Hi Everyone! This week has been a whirlwind. Thursday night we went to my roommates Italian friends house for dinner and met Andrea, Nicola, Diego, Savario, Andrea, Gianluigi and Giuseppe. They made us a delicious dinner of mushroom and octopus risotto. I didn't eat the octopus one though... So then on Friday we had orientation and saw American University in Rome for the first time. It is a beautiful location with orange and yellow buildings and a picturesque courtyard. After orientation, we went into downtown Rome to sign up for local cell phones. There we saw so many beautiful buildings, statues, fountains and historic sites! I saw the colosseum from afar and it was incredible. Friday night we went to a club called Gilda, and Saturday we went to a club called Bloom. Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I slept all day long, until like 5:00 here, partly because we were up so late but also because of jet lag. I thought I would be messed up come monday when we started classes, but I woke up at 9:00 and started my day because it was the first time we had seen sunshine in Rome! We walked up to the school which takes about 25 minutes and its all uphill! I had my first Italian class on Monday, and my teacher is great. She is supposed to be the nicest Italian teacher of them all as well as the best. I don't think the class will be very hard because Italian is so similar to Spanish. I have learned so much Italian already! Also our Italian friends I mentioned before are a really big help because they teach us how to say things we say a lot as well as Italian slang and we help them with their English. But I have gotten used to dumbing down my english so our Italian friends can understand us haha. Monday night my roommates and I went out to our first dinner in Trastevere, just a few minutes down the tramline. It was called Le Fate and we got a 3 course meal plus house wine for 10 euros which is very cheap here. First we got bruschetta which was delicious because it was so fresh, then we got pasta pomodorro which had homemade angel hair pasta in it, and then Nutella pie. It was all very delicious. The restaurant does this deal every Monday but switches up the pasta and desert. We plan on going back every Monday. My roommates names are Leah Flacco, Jackie Russell and Melissa Parker. I really like them all and we get along very well. After dinner, we came back to the apartment and planned our trip to Venice for Carnival, which took about 4 hours because we didn't know that the Italian train station site does NOT accept American credit cards....well how were we supposed to know that? So this morning we woke up early again and took the tram and then bus to Termini station and had to buy our tickets in person. It was a pretty big hassle, but it was worth it to learn our way around Rome, see all the historical buildings and there was no way we were not going to Carnival this weekend. So then I had my first International Finance class, where the teacher told us that if anyone hasn't taken macroeconomics or a general finance course they should drop it. Obviously I have so I am going to stick with the class, but I do hope people drop so the class will be smaller. Then I also had my first Business Law class. The teacher of that class is the dean of American University! The class seems really interesting with a lot of conversation and not just lectures. Then the most fun party of my week so far was calccetto!!! It is Italian soccer. My roommates and I figured we'd try out for soccer, even just for the workout tonight. Having NEVER played soccer except for in maybe fifth grade, I did really well! I made 4 goals throughout the whole practice and there was even a goalie in the net! It was a great workout and I'm now exhausted. The only bad part was when I kicked the ball and it went right into the goalies face...who was kind of running the practice because she speaks great Italian and English and our coach only speaks Italian. The poor girl got a bloody nose....I really felt horrible. I thought for sure they'd hate me but then I found out I made the team! I just have to get a physical on monday and pay some money and I get a warm up suit and uniform that I can choose the number and my name! I'm going to make it say "Giulia" because thats how you spell it here and also there is a song called Brava Giulia here by a man who's kind of like Bruce Springsteen. All the boys start singing the song when they find out Julia is my name and it's really funny. Its also a great song. So I'm very excited to play soccer and all the girls seem really awesome and my other roommate Melissa is doing it also. Its only Tuesday night practices and then games. I'm very excited and proud of myself. Tomorrow I have my first Art of Rome class and I have to get shin guards and turf shoes. I'm doing excellent navigating my way around Rome with all the different streets, trams, and busses. I'm happy I have a great sense of direction because if I didn't and followed my roommates directions, we would be lost all the time. So now I'm off to bed because I need rest because this weekend starts Thursday with our friend Andreas birthday at a club, a 10:30 train to Venice for Carnival on Friday, and a night train back on Sunday. I'm so excited!!! I love it here!
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