So I have now finished part one of my journey, 5 weeks in Rome with 4 weeks of studying Italian. I have to say that it has been the time of my life so far. Rome is Rome, and I wouldn’t want to change anything about it. It’s an amazing place, so full of history, with ancient buildings and ruins everywhere you go, but it’s also full of life. The people walking and talking, the motorini zooming by, the grey cobblestone streets, the white marble columns, the fading brown of once great structures, all seem to come together into one great piece that is very much alive. It’s difficult to explain, but you can feel it when you are here, and I can’t get enough of it.
Torre di Babele, the Italian school, was very good. The teachers were excellent and I enjoyed the classes. Sergio was my favorite insegnate, instructor. Everyday he would come in, sit down, look over the class while nodding and calmly saying “Buon giorno”, and then just start chatting with everyone about random things, like what we did yesterday, which usually led to a conversation about soccer between him and Tom. One day we spent about a half hour talking about the different ways to use the “F” word in English. I know, I’m not supposed to use that one, but it was a lot of fun explaining to our Italian teacher how it can be used as a verb, a noun, an adjective, etc. It was especially funny to hear him say it with his Italian accent. Anyway, the conversations were a good way for us to just relax and be comfortable with the language and speak without any pressure, so I think it really helped. Overall I think I learned a lot and I am much more comfortable speaking the language now, but what I really need is some regular time spent talking with native Italians, so we’ll see what I can do about that. 
Anna Trotta, my landlady, was exceptional. She opened her home to me as if it were my own and was always there to answer any questions I had. Evi, our room mate, is also very sweet. It was always nice to have her around to talk to or to cook dinner together. I also had another room mate the last two weeks, Valeria, from Brazil. She was very nice and a little closer to my age, so it was nice to talk to her. We walked to school everyday together, and Anna commented that we looked like brother and sister when we would leave the house together.
On Friday night we got the group together for one last night out and dinner at Carlos Menta, our regular hangout where we get the downstairs room to ourselves. It's usually very lively and loud at the table, but this time everyone was a bit sad that this was our last night together, so the mood was a bit somber and it was fairly quiet while we ate. After dinner there were plans to go out, but I was starting to get a soar throat like I was getting sick, so I went home after dinner.
On my last Saturday in the house I cooked pancakes for all of us. I had mentioned once that I liked them and it turns out that all the girls love them, so Anna bought some Bisquik and maple syrup and I got the recipe online. They turned out good with some scrambled eggs on the side. A good American breakfast and everybody loved it.
That night we celebrated Evi’s birthday in her apartment down stairs. She made chili con carne, some pasta salad and other things. Other people brought food too and there was plenty of wine. She invited a bunch of her music school friends, singers, cellists, mostly girls from Germany, one from England and one from Greece. They were all beautiful, intelligent girls and fun to talk to. Everyone spoke Italian, so it was good practice for me and Tom, my friend from school who came with me. I bought a chocolate birthday cake for Evi from the bakery down the street. She told me once that the cakes were pretty, so I knew she’d like it. We lit a few candles and brought it out to her while singing “Happy Birthday” in English. We then sang sort of an Italian version of it, then all the Germans sang a German version, it was great. There were three female opera singers there and you could really hear them over the rest, it was awesome, they have wonderful voices.
So I had a great first month in Rome. It was far more fun than I could have hoped, thanks to all the great people I met and friends I have made. This place is great, but the people have made it special. Now I am looking forward to going to Milan tomorrow and the next two weeks of traveling northern Italy with Tom. Here are some more pics before I go....
Me with the boys, Arno, Tom and Nevzat.
Me with the Brazilian girls, Marianna, Marcella, Veleria and Bibi.
The start of an organized "pub crawl". Meet at the Colosseum of course. Nevzat, Bibi, Christina, Tom, me.
Say "formaggio!"
Silvia, me, Gabi and Nevzat on top of St. Peter's Dome.
Violetta and I sharing a tiramasu, with the cameriere.
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