Spain

We left in a huge hurry. We forgot to do laundry, and I suppose everyone else in my building also forgot to do them. As we finally finished doing our laundry we were running late to get to the airport. We rushed to Termini (the main terminal) and took an express train straight to the airport. We had 1 hour left before the plane left without us. We got to the check-in counter but to our dismay the flight was overbooked and the lady said that we have to catch a flight the next day. We were not okay with that. Not at all. We fought to find any possible way to get on the flight. Finally the lady found a way to get us on the flight, and with fifteen minutes left to get to the plane we rushed through the security line. 

The security line was probably the most frustrating. People just did not know how to put their belongings on the conveyer belt. They forgot to take off their jewelry and the metal detector kept on beeping. Most of these people were old farts and they just could not figure it out. So even though we took the "express" lane, it turned out that it wasn't even all that fast because of these senile grandmas. Miya and I decided to cut everyone and we threw our bags in and walked through the beeper. I was held up because I forgot to put my belt/iPhone/wallet in the conveyer belt and so I told Miya to go ahead to the plane and tell them to wait for me. We had 5 minutes left.

I got my belongings, and holding my belt, bag, and my falling pants I booked it to the flight. I looked ridiculous, especially with my ass hanging out and running like a mad man. 

However, everything started to settle into place. We had a layover in Madrid, at some McD's and finally arrived at Seville. 

Seville was awesome. Let me say that the weather was SO nice. High 70s, low 80s. Rome was still rainy and being a little bitch so it was a nice transition. The culture in Seville is like none other. We arrived during Semana Santa, which is Holy Week. There are over 50 churches, each with one or two specific types of brotherhoods and they would dress up in what seems like KKK  outfits and march around the entire city. Behind them would be a float depicting a religious scene from the Bible. Much of it had to do with the final hours of Jesus' life, and of course His resurrection. Behind the processions was usually a marching band. Their job was to keep a steady pace, for the processions (floats) were being moved by men carrying it on their backs. That was the intense part, having to have a huge float on your back and marching around the city. Some processions lasted from 2am to 2:30pm. That is a LONG time. Although people do switch and replace each other, it is still quite a tiring job. Meanwhile, thousands of people gathered to see the processions. Most of them were Spaniards, and to my surprise not many Americans were there. I think they were mostly out getting drunk, like what most Americans do nowadays. 

I got to visit my really good friend Val. We grew up together at church. Although she hated me for the longest time, she finally figured out how awesome I was and our friendship grew strong nearing the middle of high school. It was great seeing her and she gave us a wonderful tour of little spots of Seville that Miya and I would have never been able to see or get to. 

Miya and I tried to get to a Flamenco show... we went into this really hot and musky room, packed with lots of people. Many were Americans. I really enjoyed the Flamenco show, it was very flashy and mesmerizing, but Miya said that it wasn't very good and that there are much better ones that we could have seen. the down side was that many were expensive shows, while this one that we went to was free. 

The food in Seville is amazing. Because they are quite near the ocean, and a really big river (forgot its name) actually supports some sort of marine life and thus their seafood was great (unlike the Tiber river back in Rome, which is home to shit and trash). One of my favorite dishes was called the Paella-- risotto (rice) with a blend of different types of seafood. Mmmm yum. 

We left Seville indenting to come back again. We have 3 more things we have to do in Seville. 

1. Go up the bell tower. We were so pressed on time and the line to get in the Cathedral was always too long that usually a procession near us caught our attention. We still need to go up the bell tower so we can see all of Seville. 

2. Go to a better Flamenco bar and watch a legit Flamenco dance. I thought the free one was really cool, but if Miya and Val say its not that good, then a paid performance would be even better.

3. Drink Aqua De Seville: An alcoholic beverage that looks really interesting. Translated it means Water of Seville, but obviously it is not water. We wanted to try it out but the only time to get it was at night, and that's usually when Miya and I were too full from tapas, too tired, or out following a procession. 

I guess the only downside was that Seville was too expensive for my taste, but because a lot of people from all over were coming to Semana Santa, I don't blame them for raising up the prices. I also suck at spanish, and I ended up speaking Italian to them, even when I couldn't help myself, it just popped out. Weird. I did miss speaking Italian though. 

picture 1: Tapa Bar

picture 2: Seafood Paella

picture 3: Us at the Alcazar

picture 4: Hooded creatures

picture 5: A procession 

Spring Break in Sicily

It's been a while. I know that you guys couldn't get an ounce of sleep because you didn't know what was going on with our lives. I am here to let you know that it is safe at night, now that you know what we did in Sicily. 

From Rome to Palermo

 Read last blog. We went to this one street/ally that was known for really cheap cocktails. Miya got a flaming B52 (grenadine, kalua, baileys, and then lit on fire), and I got a mango colada. all for 3 euros. HUGE deal. Then we went to try out the Sicilian kababs, but they sucked compared to the ones we get in Rome. We drank more at this kabab place (they spelled kabab "kabap" which was funny). We were then drunk. and went home to sleep it off. 

Palermo to Monreale and Segesta. Monreale is known for an amazing cathedral, all covered in gold. Segesta is known for an amazingly preserved temple and an amphitheater. During the summer they still perform plays/dramas at the amphitheater. The amphitheater was nested on top of a mountain where we climbed a few kilometers up. It was tiring but extremely well worth it. It overlooked the plains and fields of agricultural land. It stretched for miles and miles. Probably 80+ miles away there were a heard of sheep and you can hear their bells all the way from the amphitheater. Nuts, I know. 

