I was reading the reviews that others have written about Half-Blood Prince, and I found myself enjoying some of the great one-liners that summed up my own thoughts on the movie. I'll add my own commentary after the quotes, but honestly, these people really nailed down my issues with the movie and the things I liked. I guess that's why they're professional writers. ;)

( Opinions. Five Reviewers' and One Mine. )

By far the most frequent thing that I get asked about is the food in Rome. So here is an entry all about food!

Food is interesting to me, especially the way it is dealt with in other cultures. I’ve learned a lot about food since I got here. There is one key thing that I’ve realised about the food here. Everyone raves about food in Italy, and that is with good reason. However, in order to really experience Italian food here you need one of two things: either (a) money or (b) the ability to transform raw materials into delicious meals. As far as I can tell, in order to achieve (b) you basically have to be a tiny Italian grandmother. Sadly, I don’t have tons of money, and I am not an Italian grandmother. This closes off a lot of delicious avenues.

On the plus side, I have had some really amazing food that is affordable and still delicious. Pizza here is very cheap and very awesome. I’ve had pizza with all different types of toppings. I’ve had eggplant parmasean pizza, as well as sun-dried tomato pizza, sweet pepper pizza, and “marinara” pizza, which is just the dough covered with tomato sauce, olive oil, and oregano.

The way you eat pizza here in interesting as well. Pizza is basically the fast food of Italy. If you want a quick lunch, you go into a pizza shop and look at what they’ve got. They keep huge sheets of square pizza behind a glass counter. You point at whatever looks the tastiest and say “questo, per favore” (this one, please). The person behind the counter will hold their knife and spatula across a random span of the pizza (Maybe they decide this based on how hungry you look? I’m not sure) and ask if that’s how much you’d like. You just say yes regardless, because you don’t know how to say “more” or “less”. The counter person will cut your slice and weigh it. Unless you specifically ask, or they are feeling generous and ask you, they’ll wrap it up for you just like that: cold. For those savvy in the ways of pizza culture, you can say to the counter person “riscaldo, per favore,” which will let them know that you’d like it reheated. Once it’s done, you pay. They cut your square slice of pizza in half, and then they fold it over like a sandwich. The pizza sandwich is then wrapped in wax paper. You’re meant to stand at the counter in the store and eat it, but as an American with a schedule to keep I always just munch on it on my way out the door and down the street. They is, without a doubt, the best way to eat pizza. I don’t think there’s any way to go back to Burger King after that.

Some other interesting things that I’ve noticed about food in Italy:

- It’s relatively easy to buy an whole octopus at the local grocery store, but exotic things like Peanut Butter and Soy Sauce can only be found at special foreign food stores called Castroni.

- Italians have managed to embrace some American foods. Oddly, they have Kit Kats but no Snickers, they have Philadelphia Cream Cheese but there isn’t a bagel on the entire peninsula, and (although I never knew it before) turkey is an entirely subjective description for lunchmeat.

- Arancine: Another delicious Italian fast food. Arancine are Sicilian rice balls that have varieties of inside fillings. They’re crispy, salty, cheesy, and sometimes meaty or vegetable-y. Basically, they’re completely fantastic.

Plus, I did get a really delicious week of Italian cooking when my parents came to visit me. With a perfect excuse to dine out every night, we got to try some really fantastic pastas and pizzas. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Ok, that’s it. I’ve made myself way too hungry. Time to go get something to eat!

One of the things I most love about cities are marketplaces. Marketplaces exist in the country too, but they always seem livlier and more exciting in the city. A few blocks from where I’m living in Rome, there was an open-air street market where vendors had stalls of everything you could imagine...

( Read more... )

Today was amazing. Even more amazingly, it’s only 12:30 in the afternoon.

My first class met at Piazza del Popolo, one of the main squares in Rome. We walked all over and saw 6 Caravaggio paintings that are still hanging in churches. It’s amazing for me, because I’ve studied these paintings in art history classes every year since I was 16. Seeing them in real life, in the chapels that they were painted for is unreal.

After my class, I walked around on my own for a little while. Yesterday my Photo teacher took us to a coffee shop that he says is one of the best in Rome. I decided to go there again today (it seriously is amazing, by the way) and I impressed myself by ordering completely in Italian. I think it says something about Italian culture that the very first thing that they’ve taught us in Italian is food vocabulary and how to order in cafes. Either way, speaking in Italian definitely offers a much more pleasant experience.

