Ciao da Roma

It has been a whirlwind of a week! I can't believe that I've only been in Italy for five days, yet it feels as if I've been here for so much longer. It still has yet to completely hit me that I'm in Italy... a whole new country at least four thousand miles away from Chicago. Yes, I was a tad bit homesick on the first night, but I think that I've come to accept, love and be excited about my current situation.

For the most part, the past few days have mostly consisted of orientation activities from filling out our permesso di soggiorno to learning about the choices of study trips we can go on throughout the semester (Tunisia, Sicily, Tuscany, or Poland perhaps?) Of course, it hasn't been only about orientation presentations and activities. In the past five days, I've explored the neighborhood we live in, gone out with friends to an Irish pub (yes, an Irish pub in Rome. Ironic, non?), seen the Coliseum, the Roman Forum, and Villa d'Este. In such a short time, I've accomplished so many things, which I think has allowed me to perceive as if I've been here longer than I really have. In closer reflection, I've realized that I at least have three more months here in Europe and that it is merely the start of many more adventures!

In the past week, it really has just been about getting settled into my new home for the next three or so months and doing community-building trips to certain historic sites. For the first two days, I just took it easy as I was still recuperating from jet lag. It's quite surprising how much of a difference 7 hours make! So for the most part, I spent it either sleeping, walking around the neighborhood with new friends and just trying to convince myself bit by bit that I'm in Italy. And yes, it's reality. I keep asking others, "Has it hit you yet?" And their responses is similar to mine, "Nope, it still seems so surreal."

My second night in the city of Rome, I decided to go out with some people to an Irish pub for Ladies Night. Sure, I felt somewhat anxious since it was ladies night (which I didn't realize until we got to the pub) and I was going with these group of girls. With me being in a country where I could barely speak the language, it exaggerated my worries even more. In the end, I did have fun with my new friends and spent the night out until 3am. The bartenders were either from the UK or from the U.S. with a few Italian patrons. My group of female friends and I got free shots and these two British men bought us drinks throughout the night. It was a night full of laughter and adventure, that's for sure. I think it was a great transition to a new environment as it was a mixture of the familiar (the English language) and the new (getting to and from the pub and the international people we met).

The next night, Friday, I went to a school hosted dinner in the neighborhood. It was a lovely experience. Of course, like every meal I've had outside of campus it was accompanied with wine. It was a small restaurant in the neighborhood of Monte Mario. You could tell that the place was owned by one family. The host was doing paperwork for the restaurant's finances right by the entrance while also serving us. Him humming and singing in Italian under his breath made the experience seem even more authentic. Nothing showy or over the top, just the simplicity of good food, great company, and authenticity. Of course, the host being tall, dark, and handsome didn't hurt either. Hah!

At the Roman Forum.

The next day we spent the whole day in Downtown Rome. We were given tickets to see the Roman Forum and the Coliseum afterwards. It was really awesome and somewhat surreal that these buildings have lasted for over a millennium.  It made me realize the transience of each human life, but the consequences of us living, essentially creating and manifesting things out of our own imagination, borders on the eternal. In any case, walking through the Roman Forum was a great experience. I preferred it over the Coliseum as it gave you more of a chance to immerse yourself in its history and interact with the environment.

After seeing the Roman Forum and the Coliseum, we made our way to a small restaurant to try some pizza margherita and gelato. Surprisingly, before this trip to Downtown Rome, I had yet to taste real Italian gelato or pizza, so it was an experience quite overdue. Nonetheless, it was really good. Afterwards, my friends and I were told that we would have to find our way back home via public transportation. They claim that by getting lost in the city and finding our way back, we'll learn how to live here for the next three or so months, which I definitely agree with. Of course, one can't say that I wasn't a tad bit nervous about getting lost all night. However, we did find our way back by 10 that evening.

Archway overlooking Tivoli.

The day after we went to Downtown Rome to visit the Roman Forum and the Coliseum, we went to Tivoli, which is known for Villa d'Este and its garden of many fountains. I really enjoyed this trip more than the trip we took to Downtown Rome. It fit my perception of Italy the most with rolling hills, the narrow, cobblestone sidewalks, clotheslines hanging from window to window, and people just sitting leisurely at the piazza on a Sunday afternoon while children played all around them. It was more intimate of an experience. It was beautiful, romantic, and it made realize more and more that, yes, I am in Italy.

Of course, what I relate Villa d'Este with is Lizzie McGuire the Movie. Along with Roman Holiday and Under the Tuscan Sun, Lizzie McGuire made me fall in love with the idea of visiting Italy. The scene I loved the most was when the character of Paolo took Lizzie to Villa d'Este and ran through the fountains with her. Obviously, I had to reenact the scene and take a picture of it!

