous view but, those pictures will be on facebook soon enough! :)

We ate lunch at a cute little restaurant and it brought opportunity to try MORE new things! I had some bruschetta, eggplant parmesan, zucchini lasagna, buffalo mozzarella, and tiramisu! There are so many courses in an Italian meal and I was definitely not prepared for it. Though the portions are much smaller than what we normally eat in American meals, the meal is so drawn out with multiple courses that I was so full even before the 2nd course came out!

We went to the beach in Sperlonga and it was really nice to just relax and take a load off my feet! I definitely fell asleep outside and I think I got some good color. We had an entertaining bus ride home and now I just showered and will probably get ready soon to eat dinner and go out for our first real weekend in Rome. Class starts on Monday so.. Here's to the weekend! :) Ciao for now!

Here's a picture of Aimee, Lizzie, Kristi, and I out on Friday night. We went to Testaccio and it was a really really fun and long night. If you can believe it, we didn't get back until like 5:30 or 6:00 in the morning! That's so beyond ridiculous for me, right!? Roman lifestyle is so vastly different than mine in Chicago, but I will definitely try to keep up!