Palermo to Agrigento

Much shorter ride, about 4 hours-ish. Agrigento is known for the "Valley of the Temples", about a mile and half of ancient greek ruins, including 5 temples, some in ruins, some in great condition. There were some amazing restaurants in Agrigento, the problem was that they were always closed when we wanted to go eat. In general, southern Italians eat dinner much later, around 9:30-10, but restaurants open really early around 7ish, but on random days they would be closed. We ate at this one restaurant, it got a Michelin (spelling?) food reward. We were the only customers that night and the owner pulled up a chair and sat with us while we ate and we had fun italian conversations with him. He was extremely nice, his name was Carmello. That dinner took almost 2 and a half hours because he took his time cooking, and he gave us a break from eating before serving us more food. He also gave us a lot of food for free/ discounted prices. We were extremely full.

We rented a car (don't tell my school because its prohibited) and we drove to Selinunte (another ancient greek ruin) and Villa Romana (famous for almost perfectly preserved floor mosaics of a house thought to be owned by a roman emperor). Driving was fun, although we almost died once. 

The last 4 days it rained non-stop and it also hailed. It was the first time Sicilians have ever seen water fall from the sky for such a long time. 

Sicilians are extremely nice. We wouldn't have survived without their kind hospitality. I left my Camelback waterbottle in the rented car after we returned it and the owner drove into town to give it back to me, and then offered me and Miya and ride back to the central train station. Too nice, that man. It was also cool for the owners of the restaurant would come and talk to us in Italian. Miya really got to practice her italian. She wouldn't let me speak so i just sat there feeling dumb. haha. We met a really nice travel agent who hooked us up with the car, 80 euros for 2 days, unlimited kilometers. Too good to be true. 

Agrigento to Catania

We stayed in a youth hostel. We entered the place with loud noises coming from the mouths of loud drunk people. the beds were full of bugs. I got bit over 10 times. I even got bit on my left eyelid and when i woke up i could barely see out of my left eye. It reminds me of the main character of the hunchback of Notredame, without the hump on my back. Just the weird looking eye. We had to wake up really early to catch the train back to Rome, but we couldnt sleep until 3am because everyone was being way to loud and obnoxious. 

The train boards a boat to cross the strait between sicily and italy (just to let you know, sicily is an island off of italy. just for those who don't know geography all too well) so the train boards the boat, and you are free to wander around the boat. the view was amazing. 

tomorrow: going to a small town named Tivoli. which means hardian's villa. which means awesomeness. which means that there will be another blog to describe the awesomeness that is Tivoli.  

ciao-ness!

Ciao from Sicily

Hey guys, we are currently in Palermo, Sicily. Palermo is the capital of Sicily, or maybe just the most important city in Sicily. I should do more research in the future. 

The trip here was an exhausting 12 hour train ride (about the same amount of time from los angeles to taipei, taiwan). We had some entertainment: hours of playing gin, cribbage, and watching jack bauer kicking ass. Oh, and we watched the Mummy 3, which sucked but a good time waster. Oh the joys of pirating! 

Sicily reminds me of downtown Seattle-- and very much not like Rome. First of all the roads here are PAVED which is amazing. In rome there are all sorts of cobble stones that are out there to break your ankle or if you are lucky your neck. bus rides in Palermo is quite smooth, whereas bus rides around Rome is having a seizure in and around your balls. (i guess this only applies to jason). Secondly there are lots of designer stores and tall buildings, just like walking around in seattle. then there's a fish market not too far away, which reminds me of Pike's Fish Market. 

The streets are relatively clean and there are lots of huge open spaces for people to loaf around. In Rome its so packed and congested there's not much loafing unless one is at a historical monument like the Colosseum or St. Peter's. 

Our "hotel" is very interesting. It's someone's apartment and she and her husband has two extra rooms (they are quite big) and they let travelers/tourists rent out the room. It's cheap: 45 euros a night, and split that in two and its only 22.50 euros a night. We get a kitchen with food and drinks included, a communal bathroom (with no shower curtains, which sucks for the unskilled shower-ers like Miya) a roof terrace, and a pet dog that is extremely shy and won't come up to you. One bad part of this "hotel" is that it is extremely cold at night. even body warm and down comforters got the best of me and yeah, our first night was pretty miserable. Jason woke up with a head cold and his nose was running like a snot faucet. Miya was just stuffy. 

The first day of wandering around was okay... there were some complications and we will spare the details about it, and we had to cut our sight-seeing short for the day. Sicily really take their time with the siesta, unlike Rome where some places do take the siesta, and some places they dont. tomorrow we are making a trip to Monreale, which is supposed to be really awesome but to tell you the truth i have no clue what it is famous for. will update you soon.

ciao for now!

J&M

Its gonna top all frat parties

TOMORROW will be the beginning of an escapade of the greatest orgy ever. An orgy of masks, loud music, feathers, balloons, make-up, screaming, alcohol, and confetti. I am, of course, talking about Carnivale in Venice. I don't really know what to expect, but I will try to remember as much as I can with whatever state or condition my mind and soul will be in. Im sure my pictures will remind me of what I did. 

