First Impressions

When I arrived in Rome, my first impression was perfection: perfetto. Three days later, still somewhat jet-lagged and trying to adjust to the ordeal of walking for hours on end on uneven stone, I still find it perfetto. Rome is everything I wanted it to be, and it keeps surprising me in ridiculous ways.

After 26 hours of travel and about 4 hours of uncomfortable airplane sleep, I exited the Fiumicino Airport on Thursday at around 3:30 (my flight got in at 2:00; getting bags felt like it took my whole life) and was immediately amazed. The airport wasn’t anything spectacular or Romanesque, but the temperature outside was, again, perfetto. Unlike the raging, dusty winds and the scalding, dry heat I’m used to, Rome had a slight breeze complimenting its 72 degree weather. This breath of fresh air was exactly what I needed to get me through the following frenzy of forms and information thrown at me. I’d been awake far too long-this was a bit much for me to process immediately.

The registration process and such was mostly a blur, but I do remember the shuttle ride from the airport to our residence. Rome at first seemed like any other large city, with gas stations and billboards decorating instead of gorgeous architecture. I was sitting in the front seat of the shuttle, so I had a fantastic view of the landscape, but I also had a mildly terrifying view of the traffic. Rome traffic is indescribably bad. Or, rather, it’s impossible to comprehend by American standards. Cars and motorini weave in and out without any regard for actual space, pedestrians, or collision-avoidance. If I hadn’t been in the front seat, I definitely would have gotten sick. Instead, I could only stare in semi-frozen horror, as we narrowly escaped crashing into the tiny cars that make my Prius look like a monster truck.

I was so distracted by the driving that I missed the transition from outskirts to actual Rome. In what seemed like the blink of an eye, the gas stations and billboards were gone, replaced by ancient buildings made of classic brick and stone, transporting me into a land where I was hurdling down streets Romans had traveled thousands of years ago. It was breathtaking; captivated by the view, I was unaffected by the rushing traffic the rest of the ride. A forty minute ride to our residence passed in what felt like just ten.

But once we reached the residence, I was brought back into reality. I soon realized that while wheeled suitcases are excellent for airport and city travel, they do not hold up well on cobblestone streets. Luckily, I wound up with a room on the ground floor (not the first floor, which in American terms would be the second floor…), so I didn’t have to deal with too many steps or the unreliable elevator. This elevator is worth its own interesting side note: it is turned off between the hours of 11:30 PM and 7:00 AM, and it only holds about 300 lbs.

My ground floor room turned out to be one of the nicer apartments in the complex. I have only one roommate (some people have nine!) and a large living area plus a reasonable-sized kitchen. I’m not sure how often I plan on using the kitchen, as the food here is way better than anything I could make, but the refrigerator has become quite useful for storing fruit and water and leftovers. The wi-fi is a great addition; internet caffè (coffee shops) are hard to come by, and it’s nice to be able to Skype in the comfort of my own apartment.

The few days after have been wonderful so far, although I could have done without the endless orientation sessions and the less-than-ideal cafeteria food. I regret having a meal plan, although hopefully the cafeteria’s preference for excessive salt will not extend to its breakfast croissants, as I plan on grabbing a bit of colazione (perhaps just a roll and a small cappuccino) on my way to my 9:00 class.

I have enjoyed feasting on gelato throughout the city so far, though, and I have definitely appreciated my meals (outside of the cafeteria) thus far. I’ve tried a few pastas and some pizza-by-the-slice (a delightful Eggplant and Mozzarella concoction I ordered by mistake) and I cannot wait to partake in the rest of the city’s edible offerings. I haven’t had gnocchi once yet, but that’s soon to come. I’ve missed my European Fanta (ten thousand times better than the American product) and my acqua frizzante that, unlike the rest of the students here, only I seem to love. I’m still getting used to the late dinners, however, and I may need to purchase afternoon pizza slices in order to get by until 10:00 PM, the time my pasta was served last night.

I’ve been trying to order interesting, unfamiliar, and non-repetitive items thus far, and I think I’m going to have difficulty ordering gelato other than nocciola (hazelnut), although I got to try a flavor named Mozart which was a mix of peanut-butter, vanilla, chocolate, and a bunch of other unidentifiable but tasty flavors. My pasta choices have been quite successful, and I can’t get enough of the buffalo mozzarella, which is possibly my favorite thing in the whole world.

Once I put down my fork, my thoughts turn to sight-seeing. I’m staying in the part of Rome known as Trastevere, south of the Tiber River. There are a few things of great interest that I’ve yet to explore here, but the main attractions of Rome are across the river and quite a bit further from my apartment than I’m willing or able to just walk. However, I’m planning on exploring the Colosseum and the Forum and the Pantheon and of course the Vatican just as soon as it stops raining. (I love rain, but I don’t want to walk around for five hours in it when I’ve got five weeks to explore.) I was supposed to go on a tour of Ancient Rome today organized by my university, but I set my alarm incorrectly and woke up twenty-five minutes after the tour started. I was quite disappointed, but it gave me a day to figure out exactly what I’m going to do with the rest of my week. Also, I got to see quite a bit of Rome yesterday during an orientation tour, and my feet are still recovering from that, so maybe this all worked out for the better.

Now that I’ve been in Rome a few days, I’m actually quite excited to begin my class in Creative Writing. It takes place from 9 to 11 Monday through Thursday, giving me plenty of time to write, blog, and explore Rome during my afternoons and extended weekends. In addition, it gives me time to figure out my napping schedule should I need one. (Rome has, by law, designated quiet hours from 1 to 4 PM and from 11 PM to 7:00 AM.)

However, I’m still trying to figure out exactly how to spend all this free time. My fingers are going crazy; I don’t have my violin and my body isn’t entirely sure what to do about it. It’s so strange to know that I’m going to have hours and hours to spare during the day that cannot be filled with practicing!!! I’ve already been looking through guide books and online catalogs, trying to find classical music concerts I can attend without breaking my budget, and I’m attending an opera in June. It’s sponsored by the university, and I’m just hoping people will actually buy tickets for it, since I’m not sure how most people would feel about attending an Italian opera in Italy, where there will be no English subtitles (the only thing that holds the average viewer’s attention). I, on the other hand, can hardly contain my excitement to see the opera, and the lack of subtitles makes the entire experience even more intriguing. Perhaps, without their aid, I will be able to more easily capture the storyline and key Italian phrases.

Speaking of Italian phrases, my year of Italian equipped me to conjugate tenses but did not entirely prepare me to plunge into a fast-speaking, hand-gesturing country. I love the language and how it rolls off the tongues of the natives, but I had difficulty ordering my slice of pizza for dinner tonight, and was only saved by the cameriere taking pity on me and voicing my options in English. However, my grasp on the language seems stronger than 9/10 of the summer session students, and so I feel more confident about this. After all, confidence is key to public speaking, whether it be in English or a foreign language. And I’m doing pretty well with my Italian, my pizza order aside. I can only hope it will continue to improve the longer I spend around locals during these next few weeks.

Although there are dozens of additional things I could write about, I’ve reached the limit of what I can type tonight before I go to sleep. I’m starting to get sleepy at a reasonable hour, although I’m still not totally adjusted from the states, and I have to get plenty of sleep before my exciting first day of class in the morning. So until next time, buonanotte!

Baci,

Giulia