Czech Mate

I have successfully survived my first weekend trip and Prague was an excellent city to kickoff a plethora of more adventures! “Holy Czech!” were the first words I blurted out when I stepped off the airplane into the freezing cold and snowy atmosphere.  The first culture shock I endured was when I took money out of the ATM and a 2000 crown bill fed out of the machine. The exchange rate was roughly 23 crowns equal to 1 euro. Initially I was pumped for everything to be dirt-cheap, until our dinner that night didn’t only leave us with a full belly, but a 2500 crown receipt for the 6 at our table. It was one of the most frustrating payment processes I have gone through when all of us were flashing around 1000 crown bills. But all was well because we were at the Beer Factory filling up our own beers from the keg on tap right at our table! Friday and Saturday were spent walking all over the city to find the famous sights, including the John Lennon Wall, Prague Castle, Old Town and Wenceslas Square, and so much more. We took a 3 hour-long tour that not only sparked my knowledge on the former communist country, but numbed me from head to toe. We all violently shook with shivers for every minute of those 3 hours, so we warmed up in our hostel’s very own free happy hour before we ventured off to find a traditional Czech restaurant for a good meal. I am afraid to admit that Saturday night for dinner we ate Subway. We were so pumped to find American places around that we splurged for the comfort food. There is only so much pasta and pizza you can take and there is not much else to work with in Italy.

The bar scene in Prague deemed to be bi-polar in my opinion. Cross Club was a club of many tastes with lounging booth areas filled with smoke connected to a room with a DJ rapper and techno dance party. Most bars we went to were underground with multiple rooms and levels connected through tunnel passageways. I noticed the smoking to be even worse than Rome, so you can only imagine the odor my clothes came out of the non-ventilated underground bars in. Our last night in Prague we went to a place that was recommended that had 5 stories and each floor had a different genre of music playing. There was the “radio hits” level, “disco tech”, “90’s/oldies”, which we spent the majority of our time, and my personal favorite title, “black music”. We couldn’t believe what we read on the flashing sign was real. That would not have gone over too well in America…

The venture home became national public transportation day. We took the metra to the bus to the airport, flew to another airport to take the train to the tram back to our apartment. On the train little children came right up to me begging for money and it took all the will power I had not to look at this cute little boy that was straight out of Slumdog Millionaire. The things I have heard about pick-pocketting in Europe were so frightening that everywhere I go I have a constant death grip on my bag you would thing they were sewn to it. Although I am always cautious, I have not noticed it to be as scary as I was expecting. Until next time… Ciao a tutti!

Pure Bliss

I have died and gone to heaven, literally. I experienced the single most amazing moment in my life. A group of us went to go for another visit to the Vatican and paid 5 euro to go up to the top. There was a choice of elevator or walking and I didn't quite understand why someone would pay extra for the elevator to go inside, until I got inside. There was a huge winding stairway we trudged up only to climb some more, and more, oh and some more. We came out to a roof top right beside the dome of the Vatican. I then entered inside the dome looking down into the Vatican. I was mesmorized by the beauty and detail of every inch of this place. If I thought this journey couldn't be any more satisfying and that I had stair-mastered my way to the top, I was surely mistaken. We entered another series of crazy staircases to prevail through. Some were slanted sideways, others were zig-zagged, and some were so tiny that I thought about my 6'5" brother and my claustrophobic mother who would never last through this maze. Doubt was raised in my mind, but quickly vanished when I ended up outside at the very tip top of the dome looking out across the entire city of Rome. The breath was taken out of my lungs, and the pain in my unstable knees fleeted. I actually gasped at the idea of where I was standing and what I was looking at. It truly and whole-heartedly was the greatest moment that I can’t wait to share with my family when they visit! We later discovered it was 600 steps we accomplished to the top!

 

Earlier that day we shopped around the market that is outside our apartment building every sunday. It was another opportunity for me to practice my bartering skills for the rest of my friends to benefit from because they are too nervous to do so. I don't think I have seen my father's face light up so much when I told him how I talked down the price for the scarf I purchased. I guess I am my father's daughter. I lingered from tent to tent simply looking at the vast collection of goods and multiple times the vendors would approach me speaking english. I couldn't help but think, "Am I THAT obvious?" Here I am in a sea of native Italians walking about and engaging in the same activities and they single me out in a split second. It almost seems that I am meeting more Americans than Italians in Italy. Everywhere I go I am running into other study abroad students from all across the United States. This is a little bit more comforting to me because I am still trying to grasp the way Italian men behave. It is also comforting to my mom who replied, “I’m so glad you aren’t attracted to that.” Apparently my parents wouldn’t be at peace with me dating someone across seas and speaking another language, I couldn’t imagine why… It never ceases to amaze me how strong they come on. Because naturally I wish that all men stared dead into my eyes, have no sense of personal space, and hoot and holler in public places. SO desirable. Until next time… ciao a tutti!

