My new house!

I've made it to my new home (home for the month anyway). Yes, that is it, and my room is on the back side with a view of the garden. The house is very nice and in a great location, with everything I need withing walking distance, including a Ducati dealer (send money ;). My landlady is named Anna. She is German, but she was married to an Italian and has lived here for 40 years. She speaks Italian and English both very well. She is really nice and has been very helpfull, giving me info about the area and speaking Italian to me. We live on the main floor of the house and there is another family on the second and partial third floor. There is also a full basement level and a small guesthouse in the garden. Evilynn lives in the guesthouse. She is almost 23 and also German, so she speaks English too and her Italian is much better than mine. She is also very nice and she will be here for a few months to study music. Like most Germans she is very structured, so she is surprised by how I can wander through life without a plan :) Then there is Nana, the dog. She is very friendly and pretty quiet too, so I like her.

Now that I am in my own place I feel more settled. The center of Rome is awsome, but with all the tourists around it makes it hard to know real Italian life. There are hardly any tourists in my neighborhood, maybe some students, so it's easier to live like an Italian. I went shopping for food in a small shop, then bought some breaded polpette (meatballs) and fried them up and made some carrots and zucchini for dinner, my first home cooked meal in Italy. I am feeling very comfortable here now, and many Italians think I am Italian too until they ask me something. It's a blessing and a curse I guess, but I'll get the language down soon enough and then I'll totally blend in I hope. I am getting good at crossing the street, it's kinda fun. First, you look 4 ways (yes, you should probably look behind you too), then you just walk out and wait for the car or scooter to go by and continue until another goes by and another, then you make it accross. I think if there was a World Frogger Championship, the Italians would win easily. Another interesting thing I noticed was that they all wait at a red light when turning right, even when there is nobody around. After watching them pass cars in oncoming traffic and riding on sidewalks and stuff, I couldn't believe I saw them stopped with nothing in thier way, it was wierd. I'll have to remember that when I start riding, I wouldn't wan't to do anything crazy ;)