Mi chiamo Emily. No, io non parlo Italiano.

7:15am. Operation Sign Up commenced. We jumped out of bed and braved the frigid waters of the Stockholm shower. After quickly assembling our top secret Nutella-on-Toast, Dorothy and I snuck out the door and ran to the bus stop. We shoved our way onto the bus and hopped out at school...where we joined the line of 50 other students out in the courtyard.

Why on earth were we playing secret agent in the early hours of the morning? Because at 8:30am registration for the university organized trips opened. There are two weekend and 2 day trips that the university offers every spring: A weekend in Tuscany, a weekend in Capri/Pompeii, a day in Assisi, and another day in Tuscany. Since I'm only a sophomore, I don't have friends scattered all over Europe that are willing to put me up for the night, so any traveling I do will be far more expensive than it will be for my roommates. I had my eye on the weekend trips. Unfortunately, the line was so long that I had to step out and go to class before I could register. An hour later, during our 10 minute class break, I raced back down to sign up. The Capri trip was completely full. I managed to get the last spot on the Tuscany trip, but I'm a little bummed out.

Disappointing morning aside, I had a very interesting first day of classes. My first class is Art of the Renaissance and Baroque and meets from 9 to noon on Mondays. Apparently I won't be back in that classroom for over a month because the class consists of on-site lectures with a few student presentations. Next week we're meeting at the Coliseum. No big deal. I think the hardest part of the class is going to be understanding my professor as she speaks a mix of American and British English with a healthy dab of Italian in every sentence.

After a delicious lunch at Archi, the cafe across the street from the university, I wandered around campus until my Italian Language and Culture class at 2pm. This isn't your average Italian class. It's kind of "Italian for the Survival of Study Abroad Students." The class is split into Language, which is always taught in Italian, and Culture, which is always taught in English. Yesterday was a Language day. "Ciao, mi chiamo Anna. Che ti chiami?" our professor said with a rather unimpressed look on her face. Anna doesn't seem too keen on teaching single semester students the roots of her native language. She walked around the room asking all 22 of us the same question. We picked up on it eventually. Next, she taught us the verb "Parlare" which means "to speak." "Ciao, mi chiamo Anna. Ti parli Italiano?" We were to answer "No, io non parlo Italiano" which means "No, I don't speak Italian." Hearing this 22 times was rather depressing and kind of frustrated me. Why are you drilling into our heads that we don't speak Italian? Isn't that why we're in your class? To learn Italian?

After class, I explored the student lounge and watched Al Jazeera. The reports from Cairo are a little scary. I got a message from American University telling us that all AU students studying in Egypt had made contact with home and were being evacuated. It's good to know we have a plan.

My final class, "Rome: Republic and Empire" met at 5:15pm. It's an introductory Roman history class that seems to be structured a lot like my IB History classes in high school. We will be looking at different primary and secondary sources and analyzing the voice, perspective, and value of each. We finished class with a scene from the movie Cleopatra. It was filmed during World War II and was so extravagant that it nearly bankrupted Fox.

After class, Becca and I were starving so we checked out the little pizzeria on the corner by our bus stop and ordered enough pizza for a family of four.

Five minutes later...

YUM!

*YAWN* What time...? ugh.

According to NASA, it takes one day for every time zone you cross for your body to adjust and your mind to recover from jet lag.

I think I crossed six, and I don't know if the day you arrive counts as day 1. So, by my calculations, I should be well rested and fully adjusted today or tomorrow, right?

WRONG. I tried to wake up at 9 today and I finally dragged myself to the shower around 11 (which is kind of embarrassing because the shower is literally 5 feet away from my bed). As disappointed as I was when I checked the time this morning, it's probably normal. I don't think the NASA scale takes into account the excitement factor or the sheer awesomeness of being in ROMA!

Why did I take on the monumental task of waking up at a normal hour? (Ok, I know, but it's normal by college standards) Because tomorrow is my FIRST DAY OF CLASSES!!! YAY! I'm very excited.

For those who haven't heard, a few months ago I sat down with my trusty calendar and famous weapon of choice (Stabilo Pens) and created possibly the most incredible schedule ever. I'm taking Roman History, Roman Art History, Roman Sociology, and Italian Language. ALL ROMA ALL THE TIME! And the best part?

