Living as Romans

The Seventh Hill

Our ISU Friends

Wednesday was a very long day. We spent a lot of time traveling as day turned to night, night turned to day, and day turned to night (again). I flew from Waterloo to Chicago, Chicago to London, and London to Rome. All in all, it was about 18 hours of traveing (and not sleeping). The flights went pretty well though (considering all the free food and drinks of course). The wait in London was 5 hourse though, so of course I just watched for famous people (BECAUSE WHY NOT?!). At last we took off and finally arrived to Roma, Italia! At the airport, a man picked us up and had a cute little sign with our names on it. Thank goodness for him, we were in and out of there very quickly. He pretty much already knew where we were going, so he took us to our humble abode! :) 

Anna, me, Kylee

Our small, little apartment is so beautiful and Italian! Soon, I will try to post pictures of it. Right ourside our apartment is a castle and the pyramide! Inside, there is a small kitchen, dining room, big bathroom, hallway, and two decent sized bedrooms (with huge closet space which we all know I need)! Anna has her own room and Kylee and I are sharing one (because there is more closet space), but it doesn't bug me. Once we arrived, we were STARVING! Another girl we know that student taught here in Roma, told us a pizza place that was good and right by our apartment. We decided to go and try it. We all got a TON of pizza and free wifi for 5 Euro. The two slices I got were pretty much cheese and what I thought was hawiian... it was not. Instead of pineapple, it was POTATOES. You may think "BARF," but it actually was not too bad. Apparently it is a thing here (just trying to be Roman and all). We had to be back by eight because our landlord sent a lady to pick up a few things, so we went back to the apartment, met her, unpacked, and got settled. We had to be up the next day pretty early so we could get a ride to AOSR (American Overseas School of Rome), where we are teaching. 

The Pantheon

Bright and early we woke up (literally crack of dawn--easy for me, not so much for the girls). We got ready to go to Termini, the metro station where we would be picked. Remember, this is our first experience trying to get somewhere on our own. We used a map and decided to walk because it was only about two miles. We left about an hour early so we could try to catch the bus to AOSR. About a mile down the road, we ran into the most BEAUTIFUL sight... THE COLLESEUM. It was empyt (no tourists), the sun was rising, and we finally felt like we were in ROMA! It was literally jaw dropping beautiful. As a child you always dream about seeing things like this and never think that you will ever ACTUALLY stand right in front of it. I loved every second. We also saw the forum (which is equally as cool, but we have not went into it yet). So, we continued our journey to Termini and oofta was it rough! The scenery was beautiful, the streets got busy, it smelled like flowers... life was good. Until we were about five minutes late and missed the bus (which I don't think we would have found in the first place, there were thousands). So, we ended up having to take a taxi, but it was totally worth it. 

Spanish Steps

Gelatteria e Caffe

We arrived at AOSR at about 9PM. It was teacher in-service day so there were no students. To imagine this school, think ISU campus for children! It is literally beautiful. All of the elementary classrooms have outdoor entrances, the middleschool rooms are mostly inside, and highschool are pretty spread out (this school is K-12). I will be teaching 8th grade English in the middle school. After we toured the school and saw all of its beautiful features, we hung our with the elementary staff first for their team bulding activity. I cannot express how amazingly welcoming these teachers were. I seriously felt like a celebrity. We were introduced and they treated us like saints. It was so much fun to work on activities with them and share our teaching stories from Iowa (they really respect our philosophies and missions in the states--especially IA). After team building with the EL ED teachers, Kylee and I were able to go meet our teachers during their meeting. Jessica Adams, my cooperating teacher, is a rockstar. She is so sweet, has been in Italy for many years, now has a family here, and can speak both languages! We explored together, got to know each other, and talked about what my time here would look like. It is seriously crazy how fast it is going to go by. Get this...

Week 1: Observe and get to know the 8th graders

Week 2: Middle School Rome Trips (HECK YES, Kylee and I both get to tag along and do everything... FO FREE)

Week 3: Begin phasing into teaching, but it is only a four day week because of conferences!

Week 4: THREE DAY WEEK and then...

Week 5: SPRING BREAK 

Week 6: Full Time Teaching

Week 7: Full Time (four day week)

Week 8: Phase out of teaching! 