Last weekend I went to a class fieldtrip to some ancient greek and roman cities. Some include Pompeii WHICH WAS FLIPPIN AMAZING. It was so wonderful. Cumae, the city name itself is funny because of how inappropriate I am, but it also based off of the Iliad. So that was tight. Supposedly the entrance of the underworld is in this city, for the water of the lake was black because of volcanic soot/rocks/sand and it is said that a Sybil of Apollo lived in a mysterious cave. Another Ancient Greek city, Paestum, has one of the most preserved Greek ancient temples, and it was SO amazing. The temples were so big that one would feel very insignificant approaching it. 

The fieldtrip was described by my professor as a "Nazi death march", but it wasn't as bad. It was tiring, but it wasn't extremely draining. The worst part was having to march places take detailed notes about a site, and not have enough time to take pictures, but I managed to sneak some in. pics on flickr soon! 

I still can't believe I'm in Rome and doing some high-class tourism stuff.

Stares

~Jason~

When I was back in the States, I was told by a few people that Italians were a bit racist towards Asians. And, like what anyone else would feel, I was a bit worried. On the other hand I was also told to not worry about such things, that I will not experience any sort of racism when I will be studying abroad in Rome. Here are my thoughts.

I've noticed a few things while in Rome that have caught my attention about Italian sentiments of Asians. 

There are so many Japanese tourists. Although people from China are mixed with the Asian tourist population, the Japanese dominate the majority of the tourists who come to Rome.

The Asians who live here in Rome are usually from South East Asia, ie. Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Shri Lanka and some people from Hong Kong. All of these populations, excluding people from Hong Kong have very dark skin, and to any white person (for white people can't differentiate any sort of Asians apart) MAY clump them with the Indians. 

The majority of Indians are street vendors or people who try to sell people shitty things like flaccid and wilted roses, some sort of ring that it made out of a string (sources say that they try to steal your wallet because they tie your fingers together and thus not be mobile), and other useless things. Thus, the Indians are seen as the low-lives, the ones that gain money by selling unimportant items, never really doing any of the more dress shirt-suit-fancy shoes ordeal. 

Lastly, because the color of the skin seems to be the main epithet that sparks racism, dark, brown skin is lumped with the Gypsies. (for this sake, I will not include Africans, although they basically do what the Indians do, but specialize in fake sunglasses and stolen/fake purses). The Gypsies had a dark and depressing history in Italy. Currently, the government is finger-printing all the Gypsies and deporting them out of Italy. Sounds familiar? Lemme give you a hint: it starts with "Holo" and ends with a "caust".  

As you can see, there seems to be an over all "clump" or classification of non-Italians, specifically those who have darker skins with weird slanty eyes on their faces. and that strange, almost awful language.

So now I invite you to slip into some nice Italian shoes. Bring a scarf because its "cold" (and you look "sexy"). Wear your tight jeans and wear your sunglasses because it's dark and cloudy outside but you don't care because you're Italian. 

You are walking to buy some lunch, but you've got to cut through the Vatican to get to your favorite spot. As you enter the Metro, you hear the accordion being played by a gypsy with his pregnant wife (she looks 9 months due, but you've seen her with the same belly for 2 months now) and she's coming with a broken sprite bottle begging for money. Sometimes you would see a child asking for money, but strangely you could have sworn that the child's dad looked like someone else. You find out that this "child" had more than 3 "dads". Most likely a way to grab the hearts of the compassionate but you know better to be scammed by one of them. 

You walk out and you make your way to the Vatican. There, you are bombarded by flocks of Asian tourists, posing for cameras doing that really stupid "peace sign" with their two fingers. You quickly realize that there must have been over 15 tours going on, each having 30 or more Asian tourists in each group. 

They are everywhere.

You eventually get to your favorite bar (not the American bars) but, since the bar is so close to the Vatican you are waiting behind a band of Asian tourists. They try to speak Italian but they butcher it so badly that it makes you want to cry. Meanwhile everyone else is taking pictures of everything they see. 

Can you see why this can be a bit annoying? How Asian tourists, who flock by the millions really make things inconvenient and annoying? Just imagine if herds of Asians were to come and "tour" your favorite places in the US. Santa Monica, 3rd Street, Century City, Long Beach, San Diego, Seattle, Pikes Place, Tacoma (kidding with this one) etc. It would suck. 

So not only do Italians despise Americans, but I feel like they are a bit annoyed, cold, apprehensive, and unwelcoming of Asians too. Lucky for me its 2 birds with one stone, you know, being Asian American.

It's true, I havn't gotten any real, tangible, first encounters of racism, like what they would do to the Gypsies or some of the Indians, but I do feel extremely "different", even under some sort of spotlight in some areas in Rome. I get a lot of stares, especially when I'm with Miya. I don't think Italians can cope with the fact that an Asian guy can be with an American, let alone white, blond haired, blue eyed gal. I find pretty amusing actually, because many people in America can't understand that phenomenon either(it's always the asian girl with the white guys, not asian guys with white girls). Also, when we do interact with Italians, they always face and talk at Miya more than me. Perhaps because she's a pretty girl and I'm just a dude, but who knows? Maybe its all subliminal and done unwittingly. I digress....

