A lovely Thursday

*OMG two days with no blog entry!! Not to worry, it's not for lack of writing, just lack of getting to the library for internet access. Mi di spiace.*

What a beautiful day to be in Rome! I started the day as always, getting up at 7, having breakfast in the little kitchen and heading for the Metro. It has yet to do anything but be sunny while I have been in Rome and today was no exception. I am becoming more comfortable with my morning commute as I now know where I’m going and I’m starting to trust my sense of direction a little more now that I have found my way around Rome pretty well even when getting lost. Now that I am not such a novice and can actually look up from my feet to really take in the city while I’m walking about, I am starting to become more aware of my surrounds, not from a point of mistrust, but rather a sense of pleasure in really taking in the city.
Most people seem to think that the first thing you really notice about a city when you start becoming more comfortable with it is the sights and sounds, but for some reason, the firs thing that I really started to notice was how different Rome smells. It not quite the dirty smell of New York or London, but rather it is a more primal smell, the smell of bodies baking in the hot sun and of sweat and the smell of busy lives. But as with practically everything in Rome, it can surprise you. You can be walking down the street and become quite aware of the pungent body odor around you and in an instant your nostrils are filled with the smell of bread, or fruit, or even more often, the very strong smell of flowers. The air in the Metro is much the same of any big city, thick and damp, almost like breathing a syrup of air; not my favorite part of my commute.
Class went well although my classmates gave me hell because I promised I would sing for them today but it wasn’t until I was on the Metro that I realized I had forgotten my music, so I told them I would do it tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, I found out in class that I am to experience my first “sciopero” – Italian for ‘strike.’ These happen quite frequently in Italy when it comes to the public transportation system and I’m sure it won’t be the last one I have to endure while I am here. So from 8:30 to 5:00 tomorrow no public transportation will be running. This means two things, first, I will have to leave extra early for school so I can get there before the Metro stops running (risky but I have no other option), and second, I have no way to get back from school until 5. So it looks like I have a lot of time to walk around and really dig into Rome! The most difficult is that I will actually have to get some courage and actually order lunch. Until now, I have avoided this because for some reason it makes me really nervous that I’ll really screw up my order and feel like an idiot. Yeah yeah, I know, time to get over it and just do it because that’s why I’m here, right? Yes, I know.
Today after lunch I took a break while letting my Zune charge and then headed back to the city. I hate doing homework inside when it’s so nice outside and now that I’ve been to Villa Borghese, it’s really the only place in Rome that I don’t think I could ever tire of going to. In that same late, there is so much of Villa Borghese that I could go everyday while I am here and probably not see the entire park. Why waste a beautiful day? I walked around for a very long time just soaking up the sun and the happenings around me. I ventured to a side of Villa Borghese that I had not been to and was not disappointed at all that life that lay around me. I finally picked a bench and sat down to do some reading. After reading for a while I decided to head back to Villa… in a very round about way that involved taking 45 minutes to get back to the Metro. 
I got back a little after 7 and since I had some time to kill, I decided I was well over due for some solid practicing. I headed for the piano which is in the large conference room, and found out to my great surprise that not only was the piano actually pretty decent, but the hall has wonderful acoustics and will be actually fun to practice in. I headed to dinner and much to my horror, I was seated directly across from the Cardinal. I do not think I have ever eaten under such nerve wracking conditions in all my life. I don’t really know why I felt such an obligation to have impeccable manners and posture, because really none of the guys here (the Cardinal included) eat with any kind of real manners. But nonetheless my back was painfully straight, my shoulders pinned back, I didn’t take forkfuls of food that were too big and I was constantly wiping my mouth. Afterwards I really felt quite ridiculous and realized that it would probably have been better had I just relaxed and not looked like such twit.
After dinner I was invited to have a couple beers in the fourth floor lounge with Francesco and some of the other guys. Before we met I fell into conversation with Gennaro and another guy named Giovanni about random stuff to do with school, life in America, my friends, ect. They showed me how to use the washers (which I still have to buy detergent for) and then showed me to a room that I had not seen yet. When Giovanni first arrived at Villa he found this room was completely empty and decided to turn it into a music room. I got some money together and bought a stereo with good speakers and eventually bought a turntable as Villa apparently has a large collection of vinyl. However, this is no ordinary listening room, it in fact is filled with nothing but classical recordings, some I’m sure you cannot even find anymore without a very experienced eye for finding such things. He played for me a 1930’s recording of the Berlin Philharmonic performing Bach’s “St. Matthew’s Passion.” It was incredible and made even more so by the fact that I was standing in a room with someone who found equal pleasure for it as I did. A rare find in a person and one I certainly cherish here at Villa. We talked more of music and recordings he said I could borrow (his two favorite composers are Verdi and Puccini. Yay opera!!) and eventually parted ways.
I headed for the lounge and ended up laughing a great deal before the beer even arrived. Apparently Peroni is the Italian version of Miller Lite, but even so, it was good. It was quite an amusing time because they would get into long strings of conversation in Italian and then suddenly remember that I was still there and fill me in on what was being said. Around 1 I decided that since I actually did have class in the morning and had to get up extra early to make it there before the strike began, I should probably head for bed. A very good day followed by an equally good night.