Then it is already time to go home!! Holy cow (okay, let's not talk about that part yet). 

Trestevre

Piazza Navona

So, after Jess and I talked about what my time would look like she showed us how breakfast and lunch would look. Every day, when we arrive, we HAVE to go to the bar (BAR=coffeeshop, not alcohol, sorry friends). It's like a social thing here. You can then choose to get breakfast or not. You also have to eat lunch at the school every day. Lunch is set up in a typical Italian way... you get a first course (soup, pasta, pizza), a second course (meat or protein of some sort), vegetable or salad, and fruit or desert! It is a ton of food (I actually found out today you do not HAVE to take everything...thank goodness). Then you can eat outside and look at the breathtaking view (mountains, city, grassland, AHHH) or sit inside. The weather here is beautiful, so pretty much all the teachers sit outside. After we ate, we planned for the Rome trip, had a final meeting (where once again we were introduced and welcomed), and then went home. This time, we were able to take the bus! 

Spanish Steps

After the hourish bus ride back, we got back and walked around our part of town. We had heard some great things from the teachers about it. Apparently it has great restaraunts and nightlife in an area called Testaccio. This area is so neat because it is all built into a fallen hill with glass, jars, and other things. We then walked around (forever), explored some other areas, and finally stopped to have dinner. The dinner place was pretty fun. We were able to have an Italian dinner... aka pasta. I had some peppery stuff. They do not add anything to their foods here (at least what we have expereinced) so it is all freash and great! No sugar is added or any other seasonings. After that, we went to a cocktail bar (pretty much, they call it cocktail or winebar if they serve alcohol), just so we could try some wine! It was pretty good. We got back to our apartment pretty early and began to research what we wanted to do on the upcoming weekends (we still have not decided... lots of indecisive girls here:)). Then finally, we crashed. 

Saturday was a big day for us. We planned to wake up bright and early to go to the supermarket... but, that did not exactly happen! We woke up at about ten and then went. The supermarket was actually pretty east to figure out. We were able to get fresh fruit, Italian bread, and lots of other great things (like balsamic, yummmm). We then came home, put it away, and got ready for our first journey and believe me when I say JOURNEY (we walked about 9 miles+ which is a ton considering we walked 11+ on Friday!). We began by getting lost, walking through a beautiful neighborhood, and finally stumbling upon the seventh hill of Rome at Santa Sabina! This was a beautiful view. We first walked through a garden full of mandarin trees which lead straight to the view. You could see for miles. After that, we checked out the church and then we were on our way. Our next stop was the Pantheon, but we ran into SOOOO much along the way. Tons of Piazzas (like a big open plaza, with open buildings surrounding them, and they usually include fountains), fountains, statues, churches, ruins, etc. It was crazy. One famous Piazza we stopped at was Piazza Navona. There are three huge fountains there and a huge church, that of course I cannot remember the name of. Finally, we got to the Pantheon, but of course had to stop for gelato once we arrived. This was the first gelato we had. I had caffe (coffee flavored). It is so cheap and delicious... Anna loves it so much, she thinks she needs it every day :). The Pantheon is seriously HUGE! It was hard to even get a good photo of it because you cannot stand far enough back. We tried and tried again, continuing to walk around and listen to the peaceful and unclear conversations of Italians falling in love (and I am not kidding, everyone is in love here, kissing and hugging on each corner). We continued on our way to Trestevre... a popular place for nightlife and restaraunts. We first went to the piazza to see the Santa Maria Fountain. This is where we stumbled upon some pretty awesome people. I overheard people speaking English, so of course, me being so kind, I asked them where they were from. Guess what? They said IOWA. Even better, they go to IOWA STATE. It was so great to have a conversation with people in English. We were all so shocked that we met them on DAY 2 of Italia. One was a professor, one was a grad student, and two were undergrads. They helped tell us great spots for food and drinks (after listening to them play beautiful music at dusk, on the fountain, underneath the moonlight). If there is one thing about Italy that is crazy, they are LATE! I do not mean not on time, I mean they eat late and stay our LATE. Restaraunts do not even open until 8 at the earliest. So, we went and tried some wine and finally ended up at a great restaraunt, De Agosto. We had to wait in line and when they finally opened, we could not get in! It was full and we got cut off... we definitely need to be more agressive here. So we happily went to a new restaurant that was just as magnificent (literally can get an entire pizza for 2euro). After this, we made our way to Campo De 'Fiori, where our friends told us a great winebar would be. We arrived at the piazza and it was POPPIN. People were everywhere and finally we found the place they were talking about. It was a great experience seeing what life after ten pm is like here. Right before we left, we ran into our new American friends again. They were surprised we found the place. Then, we were all so exhausted and made our way home. 