I'd be truly impressed if you have read this far. I'd love if you will give me some of your thoughts about what I've wrote. Do you think this is a fair assessment? Am I looking too far into it? For those of you who have been to Europe, or are in Europe, how do you feel about my responses? I'm really interested in what you have to say. So, dica, per favore! And also I can continue my streak of comments while Miya still has 0 for every blog she writes. haha.

Que Puzza?! (What stinks?!)

1. We went to the Roman Forum/Colosseum 3 days in a row

A. First day was with our photo class.  We met at the Colosseum in the early morning to shoot and practice depth of field.  Jason got frustrated because he would get a good idea for a picture, take it, and then everyone would see him take it and flock over to try the same picture for themselves.  So he ended up deleting a lot of his photos because they "weren't original".  It was fun to have a structured class, but we decided to head back the next day to have a little more freedom.

B. The second day we met our Mythology professor at the Roman Forum with a few other students for an exclusive tour of the mythological aspects of the Forum.  Unfortunately when we got to the front gates there was a sign saying the Forum was closed from 8:30-1:30.  Our teacher talked to the guard and found out that they were having a "workers meeting", basically an excuse for the workers to sleep in after a late night.  Typical Italian.  So Jason, Tom, and I checked out the Capitoline Museum in order to pass the time.  It was really great because there are tons of old statues of Greek gods and demi gods.  We then met back at the Forum at 12 and had a really great tour of the Forum, well worth the wait.  Afterwards, we had lunch at Cafe Cafe again, and the food was still excellent.

C. The third and final day, Jason and I thought we could get back into the Colosseum and Forum from the previous day's tickets, but apparently they were one time use only.  But we managed to get through anyways and explored the Palatine Hill which conveniently connected to the Forum.  We took a lot of pictures which are up on flickr.  It was later in the day and it was really cool to see the Forum in the light of coming dusk.  

2. Plans

A. Spring break in Sicily

B. Tomorrow we're going into the Sistine Chapel/Vatican City before it opens to the public in order to see the Sistine without the thousand tourists.  We're also going to the Vatican Gardens and the Vatican Museums.  Basically a day at the Vatican.

C. Saturday we are going to Assisi, the hometown of St.Francis.

D. Next weekend we are going to Pompei and other archeological sites with our Roman History teacher.

E. We have every weekend from here until the end of the semester planned with places to go including Naples, Florence, Siena, Milan, and Venice.

3. Italian

A. We got a call from a student at the University of Rome who is interested in doing a language exchange with us, unfortunately he is finishing up his degree and is really busy studying.  But he's supposed to be done by the beginning of March, so that's good news.

B. Intermediate Italian is going really well.  The teacher is so good and clearly really loves her job.  So it definitely makes up for the hell that is Beginner Italian.

4. Stupid Americans

A. So there was a talk that the student relations guy at Temple put on with some of his Italian friends and Temple students.  It was supposed to open up some discussion about differences between Italy and America and to allow Temple students to talk about stereotypes and misconceptions about Italy.  We didn't attend, but I heard about some of the comments from my roommate.

B. One girl went on and on about how Italians are so rude, when asked in what ways and how she replied that when she arrived in Rome, nobody offered to carry her bags for her and she was forced to carry her bags in the airport, to the taxi, and then up to the residence.  My roommate correctly responded that it would be rare if someone ever offered to do that in America.

C. One person complained that Italy should globalize and have a bunch of fast food restaurants and department stores.  Yeah, clearly that's really working out for us Americans...

D. Another person complained that there are too many rules in Italy (wow news to me!).  They said that you have to stand in a cafe to get your coffee, you can't sit or take it to go (you can sit it just costs extra).  They also mentioned that you have to look both ways when you cross the street otherwise you'll be hit by a car (um did we not all learn that in 1st grade???).  And I think that rule applies in America as well...

E. Basically these kids here are a joke.  Really dumb, self centered, and ethnocentric.  I think it would have drove me crazy to be at that discussion.  The only benefit of knowing all these stupid people is being able to fully value my private school liberal arts education.  But its really frustrating when you're surrounded by a bunch of people who don't want to understand or learn about the culture and the people and instead want to make Italy into a second America.  I just don't understand why they bothered coming here, maybe its the lower drinking age.

To end on a more positive note, I'd like to share some of the things Jason and I have been drinking while in Italy.  I personally like Prosecco (Italian champagne), Sambuca (licorice liquor), and Grappa with Chocolate.  Jason likes 2 euro Sangria and Melon Vodka which has been difficult to find.  The Italians enjoy a drink after lunch which is called a caffe coretto (corrected coffee), basically coffee with liquor, usually grappa but I had one the other day with Sambuca.  Its delicious.  So if you're bored with American stuff, try one of these out!

La Roma-Aroma

WHATS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?! -Taken by Jason

Alright, so Miya is greatly upset that no one ever comments when she writes, so now she won't write anything. Which allows me (Jason) to write anything I want! 

So in Tacoma, there's this very distinctive funk in the air. We dub it the Tacoma-aroma. Well, Rome has it too, after or during a rainy day. It's a mixture of dog shit, bus/car/moped, petroleum, and cigarette smoke. Ergo, La Roma-Aroma. 

Things have been great. I will list them out because I feel that it captivates the reader more than a long paragraph. There is something quite intimidating about long paragraphs. Maybe not so much if its in a list and in fewer sentences.

