Waking up Roman style

Tap Tap Tap… Its just a dream… (a few seconds louder) BANG BANG BANG! This is the sound that woke me from my bed this morning. What is that you ask? It’s the sound of construction workers on the street below. I can count on and faithfully expect some sort of noise from the Roman streets to wake me from my sweet sleep.

From dogs barking, crying children and Italians who are yelling at each other, but are probably just having a normal conversation about the weather. Worst of all the chronic honking of many horns or the vrooooooooooooom of a motor cycle! I cannot forgot the odd sound of the siren from an Italian ambulance.

Our street is a one way street and you can always anticipate a symphony of horns as early as possible (for reasons I have yet to discover. Does this horn honking solve any solution? I’ve come to the conclusion that it doesn’t do a thing! One person honks, another person honks and then another yet, traffic remains the same. It’s contagious!

While we are on the subject of cars in Italy I would like to add that although Italians are known for having a very easy going laid back culture unlike us Americans who are constantly on the go, I think I have finally discovered their secret.They take all of their aggression and energy out on the road!

Sure, you might see them nonchalantly chatting in a café for hours like there is no tomorrow, but wait until they get into their cars and turn on that engine! Zooooom! They bob and weave, swerve , speed and honk and honk some more in these little tiny cars. Word to the wise, never discount a small economically friendly car engine.

Crossing the streets in Rome is quite an adventure. You better say a few prayers and perhaps purchase life insurance. Some honor the “pedestrian has the right away” rule and others could care less. Thus, I've learned how to cross the street like an Italian. Close your eyes and walk backwards! Lol Just kidding... O and Romans DO NOT run across the street. No matter how many cars are coming their way, they simply walk in their Roman way. So you know I stand out like a sore thumb because I sprint to the other side!

The good thing is that a lot of the streets are one way, so you only have to look out for cars coming in one direction. After your prayer and the purchase of insurance, you must look and wait and look again and then, take a leap of faith and step out into the moving traffic. Most cars will stop for you, but others might swerve around you just missing taking your arm and or leg with them.

Once you make it to the other side of the road, you may check to see if all of your body parts are still attached and you will glance back in horror thinking “How did I make it across that.”

I have come to the conclusion that in Italian driving school, it is a requirement for you to drive as crazy as possible! "what, you didn't almost hit that girl walking across the street? You didnt swerve around that bus that was clearly taking too long to pull off? YOU FAIL"

But wait, I cannot forget public transportation, but I’ll save that for another day…

A Sense of Accomplishment

Today I feel a sense of accomplishment today because I actually met goals I set for myself. This is Midterm week and last week I made a plan to not do anything all weekend except study! I had 3 Midterms for Art History, Marketing (which I took one yesterday and today) and then one tomorrow in Italian. I feel like devoting all that time to study was very necessary and as a result I think I did pretty well on both of my midterms so far. We will see how I did when I get back to class after fall break.

                I have found a lot of growth in myself since coming to Italy. Getting out of my comfort zone has really caused me to see the world in a different way and even and has expanded my mind. I have defiantly notice more of an aggressive attitude within me that I knew was there all along, just waiting to come out. I find that when I set my mind on doing something I do it. For example, one day I said I would study abroad, look where I am. I said I wanted to travel the world, look where I am. I said I wanted to cut all my hair off and go natural, look what I did. And it’s all by the grace of God and the desires he put in my heart. Accomplishing the things I set out in my heart to do make me feel so empowered!

                My recent example is that since I arrived in Rome, I’ve wanted to sketch  the city and I to visit this absolutely amazing statue in which my entire semester is dedicated to painting called the “Blessed Ludovica  Albertoni”  by Gian Lorenzo Berninii in the church S. Francesco a Ripa. I’ve been using a sculpture book as my source, but I actually wanted to see this work for myself.

 So, Yesterday I was determined to go visit the statue after my Art History final. My Painting professor gave me directions, but they were pretty much hard to understand. So I became pro active and searched for the address using a map and online resources. I ended up finding exactly where it was and my professor’s directions were pretty accurate. Upon arrival to the church I found it to be closed for wonderful convenient “Siesta” which is the Italian way of a lunch break where most shops close for a about three hours each day (varies depending on the shop). It wasn’t going to open again until 4, but I wanted to spend my evening slaving away at studying for my Marketing exam.