And I Would Walk 500 Miles

The drastic change of activity from my lifeless and lazy winter break to what I would assume is equivalent to training for a marathon has taken quite a toll on my body. I really underestimated the size of Rome, it's gigantic. The biggest obstacle I have faced was purchasing a pillow. A few of us walked to find the store that was past the Castel St. Angelo and ended up trapped by an ancient dried up mote, not something I come across on a regular basis. How does one cross a mote? You don't. You walk around in a complete circle to where you started to find another way. Finally we made it to Coin, which is a department store with shoes, clothes, make-up, and all both American and European brands. Thank God for that damn mote, otherwise it could be deadly. It piled on another 2 and a half hours of physical activity for the day. It takes about 45 minutes to walk to school from my apartment, so we take the tram in the morning and walk the rest of the way from Campo de Fiori. Classes have started and we have already had a teacher yell "Shut up!" at us twice within 15 minutes. Our Layers of Rome teacher is a little British man who seems like a hard ass, but the class will be cool because we are never in the classroom and always meeting at new places to learn about them. I am finally learning some Italian phrases to use in my Italian class! And yet Spanish words are always floating around in my mind, ehh close enough. My goal is to be able to communicate with an Italian without beginning the sentence with "Inglese?" Until next time... ciao a tutti!

Lost in Translation

People are always smoking any where and every where. I am starting to get used to it as I slowly develop the black lung purely from second hand smoke. I was really immersed into the Italian culture as we were sent on a scavenger hunt with nothing but a map, 13 pictures of places to find, and our dignity that was lost in .5 seconds as we scurried about Rome looking like the Asians of America. We stopped an older woman who did not speak a word of English and watched as she waved her hands around and shouted unfamiliar words at us. Although not helpful at all, she was very kind. We stumbled across some of the most amazing sights I have ever been in front of. There was an Italian man dressed in old fashion Roman warrior attire and as we passed by, he held out a crown saying, "Rome princess Barbie!" Being blonde, tall, and blue eyed isn't the best camouflage around here, or so I'm told. I am already stepping outside my comfort zone when I ate rabbit for lunch! Before I am given any praise of bravery, I should mention that I had absolutely no clue that I was eating rabbit at the time. My whole table thought we were wining and lunching on some good old fashioned pasta and chicken. It wasn't until after the meal that the other table told us it was rabbit. You can only imagine my response to this piece of information. I'm glad that I was unaware because then I never in a million years would have gone near those small bones that I had to keep picking out of my mouth. Now I can say I have had rabbit! And also that it tastes just like chicken! It is only the 2nd day and I am already becoming familiar with the area, which is a relief. However, I still have SO much yet to explore! Until next time.... Ciao a tutti!

Arrivederci America!

With much anticipation, the military style strategic packing my father demanded and guided me through proved to be worthless when my backpack to carry on was 11 kilometers when the limit is 8k. I ended up having to check two bags then costing as much as a whole other suitcase would have, meaning I could have brought so many more clothes and shoes!!!!! But that's alright, all the more reason to test the skills my mother raised me to live by and SHOP! The trip then took a turn for the sappy, when my mother held on to me gently weeping. How could I not tear up in that situation, even good old G-squad shed a few. He also proceeded to text me, "You are so special" and "I already kissed your picture 5 times". The flight was delayed for about an hour and a half because of some volcano eruption in Italy, so the group had plenty of time to get to know each other and simply wait for the vacation of a lifetime. And yes, I do keep referring to this experience as a vacation no matter how mad it makes my father that he is paying for it and expecting me to be learning in the classroom. The plane was not full by any means so we had plenty of room to stretch out and sip on the free wine as we flew among the clouds. I have told myself all year that I am going to put my picky eating habits aside and try everything over here, but I was not about to start my new outlook on the culinary world on a foreign airline with the meal being served was a choice between fish or veal. Yuckyy. The yogurt and Milano cookies for breakfast on the other hand, fully satisfied my ordinary taste buds. We landed in Rome at 9:15 am, which is 2:15 am Chicago time. After getting luggage, taking the shuttle, and getting checked into our apartments, I didn't get to call my parents on what looks like a 50 cent cell phone from 2001 until 5:45 am Chicago time. The apartments are nothing like I expected, they are big!! There is plenty of space and an excellent view from the 7th floor! Down side, the elevator holds maybe about a max of 2 people and takes about a year to operate with 3 doors to open and close. So, stairs it is! It's exhausting as hell, but hopefully that will shed a few of the loaves of bread, wheels of cheese, pounds of pasta, and gallons of gelado I am about to consume for the next 4 months. I am delirious with multiple emotions consisting of sleep deprivation, excitement, nerves, and hunger. We have orientation the next couple of days before classes start next week, so hopefully I will be looking less like an American idiot and more like a European goddess! Until next time.... ciao a tutti!