In which apertivos are pretty great

Apertivos are an Italian thing, based off the word aperitif, which is a drink taken before dinner to stimulate the appetite. I've read that it's mostly popular with younger people. Basically, you buy a drink (generally 6 to 10 euros) and they have out a sampler platter, and you can nibble to your heart's content. So you get a meal for the price of a drink and it's very casual, so you can come and go as you wish.

It's not a bad way to go out once classes are done. It usually gets pretty packed, and seating is sort of crammed in, which is probably why younger people tend to favor it more. I've been to two of them in the past two days with a group of friends.

The food at them varies. There's generally a lot of rice dishes and some sort of pasta (you shove it all on these little plates, but you can go back for more). At the first place, there were french fries, home made potato chips, sliced prosciutto, and potatoes that we were all dreaming about.

Yesterday was the start of our weekend, so after apertivo, we went to an AUR-sponsored party at a club(?) a little bit away. We got there waaay too early (we ate earlier than Europeans generally do, because we're Americans and we were starving) and the place was basically empty. We didn't feel like waiting around for people to get there, and we didn't want to pay for another apertivo, so we left. (The chicken nuggets were tempting, but I hear there's a really classy McDonalds around here if I get a craving.)

Then, even though it was drizzling a bit, we decided that night gelato was the best thing. And it was. My friend who lives in France said I had to try the fiordilatte flavor, which translates to "milk flower", so I had that. It wasn't something I'd normally try, but it was really good!

After that we came home and crashed. We're making plans for today, since we're actually not going anywhere (it was raining yesterday, not exactly sight seeing weather). We might go shop for some bedding, since our pillows here are flat as sheets, and I really want a blanket. Then it's wine/pasta night in the apartment!

Classes in Rome

The thing about classes here is that there's not a lot, so a wide variety of people are in them. At home, we have a ton of blocks of communications, so you know that the other people in your com class are exactly your level.

But here, my Principles of Marketing class has some people who for sure have more experience with marketing and are taking this class for additional marketing credits. So the teacher was going over some stuff, laughing like "but you all know this, right?" and everyone is like "yeah, of course!" and I'm just in the corner like

What are you people talking about this sounds like gibberish to me

Luckily one of my roommates just finished a marketing class, and the other is a food marketing major, so they can help me when I'm totally and completely lost like right now

That class is going to be so hard, I already know. But my other classes seem ok. Italian is so frustrating to me! I've studied Spanish for four years and I'm semi-fluent and every time I open my mouth to speak Italian, Spanish comes out. Everything is so similar which you think about make it easier, but just makes me speak this strange combination of Italian-Spanish-English.

My screenwriting class seems really daunting. The professor told me that as a creative writer, I'm going to basically have to unlearn everything and start again, if I want to write a good screenplay. (which has never been something I wanted to do, really, but I can try something new.)

My mafia studies class has probably been my favorite so far. I really like history, and this is a really cool class to learn it in. We're also gonna watch a bunch of mafia movies, so I'm excited for it.

So, uh, I guess this semester looks pretty good. I'm...hesitantly optimistic, I guess. There's for sure a few classes I'd drop if I was back home, but this is Rome, so I'm going to just roll with it, and see if they can't surprise me.

First (well, second) day of school

I love this campus. Everything is so pretty. It's really small, with only five buildings, and even those are a bit scattered. All of my classes are in building B, which is where most of the classes are held. Most of mine are on the fourth floor, so...more stairs, yay. Our library is so gorgeous, I want to live there.

Today the tram was too crowded to ride so my roommates and I power walked the mile here, including the six flights of stairs and the uphill climb. And yes, the stairs. I dropped into my seat sweating and panting with about two minutes to go before class started. Good first impression.

I still haven't had two of my classes (I'm on a four hour break before I do), but I don't mind the waiting between. There's always somewhere to sit and do work (or socialize. Mostly socialize). Right now I'm in the garden, under an orange tree, and the view is gorgeous. The classes I've had seem pretty good. One seems like it's going to be really tough, but it will at least be interesting. And every class I've had is so small! My screenwriting class is ten people.

