It's been only a week, but it already feels like home here!
After unpacking and showering off the airplane grime I met tons of awesome people and we decided to go out to Campo di Fiore. Campo is basically the American clubbing and bar area where all the tourists and international students go at night. It's so alive! We had no idea how to get there so we called my roommate's friend in the US and he gave us vague directions to the other side of the river. We followed the river ALL the way down for about an hour...definitely the wrong way to go. We thought we were lost so we talked to these girls who looked American. As it turns out they were from University of Washington in Seattle and they were really awesome.
They showed us to Campo and we ended up going to The Drunken Ship, a VERY VERY American bar where they play beer pong and the drinks are twice as strong as normal. It was really crowded the first night and a lot of fun. As the night went on we ended up meeting up with one of the guys from University of Washington and crossing the bridge to Trastevere which is the Italian version on Campo, but less rowdy and with more wine. We went to a wine bar and just chilled out for the rest of the night.
The next day we had orientation where they warned us against Campo di Fiore and showed us around the neighborhood and the historic parts of Rome. It was amazing. We stopped by the Piazza di Popolo (sp?), the Spanish Steps, and the Trevi Fountain...basically everywhere. BRING BANDAIDS!!! If you ever plan on coming to Rome you will need bandaids for your feet.
The Piazza di Popolo was fun. There's a giant Egyptian monument in the middle of the area and street Performers were located all around it. The Trevi Fountain is very beautiful, but I think I would like it better if there were no people there. I think we're going to go visit it around 2am one day this week when it will be less crowded.
We ended up in Campo again that night because we told the University of Washington guy, Cee, that we'd meet up with him. The University of Washington housing in Rome is so much nicer than ours. They get their own apartments in Campo and the surrounding area, although they have to share facilities with more people. We amassed a large group from U of W and then ran into a bunch of students from our group and ended up going to some small bar/club...Il Sorrentto, or something to that effect. It reminded me of a more stylish Trads. They played American music and the whole lot of us were singing along to it. Eventually it got really crowded and the creepy Italian guy to American girl ratio go out of hand so we left for another club. We lost some people along the way, but eventually we made it to Mood, a crazy dance club with strobe lights and little corners with couches that you could sneak off to. I danced with this really nice/cute boy from U of W in the strobe light room. We danced for what seemed like hours and ended up busting some moves on top a table. All in all it was a terrific night!
The rest off the week passed by normally. Of course we walked around and went to Campo for paninis, but we had classes too so we didn't get too crazy.
As for classes they all seem really good and interesting, although there are some things that could be better.
International Business – This class is pretty interesting, though admittedly with a lot of reading. The professor is Italian and has a bit of an accent, but is still mostly understandable.
Italian – Our professor is very energetic and likes to move fast. Right now it's only basic Italian that we are learning; how to get around, the days of the week, numbers.
International Relations – I think I like this class? I'm not sure yet. Our teacher talks way too much and likes to flit around from topic to topic like a humming bird, but she really does enjoy her subject. We've only had to read one article on “Thinking Theory Thoroughly” so far.
Religions of the World – Our professor is a priest and he only knows his own religion. This is quite a disappointment since the class in going to be about a number of religions outside of Catholocism. He didn't know why the Hindus thought the cow was sacred and explained a Buddhist story incorrectly. The first class he basically told us we were all wrong. He's a nice guys though. We'll see how this class goes.
So yeah, that's been my week. Everyone went out last night to the club on the river under the bridge by Castle Sant'Angelo, but I elected to stay home and get some work done. If I'm ever going to travel to other countries on weekends and actually experience them I'm going to have to get work done now.
I think we're going to the beach tomorrow. I'll definitely take pictures!
