Everything is in Italian Here

Even my internet- google, facebook, websites- appear only in italiano. Rando strangers have legit convos with me in italiano. I understand just about everything of what I hear. This is cool! Soo update. Lately life has been filled with all kinds of lovely things.. including but not limited to boring orientation sessions, perfecting a white wine and cream based cheese pasta sauce, nutella gelato (and straciatella, and chocolate, and banana, and amarena, and pesca...), a decently legit NDesque apartment party, italian grocery shopping, riding the Metra, and last but not least, being ogled by italian men of all ages- they do it to anything female and it's still entertaining at this point. Oh, and dodging smartcars and motorini as they zoom across every possible Roman street, backstreet, sidewalk, and paved or cobblestoned surface in the city in every direction.

Yesterday's meeting at JCU was all about obtaining our permesso di soggiorno (permit to stay) and how to fill out all the crazy paperwork involved. Afterwards, we decided to get lunch in Trastevere near school in an osteria hidden in a small alleyway. Trastevere is absolutely beautiful- sunwashed colors, shutters, cobblestones, huge churches, piazze filled with fountains that are works of art in and of themselves. We ate.. we wandered.. we found a gorgeous fountain right outside of la chiesa di Santa Maria in Trastevere full of l'acqua potabile (potable). A few of us eventually walked back to Medag, cooked dinner, and then decided a night expedition to the Colesseo is so worth it. Soooo I led the way and armed with a map and about 15 minutes until the Metra was about to shut down.. we set off. After we got off the Manzoni stop on the Red Line we walked up v. Vittorio Emmanuele and SAW IT. AHH. Glowing orb in the middle of the city, HUGE. And what's cooler is that as we walked the mile or so toward it, the clock was turned back about 3000 years- columns and ruins started surrounding us. That's what happens when you enter center city.. it all becomes ruins. Amazing. Walked back, saw il monumento di Vittorio Emmanuele at night, walked near the Forum, through St. Peter's square... and back to Medag. But not before a trip to Old Bridge for gelato at 1,30 am [nutella, cioccolato, straciatella].

Woke up today, Caroline and I decided to do some more exploring bc there is a sick amount to see here. Soo we hit Piazza di Spagna and the Spanish steps, both Fontane di Trevi, and then went toward the Pantheon so we could go to GIOLITTI! Giolitti is my favorite gelateria in the world. And the combo I got today was absolutely the best one I think I've ever gotten-- pera, mela verde, e mora. Pear, green apple, blackberry. SOOO GOOOOD. It is unbearably hot here, easily 90 degrees or more from 9am until about 3pm. And those Roman cobblestones absorb every last degree, so between the bright sun, cloudless skies, and heat, it's kinda warm. But never fear! Rome has this awesome system called the aqueducts.. has for a few thousand years, and Romans still use them in the form of random water fountains around the city. The water is so cold, and the fountains are beautiful. And they're everywhere.