“Mi piace! Mi piace quando tu sei felice!” These lines to an Italian pop song have been playing over and over in my head all day! You see, today was the last day of Italian class. After we reviewed our corrected finals (I got an A!), we did course evaluations, and then our class and another class prepared for a sing-off.
Our teacher, Mario, put the CD in the stereo, gave us each a copy of the lyrics, and left us to play the song repeatedly while we sang along. We were allowed to keep the lyrics, but we were supposed to memorize the beat because during the sing off, the professors would lower the music, wait a few seconds, and then raise it again to see if we were singing the correct part. After quite a bit of practice, and after listening to the song enough times for it to be stuck in our heads for the weekend, we moved into a bigger room where the competition commenced.
We sang with great enthusiasm and our best pronunciations against the other class, which matched our efforts. Then, after some biased judging on the parts of the two professors, as well as some cheating on the part of Mario, our class was declared the winner. Regardless of which class really won, it was quite the fun way to end the first month of Italian class. Now if I could just get the song out of my head…

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So I was just hanging out in our classroom during lunch break on Friday at our school here in Rome, Italiaidea, when Nadia, one of the language teachers, comes in to announce that there’s a little wine and grapes party going on in the next room. All I could think was, “Yeah, I’m in Italy.” I walked to the next room to find all sorts of wines, plates of grapes, bowls of chocolates, chunks of cheese and meat, crackers, and olives. So typically Italian; I just love the way we snack here.

The reason for this little social at Italiaidea was to celebrate the end of the term. At the beginning of each month (when the new courses begin), there is a welcome pasta, compliments of the school. And this “gratis” (free) wine party was a celebratory close to end the month of classes. It was a great way to mingle not only with other students from my program, but also some of the students at this language school from other classes. Not to mention everything tasted great, and it was the perfect pre-class snack. Gotta love Italy.

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Thursday we had our Italian finals, which completed our first course of Italian! It wasn’t too bad, especially considering I only studied during lunch break since I’d fallen asleep the night before! There was an oral section, some grammar/ fill in the blank parts, and a reading section. This first course was mostly review for me, which was helpful to remember and reinforce those verb tenses and vocabulary that I’ve learned but had somewhat forgotten over the summer. Our second course runs through the month of October, and it will get into a little new grammar as well as work a lot on our listening and speaking skills.

I can’t believe how fast things have been going by! I’m glad to have one course out of the way, although having language class everyday for 3 hours really does keep me practicing and using the language frequently. I’ve been able to conjugate verbs and think of words a lot faster and better since I’ve been here and using the language so often. I’ll be walking around the city and find myself thinking in Italian; it’s crazy yet a good thing at the same time. I really appreciate the immersion aspect of studying abroad in a non English-speaking country. And I’m glad I took Italian before coming here, because I think it’s a much easier way to start than without knowing the language at all.
After our exam our professor, Mario, took us to a nearby German restaurant and pub for drinks and a snack. I got wine and a cheese platter, which comes with honey and jam. It’s the second time I’ve had a cheese plate at a restaurant, and they serve it like that with the honey, which is different, but tasty on some of the types of cheese. We had a fun time just relaxing and talking with our class in a more casual setting, and we tried to get our teacher to speak English, which he can, but usually denies being able to! Overall, it was a nice little class outing to end the course.

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Tonight, I was walking after school with a group of girls to find someplace to eat dinner, and we had one of those moments where we were in disbelief that we were really here in Rome. And I just loved the comment that my friend, Jen, made: “Sometimes I just can’t believe we’re here. I mean look, there’s the pantheon right there! It’s times like these that I wish someone from home would just call me up so I could say, ‘Yeah, I’m just strolling pass the pantheon right now; what are you up to?’” I feel the same way. It’s easy to get caught up in everything we’re doing during the semester, but it’s great to just pause sometimes and realize again where we are and how amazing it is to be here!

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Wednesday was my friend Dan’s (the only guy student from Loyola) birthday! He just turned 20, and so his host family threw him a little birthday dinner to celebrate. He invited me and Katherine to come over after school for dinner, which we were excited for because we wanted to meet Nonna! His host mom is somewhat famous; she’s this little old lady who everyone calls “nonna” (which means “grandma” in Italian), and is such a funny cute little woman. So, we picked up some wine and flowers, and headed to nonna’s for dinner.

Before dinner, we had some wine and snacks in the sitting room, which Dan had never even been in because it’s a room reserved for when guests come over. The apartment was really cute and antique looking, like everything had been in its place for the 50 years that nonna had lived in Rome. We had a nice dinner with nonna and her son (who lives with her). Nonna shared with us stories of the previous students she had hosted; she remembered everything about every one of them! It was so funny to hear her rattle off the cities and schools of her previous students, as well as little anecdotes about them. She had quite an impressive memory!

I also enjoyed the way she had no problem correcting us when we made mistakes as we were speaking with her in Italian. Dan had warned us that she helps you with your Italian “out of love.” So we were prepared for the critical ear. Although I think it’s a good way to learn, because you’re not saying things in Italian that you think are right, but rather learning what the correct grammar usage is.

Anyway, after a delicious dinner, nonna brought out a homemade chocolate cake with a cream icing drizzled on top with 20 candles in it for Dan! She lit the candles for him as we took pictures! After cake and coffee and a little more conversation, we said goodbye to Dan and nonna, and headed home (just a 15 min. walk from Dan’s neighborhood) to study for our Italian exam the next day. Although I think I only got as far as opening my book on my bed before falling asleep…

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My roommate and I have started exploring our neighborhood the past couple of weekends, although it’s not the best time to do so because weekend nights and Sundays most of the shops and restaurants are closed. But, it’s all the time we’ve had available to do so, and it’s been good to at least see what’s around us. We live in the northern part of the city, and a little west, off of Via Flaminia. Our street is right across Via Flaminia from the stadium.

