Sono Malata :[

I am sick...I got sick Monday night/Tuesday morning. It was first a sore throat and I couldn't really talk and now it is full on congestion of the head. Some cold or really bad sinus stuff. The weather here is worse than the states. It has rained almost everyday and is hot and muggy in the afternoon but really cold at night. I hate the weather right now! I am not the only one sick though. Actually a lot of people out of the group are getting sick. The funny thing is some of us have different symptoms, so I guess a lot of different things are going around. But no Italian class for me today.

This past weekend was really fun: explored areas, watched a soccer game at a pub/restaurant, went shopping, and went to a discoteca! I had a busy weekend. The highlights were the discoteca and the soccer game. The discoteca was fun but nothing spectacular. Danced the majority of the time with friends. Also basically all of the DePaul group was there and we all danced and talked with each other (little groups had formed at the beginning of the trip). Now we all sort of hang out and talk, its cool. Didn't meet any Italians but I will! On Sunday I went to this German pub/restaurant near where I live with 4 other girls. We had the giantburger, fries, split onion rings, dessert and watched the Roma soccer game. The giantburger was probably the best piece of meat I have ever eaten. Yes it was just a huge piece of meat. It was so fun watching the game too because this was a local place and whenever something happened with Rome or if they scored there would be clapping and screaming. It was really cool.

This weekend is our first DePaul trip. We are going to Cinque Terre, which is an area with 5 small towns right next to each other by the sea. It is supposed to be so beautiful! Then we are going to Torino. I'm really excited but I hope I will get better by the time we leave early Saturday morning.

I have also been planning my trips. Got everything basically planned out except for hostels in Paris and Prague. Also, me and some people are going to a Rome soccer game most likely the 1st week of November! I am sooooo excited!!! Also, I think I am going to EuroChocolate 2009 in Perugia, Italy with a few girls. It's a huge chocolate festival, yummy!

Ciao! Ci parliamo presto!

Ciao Tutti!

Hello all!

Sorry i haven't written in awhile. Just been busy planning trips, school, exploring Rome, etc. I have been having a lot of fun. I am starting to know my way around Rome and be more familiar with the streets and getting places. I am also really comfortable and happy here; it has become a routine which is good and kind of awesome because once i explore a new place i remember i'm in rome studying abroad. i guess i get little surprises every now and then, haha!

This past Saturday I spent the majority of the afternoon in the Vatican area. I just explored the area and Piazza San/St. Pietro with my friend Laura and we had a pastry and a caffe and then read in a little piazza. it was fun and relaxing. side note: i am addicted to espresso and italian coffee now. i am not going to want to go back to america's. i think i might buy an espresso machine in the US or here. there is something that a few girls were telling me about that you use and then boil water...i have to ask them again. Anyways, back to my weekend...after that Laura and I met up with our friend Christina and we went to a bar for a glass of wine, had chinese food, picked up more wine and pastries, then went back to christina's place and had a sleep over with our wine, pastries, and watched an italian teen movie that christina's host mom was in. her host mom is a really well-known italian actress. it was a really really fun night!

I am excited about today because as a school field trip/event we are going to a discoteca! im super excited! its going to be so much fun! i hope i meet some italians especially guys, tehe! i havent met any italians yet and i really want to. i just want some italian friends and speak more italian. cross our fingers!

MOLTO FELICE!

just booked my fall break (10/24-11/1)

PARIS AND PRAGUE!!!

just had to tell everyone-paris, prague, athens, and italy...what a life, haha!

will update blog this weekend perhaps if not sooner!

Felice

i booked my trip to athens!!! i am going november 28 to december 2 with one of my friends here. i have a friend who is from greece and he is actually living there this quarter. i got a super cheap roundtrip (like $80) and i get to stay somewhere for free, its awesome! plus i will get to do local stuff and not really touristy things but i do want to go to the parthenon and mecropolis.

i had chinese for dinner today, haha!

rome is so gorgeous! all the buildings and the weather...its so awesome!

i feel like i am starting to pick up the italian better...hopefully...

Traveling

so i have a question to ask everyone...

because of my budget and stuff i can only really go to 2-3 places outside italy. here are the places i want to go: paris, prague, amsterdam, salzburg, and i guess any others of course. also i am going to athens the first week of december to visit a friend. the flight is only around $90 (yes dollars) and i am staying with him. what should i do? i am definitely going to paris and im pretty sure prague so that basically cancels out any other places because that is three. i just wanted to know everyone's opinion and if you have heard anything about any of the other places. pretty much all my friends want to go to amsterdam and salzburg sounds awesome and has all the sound of music stuff (i am a huge huge huge huge fan). what should i do?!?!?!