Highlights:

1. Miya and I went to the University of Rome (which, by the way, have 250,000 student. yah, 1/4 of a milli) and we posted up flyers for an Italian-English exchange conversation thingy. Basically, Miya and I teach english, and in return we get taught Italian. its a sweet deal. So we got a phone call and we're meeting up with this guy name Rudi (short for a longer, more complex Italian name) in a few days. We are extremely excited about it.

2. Because Italian 101 is equivalent to a special ed class, we are sitting in on an Intermediate Italian class. These are students who have taken Italian for at least more than 1 semester of Italian. I guess we can say that we really want to learn Italian. Just a reminder, we never taken Italian, we just bought some books and learned a bit ourselves before coming to Rome. Miya, being a spanish major has a huge advantage over a lot of students, and me. Although I've taken 4 years of latin in high school. I was a horrible latin student, but there are a lot of similarities and I'm getting a hang of it. 

3. We're taking a digital photography class. I hope my pictures improve. Check out Jason's pictures on flickr. And check out Miya's here. Our next class is going to be at the base of the Colosseum, which is gonna be ballllinnn

4. For the weekend Miya and I are going to the Roman Forum. That is essentially the "birthplace" of Rome-- the first settlements and where ancient roman history lives. We'll get to see a lot of old ruins, and I'm especially excited to see the Temple of Apollo, Temple of Venus, and a lot of forums and basilicas of past emperors (Constantine, Caesar, Augustus). 

Low Points:

1. Last weekend Miya and I went to a small town named Orvieto, which is about a 1.5 hour train ride from Rome. It was a very nice place, but it was rainy, windy, and extremely cold. No bene. 

2. I suppose this is low and high point... This semester is going to be THE easiest semester in terms of academic-wise. Although I am literally taking 5 classes (one of them, Intermediate Italian, will not be part of my grade) the credits will only transfer to 3.25 units, which is basically taking 3 UPS classes and a P.E., like bowling. It's kind of lame, how 3 out of the 4 classes is only 3 credits, and only Italian 101 is 4 credits. At least I know that I will have a 4.0 GPA leaving the school (first ever in my life). So, Low Point: not enough units, easy semester, some students here are not smart High Point: easy semester, i'll be on vacation until I go back to UPS, i feel smart. 

3. Weather sucks. It's not as bad at Tacoma, but its rainy and there's a hole in my left shoe so my sock is sopping wet. I've had my shoes since junior year of high school. 

4. I'm missing Sigma Chi recruitment, which means a lot to me. I guess I can argue that I'm physically closer to the history of Sigma Chi than the rest will ever be! :-P

5. Miya never gets comments when she writes a blog. 

Thats it for now. Please check out our pictures on flickr!

RIP- Uncle Eric

-Jason-

My uncle passed away yesterday. It was an unexpected death, and my family and I are really sad. It is my mom's older brother. He was about 50 something, but he died a peaceful and painless death, for he passed away in his sleep. When I heard about this via e-mail from my dad, one of my first reactions was this:

"The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; 

    may the name of the Lord be praised." Job 1:21

In other words, I thank God that he has blessed me with a life, and all of the things that he has given me: parents, friends, necessities, luxuries, intelligence, physical abilities, and so on. But I guess the most important gift that He has given me is the power of love. I will also rejoice when it is my time to go too. I cannot wait to go chill with the Big Guy, perhaps hang out sip pina colada and eat bon-bons for eternity. :-P 

Death is just another phase in God's will. Unfortunately, I do not think that I will see him in the next life, but my thoughts are with him, and he will always be a figure in my life. May you rest in peace, Uncle Eric. 

This year has been a trying year for me. Last semester I've heard bad news of the passing away of loved ones more than 7-8 times, including my grandfather, my best friend's mother, my god-family's grandfather, and now my uncle. I remember one of my Sigma Chi brothers saying "when it rains, it pours". I guess thats just how it goes. 

Please send your prayers to my mother and her parents. It's not easy to lose a brother, at that a son. 

As for me, I'm hanging in there. Miya's been keeping care of me and the shenanigans of everyday Rome has been keeping me occupied. But I wish I could be there for my mom.

Ventuno

It's difficult to know where to begin because so much has been happening.  We had a week of orientation where we were expected to show up for different, usually boring, events in order to prepare us for our stay and classes in Rome.  We also bought groceries and began cooking in the residence which has been an experience because the stoves are gas and we have to light them ourselves with a match, which can get a little scary at times.  But as a reward for the tedious week of orientation, the school took us on a trip to a nearby hill town called Todi.  It is a very small and quaint village.  We were all allowed to roam around in the town on our own for 2 hours and then we were supposed to meet back at the bus.  Jason and I tried to avoid all the other crazy Americans by avoiding all the main attractions, such as the churches and cathedrals.  Todi has many narrow and winding streets that sometimes lead no where and other times take you across the town.  So we mainly stuck to these streets and discovered the hidden Todi that you really can't find from the churches.  Check out the pictures.  We didn't avoid all the churches though.  We went to two churches in the town of Todi, one had a belltower which we climbed up and saw a magnificent view of the city and the surrounding lands.  It was really windy and cold but the view was well worth the climb.  And we also visited a church outside the city that was supposedly designed by Bramante.  It had a great dome and the inside had statues of seated Saints.  We didn't get much time to explore and we soon headed back to the buses.  

