Viva Rome!

Many of the students in Rome have complained about the graffiti on all the buildings. You see many of those that complain are usually Americans or from other countries outside of Europe. In America, Canada and even Australia and New Zealand graffiti is a symbol of gang activity and a run down neighborhood. In Italy, Greece and some of the other European countries these sprayed on symbols are just simply one neighborhood communicating with another one. Or in other cases these are just one sports team fan club dissing or making fun of another sport team fan club. These are quite common and do not mean anything bad or a symbol of a run down neighborhood.

However, with this being said I do not like the graffiti on the buildings like my other American counterparts I think it is a blight on the city and makes the city look really ugly and bad. I wish they would clean it up because it does not convey a good image for Italy. Now I know we are just visiting and when in Rome you should be like the Romans but I can not help to want to clean up the city a bit more.

This is the conflict you will experience in a foreign land. You will want to impose your believes and attitudes on the others who actually live there. This is not a good thing to do by any means. In fact it is quite wise to try to assimilate as much as possible in the community as you can. How you can do this is sometimes difficult but possible if you make the effort. My point with this post is to convey a sense of conformity that you will have to adopt when in a new land. You will have to suppress your biases and beliefs as much as possible in order to fit in. Enough said about that. Ciao.

There is a definite struggle to learning Italian or any other new language. This is of course obvious to many of us. But when you mix in the opportunity to be in a city with so much to do and see such as Rome it can be extremely difficult. This is my struggle at the moment. First I was trying to be a good student and not see much but now I want to see as much as I can.

When you are abroad and trying to learn another language this is osmething you are also going to experience as well. You really have to learn how to perform good time management. Many of my fellow students are adults so they are very good at managing themselves and how they practice their Italian.

I know I have improved but I have to ask myself if I have improved as much as I could have with the opportunities of seeing all of these great monuments and sights.  What I am saying is take advantage of the city but do not forget your purpose in being here. My purpose was to learn Italian and that is what I am doing. I guess it has all to do with how you spend your free time as well as your time in class. If you can spend your free time also learning Italian I am sure you are going to be get the most out of this experience. Well that is what I for today. Back to studying. Ciao.

Yes I know eating out in McDonalds is probably one of the last things you want to do when visiting Rome. But there is one specific McDonalds I wanted to find and eat at. You see the Travel Channel did a special on the top ten most unusual McD’s to eat at and number one on their list was at Piazza di Spagna.

For those that really want to know exactly where it is at it is Piazza di Spagna 46/47 or right in front of a nest of white taxis. This is something I have noticed quite a lot while here. The position of every McD’s is always in nearby a tourist attraction. I guess the executives at the headquarters realise the need for a Big Mac for every American.

Now for those that are really curious I actually did eat there. I ordered a Big Mac value meal or meal number one, or for those Italians meal number uno. Was it any different then in the United States? Just ever so slightly. The salt on the french fries was rock salt and not that fine salt we use in our chain stores back home. Did it make a whole lot of difference? Not really. But since this is something I really wanted to do since watching the show it was something I made a point of doing.

That was probably the one and only time I will eat in McD’s while here. I am a big believer in the slow travel movement and eating in that particular restaurant kind of goes against my grain. But at least I can say that I have been there. It is just another story to tell.

Well that is it for now, Ciao.

If you are staying in Rome for any extended period of time then I would highly suggest you look into using the public transport system. You see Rome and all of Europe has a great public transport system that rivals almost anything we have here in America. Riding the metro is definitely an experience that you should do even it is just for fun. You can ride the metro for a week unlimited for only 16 Euros which is very reasonable as you can also ride the busses and trams in the city. Since they are all connected you have full access to almost every part of the city.

I have found that riding the metro to be one of the easiest options for me. All of the stops of the metro take me exactly where I want to go. There is even a stop right in front of the Coliseum so I found that to be really handy when I went there. As well there is a stop for the Spanish Steps.

One tip about riding the metro make sure you know ahead of time the direction or directions you want to go. I say directions as to get to every part of the city you need to change lines, from line A to line B for instance, at the terminal. It is fairly easy to do as you just follow the signs and you really only need a very basic understanding of the language to navigate.

If you want to be driven from one place to another I am sure you can get yourself a taxi. But you can not hail a taxi on the street. The taxis here all congregate either near a major hotel or a tourist stop. So if you are lost just follow where a whole bunch of taxis are going and there may be a metro stop nearby and certainly there may be some buses as well. That is how you can find your way back I found out. I just looked for a nest of white official Roman taxis and that led me to a way home. So please remember this tip if you should ever get lost in Rome. Just look for the white taxis and they will show you the way.

Well I think I am starting to get a real feel of what life is like in Rome and Italy in general. It is quite nice actually with an emphasis on being a real person. Now I am a bit unusual for many Italians as I get up really early in the morning. After all I am in Rome for one month so I would like to see as much of it as possible.

Typically before I go to class I have a cup of coffee of one sort or another. For me I just love the Cappuccinos that this small cafe makes on Via Padova. The cafe is called Costa Rica as that is where they get their coffee beans. Many of the locals also usually stop there in the morning as well. I find that I can really operate in the day if I have a great cup of coffee in the morning.

You can really tell much about the city by watching the hustle and bustle of the locals. The same people walk by the shoppe everyday so I guess I am becoming a fixture of the neighborhood. I know that the baristas know I go there just everyday for my coffee.

Now those that know me back home know of my love for a great cup of coffee and I usually stop by Starbucks in the morning. Since Starbucks basically ripped off the idea of the whole coffee culture from the Italians I guess I am not really breaking any new ground here. But still when you have a routine you have at home it is nice to continue it in a foreign land. Brings some sort of normalcy to your day and makes the day more complete. That is my thinking on the whole experience here.

Even though the last couple of days it has been wet. Cold and raining the city is still beautiful. I went out today to the Trevvi Fountain to not only see the fountain but I am on a mission to find this one snack bar we went to the first time we came to Rome. But since basically all of the snack bars serve the same food finding that particular sandwich shop has not been too high on my list. You see all of their Procuttoo Paninis taste very similar. If you really want to save money and are on a budget just stop by any snack bar for your dinner or lunch the food is pretty good and very cheap. A typical Panino and Coke is around 7 Euros and if you want it with wine then it is around 9 Euros depending on the wine you choose.

Well that is it for now.Will keep you all updated on my further adventures in this Eternal City. Ciao.