Roma

Yes, I'm here. Well have been here for about three weeks now. Again my apologizes for the tardiness of the entries, its taken some time to adjust to life in Rome.

Okay so life in Rome, let's start with where I live. Our apartment is located in the Monteverde district which is the west side of the city. It's a big step up from the hostel. 3 bedrooms, living room, wifi, two bathrooms, a kitchen, and TWO balconies, ballin'

I go to school at the American University of Rome. Its about a 15 minute walking commute from the apartment, by bus its 5 minutes (if the bus runs on time). The school is very small consisting of two academic buildings, a library, a garden, and a lecture hall. Yes, that's it.
The student body totals at about 400 students with the vast majority being study aboard. Who would have known that I'd find a school smaller than Hartwick. The feel of the place is very laid back, chill, do what you want sort of atmosphere. Most of the students here aren't taking their studies to seriously since their home colleges transfer credits are Pass/Fail, unlike my grand little college on a hill in which my grades transfer directly back (thank you wick). In reality i feel like I'm going to the South Harmen Institute of Technology in Rome.

The Food Is Amazing. The mind set of buying for the week doesn't exist here, so everything is fresh. In a way it sucks cuz we have to buy food practically everyday, but nothing is more Italian then getting up in the morning to walk up the street to the local open air market. Here you can find fresh fruit, vegetables, fish, meat, chicken, cheese, olives, pasta, pastries, and more. I highly suggest to a phrase book, the only language spoken here is Italian. Also make friends with a vender and keep going back, they're always down to give great deals to frequent customers. At this point we're BFF's with our vino girl.

Even though Rome is in Italy, American are abundant everywhere. Seriously, there are so many American students in the city. What's even scarier is that you run into people you know almost everywhere. Americanization has gone so far that some areas for nightlife are swamped only with Americans. Campo di furori is one of these places.

Even though I don't speak the language its easy to communicate with people. Many Italians in Rome are bilingual to some extent. But I will say that I've learned a lot very quickly since my arrival.

This is just a small taste of life in Rome. Expect more stories soon!