We took a very windy road up to a hamlet town called Titigniano (I think that's how its spelled).  Not really a town, more of a farm house/villa.  But this is where we had our 4 hour, 12 course Italian meal.  All in all it was fantastic.  We sat at long tables, family style.  We had countless dishes including risotto with asparagus, pasta with wild boar sauce, chicken, lamb, salad, tiramisu, espresso, and biscotti dipped in dessert wine.  It was a very good meal and the best part was it was free!  It was also great because we got to meet new people since everyone was sitting family style.  Jason also got a personal birthday toast, because it just happened to be his 21!  You would think that we would all feel fat and gluttonous after the meal, but we were given such small portions and it was spread over such a long period of time that some people actually still felt hungry (mostly the guys).  But it was a great meal.  Afterwards we headed back to Rome, which was about a 2 1/2 hour drive.  

We got back and everyone went out the American bars because they wanted to watch the Steelers or the Eagles football games.  Instead of doing that, Jason, Grace (another UPSer), Thomas (a guy we met at the meal), and I (Miya) went out to an Italian bar recommended by the director of Student Affairs called Fluid.  It was SOOO COOL!  Check out the pictures.  But they had ice cubes to sit on, wonderful drinks that were just as expensive (7euro) as everywhere else here, and a great atmosphere.  We had trouble finding a table at first, but eventually we all got to sit down.  They had an extensive mixed drink menu, which was perfect for Jason and I.  And I think the best part were the tables.  The surface of the table was a mixture of colored oil and water, and so you could push around the oil on the table and make cool shapes.  I know it probably sounds dumb but it was awesome and highly entertaining.  The floor was like it as well so when people walked the oil would kind of form the shape of their footprint.  Jason and Thomas liked the bathroom the best because I guess it looked like you were peeing on stones... hard to describe.  But the sink had water that fell from the ceiling in a constant stream.  If you're ever in Rome, check it out.  It was a lot of fun to hang out with everyone in such a chill atmosphere.  Afterwards we headed back to the residence.

Sadly, the next day was Monday and also the first day of classes.  I think all of the classes are going to be really fun actually, and some have trips to different sites which will be even better.  The Italian classes are a little frustrating for us because we already started learning Italian before we left for Rome and so they are going over stuff we already know, and not moving at a fast enough pace for us.  But I'm sure they will pick up soon.  And I guess that brings us up to tonight, we watched part of the inauguration Italian.  And then on CNN in just English with very poor reception.  But it was amazing how important this is not only to us but also to the Italians.  Walking back to the residence we saw people in their shops sitting and watching it.  Obama isn't just a hope for us, but for them as well, and I don't think we realize this in America.  at least he wont tax the shit out of the italians! on the TV in the residence.  It was playing on 3 different Italian stations, being translated into Italian.  And it was playing just in English on CNN.  It was really interesting to see how much this not only means to us but also to people here.  Walking back to the residence we saw people in their shops gathered around the TV watching Obama's speech.  He not only represents hope for us but also for people around the world, and I don't think we realize this in America.

When in Rome, don't do what stupid sorority girls would do...

First off, Miya and I are extremely upset that no one has been commenting on our blogs. It's quite sad. haha

So the apartment is probably noisier than living in Sigma Chi during Beach or Ice Age. My room (Jason's room) is in the living room. The kitchen is 8 paces away from me, there's a balcony that overlooks the highly congested street where there is a cacophony of honking, loud mopeds, and street construction which is right under my balcony. The walls are extremely thin and the drunken retardedness of sorority girls and drunk dudes stumble and scream/laugh themselves up the flight of stairs where they fumble for their keys and trying to get into their rooms for 20 minutes. Then they blast Britney Spears' new album. This, of course, all happens at 3 in the morning. Once things quiet down a bit, and I'm able to go back to sleep, one of my roommates would burst in the door and stagger his way into his room. this is at 4. One night, one of my roommates was sleeping already, the other came in at 4 in the morning, went to sleep, and then the OTHER roommate woke up left and came back an hour later. 

what the hell is going on? 

There are some really stupid people here. Some girl tried to climb the Trevi Fountain, which is highly disrespectful. Another girl asked where there is a Verizon store, which is, from what I remembered, an AMERICAN CELLPHONE COMPANY. Idiots. Then there were these groups of girls that were asking where they can buy Prada, Gucci, and all the other Beverly Hills type things, but just more expensive. 

There's this saying that everyone says: "When in Rome, do what the Romans do". Some of these Americans are completely incompetent and all they want to do is get wasted in bars, climb sacred fountains, and ask stupid questions. If I picked up all the dog poop on the streets, blended it in the blender with sewage and had someone drink it and barf it up, that barf is still more important than the attitudes/behavior of these idiots. It's ironic that me being an American I should be proud of my nationality and be proud to represent my country, but I'm so embarrassed to be around them. If some Italian came up to me asked me where I came from, I would most likely say I'm from Canada. Or North Korea.

Miya and I mostly hang out with 1-2 other people, and not form huge 20-30 groups of loud obnoxious Americans. It's disgusting. 

Anyways, we're both having a blast. Miya reserved a really nice hotel for one night in honor of my 21st birthday and we stayed near the Circus Maximus and the Colosseum. We had this really delicious lunch at a place called "Cafe Cafe" and we ordered a salad, two plates of panini, and venison meatballs with rice and curry. One of the best meals yet. We visited the Colosseum and it was magnificent. 