Everything in this school is kind of small compared to my home university, but that's sort of nice. Rome is so BIG and so old and has so, so much going on, that it can really get kind of overwhelming. Having a student body of 100 is nice because you at least see familiar faces, and your professors really want to know you by name. And it's hard to get lost!

I can't get over how nice it is to sit in the sun and eat an apple between classes. Back in Michigan, everything is probably freezing cold and covered in snow right now. Meanwhile, I'm adding sunscreen to a list of things I have to try to find next time I go shopping.

More walking, mostly

You know what's fun? The fact that our route to the university is up six sets of stairs. That's fun. And by fun, I mean "I'm dying inside". It's ok, though, because now I can eat all the gelato I want and not feel bad about it.

Today we got up early to apply for our permits of stay- something you have to get within days of arriving in Italy- and to get SIM cards for our American phones so we can call each other if we get lost. We have a café right next to our apartment so we got pastries for breakfast, just like the Europeans.

After that was the safety talk, then orientation, then the day was ours. We got food at this really popular sandwich shop near the school. Again, I just pointed at what I wanted, and again, it was delicious. Do I know what it was? Not really, but it was very good.

Then we went on a walk in a park not far from our school, Villa Doria Pamphilli. It is gorgeous. I fell in love with this park. I'm going to make an entire post about it later.

We rested for a bit at the apartment, then got some groceries in a few little shops on our street. There's an eclectic little goods store where we got soap and such, a fruit store, and a tiny grocery place where we can get fresh bread. We picked out a few things- juice, pasta, eggs. We're going to go shopping more when we find a bigger store.

After this, we went to a tour at the university, only to find out that we'd missed it. So we decided to cut our losses and went to downtown Trastevere. It's this amazing neighborhood. You pass through a really touristy place first, where everything is in English, but if you keep going, there's these amazing little side streets with authentic stores and real local flavor. We decided to eat at one of these restaurants, our first sit-down Italian dinner. There were seven of us, at this point- we picked up a friend along the way.

The food was wonderful, very filling, and the people there were very warm. Italian waiters don't give you the bill- once you sit down, that table is yours for the night. Italians do a lot of socializing around food, and dinners can take hours as everyone casually eats and chats. So giving you a bill is seen as very rude. We had to flag down our waiter and request the bill. You also don't tip in Italy- it just isn't done, the percentage is added to the bill- but I really felt like a jerk for awhile.

By this time it was late, but we decided to go back out and see downtown Trastevere again. And it was a world of difference. When we went down there to eat dinner, around 7-8, it was very empty and quiet. When we returned, nearly 11, it was bursting with people. Italian just eat dinner later. We were down there until nearly 1, socializing. There were a lot of people there from AUR, so we'd just meet each other in the squares and talk for a bit, then move on.

Finally, we trooped back to our apartment. My feet hurt so badly, but this city is so worth it. People make jokes about Italians eating a lot- that's because they walk everywhere. My roommate's phone said we'd walked 8 miles today alone, and that was all before lunch.

Arriving in Rome

(Edit: This post was drafted and delayed, since we had a problem with the Wi-fi in our apartment.)

This post will likely be short, since I’m super jet lagged and exhausted.

We arrived at Rome today- me and my roommates. There’s six of us. Three are from Central, three aren’t, but we all seem to get along just fine. The rooms are really nice. Lots of storage space. My room has a view of the balconies across the way, and it seems like everyone has a garden. It’s fun to see.

So we get to Rome, get settled in at our apartment (after being terrified of our driver) and after a few hours, we all decide to go on this Rome walk tour thing hosted by the university.

Well, the maps are impossible to read, and the streets in Rome aren’t like the streets in the US. The US is all squares and numbers- Roman streets hardly ever stay in a straight line for long, so it’s hard to say “well follow this street until here” because you’ve got to switch streets nine times.

So we get lost. Pretty darn lost.

It’s dark out, about five? We set out early, figuring we could find AUR by then. At some point we asked a florist if he could help us find out road. It quickly became obvious that he spoke very little English, and we spoke even less Italian, so we got some information from him through a combination of pointing, pantomime, and a few key nouns.

