From Jet Lag and Exhaustion to Everyday Ordinary Life

Sarah and Hanna arrived today. (And they brought the sun with them! Can't wait to get pictures of things in the sun and not the rain and the clouds!) Seeing them experience their first few hours of being jet lagged and having no idea what was going on has reminded me that my arrival in Rome was not that long ago, yet it seems like it has been forever especially since things seem so normal and comfortable now.

Their jet lag and exhaustion is so typical and makes me so thankful to be adjusted to the new time zone and on a normal sleeping schedule because it took me a while just to get used to that. My roommate, Maria, and I would lie awake at night 'til 2 in the morning or so because we just weren't tired then and  we had napped which always messes you up. It took a good 2 weeks to finally be able to go to sleep and get up at a normal time.

I dragged them from the airport to the train station at the airport and then on a train to the Trestevere train station then on the tram to a couple blocks from my apartment. They were amazed at how easy the public transportation seemed to me, but I had gotten a full nights sleep and had been there before, its amazing how simple things are once you just do it.

I brought them up to my apartment where they made comments about the size, we really did get lucky having nice big apartments, and comments about the strange bathrooms that seem completely normal. They also made comments about the cars and I know they look different than what you find in the US, different body shapes, smaller, more smart cars etc. And the traffic being crazy and not following any rules. All of this I remember easily how it seemed weird and new, yet now it seems normal and going back to the US will seem a bit strange at first now.

I took them to get their first pizza, that was also my first pizza in Rome. Its a place near by that actually isn't that great. I hadn't had it since my first day here and it was close and I didn't remember the quality. I will show them much better that is for sure (Simone's by school for one, not the absolute best in Rome, but really good. It's the one by school that a lot of people get for lunch.) They were so confused with the ordering and the language barrier. I by no means have gotten past the language barrier because I don't speak Italian, I know a few words but I am used to not really understanding everything and having to struggle to get my point across at times so its not really a big deal anymore.

It has been a lot of fun realizing how much I know about this place through telling them about things they need to know like how coffee works here and other things and just remembering that same dazed, jet lagged, exhausted, and confused state I was in when I first arrived here. The only sad thing is that they will have to leave before they completely get over it and I have had the privilege to be here for a while to really feel at home here.

They then went to nap for a few hours to be awake for some birthday festivities, dinner at a real Italian restaurant (nothing too touristy), dessert and/or some real gelato, walking around to see their first views of Rome and things like the Trevi Fountain and Colosseum lit up.

While they were(still are) napping I went to the grocery store and fruit and vegetable stand. I am so used to buying my own groceries now and I love having fresh fruit and vegetable stands all over the place. The fruit and vegetables so much better here, its all organic and not genetically modified. Sarah asked me why anyone would want to go back to the US after coming here and if it will be hard for me to go back. I told her that it would be nice to go back and really couldn't think of a reason why... but I could think of a lot of reason why not. I think now the only thing I can really think of that I really miss from home are my friends and family. Everything else I can get used to, and even start to enjoy and prefer. (Oh and I am not a huge fan of the actual school aspect here, I prefer classes at State; however, ultimately I prefer no classes at all.)

But, I am loving my experiences here, time is flying, and before I know it I will be back in the US. I hope to update soon on some things I am looking forward to and some more details of things I have seen in Rome that I haven't mentioned yet.

Ciao!

It's the Leaning Tower of Pisa!! ...Wait that's it??

I spent last weekend in Florence and then we took a quick trip to Pisa on Sunday before heading back to Rome. I went with 6 other girls, 3 of my roommates and 3 others. We got up early, way too early, on Friday to get to the train station and get to Florence on a fast train by 10 am. We then went to our hostel and found out that we were basically staying in what could have been an apartment. There were two separate bedrooms, one with 5 beds, one with 2. And then there was a living room, a kitchen that wasn't really in working  condition, and a bathroom. So we had a lot of space as compared to a lot of hostels. The hostel was great and the people were very friendly and we met the owner of the property that spoke to us in Italian for a bit (I however did not catch that much of this, but I did get the gist of quite a few things.)

On Friday we then got a reservation for the Uffizi for Saturday and then headed to Galleria Academia to see David. David was incredible, the rest of the museum however was not that spectacular. There was a room with a ton of other statues that was pretty cool and some of the unfinished Michelangelo sculptures were interesting to see because of seeing the work mid process. Other than that nothing noteworthy. After that we saw the Ponte Vecchio, which is the only bridge over the Arno in Florence that survived the Nazis. We also saw that Duomo which is gigantic. And then one of the coolest things we did was climbed to the top of the dome and looked out over Florence; it was an amazing view... that only took 463 steps to get to. Its sightseeing with a work out, that is for sure. After that we just wandered around a bit and then went in a few churches until the awkward time when all the touristy sightseeing places are closed and its not quite time to eat.

For dinner that night we went to a restaurant that was recommended to one of the people we were with for the amazing pear pasta, which is apparently a Florence thing. So of course, I had to try the pear pasta. It was a stuffed pasta (with pear of course) in a mild cheese/cream sauce. It was way better than I ever though combining pear and pasta would be. Definitely a must find if you ever go to Florence.

Saturday, we went to the Uffizi where we were overloaded with art among which was the Birth of Venus. After that we went to Pitti Palace and walked around that Boboli Gardens. After that we went to the leather markets and it was so overwhelming and I had no idea what I would want I just helped my roommate for almost 2 hours find a leather jacket that she finally decided to purchase. It was a lot of fun and I think if I ever go back I will invest in something leather. It was just so overwhelming to know what's real and what's fake and what a good deal is and what isn't a good deal.

Then that night for dinner we had our first experience with apertivo. It is a common Italian thing that we just haven't done in Rome yet. However, we plan to do that soon, maybe tomorrow? It is sort of like American happy hour, but you pay somewhere around 8 euros and that gets you a drink and then they have a buffet. Some are more of an appetizer thing that Italians do before dinner but some have large quantities of food and you basically eat dinner there. It was very interesting food since you can't tell for sure what things are but it was of course good food.

Sunday, we took the train to Pisa, took a bus from the train station and saw the Leaning Tower of Pisa. And let me just say, that is all there is in Pisa. You go you see it, you take pictures, you spend a lot of time setting up the pictures of others "holding up the tower" and then you are done. It was worth it to see for a short time but I am glad that is all the time we planned there.

All in all it was a very successful weekend. I hope to update soon on some of the day to day Rome things and school and such as well as the up coming adventures. Sarah and Hanna come Saturday for the week and I am SO excited!

Ciao!