Oh, we are also currently making friends with the owner and workers at this pastry shop down the road from our apartment. They are really nice to us and they already know what we want to drink (cafe latte, no chocolate or cream). Hopefully we can finally introduce ourselves and know each other by a first-name-basis. 

Tomorrow is my 21st birthday, and we're going to an all-day excursion to northern Rome. It's an ancient place and we will get to explore and have a traditional 4-hour lunch. I think it will be a very special and unique 21st birthday, obviously not an American 21st bday. But maybe when we come back at night, things will be different. 

Hope to hear some comments soon! 

Chiavi di San Pietro- Day 3

Pictures: Miya with St. Peter's in the back, Spanish Steps, where we got breakfast, St. Peter's at night, and breakfast at St. Peter's Square. Enjoy!

Ciao tutti! So today's weather was equivalent to a wet and sad panda's face. In other words, it was raining for the first time of our stay in Roma. We woke up and went to find some breakfast. We were thinking about getting some pastries but we passed by this deli near our hotel and figured that we should give it a try. It's basically a hole-in-the-wall deli, and it had to be legit. We went in and spent a long time trying to figure out what we wanted and how to say it in Italian. This is what we got: bread+salami+mortadella (a type of meat)+provolone cheese+pesto sauce= a satisfying breakfast. We took our foods and walked to St. Peter's Square and ate it there. The pigeons and seagulls attacked us like the beaches of Normandy, but the biggest difference between the two battles was that there were no casualties in the Battle of Pigeons and Jason and Miya's Breakfast (although i got to kick some pigeons in the face-- don't call the animal rights services!!). All in all, a very nice experience.

We lined up and went into St. Peter's Basilica (is that what she said?) and it was such an amazing experience (thats what she said). We busted out our tourist books and read up on some facts and history of some of the artwork/paintings/sculptures that we admired. We noticed a lot of Italians kneeling and praying to the different Popes that were buried there. Especially the latest Pope John Paul II who passed away 4 years ago. We were really amazed and humbled to be at such a sacred and holy place, for we got to see the resting place of St. Peter the Apostle (his bones were only about 20 feet from us) as well as all the other Popes who have passed away. We also got to touch his feet. Now before you think that we actually opened up his grave and rubbed his actual feet (that are now bones), we actually went to a very sacred bronze statue of him and his right foot was slightly extended so that admirers could touch/rub/caress his feet. I (jason) will never wash my right hand ever again. Until dinner.

Then it began to drizzle as we headed towards the Spanish Steps. There were some extremely obnoxious Italian teenagers and all they did was whistle loudly through their teeth and it made a high-pitched noise that drove us up the wall. It sounded like a dying seal. Miya wants to point out that they whistled not at her but just to be obnoxious and to get attention. It began to rain a bit more so we decided to make our way back to our hotel. We stopped by a kebob place because Jason was hungry and getting grumpy. We finally went back to our room and watched Slumdog Millionare which Miya so gracefully pirated off of the internet. Then, as always, Miya fell asleep and Jason listened to an Italian Podcast on his iphone. After a few hours of intense boredom, we finally got out to eat some dinnah.

We went to the Wine Bar that we mentioned in our first blog, the one that smelled really good (of lasagna). It wasn't actually really all that good. We also each ordered a cocktail and Jason got tipsy off of one drink (he got Midori Illusion--Midori+Vodka+Triple Sec+Pineapple Juice, while Miya got a Bellini-- Peach+Prosecco, which was created in Venice). We walked around and Jason stopped at another Kebob place because he is fat and hungry. We made our way back to St. Peter's Square, where the lights were lit and there were very few tourists. It definitely had a very different feel at night. 

Tomorrow we will be going to our school in Rome for our first day of orientation. Jason is already ahead of the game because he's oriental. 

what?

Highlights so far:

1. No one has cat called/hit on Miya... yet

2. Food is amazing

3. Exploring is amazing

4. Rome is amazing

Non-Highlights/Sucky things

1. It rained

2. Dog poop everywhere

3. Cigarette Butts everywhere

4. The Pope is not everywhere 

5. We are still scared of sketchy people

6. Miya is extremely chicken when crossing the road

7. Language barrier

8. Indians everywhere, selling us useless things, like broken umbrellas

Grazie- Day Two

We are currently sipping on some Prosecco and reflecting on our day...

So last night I (Miya) decided to sleep instead of going out to eat dinner.  Which backfired later the next morning when we both woke up at 6am very hungry.  Unfortunately it was also a Sunday so we had to wait for breakfast because Italy is a Catholic country.  We watched episodes of the Office in order to pass the time which worked very well.  When it seemed like an appropriate time to go out we we to a corner cafe and got cornetti (croissants filled with chocolate or cream) and lattes.  Then we headed for the nearest metro which we took to the main train station in Rome.  The metro station was kinda sketchy but inside the metro was pretty nice with TV's in every car.  Once we got to the train station we bought tickets to Venice for Carnevale (a huge celebration festival before lent).  Then we began to wander around the city.  We brought a map with us but tried to use it as little as we could, instead finding our own way and discovering monuments and churches as we went.  

