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!