We stayed lost and finally decided to ask for help again. This time we asked a restaurant owner behind the counter. He didn’t speak English very well, but an employee did, and he helped us.

We finally find the campus, after an hour-and-a-half of walking. At that point we have a half hour left before the walk, and we’d been planning to get some food before we got lost. So we quickly nipped down to a nearby fast-style pizza place, and I had my first Italian pizza! It was two squares of pizza, pressed into each other like sandwich bread and wrapped in paper so it could be eaten on the go.

I didn’t see any familiar pizzas, so I pointed to something that looked good and said that one, per favore. I still don’t know what it was, but it had ham and different cheeses and lettuce, I think? It was really delicious, whatever it was. And it was only about €2,50 and a filling meal so I see why it does so well with the students.

We finished our pizzas and went for the walk, which was a sightseeing/history tour through Rome. It was so bizarre, seeing this modern stuff, and then ruins or old-style towns tucked in the back like a hidden pocket. Or seeing modern, trendy shops right across the street from ancient ruins. We even saw the coliseum!

And now I’m home. We wanted to get some food for breakfast but we’re all still completely drained from the time adjustment, lack of sleep, and walking all day. My feet are killing me. 

Meet Gamma

This is Gamma! He was given to me by my Big last semester when I joined Phi Sigma Pi. He's gonna be my traveling buddy and will probably make a few appearances here and there on the blog.

I devote my first post to bemoaning the visa process

Three days to departure. I keep getting friends asking me for tips about the study abroad process, so they can know what to expect when they apply. So let me say, before I even get on the plane, my first tip:

The visa process. Prepare early, and prepare for everything.

Alright, I'm gonna tell a story about my experience here. Since I'm staying in Italy for more than 90 days, I needed a student visa. You have to go online and get an appointment with the Italian consulate in Detroit to turn in your documents. They say to allow four weeks for the visa to get to you. They're open two days a week, two appointments a day. So far, so good. Most people involved had the first language of Italian, so there was a bit of a language gap problem along the way, but we figured it out.

I leave in mid January, so I made the appointment at the beginning of October. That felt safe enough. Except the consulate was booked, and the earliest I could get in was December 24. Cutting it close, but it was all I could do. If you need a visa, make your appointment early. Like, the day you know you need it.

Then there's the documents themselves, which are beyond confusing. Even with the help the study abroad office gave me, I had to go in and talk to one of the study abroad staff about...three? Four times? It was hard to tell what I really needed and what documents were which. So that took a long time.

Then the consulate emailed me and said they were closed the 24th. The next available appointment was December 31, which only gave me 20 days to get the visa back, not even close to four weeks. If I didn't get my passport back from the visa office in time, I couldn't get on the plane, and I couldn't arrive with the rest of my class. I'd have to figure out Rome on my own, maybe starting classes a week late. I was in tears. This was never supposed to go so wrong.

At the same time, I was still making calls and appointments, finding papers I didn't know I needed, and scrambling up until the last day of school. Then the consulate called me and said that they were also closed the 31st. I was horrified, until they said they could get me in Friday. The next Friday. In two days.

So, I dropped everything and drove the 3+ hours to Detroit, knowing I only got one chance at this. Halfway there, I found out my home post office had told me wrong about the envelope I needed, and I had to find a post office in the middle of a bad part in Detroit, which was...fun...

I got there, and it was pretty uneventful after all that build up. Just a small room, a man who made sure I had all the documents, and within ten minutes I was back out. Afterwards I sat in the car and just sighed. That had been my biggest stress for weeks and it was finally done. I got my visa back in six days. Not even a week. (I did pay for an overnight envelope.)

So, if I was going to do it again, I'd make my appointment as soon as I possibly could. As soon as I knew I needed one. And I'd double and triple check with anyone who could help me. Do not assume you know what you need, because you get one shot at this.

And that's my story. If nothing else, it gave me a certain level of confidence, because that's something you get standing in a shady post office in the middle of Detroit, early in the morning, clutching a bunch of papers and saying a Hail Mary that this all works out.

I suppose the adventures are already starting, haha. Oh, Italy, I'm so ready to just get there already.