Le picture

sorry, my posts will get shorter.

here are some pics that i have taken:

1. my bites at the beginning: that is my calf and side of my right leg. the front was pretty bad too and my left leg was not as bad at all

2. my house/room

La prima settimana a Roma

so my first full week of being in rome is over. i have to say it has been an awesome week, so much fun :]

i started all my classes this week. i have my film class monday and tuesday for a total of 5-6 hrs., my art history class thursday for 3 hrs., and my italian class is everyday for 3 hrs. my week is very full. but its nice because i have all morning and early afternoon on wednesday and friday to sleep in, run, explore rome, etc. my film class focuses on italian cinema which i am excited to learn about. we are watching movies on mondays and exploring film sites and having lecture at the sites on tuesdays. its going to be really fun. my art history class is going to be so interesting and awesome. our teacher is nice and hilarious and every class we go somewhere to learn about art and architecture of high renaissance art in italy; its going to be fantastic! my italian class is going well. i am learning a lot and reviewing a lot. my vocab. and conversational skills are getting better. i like it. i am starting to pick up words quickly and understand what people are talking about and saying.

the food has been amazing so far! my host mom has made some pretty good food, however i dont think the majority of it is homemade but it is still really good. also, the gelato is of course as good as i remember. i had nutella and tiramisu gelato mixed and it was wonderful! tiramisu is my new favorite thing ;] also, i had baci which means kisses and its dark chocolate with i think little bits of hazelnut inside. OMG! tiramisu and baci are my new favorite things....

also, with food, my core group of friends and i went to a section of rome called trastevere. it was beautiful! the buildings and trees and just everything-it was great! i really felt like that was my area-like if i lived somewhere it would be there. we had so much fun just walking around early evening and at night, just exploring and seeing what was going on. it was so much fun. we were going to go to this blues club but apparently it closed down which sucked but we went to two italian bars instead. also for dinner we went to this pizza place called dar poeta. it was amazing! the pizza i got had cheese, zuchini, sausage, and a little bit of chilli powder. it was phenomonal! i ate the whole pizza and you know in italy they give you a whole pizza, but i wasnt the only one. i dont know why we didnt decide to split 2 or 3. i think we were all so excited. we tried some bruschetta too which was good and had 3 litres of wine haha. it was fantastic red wine; i usually dont like wine and red at that. now for desert....a calzone filled with ricotta cheese and nutella with powder sugar sprinkled on top....OMG AMAZING!!! the best food and restaurant i have been to so far. my friends and i have already decided we are going there again.

speaking of friends, i have made some really good ones. we all get along and connect in different and great ways. im really happy with everything and enjoying every minute of it :] on friday during my break in italian, we had the window opened and i just leaned out the window and people watched and looked at the city. i looked up and down the streets and everything else, i just took it all in. thats when it hit me, i am studying in rome for 3 months! i think i kind of still dont feel like im staying here for awhile but it has stuck with me more since i looked out the window.

despite this week being awesome, i did have one bad thing happen to me...i fell down the spanish steps and broke my water bottle. they are marble steps and the sandals i was wearing had no traction. i fell like 3-4 steps, not bad but still. therefore, to catch myself, i hit my water bottle against the steps. i broke the top but it is still usable. man that was a rough day, i was super tired too...

an update with the bites, they have gotten so much better. i am so happy! the mosquitos that bit me are called tiger mosquitos. they are at all day and night, you can barely see them, and you cant feel when they bite. i still have the bites but they are darker and healing. even though i havent been scratching them, i think i might have scares from the big ones.

also a side note: i hung my clothes out to dry this week. how weird!

well that is really it...i will fill everyone in as soon as something exciting or terrible happens i suppose or something that is worth telling. Ci parliamo piu tardi! (We talk later!)

Don't know how to comment on comments...

merm,

i am speaking italish: english and italian. barbara and i are trying to improve our english and italian, obviously, so we talk in both. i help her and she helps me. i am actually learning a good amount and am enjoying it a lot. i think my italian vocabulary in general and especially for a conversation is getting better. depaul doesn't really focus on that so it is nice. however, haha, i find myself speaking or typing in broken up english sometimes like how barbara is speaking to me in english, haha. but its good

lisa,

i think i might be going out to dinner and then to a blues bar/club. why? something fun must be going on here if you are asking me...haha!

by the way, i have a serious case of mosquito bites. i went to the pharmacy (its basically the doctor in rome) and they said it was a type of mosquito bite. apparently they have multiple kinds. i live near the woods/a lot of trees and eat outside and have pale skin so yeah. i got some cream and hopefully everything will get better in the next few days. they have started to itch more, maybe that means they are healing? on the other hand...they kind of hurt too. when i post pics, you can see how bad they were/are. will post pics soon and update this weekend!