                I decided to go to the church the next day (today) after my Marketing exam. I didn’t t want to go straight home, but felt inspired by the beautiful architecture of Rome all around me. So, I walked. I walked until I made up my mind to take a trip to the Tiber, sit under a bridge to sketch. When I looked at the stair case to get there it looked a little sketchy and I was semi afraid of getting mugged thanks to the many pick pocketing stories I’ve heard. Instead of being afraid I said a little prayer asking for God to protect me (as I always do) and took the steps down to get closer to the river.

                It was cold out and was raining on and off, but I decided to stick it out. The water of the Tiber isn’t the cleanest, but is this very pretty shade of blue green. I walked passed a cute couple having lunch at the river’s edge and sat not too far from them. I figured if someone did try to mug me, they were right there and could come to my rescue (LOL). As I sat and sketched I felt a sense of accomplishment. I didn’t stay too long because all I had with me was a red colored pencil and no eraser. Plus, it was cold. As I walked back to the tram to go home I really took the time to soak in the fact that I am actually in Rome!

                Today after my Midterm I finally made my way to the church. I was going to take a bus, but decided on walking instead just so I could enjoy the city. When I arrived I was a little creeped out. This may sound odd, but Catholic churches always give me the creeps. I’m not sure why, but I get this eerie feeling.  Maybe it’s all the old statues and that they always seem to have dark lighting and are cold. idk… Anyway, after tip toeing around the church looking for the statue, I finally found it! It’s much smaller than I expect, but still an awesome sight to behold! T

                To think that someone actually sculpted this out of stone is beyond me! Sculptures are one of my all time favorite types of artwork. I couldn’t get as close to her as I would have liked but pulled out my sketch pad and went for it. First I started out with trying to remember everything I ever learned in art class, but then decided that I didn’t want to be so formal. I just wanted to understand her. Many people came in and out to view the statue, but I pretended like no one was there. That is until someone tapped me and told me they liked my sketch.

After about an hour I decided to finish and walked out with a smile because I actually accomplished what I set out to do and got to see this magnificent masterpiece! The sketch didn’t come out to bad either!

Roaming Alone

Lately I discovered that although it is nice to have company, sometimes it’s even nicer to do things on my own. I get to exactly what I want to do when I want and how I want. I also get a lot more accomplished when I do things by myself i.e. homework, studying, etc.

While in Rome I often hang out with a group of girls and a few guys. We always have a lot of fun, etc, but sometimes a lot of people means a lot of opinions and ideas and you might not necessarily get to do what you want to do. Also since one of my roommate’s who I’m usually with all the time went to India to visit her family for 2 weeks, I’ve been a lone way more.
However, I plan on using this time wisely by visiting plenty of museums and really seeing Rome the way I want to. It’s not that I couldn’t do it with her, but sometimes she is on a different schedule then me out what I consider fun might not be fun to her.
Thus, sometimes Roaming alone is the best way to go...

Brinner (breakfast for dinner)

Sooo today my roomates and I didn't know what to cook for dinner and didn't want to go out to eat, so we decided to put all of our food together and cook breakfast for dinner!It was SO good! We had Potato's (made by me) Omelets and French toast.

Recipes: (Sorry, there are no precise measurements, we did everything by what we felt seemed to be the right amount and it was!)
Some potato's (how ever many you want)
Garlic
1 Onion
Salt
Pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Omelets:
Butter
Eggs
Salt & Pepper
Cheese
Pepper's
Onions

French Toast
Milk
Eggs
Cinnamon

Speaking of Fall break

Speaking of Fall break, there was a bit of a setback in my plans which had me slightly bummed at first. Two other girls and I decided that out of all the things to do for fall break, the one place we absolutely have to see is Greece! My top choices on my list of places I MUST visit are Italy, Greece, Ireland, and France. Now I get to cross Italy off the list and hopefully will be able to cross of Greece as well. I originally booked my trip to Greece along with the two other girls through this agency called “Euro Adventures” which had a sweet package for around 399 euro ($599). This included a round trip Ferry ticket, hotel stay in Corfu and Athens, breakfast and dinner. Needless to say, the trip got canceled due to people backing out because their parents felt like the trip wasn’t safe. This was a letdown for a split second until I decided to message the 2 girls to plan our own trip to Greece. After asking the trip planner from EuroAdventures for a few tips, He gave us a plethora of ideas, hotels and transportation for Greece. So we will be meeting tomorrow to book that trip! I’m so excited because I MUST see Greece while I’m over here!