And So the Adventure Begins

Ciao,
Well, currently, I am sitting downstairs in the caffe of my university, wet as a dog, with more blisters than I can count, and yet I couldn't be happier. However, my story didn't start quite as happy as you might think.

Where to begin..??

ROOMMATE (ah now here's a funny -no- interesting story)..
So, after I wrote my lovely little blog the other day on my first night, I had quite a different opinion on many things in the house. It started late at night, around 11:00, when myself, Rossana, and Mario were watching the football match (soccer) -Italia vs. Ireland and there was a knock on the door. Mario gets up from the couch and in walks a girl about my age. I was shocked because although I was expecting a roommate, I didn't think she was arriving 'til the next morning, not at 11:00 at night! Not to mention she had no luggage.
Well, it gets interesting.
She asks me "Parla Italiano?" (Do you speak Italian). I said "Solo un po'" (only a little bit). She walks away, clearly not knowing much English and readies for bed. I was thinking, what in the world just happened?? Well, I decide to go to bed and seeing that she's was not in my room I thought maybe since they have so many rooms, they are spreading us out.. I duno..
So, I'm laying in bed when I hear ANOTHER knock on the door. This time around midnight. ugh! I was concerned to say the least. I hear an old woman come in speaking fluent Italian and some children as well. WHAT IS GOING ON?? WHERE AM I..A HOSTEL??
Anywho, I tried to fall asleep- despite the strange happenings in this apartment- and woke around 8am to Mario and Rossana making breakfast. I asked them "aiuto?" (can I help?) and they said no so I went back to bed.
The next thing I know, the girl who was about my age comes in my room and starts asking me in Italian what I wanted to do for the day. Then as she continued and my face surely showed signs of confusion, she started speaking ENGLISH!! Yes, this girl knows english!! HALLELUJAH!
Her name is Irene and she is from Russia (yes Masha I immediately thought of you ;) She said she has a sister named Kate so this made it easy for her to remember my name. (People have trouble remembering Katie or pronouncing it so it's either Kate or Katerina) Anywho, we had our coffee and toast then a man named walks into the kitchen. Ah! Another person I didn't know about?!? However, he goes, "Oh hey! An American". Not even a hint of an accent. I knew I was talking to a real American. YES YES YES. So, things were looking up. His name is Massimo (which I'm finding is veerrrry popular here) and he was staying at Mario and Rossana's house with his wife and children (the old woman is his mother whose native of Italy). He and his family are from Colorado and are vacationing all over Italy. I didn't get a chance to ask why they are staying with the Leopardi's (my hosts last name), but they are thee nicest people. I talked to his wife, Laura, for a while and she was so excited for me to be here and gave me her email address to stay in touch. They'll be staying with us til Friday, so we have plenty of time to get to know each other well still.
So, after breakfast, Irene and I went to the Villa Borghesa, which is like Central Park to Rome. It's a huge park a block away from our apartment and it has a zoo, museum, tons of beautiful fountains, and dogs parks (my personal favorite) ;) But after we went there we headed to the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and Spanish steps- making many stops at Churches, shops, and ristorantes along the way. Irene's english is not the best. She only knows how to say a few things. But this is good because I was able to practice my Italian for like 4 hours! Again, I didn't understand her a lot but I was able to figure a few things out. We talked about siblings, where we live, why we like Rome, etc. She is 23 I found out, from Moscow, and has been taking classes at my university for a week and will only be here one more week. She told me that I was going to have a roommate in my room. So, I was glad to hear I would have somone for more than a week to get me through this.
We had a great day, but the walking and talking (or saying "non capisco" a hundred times) wore me out. I passed out on my bed and woke up around 6pm. Irene was gone, probably out for dinner, and I decided to talk to Mass and Laura some more. So, we chatted and had a good time. Laura worried like a normal American mom about how I was going to handle getting dinner on my own and yada yada.. Luckily I have protein bars, which by the way Mom- they absolutely only fill you up for about a half hour. So, two nights in a row I have gone to bed starrrrrving. This I plan to figure out in the next week or so, how I am going to get dinner and not pass out from hunger.
Finally, around 8:00pm my roommate arrived!!! Her name is (at least pronounced) Nasthalie. She is from Iran (thought of you, Arezou, of course) and she is awesome. She walks in and goes, "Parla Inglese" with pleading eyes and I said, "YES!" (oh she just came downstairs to the caffe and gave me a hug, seriously love her) Anywho, we talk English and Rossana gets mad at us, of course. But, we're having fun. We went to school together today and were immediately separated because I found out she will only be here for about 2 months :( So, we're in different programs. But, we've already planned a trip to Tuscany to visit her friends who are expecting a baby...yay! I met them yesterday as well. I should also add that Irene is about 32 years old. She won't tell me her age lol that's why I say 'about'. She jokes about it. But she acts very young and is so cool.
I'm sure I'll have more stories about my rooommate as the days progress but that's all I have on this topic for now..

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
I got to my school right on time and couldn't understand the receptionist at. all. haha! She sent me downstairs and I pretended to understand where she was directing me but after a few minutes of losing my way I walked back upstairs and found a woman who directed me in English. *ah relief* I came downstairs to our club room and found four students about my age sitting at a table so I joined them. They were all speaking english *relief again* but clearly had accents from other countries. I asked them where they were from. Isabella is from Sweden, Clementina is from Venezuela, Demetri is from Russia, and the other boy was from Venezuela, as well. More students slowly shuffled in. All in all, there are about 15 of us (300 in the school total). I am the ONLY American. There are lots from France, but really people are from all over. The directors of the school came and talked to us and then we were off to tour Roma for four hours...whoa. Not expecting this on my first day but it was amazing. Ursula, a director at my school, took us on this tour and we had a great time. She is originally from Germany but has been living in Italy for the past 20 years.
She and I bonded as she showed us around Roma. I had lots of questions and she had so much to tell me. She taught me tricks like how traffic literally stops for you as you walk across the street. No need for pedestrian signals. I felt so powerful. haha! You just walk right into the street and cars stop cold. I told Ursula that was the best trick I'd learned in Italy so far!
I got to know all the students in the class very easily as we took cover from the sudden downpour, complained about sore feet, and begged for lunch, since none of us ate breakfast due to the early start time. I met a girl named, Mandy, who loves Twilight so I know we'll be fast friends, and hung mainly with Isabella and Clementina (who cried all day) :( I felt bad. But she explained she really misses home and I know we can all relate. Ursula kept comforting her and we all took turns hugging her as we walked. I know these people and I will be great friends. Mandy and I were followed by our first Italian pursuer. He kept yelling "ohh come party with me ladies. Come on American girl! I know you party." hah! yeaaahh right. Luckily we were with our group and he lost us somewhere between the Pantheon and the Piazza Spagna (I think that's the name).
Anywho, we had a great day all-in-all, despite the rain, blisters, hunger pains, and pursuers. I can't wait to see how our friendships progress. Tomorrow will be my first day of real class and it should be VERY interesting. I can pretty much say "Ciao, mi chiamo Kate. Sono American di Pittsburgh. Parlo Italiano, ma solo un po' ". That's the extent of my Italian so we'll see how this goes.. But, everyone else in my class is a beginner for the most part so we're all in the same boat.

Well, if you got to this point of reading I am impressed. You must really like me. I love you all and can't wait to share more of my adventures en Italia! I'll try to write again in a few days, but, internet is sparce so maybe I'll write on Wednesday, Thursday..?!?

Until next time,
x
-Katie

p.s. rest assured pictures are sure to come. I'm taking a plethora of them!