We first stumbled across a huge piazza with a fountain in the middle and a basilica on the side.  The doors to the basilica were really interesting looking, check out the picture to see.  On the inside it looked like a church but it had art exhibits in different sections of the building.  We wandered around and took pictures.  Afterwards we kept walking in the general direction of our hotel although we were very far away from it.  We eventually came to the Trevi Fountain which was surprisingly crowded for a Sunday in January.  We tried taking pictures but the lighting was bad, so we ended up admiring it in person and decided we'd go back at a better time.  There were a ton of people taking pictures and vendors trying to sell things no one but a stupid tourist would buy (for example, guns that made really annoying sounds and produced bubbles).  Next we walked down to the Pantheon.  It also was crowded, so we decided to go to lunch.  We tried to get away from the tourist traps near the Pantheon but we had to wander around for awhile before we found anything decent looking.  The restaurants we encountered were either crowded with tourists or were places where even tourists wouldn't go(we figured it was because it sucks).  We ended up finding a place to eat and had a cheaper lunch than the day before.  There were a lot of Italians in the restaurant as well, so that was a good sign.

After lunch we went back to check out the Pantheon.  It was rather anti-climactic, although luckily it was free.  It is basically a round building with a hole in the ceiling.  There was some art in nooks around the dome but nothing spectacular.   Next we found the Piazza Navona, which had a great fountain (Fountain of the 4 Rivers) and some interesting art set up for sale.  I (Miya) didn't enjoy it because i didn't feel comfortable around some of the people there, they were kinda sketchy.  Jason enjoyed it because of the different art being sold, each showing a different feel of Italian culture.  We moved on and in a round-about way made it back to St.Peters Basilica which is near our hotel.  We eventually made it back to our hotel, and watched some more Office episodes.  Finally when it was around dinner time, we went out to a restaurant recommended by the hotel concierge.  We had pizza and it was excellent.  Jason got pizza with salmon (pizza al salmone) and Miya got pizza with salami.  Surprisingly our first pizza in Rome.  Afterwards we walked back home and now we're here!  We just saw a bloopers show on TV which was pretty hilarious.  Oh and Will Smith can speak Italian (we watched parts of Wild Wild West and it was dubbed).

We had a very eventful day. Enjoy our pictures

Pictures: The old lady with the accordion was at the Pantheon. The flower beds was at the Piazza Navona (the one Miya didn't enjoy, but Jason did). The columns were at St. Peter's Square, the statue that is stuck in the door is at the basilica. And there's Miya with her Margarita Pizza con salami. 

Ciao Roma! Day 1 in Rome

Hello all! So we arrived safely to Roma, bright and early (the sun hadn't risen when we arrived). So I guess it wasn't really "bright" and early. Anyways, we are at this hotel which provides free wireless internet. We also got upgraded to a room where we get our own private bathroom! quite a commodity. We are currently watching Italian MTV and Madonna is singing. 

So we took a nap when we got in (about 2 hours of napping).  We eventually got to walk around Rome (aka ROME-ING AROUND-- GET IT?!?!!) and had lunch at this really good Italian restaurant. We were the only gringos there (in other words, we were the only Americans/foreigners). The menu was all in Italian and so I (J) randomly picked this one dish that ended up being a cocktail of beans and vegetables embedded in soggy bread (it was really good) and Miya got ravioli. And then we both got fried chicken which they renamed "pollo alla Toscana estillo". Basically more expensive Chicken McNuggets, but it was still pretty good. We wandered around and ended up walking into St. Peter's Square. Miya says that there were about 50 billion Catholics waiting to meet the pope. It was more than a few hundred, but 50 billion is a close approximation. =P

After we checked out St. Peter's we wandered out of the Vatican and walked around a while longer. We ended up at some bridges that cross the Tiber River. Most of the pictures that you will see below are taken at the bridge. Oh! We were attracted to loud American music across the bridge and found that there was a cool/random ice skating rink in the middle of a park. They played "Funk Soul Brother" by Fat Boy Slim. We left the rink and walked down the park more and there were benches that were occupied by overly-affectionate couples that were just eating each other's faces off. We didn't partake in the festivities, mainly because we weren't hungry.

We continued on and found ourselves in a densely populated strip of shopping areas. We bought a bottle of Prosecco (Italian Champagne but better, says Miya) and boxed peach juice... you know, what we used to drink out of when we were in elementary school. We also bought SIM cards and the dude didn't know English. And we don't know any Italian. The language barrier is definitely tough but it has inspired us to really work hard to learn and assimilate ourselves in the Italian culture. We are going to make a goal to not go to a lot of touristy restaurants/pubs and stick around with the authentic Italians instead. Nor do we want to step foot in any american stores such as Starbucks or McDonalds or any of that nonsense. 

We also can't understand why Italians like to close everything from 12pm-4/5pm so they can go do their own thing and not be of service. Oh, and the banks open at 9 and close at 12 in the afternoon. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?! Wouldn't you think the economy would be a bit better if they had their shops open for longer? Oh well, just another culture thing. 

Anyways, we are having a blast, and we've only been here for less than a day! We're about to go out to eat some dinner, there's a nice wine bar that smells like good lasagna. So we're gonna go check that out. Enjoy the pictures! I took the last one and the rest are from Miya.

ps: let us know if our blogs are too long. we don't want to lose your interest!