Roma If You Want To: Ciao, Roma!

After ten days of trekking through Rome, I've decided to stop putting off this blog and actually post something before I give up on starting a semester-abroad-blog all together. So here it is: my first post (of hopefully many).

The adventures began the minute we set foot in Rome...after taking the train from the airport to Trastevere we asked someone at the station about taking a metro to our housing address and were advised to "Walk straight. You don't need a metro." With huge bags on our back and rolling a fifty-pound suitcase each, we optimistically set off on the cobblestone streets...Two miles of walking later we arrived at our apartment (and decided we'd never take advice from the train station lady again).

The apartment, which houses Penn State Architecture girls on the first floor, the boys on the second, and students from Woodbury on the third, has a large courtyard with clementine and lemon trees and a terrace looking over it where we've already spent many afternoons lounging in the sun with wine. Our neighborhood, Trastevere, is just over the Tiber from the central part of Rome where our studio is located--a nice break from the bustling streets and piazzas of the city and a greater locals-to-tourists ratio. The streets are filled with small shops, cafes, bakeries, pizzerias, and markets selling fresh fruit and vegetables.

Last week, instead of starting classes, our Italian teachers led us on mini orientations around Rome, showing us how to get around on public transportation and giving us basic tips on Italian culture and life in Rome. We had plenty of time each day to explore the city on our own and so I have spent most afternoons and evenings walking for hours through winding streets and stumbling into famous buildings and monuments. To top it off, the weather has been perfect: sunny and in the mid-50's every day.

My favorite moments so far have been the ones you don't see coming...like arriving in Rome on Epiphany (Italian Christmas) and finding piazzas packed with festivals and markets, turning a corner and unsuspectingly seeing the Pantheon for the first time, catching the sunset from the top of a hill overlooking Rome, bumping into the Chinese New Year parade and celebration in Piazza del Popolo...the list goes on. I am slowly learning to navigate the labyrinth of streets, but being lost in this city is almost more fun than knowing exactly where you are.

While I've enjoyed our luxurious week of wandering around Rome with no real agenda, I am looking forward to starting classes (studio, architectural analysis, cartography, Italian language, and 'masters and monuments') this week. Stay tuned for 5 more months of adventures...