Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:”“; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}Chao! I made it to Rome and I’m so excited to spend the nextthree months in Europe. I’m staying in an apartment with five other girls in aneighborhood called Prati, which is about a 20 minute walk to the Vatican. Niceeh? Speaking of walking….let’s just say I’ve been lost every single time I’vewalked out my front door. And it’s more than just a few blocks, try about amile sometimes. Oh and did I mention I don’t speak Italian? Hopefully that paints a little picture of the struggle it’s been getting around this place.

Nonethless, it’s beautiful here. So I don’t mind getting lost. The first day I was walking around our school in the heart of Rome when BOOM! I’m at Piazza de Navona. And then BOOM!I’m at the Pantheon. And then I hear our tour guide nonchalantly say “ah yes,Michelangelo did the trim on this building right there….” It’s one thing toread about these places and people, but seeing it leaves me speechless. I need to get better at my street photography (photos above!)
Little things I’ve learned:
-Don’t take a rose from street vendors or they WILL stalk you
-Is that the building names? Nope, try the street name
- Close your eyes and cross the road and basically commit suicide.
-I haven’t seen overly obese Italiana, they must be doing something right
-Warning: Cheap wine is poisonous, but good wine is only 5 euros!
-The buses are always late
- Gelato makes me cry, there is no going back to ice cream. (especially froyo)

• Men whistle, yell, stare and grope you, but only onspecial occasion does the groping happen
  
• Coffee breaks in class are a regular thing. I’m definitelyokay with that
  -The bill is never split, and don’t ask
  -Park wherever you feel like it
  -Dogs can go wherever. And where dogs go, poop will be sure to follow.

I’ve also learned not to walk alone and I made this mistake the other night. Ithought oh the river will have people walking by it and I started down the roadnext to it. Then I found myself on a stretch where there weren’t many peoplearound and this biker comes by. He slows down and starts speaking Italian,which I have no clue what he is saying. I return by saying “No thank you!”
“Ahhh you American?! You from Miami?” Seriously, Miami dude?
“Ahh no,” I say.
Silence follows for a bit in which he breaks by randomly pointing forward andsaying “Me, you, Cappuccino?”
I believe he is now hitting on me and I’m sorry to say a Cappuccino is notgoing to win me over.
“No, grazie.”
He continues, not kidding, to ask me seven more times in different variations.
“Cappuccino, you like? Me, you go?”
“No, grazie”
“You American, me, you go there Cappuccino.”
“No, grazie”
He even wanted me to get on his front handle bars and ride on them. Lets pauseand think about how awkward that would be for me to attempt to do that……Ok now letsstop thinking about it.
How did I get out of this sticky situation? Well, I heard some American’sspeaking ahead of me and I yelled “Samantha!” and ran after them like I knewthem. Obviously confused, they just went along with it and ended up beingreally nice New York girls. Crisis averted. So that’s my story of meeting mysoul mate here in Italy. I know you all are jealous because lets face it, everyone wants to be asked to go out out for a Cappuccino with a guy that knows fourwords in the English language. More stories to come I’m sure. For now, Chao!