I'm here!

I’m here. It’s really… real. I am actually in a foreign country, completely alone, just a plain white American in a city full of diversity and people who don’t speak my language. Luckily, Rome is probably the most touristy city in Italy, but even so, I’m doing this by myself. I keep thinking about other people who have gone abroad that I know and only two of them did it alone. Even more than that, they certainly had more than one year of the language under their belts. WHAT WAS I THINKING?! Well that’s really a no brainer, I was thinking that I’m a smart kid who wanted to do more than just sit in a restaurant asking people what side item they want with their burger all summer. I want to be in the city where my art was actually born. I want to soak up the richness of a culture that is nothing even close to what my norm is. I wanted to be stretched, forced, scared, excited, amazed, taught, nourished, challenged, and here I am, doing it.

My travel day started with getting a call from Delta informing that my flight from Dayton to Newark had been cancelled. FUCK! But not nearly as much of a FML as I had thought because not until we had figured out all the details with finding me a new flight to Newark (then changed to a 4:40 out of Cincinnati) that when Mom called to confirm my flight from Newark to Rome that we found out that not only had Delta rescheduled my flight from Dayton but they had also rescheduled my flight to Rome. DOUBLE FUCK!! Luckily, my parents are both traveling BAMF’s so in a matter of calm and controlled minutes of my Mom working her magic, I had a seat on my original flight to Rome. Lovely. We spent most of the day packing up furniture and unloading it at Alex and my new home. We had to give up our couch because it wouldn’t fit up the staircase, but if that’s the worst that happens, it can’t be worse than the old place.

At 1:30 we left for Cincinnati Airport and checked my luggage and whatnot and then had some time to kill so we sat talking and prolonging our time together which had a strange feeling of wanting to stay with them for as long as possible and yet, I just wanted to be gone. I wanted my trip to start, to be in control (even though I would soon figure out that being in control was completely beyond my control). I had spent a whole day in anticipation and I was really for it to be over and to start this new chapter, for lack of a better term.

The flight over was relatively uneventful. Actually, that’s being generous. I think the most exciting part was actually laughing at Bride Wars which was the in-flight movie that I decided to watch during the first leg of our trip and during my dinner. Dinner was a classic, coach class meal consisting of “pasta and meatballs” (note to self: when the type of pasta is not specified, just say ‘no’), a bland salad of iceberg lettuce, two cucumber slices and a barely red tomato wedge, a stale role made edible only by a heavy application of practically unspreadable butter and some kind of surprisingly tasty dessert bar that kind of tasted like a cross between a crumb cake and a brownie (don’t let that description fool you, it was still shit, I just have always been one for metaphors). Of course, I hadn’t eaten in hours so I ate everything in from of me including the lime wedge that came in my tonic water.

Finally we landed and I was met by two students from Villa Nazareth, Francesco and Giuseppe. They were really nice and I ended up sticking with Francesco for the rest of the day. He is a 25 y/o engineering student who has actually done an impressive amount of study abroad (including visiting every European county, South America and much of the United States). After we had a left over lunch (which was pretty much better than any normal lunch I've ever had in the States) I went back to my room (which is a single and pretty sweet) and unpacked my things and took a quick nap. Francesco took me out after all the shops had reopened and he took me to the center to see some monuments. I don't even remember all the names of the ones I saw because in just 2 hours, I saw so many.

He then took me to the second oldest gelateria in Rome and I had my first taste of what I am now positive is what everyone is thinking of when they say the word "Manna." We walked around for a bit longer and then took a very long and traffic filled bus ride back to Villa. I went back to my room once more and started my journal until it was time for dinner. Dinner consisted of bean soup with croutons, some kind of amazing chicken, amazing bread, and salad with the best tomatos I have ever put in my mouth. Obviously, the experience was thrilling. As soon plates were out of the way, I was instantly the most intriguing subject in the room and everyone wanted to meet me and fumble through as much Englitaliano they could muster. I have already met some amazing guys who I think I will get along with very well during my stay.

Well, I believe that is all for now! More tomorrow after I trek out on my own to find my school and to do some more sight seeing. Ciao ciao!