La Dolce Vita (con Nutella)

Buonacera to all of you! I’m currently studying in the UC Rome program — in Italy, obviously. As of right now, I have been in Europe for one month and seventeen days. And let me tell you: it’s AWESOME! I am literally in love with the city, the buildings, the ruins, the river — everything. Granted, I am a classics and Renaissance studies double major, so this place is basically my Mecca. Today, per esempio, we visited Emperor Augustus’s mausoleum and altar of peace during class. For those of you who a) don’t know who Augustus is b) have never heard of either structure or c) don’t give a crap, shame on you!!! It was awesome to be able to see where one of the greatest rulers of Western civilization chose to be buried, and to see an excavated monument from the ancient Roman empire dedicated to him (I mentioned I was a classics major, right?) And all this was covered extensively by my professor right in front of the monument during class. Unbelievable, right?! We have site visits like these every week where we get to go out into the city and learn about history right where it took place.

Basically, the nerd in me wets her pants daily.

Besides class and trying to learn Italian everyday (for me, it’s an uphill struggle), my friends and I explore the city via walking, food, and, of course, drinking (oh, hello nonexistent drinking age!). We try to explore everything we can when we can, but despite Rome’s centralized historic center, we have yet to experience even half of what Rome has to offer. Sure, we’ve gone to a few bars and clubs and have seen the Trevi fountain and the Sistine Chapel, but I still feel like I’m on an extended vacation in a way. Every day seems like a tiny adventure (I am the corniest person alive). One of my friends who did this program last quarter suggested I attempt to do, see, or try something new every day. And in Rome, that’s definitely possible.

Since we’ve been here for almost two months, we already had a week break. A few of my friends and I went to Paris and Venice for Carneval. It was fantastic! I had never been to Paris before, and the pure aesthetic consciousness of the city was amazing, especially compared to cities in the U.S. Everything was structured and streamlined, and clean and everything was in cursive! Plus, there a diverse range of food, which was like a savior for us pasta/panino/pizza-eating people. On the last night in Venice we ended up dancing in some random piazza with Italian teenagers amongst a huge crowd of drunken young people while a DJ was spinning old school American music; needless to say, it was tons of fun.

Tomorrow holds another site visit where one of my classes, Urban History of Rome, will take us down the papal route. And later, we’re making dinner for one of our friends in the program — a beautiful Italian dinner (all of a sudden I’m a great Italian chef, thanks to the lack of cheddar cheese here).

I guess that’s it for now, I know you’re just breathless in anticipation for my next entry. Ciao miei amici di Santa Barbara! (“Goodbye, my friends in Santa Barbara” — I told you, my Italian sucks.)

One Response to “La Dolce Vita (con Nutella)”

1. mamma mia says:

   March 5, 2010 at 2:28 pm

   Scusi,
   Buon divertimento!
   Cosa ha mangiato di buono?
   Porchetta?
   A me piace.
   Ciao.