I only have classes Mondays and Wednesdays. :)

These photos are from the AUR Welcome BBQ! At orientation, they told us about the different stages of culture shock. I think this is the university's attempt to help us feel more at home. They served us burgers and chips! Again, I didn't realize how much my body was missing some good old protein amidst the onslaught of carbs.

I can't believe it's taken me this long, but allow me to introduce the beautiful ladies of Apartment 3C! From left to right, Brigid, Caitlin, Becca (My Roomie!), Dorothy, and Kristin.

Making the Most of Homelessness

Being in college is hard. I'm not talking about challenging classes, all-nighters, or living on a tight budget. Simply being a college student is psychologically draining. Now, I'm not complaining. I know that with these challenges come some of the most special memories and rewarding experiences of your life and I feel blessed everyday to be able to appreciate them. However, it's hard to be homeless.

Let me explain. When you leave for school you leave your bedroom, the place that has been personal and secure for your entire life, and trade it for a dorm. Even if your room was a little bigger than the dorm, you now share that space with a roommate. And no matter how comfortable you make your side of that little room, in a matter of weeks it can be given to someone else just like you took it from the person before you. So what do you do?

You live in the moment. You say, "Ok, for now, this is my space and I am going to love it." You settle into being unsettled and you live. Now, throw in going abroad.

Maybe I'm just getting over the initial shock, but for the past few days I haven't felt like I can be at home here. This space can't be mine, I don't even know how to connect to it. We don't speak the same language. It's as if the Italians that surround me are only letting me borrow this space for a little while, and then I should be on my way. So what do I do?

I become Italian.

Tonight we found out about a small restaurant near the city center that is rumored to have some of the best food on a college budget. After walking around for a while, we came to the charming little corner shop...with a crowd of people spilling out onto the cobblestone street. It was packed. But never fear! There is always something just as amazing around the corner in Rome. We had only walked a few meters when a large glass cooler of tiramisu caught our eyes. It was at that moment that I decided to try to be Italian.

We sat down and ordered, for the first time, a full Italian dinner. That means Antipasto, Corso Principale, and Dolce. Ok, so a true Italian dinner would be appetizer, pasta, meat, and desert but there is no way I could eat that much food. I had Vegitali Misti Grigila which consisted of grilled zucchini, tomato, stuffed eggplant, carrots, and potato. After five days of nothing but carbs, regardless of how yummy, I felt like I needed a little something green. It was delicious! My main course was fettuccine in a spinach and creem sauce, but they were out of fettuccine so they substituted tortellini. I finished with some very smooth chocolate mousse. Our goal for the evening was to finish and leave after the large table next to us. When we succeeded, high fives were called for.

And so, we adapt. We set aside our culture, our habits, and our expectations and we merge into our new identities.

From Slightly Terrifying to Fairly Charming

Showers. Nice, warm showers. Nothing beats rolling out of bed and into the lovely comfort of a shower...unless the shower is in Rome. I know this is only my third day, but I have already grown to dread taking a shower in the morning. No matter if I'm the first or the last, I quickly shiver through washing my hair and practically jump into my thin little robe. We have decided to ask the company that handles the university housing if this is normal and if there is anything we can do to fix it, but we can't do that without the desktop computer that is currently in our closet and will be set up "soon." Until then, number one on my shopping list is a big, fluffy towel to replace the table cloth-like thing that I'm currently using.

Ok, that was my one complaint for the day and probably my only complaint concerning the entire apartment. This amazing place more than balances it out. (See below)

Slowly but surely, I seem to be getting my bearings. Last night we met up with our group from night 1 plus all of the new roommates. University of Maryland got in yesterday and we doubled in size. So the 15 of us decided to wander out for dinner. We walked up to school and then down the hill where we found picturesque cobblestone streets and small restaurants. We worried no one would seat such a large group until one waiter swept us off our feet and escorted us to the back of a little hole in the wall. The staff were singing and joking with everyone there. It didn't take us long to realize we were the subject of many of the jokes (the sign that they hung over our section reading "Office of Immigration" kind of tipped us off) but it was all in good fun and the food was so good we didn't mind. I had Spaghetti Alla Carbonara and it was heavenly!

