so i've been berated for not updating. here it is!

i've realized that the most difficult thing for me to adjust to isn't not speaking the language or even anything inherently italian- it's having free time. i have classes monday and wednesday from 4-9 and tuesday 9-6. that leaves four totally free days and the bulk of monday and wednesday open. i don't know what to do with myself!

i'm used to juggling a full course load, riding, a job, and a social life. i spent most of last year doing my work, then going out as my roommates were going to bed, and being the first one up and out the door the next morning. i prefer my internal system to be similar to that of a humming bird, and right now i feel like a sluggish turkey. being totally obsessed with scheduling, i feel lost with all these open days. i've been doing an okay amount of exploring, but there's definitely time for more and i have to kick it up a notch. i want to soak up every bit of roma.

thursday it felt like my time in rome really began. i love my friends, but i do my best thinking and exploring on my own. i hit the streets solo to familiarize myself with part of the city and indulge in some much-needed retail therapy. although i ended up practicing self restraint, i did convince a shopgirl that i was going to purchase a stunning 300euro (on sale from 600e) sweater that i wore for about 10 minutes all around the store. of course, i had her absolutely believing (i could see it in her innocent eyes) that i'd be back before closing. i just needed to do it. for my own sanity. don't judge me.
thursday evening was a wild night in true roman fashion. we three ladies hit the town. hard. not wishing to indulge too many (unsavory?) details at the moment, i will simply say that every rumor about roman men in bars is true. they mean business. probably the tamest thing that happened was getting my heiney pinched about 5 minutes into my first drink.

saturday monica and i hit up the san giovanni market. surprised that within two weeks we'd already be at the rices of rome? of course we loved it. i got sweet pumas for cheap and we dug through piles of discarded prom dresses and well-loved cashmere. the excellent, kelli-granhan's-dreamland-store, coin, was also savored. i had a moment of absolute euphoria on the top of floor, surrounded by immaculate fashion and standing in front of a picture window watching traffic buzz through rome. i actually live here.
we ventured around san giovanni, a potential contender for favorite spot in rome, for awhile and then there was a real roman miracle. i saw a sign for a restaurant called "pizza&kebab" and thought... "could it be..? should i dare to dream...?" yes, faithful blogger, i dared to dream- and YES, the menu read the most beautiful words to my starved-already-pasta'd-out-eyes- "falafel al panino". not only did they have some of the best falafel i've ever had (and that's REALLY saying something), but they also had delish arancinis for a euro. A EURO! monica reveled in the closeness of the spicy kebab to her darling, sorely missed buffalo chicken wraps. we even ordered more food to take home for dinndinn. to top it all off, the chatty man-boy behind the counter was quite adorable with an extra flirtatious smile. there's no question we will return!

sunday was wonderful. my mom had gotten me this really great book of 24 "roman walks" for christmas and the girls and i decide to the "pyramid and aventine walk". the most fabulous mix of both exhilaration and peace set in as we strolled the orange gardens, one of the oldest churches in rome, and hiked the narrow streets of the aventine hill.

tonight on the walk home from school mon and i were talking about food (as usual), and i remembered that on the cruise i'll be able to have a veggie burger. YES! i'm legitimately excited about this. italy is meat-obsessed. walking through the fabulous mercato ingresso today, an excited little italian man pushed me toward a HUNK of animal and kept asking "taste? taste?!" on the quest for monica to get salami (which she accidentally got 8euros of, hahah), i think i saw just about every part of animal.

i would like to say that the biggest adjustment has been the fact that monica and i basically have a double bed.... but that would be a lie. it has been a seamless transition.

we live like kings.

a question from mon.

"elise... can you write about tonight in your blog?"-monica, on the trek home from the club.
"absolutely."

tomorrow.

lounging with monica on side-by-side twin beds (okay, virtually a double bed with a crack in the middle) while peeing my pants over shakira lyrics and the creaky sounds of our ridiculous roman apartment makes everything feel just fine.

adjusting.

"some days are diamonds, some days are rocks"
oh tom petty, but what about situations like this? when some days are diamonds -absolutely brilliant ones- and the nights are total rocks? and nothing really monumental has even happened? it just goes from glimmering magnificence to shit. that's when i start feeling really crazy. i've never thought of myself as particularly sensitive, and these are extenuating circumstances, but for this entire past week in rome i've felt a second away from both raging tears and elation. it's exhausting. i am so easily put off and can't grab a firm handle of myself for any extended period of time.

i'm a little kid and miss my family, friends, pony, crazy cat, and bed. a week isn't a big deal to be away, except when i think of the fact that i won't be in my house until the middle of may. at this point i am thankful for the few people who know exactly how to ease me. i don't know how anyone could make sense of this brain, but it's apparently possible. i need to get to a level where i can talk myself down, and not need the words of someone else. i guess for now i'll just be very relieved to have the "cool wash cloths to my fevered head" :)

two earlier posts because I know you all so desperately wanted to comment (Kel):

Shopping list for 1/15:

clementines
good bread
dish soap
laundry detergent
sponge
vodka
garlic
salt
crushed tomatoes
basil
sangria

sounds pretty serious.

Jan 14

roll, roll, rollercoaster

well i’m a resident of rome! i’ve been thinking about how i should update, but i just don’t know what to say. my life is a whirlwind.

the first few days were admittedly rough and i just wasn’t really feeling like myself. my emotions are all over the place and i’m painfully tired during the day, but spend all night staring at the ceiling. with yesterday’s rain and orientation, i was a dragging grump by last night. intense internet frustrations (i just want to send my mom pictures) fueled the fire. i need to learn to be patient! i’ve also realized that i have a very hard time not being in control or the person in charge. i guess it’s no secret that i’m an absolute control freak and curbing that behavior would probably be a pretty good idea.

in better news, my good spirits and excitement returned with the roman sunshine this morning! we went exploring on a tour all over the city today and it brought me back into the correct state of mind. i am so lucky to be here and just want to soak up every bit of it. after the tour, mon and i went solo (well, the two of us as a pair=’solo’) and i played with one of my best friends at the trevi fountain, conquered fear #1 by having painless interactions with italians, ate the most delish food prepared by the wildest old italian professor, and get to sleep in tomorrow. i miss my family, but life is pretty damn good.

i have to relax and work on taking everything in stride. hm, guess i figured out what to say.

New blog home.

So I was planning on blogging during my Roman adventures, but Tumblr wasn't working out for me so I moved to blogspot like my dear ol' pal, Kel. I'll repost the few blogs I made on Tumblr just so everything's in one place!