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!