Today was sleep day. The shutter locks on our windows kept the sun out until I woke up around noon. We were hungry, but by the time we were ready, all of Italy was in Siesta mode. The entire country just shuts down from 1pm to 3 or 4pm every day. As soon as we could, we headed to the super market and stocked up. We also visited the fruit stand and bread and cheese shop just down the block from the apartment. Guess where Emily will be getting most of her food from now on.

All six of us decided to stay in tonight and cook. Dinner was brushcetta (made by yours truly) and pasta with sautéed veggies in a tomato sauce. Yes, that is my spare airplanes bed sheet provided by the university that we're using as a table cloth. Roman quiet hours prevent us from setting plates and glasses directly on our glass table. I topped off the meal with a few dried apricots and a couple pieces of chocolate.

Delizioso!

Bonjourno! Umm, ehh, errr… Si! Gratzie! AH! Sorry…

I found the person with the sign, I was put on the bus, and I got to my apartment in one piece. It’s BEAUTIFUL! There are three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a living room/kitchen/dining room, all with tall ceilings. We also have not one, but three terraces! Everything is minimally furnished, probably by Ikea. The beds are very firm but I was warm and cozy and I slept well, probably thanks to jet lag and exhaustion. We’re about 1.5 miles (yes, I’m clinging to standard) from the university but there is a convenient bus that gets us there. All in all, I’m excited.

Yesterday my two roommates and I walked, er, hiked up to school and looked around. AUR is at the top of one of the highest hills of Rome and the view is fantastic! Later, we met up with some other students and had dinner at a little place called Eden. The menu was completely in Italian so we knew we had scored and when I took the first bite of my real Italian pizza, it was confirmed. The night was topped off with a good, heavy sleep.

I awoke today and made my first breakfast: toast with Nutella. I felt incredibly proud that I could function in Italy well enough to make breakfast. After that, things got a little jumbled. I read in one of my travel books that Italian women never leave the house with wet hair. The Italian grandmothers say wet hair out doors will make you sick and not have children. This is a little bit of a problem since my hair is rarely dry. In fact, I leave the house almost every morning with wet hair. So I shrugged it off as a dying superstition and rushed out of the house for registration at around 10. I had only walked a few yards before I met an elderly women walking towards me. She stopped. Her jaw dropped. She stared at my head as I walked quickly by. I guess it’s still very much alive.

I must have been frazzled because I hopped on the wrong bus and had to switch. While waiting, I realized I had forgotten my passport. I ran back to the apartment where I quickly met our three new roommates, grabbed my passport and headed for the door again. I paused, grabbed my hat, and left.

Oh boy.

But My Dog is on My Yoga Mat!

New Years come with New Year’s Resolutions. I’ve never been very dedicated to having one let alone keeping one, but I do appreciate the idea. Any reason to pledge self-improvement is a good one, right? Anyway, if I had made a resolution it probably would have been about procrastination, something I think the vast majority of us college students struggle with. Take this post as the perfect example. I have been meaning to write this post for over a month. It’s a pretty significant one and yet, as usual, I find myself typing here, on the plane, probably seven or eight hours past what should have been my ABSOLUTLY FINAL Deadline.

So yes, I’m on a plane, currently 30,000 some feet-pardon me, 10,000 some meters - over the beautiful French Alps. It’s probably the most unique place I've ever blogged from. Yes, definitely now that I’m remembering I've only ever blogged from my bed or my desk, and those instances were few and far between anyway. But those familiar places are far away now as I race towards my home for the next four months: Rome. I've decided to celebrate my half-way-to-graduation mark with a semester abroad. Goodbye American University, hello American University of Rome! I plan to fill the next 112 days with amazing food, incredible sights, and charming culture. Don’t worry, I’m not completely naive. I am also anticipating frustration, confusion, and home sickness. And you, lucky readers, will get to hear all about it…as long as that procrastination thing doesn't become a problem.

I think it’s safe to say you’re in for a good show. The first episode includes Emily getting through customs, finding a sign in an international airport, and then, hopefully, being placed on a bus with a packet of papers. Where is the bus going? What do the papers say? Where will I live and who with? You’ll have to stay tuned to find out because even I don’t have answers to any of those questions.

Well, here we go. Ciao!