Just walking a block from our apartment, we have found a number of coffee bars and pastry shops, which is where we have gone for breakfast on the weekends. There are also some pizza places and little shops, as well as a couple of restaurants. There is a lot within walking distance, and we hope to explore more as the weeks go on, and as we look for places to eat on the weekends. There is also a small theatre, called Cinema Tiziando, which shows one movie a night (in Italian), just a few buildings down from us on our street. There is a church there as well, which is where we go for mass on Sundays (very convenient!). I like how close it is—just a five minute walk and we’re at church! The masses we’ve been to so far have all been in Italian, so that will be something to get used to, as well as help us learn the language as we start to memorize the mass parts in Italian.

It’s great to have shops and eateries within walking distance from where I’m living here! I really enjoy being able to walk to places so close by and not having to depend on a car anytime I want to go somewhere, like at my home in the U.S. I like the feel of the city and the proximity of everything here in Rome.

Twice my roommate and I have gone to this restaurant in our neighborhood, called Tiepolo, named for the street its on. It was recommended to me by the director of our school in Rome, and so we’ve gone there for dinner a couple of weekend nights (since our host families don’t supply weekend meals). Tiepolo has more gourmet, mostly vegetarian fare, and is not your typical Italian ristorante. It has a list of salads, appetizers (some interesting baked cheese dishes), baked bread dishes w/ different toppings, as well as a list of “jacket potatoes” which are basically baked potatoes with various toppings. They also have daily specials, a nice wine list, and tasty desserts! One dish that I found interesting and very palatable was the baked feta with honey and rosemary. The food was so creative and delicious; we will definitely be regulars at this close and affordable restaurant!

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Sunday, Sept. 24, I finally made it to the sea (al mare) for a beach day! Destination: Sperlunga! Wow, what a beautiful day it was! Clear blue skies, a nice breeze, beautiful transparent water, and a day full of little adventures.
I went with a group of six friends from the program via a short train ride from Rome early that morning. We chose a stretch of sand to settle down on, rented some beach chairs and umbrellas (at a much cheaper price than US beaches, I might add), and stretched out to soak in the sun. Sarah, Brian, and I decided to try the water first, which was too cold for me! And so we waded in the water a bit, but didn’t fully immerse ourselves. Between the breeze and the cold water, I was actually a bit chilly!

We played in the sand a bit, then decided to act like we were 9 year olds, and the group buried Sarah and I in the sand, with just our heads showing. It felt kind of nice, laying in a bed of sand, especially once someone made us a pair of sand pillows to prop up our heads. But, then we broke through and emerged covered from head to feet in a nice layer of sand. It was then that I realized maybe it wasn’t the best idea to be buried in the sand, because now I was going to have to get in that freezing water again to wash off. After a cold dip in the water and some dry brushing off of the sand with a towel, we decided it was time for lunch. We were stationed right next to a little snack bar on the beach, and so we ordered panini from there. Some ate on the beach, and a group of four of us ate at a table on the rooftop deck of the café, which had a great view!

We spotted a couple of paddle boats on the water, and decided looking into how to rent one. We discovered that it was only 10 Euro to rent one for an hour, so we did! But this wasn’t just any paddleboat. It had two seats in front where two people sat to paddle and steer, two seats in back, and between the seats in back was a little waterslide! So, naturally we had fun sliding off into the water, and then some difficulties trying to climb back onto the boat! But, it was quite a blast! I liked paddling out far away from the shore and being able to see down into the deep, clear water. There were also some great views of the coastline from the boat.

After the boat ride, Sarah, Megan, and I went for a walk down the shore. It was so amazingly beautiful there on the beach, walking along barefoot in the sand with the cool water moving back and forth across my feet with the tide. During this past month, there have been moments like this one where I’ve just paused and realized in disbelief that I’m here, in Italy, and I can’t even believe it. It’s so unreal and wonderful.

Then, uh, on our way back from the walk, there was a bit of an incident with Sarah and I trying to use some Italian kids’ little wake boards that you throw on the water and then run and jump on to glide for a couple of feet. And well, let’s just say Sarah ended up hobbling back and getting ice at the café for her knee and ankle. We had a couple of good tries at it, but in the end we just ended up being entertainment for the Italian kids, I’m sure.

After a little more sunbathing, we got cleaned up and headed into the town for something to eat. Well, we forgot the whole Italian schedule thing, and so looking for a meal at 4:30 in the afternoon didn’t yield any results. All the restaurants had closed from lunch and wouldn’t open again until 7:30 or 8:00 for dinner. So, we decided to grab a snack and then catch the next bus to the train station and just get dinner in Rome. Because of some unfortunate events, we ended up missing the 5:00 bus, and the next one wasn’t supposed to come for 2 hours! So, we set up camp at the bus stop, some people whipped out their science homework to work on a project they had due, and I went to get some crepes (yum!) for everyone at a gelateria nearby.

Quite a bit of time and a train ride later, we were back at Termini station in Rome. Sarah, Megan, and I went for dinner at a nearby trattoria, which was much needed at that point since we’d been looking for that meal 4 hours before! We headed home exhausted and only slightly sunburned (somehow I managed to get some nice red splotches on my legs despite my sunblock efforts). It was such a great time, and I am glad that I got one beach day in here in Italy before the end of the season.

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