First Week- Exploring Rome

Upon my first day in Rome, my roommate and I decided to take a walk to find our school. We had absolutely no idea where we were except for the small direction map that Study Abroad Italy supplied us with. Rome is not designed in a grid designed format, instead it is as though they set up buildings and then decided to make walking/ driving paths to fit between the buildings. On the way to our school we probably took at least 15 turns within a mile, which includes the streets that you come to that fork out and you have to pick and choose which one is going to lead you in the correct direction. We finally made it to our school and later figured out a much quicker route for the next trip.
We did a lot of walking around for our first week. We went to all the major sites in the city like: Forte Acqua Paola (A large fountain at the top of a hill that looks out over the Rome), we walked along the Fiume Tevere and up to the Vatican City, saw Saint Peter’s Basilica, walked by Saint Angelo’s Castle, to the Piazza Novona, Campo De Fiori (the nightlife hangout), the Spanish Steps, an island in the middle of the Tevere, the Coliseum, the Palatino, the Roman forums, the Circus Massimo, the Costantino Arch, the Trevi fountain, and the last but not least the Pantheon. Everything was so amazing to see. I haven’t really go in everything like the Vatican Museum but I figure when people come to visit they will want to go see it. I am really enjoying my time in Rome so far, and trying to get used to living in a totally different city where you have to watch out for all of your belongings and yourself. It is very different from living in California where I feel completely comfortable walking just about everywhere, to here where it is not such a good idea to be walking on the street along.
On Wednesday we had meetings for housing, and the school and then everyone through the SAI (Study Abroad Italy) program was invited to dinner at a local pizzeria. It was really good, we each got a drink, bruschetta, pizza, and a fruit dessert. It was a good opportunity for a the SAI students to get to know each other. Once we were done, Joe and I took all of our tables left over pizza and handed them out to the homeless people living in the Piazza Di Santa Maria.
On Thursday didn’t do a whole lot, walked around the city, had Diana, Ally (our twin friends from New York) over for dinner, and came to realize that my camera was either stolen or I lost it within a 3 block radius. That night we walked around and looked for a jazz club called Big Mama but never found it so instead we walked along the Fiume Tevere and watched a group of Tango Dancers.
Friday was a big day, it was the last day to sign up for all the activities that you wanted to take a part in with the school. I signed up for the canoeing trip, the rafting trip, a hiking trip, and a weekend trip to Ventotene Island which is an Island near Capri. Friday was also the day that I met and talked to the hottest degree seeking Italian in the school, Davide. The girls and I were later given a personal tour of Trastevere by him, simple because no one else showed up for the tour. For dinner we went to a restaurant right next to our school called, T-Bone Steak House, and had some American food. It was kind of weird to be eating at a steak house in Italy but we were already missing food besides pizza and pasta. Today we found out that I wasn’t the only one who has had something stolen. One of the apartments on Rosazza was broken into between 5-8 am and two of the girls got their cameras and computers stolen. We were all sent out a message about it and a reminder to shut our windows and knock all our doors at night and anytime we leave our apartment because people can climb up the building walls and crawl into your rooms. Most of the time they send little kids up to get into little windows and then go to the front door to let the adults into the apartment. The girls that got broken into were all unharmed but were a little shaken up by the fact that someone was in their room while they were sleeping.
Saturday morning the girls and I took the fountain tour which took us all around Rome looking at different fountains and buildings along the way. We learned about the Farnesa family and their large estate that they lived on. Also about the many things that Michael Angelo was in charge of designing and building within the city. In Campo di Fiori there is a statue of a monk which we learned was Monk Bruno who was burnt at the stake for Heresy. We traveled to the Piazza Navona and saw the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (which represents: the Nile, the Plate, the Ganges, and the Danube which were the four major rivers). This fountain and the Fontana del Moro (Muscle-bound Moor) were both constructed by Bernini during Pope Innocent X reign in the 17th century. We also took a walk to the Trevi fountain which was magnificent and you must see if you come to visit. After our morning tour, the four of us girls and our friend Sean went to the beach of Osteri. We took a bus to the Piramide train station and then the train station to Saint Polare to go to the beach. It was a little difficult at first to figure out all the train stuff, but once we figured it out it was smooth sailing. It was only a 30 minute train ride to the beach and once we got off it was only a 5-10 walk to the Mediterranean sea where we ran and jumped into the sea.

The water was great, wayyyy warmer than the Pacific beach at home. It was a great temperature to be laying on the beach, except for the gusts of wind that threw sand into every crevice of our body while we slept. As the day proceeded we began to get hungry so we walked and walked until we found a Chinese Restaurant to have dinner at. It was really good and very affordable.
Sunday woke up late and walked to the local market which is held every Sunday just down the street. It pretty much looks like a huge junk yard with hundreds of people walking around in it. We walked around and looked at things but didn’t find anything that caught our eyes (what I was really looking for was someone selling me camera that I believe was stolen by a gypsy ). After our flee market adventure, we returned to our apartment, I made a sandwich, and rushed out the door to go with the guys to another tour at 3 p.m., the tour of Ancient Rome. This was a great tour; the tour guide took us the Emanuel II Monument where we were able to see a great view of the ancient forums and the Coliseum. We learned about the Ausustus forums, Ceasar forums, and the Roman forums. We then walked through the 1st Jewish Ghetto that was started in the 2nd century B.C. when the Jews came to Rome as traders. In the 16th century when the Jews were being persecuted, Pope Paul IV forced all the Jews to live within a walled enclosure which is still visible today. Lastly, we walked by the Piazza della Minerva and the Trojan Column which was built in A.D 107.