The Trevi Fountain

Italian Croissants

Whew!! This is getting long, but I need to catch up of course. Sunday morning came fast for me. I woke up and went for a beautiful run around our city. Breathing the wonderful Roma air is so refreshing. I got back and got ready because the girls were now up and it was time for more walking (well after we took the metro to the colleseum). This was our first metro ride in Rome and guess what!!! Three teenage girls tried to pick pocket us. I was more sad than angry. They did not take anything from us, but they surrounded us, pushed us, tried to grab things, and then jumped off the train. I wanted to scream at them and tell them to go read a book or something. It was a good expereince to know what to watch for though (we did NOT get anything taken, because we are very careful with out things). We were planning to meet Kylee and Anna's friend Katrina in Center City. Katrina and her friend's from Dublin met us at the colleseum. They wanted us to join them in seeing the Vatican, Spanish Steps, and the Trevi Fountain. We walked all around, saw these beautiful things, got some delicious gelato, and had a great time watching the emotions of Rome. The Spanish Steps is in a much more "higher income" area of the city. Lots of expensive shopping and eating. The Trevi was our last stop, but it is STILL under construction so there was no water and we did not need to throw in any quarters this time ;). We wanted to get home at a decent time because Monday meant the first day of TEACHING!! :) :)

Outside our humble abode

So folks, I am finally on the day I am actually on here: Monday! You guys are actually only six hours behind me now because you had daylight savings and we do not until the end of March. The weather was beautiful today and we were all so excited to begin our normal routine. Our regular bus stop is actually right ourside our apartment and around the corner at the metro. Our super kind bus driver picked us up and off we were. The ride was long, but so beautiful. Literally, the drive is a treat itself. Our bus is like a charter bus, but we ride with a few kids too. When we got there we were welcomed once again and then went to the bar. In the mornings, you are allowed to drink cappuccino (so we did). We conversated and then made our ways to our rooms. The schedule here is crazy interesting for us middle schoolers. We go by Red and Blue days (every other day we change). On Blue days I have one study skills class (8th) and one English class (8th), which are each 90 minutes! The rest is for planning... TEACHER FRIENDS... can you imagine having that much planning time in the states?!?! It is awesome!!!! Especially because the kids go from 9 to 3:20. On our Red days we have English (period 1), English (period 2), and study skills 7 (period 3). The rest of our time is lunch and planning. Today, I got to meet the students I will have on blue days. I had them write some things in a notebook that may help me or any advice they wanted to give me. It is pretty funny and cute. They all had great things to share. Another great thing here is the diversity. These students all speak at LEAST two languages and are from all over. They are so proud of it too. When talking about Iowa, they pretty much knew two things... corn, of course... and my favorite--ARLINGTON, because the Bachelor, HA (PS TELL ME ABOUT THE SEASON FINALE IOWANS)! They were so surprised to hear I lived near a city and had a life other than farming. For lunch I had vegetable soup, salad, a delicious orange, and a bite of some Italian egg thing. The food is mouth watering (no judging on the carbs I eat while I am here!). After school, we took the bus home (another hour and a half), but we got to leave right at 3:20 when school was over. Italians drive like crazy people and I seriously got sick on the bus!!! Let's just say, the fresh air when I got off was much needed. When we got home Anna and I went for a run (preparing for the Roma Fun Run) and then went to the supermarket to get some more fruit. We all sat down for dinner and hung out tonight. Which leads me to this.... WHEW. So sorry for the crazy long post. I will try to update it more as I go. 

The Vatican

P.S. I am working on my Italian. It is so easy to understand because it is very close to Spanish (actually, if I speak Spanish, they understand me). I love the language and the people. I cannot wait to have more experiences!!! Ciao a tutti!!!! XOXOXO. If you want to talk to me, message me or email me!! Anything you would like. Also, the pictures are not in any order!!

Buonanotte Bellas!!