Lizzie McGuire moment!!!

I'm still somewhat waiting for it to hit me that I'm in a new country. Sure, I experience the difficulties of trying to express myself and understanding those who have different linguistic backgrounds. I must admit that even the smallest gestures such as ordering food or gelato, I feel inclined to give up and just be that "American" who tries to speak in English. It's the inherent ethnocentrism that I never imagined I would possess, I guess. However, I'm trying to resist it. Yesterday, when we visited Tivoli, I was so ecstatic to order cotton candy at the piazza on my own. I said, "Ciao. Vorrei zucherro filato," assuming that it was the phrase for "cotton candy" since it was the sign in front of his cart/stand. He asked, "Fragole (Strawberry)?" I responded, "Si. Grazie." Yes, it was a simple conversation, but I felt successful and proud of myself even if there might have been some grammatical errors. Nonetheless, it was one of those moments that made Italy more of a reality for me.

Classes started today and I'm pretty much settled in. This means that I will be posting more frequently and on a more predictable schedule. It also means that I will have time to travel and explore on my own as well! Next weekend, my class and I will be taking a 3-day weekend trip to Caserta, Salerno, Paestum, and Sorrento. The weekend after that, I will spend a whole day at the Vatican City with a few friends. The weekend following, I will be going to Paris and Versailles with the same set of friends. Also, tonight I will be planning out my Morocco trip with two other friends.

Until my next posts, ciao!
KC

I'm Here. I'm Scared. I'm Excited.

Yep, I am now officially in Italy. It has been quite the voyage considering that I have barely slept for the last 24 hours or so (if at all). Let's start from the beginning shall we?

I got to the airport about three hours before my departure time. When I got there people were already in line to check in their bags. I made small chit chat with a few of the people in line and I think I even made a friend. I would consider her a new friend and not just an acquaintance as we've basically kept in contact throughout our whole flight from Chicago to Frankfurt, Germany for a three hour layover and finally to Rome, Italy.

It was really exciting meeting all these new people. It felt similar to when I first moved into the dorms my freshman year of college. It was new, exciting, and I didn't know what to expect of my environment and especially of the people. The people I've met from the random encounter in line to the random seat neighbors I had for my primary and secondary flights, however not many of them have interest me... Or perhaps I have not interested them. In any case, I feel that I am quite alone on this trip except for the girl I had newly befriended and one or two people I am acquainted with before this Rome trip.

Yes, I admit, I do feel kind of homesick; more than I had expected to be. It feels weird that I am apart from my family not just by a few miles or even statewide. I am away from my friends and family for three and a half months. Along with not seeing them, I am afraid that I may run out of money before I complete this trip or see most of the things I want to see. It is only my first night here, yet I already feel lonely and isolated. At first, I thought that this would be the ideal situation. I thought that I would be all right with exploring Europe on my own. However, I'm not as confident as I had imagined. I am afraid to even say, "Ciao," to those that work in the school or the neighboring shops. I'm afraid of being spotted as the foreigner and the sorts of reactions it may encourage. I really am out of my comfort zone and it scares me a bit.

On the other hand, I should appreciate this. Now I know the threshold of my comfortability. I now know what I need to work on and how I can possibly use this as an opportunity to strengthen myself. It's scary and for the past day or so, I've felt as if my fear of the truly unknown is the end-all be-all. On the contrary, it's not. I have come to realize my unconscious borders. Now, I can work on broadening them. I really do want to see as much as I can and make this trip as worthwhile as it can be. All I can or should really do is keep an open mind, right? To accept things as they come and to act accordingly.

Well, I'm tired and it has been over twenty-four hours since I have slept. I will write again soon and post the photographs I have taken these past few days tomorrow. Until then, buona notte.

Lo Straniero

Hi! I’m Kenneth and this will be the place where I’ll be putting my thoughts, ideas, and photos of my study abroad experience(s) in Italy. I know that I won’t be leaving for another three months and four days, but preparing for my trip is definitely worth writing about (along with the whole trip itself). This is/will be an exciting journey for me as I have never been to Europe before, and I hope to find an eternal piece of myself during my travels.
The title of this post is Lo Straniero meaning “The Stranger” in Italian. What I hope to accomplish with this blog is to successfully record my whole experience to the fullest that I possibly can, share those experiences with you, and hopefully change our relational status from “strangers” to gli amici or “the friends”.
So, dear stranger, would you be willing to share this journey with me?
KC