After my pick-me-up I started wandering and I ended up doing my Italian homework on the steps of the fountain in front of the Pantheon. It was insanely awesome. Being among such amazing monuments certainly makes even monotonous homework more exciting. While I was in the square I was watching two waiters stand outside of a trattoria with nothing to do (it was only 11:00am). They looked bored so I asked them if they would check over my Italian homework to see if it was correct. (I had to resort to English to ask them that.) One of the waiters looked it over for me, and then he gave me his email in case I ever had more questions. So friendly! I’m starting to realise that the best way to interact here and to have good experiences is to be outgoing and to really put yourself forward. I’m going to be practicing that in the next few months.

A quick note to everyone who’s reading: I want to send postcards to everyone soon! If you want a postcard you can comment here with your address, or email it to me at <sirius.loves.remus@gmail.com>. I’d love to send everyone who is reading this a postcard, so please do comment and let me know where to send it to!


Updates to follow…I’ll be talking all about Italian food!

A very long (probably tl:dr) entry about my first "down to business" week in Rome.

( Work... )


( and Play! )

Ah Rome. La Dolce Vita.

Seriously though, being in Rome is amazing. Knowing that I've got four months to discover as much as I can is even more fantastic. The funny thing is, even with four months I still feel rushed. There's just so much to see here, I don't know of you could do it in four years or even in a lifetime. I'm just going to content myself with making the most of all the time I do have here, and packing in as many amazing experiences as I can. That way, when I come back I'll still be discovering new things. (Did you catch that subtle note of optimism?)

By the way, thanks to everyone who is reading my blog and commenting! I love hearing from all of you! Getting notes from family and friends while I'm here is better than candy. :)

I moved into my apartment on Tuesday. I really love it. We've got a lot of space for 3 people, and the terrace is gorgeous. Also, we get a maid who comes every day and cleans the floors, the bathroom, the kitchen, and makes the beds. I'm going to be so spoiled when I get back to the US. :)


So as for my activities since my arrival, I've mostly been going along with the school's orientation schedule, which means a lot of boring paperwork and setup stuff. BUT, we did have a great presentation yesterday on cooking and eating in Italy. We got a recipe book, and I've decided that I'm going to perfect my Italian cooking skills. Luckily for me, it seem like everything is pretty simple (no strange ingredients that I've never heard of), but it's all about getting the right seasonings and cooking for the right amount of time. I'll try out some of the authentic recipes that they gave us, and if anything turns out edible I'll post it here!

One awesome thing I have done is to visit the St. Peter's square at night. The square is amazing. It is encircled by two enormous arms that are held up by massive columns. Truly, I can't get over how much bigger everything actually is than how I perceived it to be in pictures and slides. It was exciting to walk by the walls of the Vatican, and try and orient myself to that map that I've studied so many times. I was trying to figure out where the library is, the Raphael rooms, the Sistine chapel. Also, the square at night is really impressive. I think the Italians must be well-practiced at providing impressive lighting for their many monuments and ruins, because it was lit exactly how you would want an enormous plaza of stone columns and fountains to look. It's lit subtly, so that there are still dark areas, but well enough so that everything is visible. (Unless it's super foggy, like it was when I was there. Michelangelo's dome couldn't be seen at all.) In the middle of the square, the life-size nativity scene and the Christmas tree were still up. (Note to Mom – the Vatican still has their tree up! No Fair!) I got some pretty good pictures of the square, considering the low lighting and the fog.

I've got a bunch of pictures, but right now I can't upload them, so I'll be adding them to the entry later. Ciao!

( First Few Hours and Already So Much To Say )

ETA: Just a few minutes after writing this post, I got let into my room. Within 30 seconds I got asked on a date by the bellboy. They so weren't kidding about Italian men! :)

It's high time I updated, considering there are just a few more days until I leave, and I want to get down some of my impressions of packing and preparing.

My winter break has been hectic. Packing and unpacking has been the chief activity. I did manage to squeeze in some time to hang out with friends, which is good because otherwise I've been a hermit. I've watched a lot of movies.

( Christmas Break Movie Count )

I've still got a long list of things to get done before I leave. Packing takes an especially long time because I like to try everything on before I decide to take it. Have to make sure it still looks good, after all. Actually, I thought I was going to have way too many clothes, but I've been very picky about what I'm taking. My pile of stuff to pack isn't even all that massive. I'm shocked. One thing that I have been concerned about is looking completely out of place among stylishly dressed Romans. Now that I think about it though, it's not like I'm on the cutting edge of the fashion world in Philadelphia, and it's never bothered me before. I guess I can consider myself successful if I have enough clothing to keep me warm and to not wear the same thing every single day.

My other big worry is language. I've traveled before, even out of the country, but I realized that I've never been in a country where at least one of their official languages weren't English. I've been told that it isn't a big deal, and I'm sure that's true.

I'm leaving this weekend, so I've really only got a few days to get everything together. There are a few butterflies, but I think they'll mostly disappear once I get past security. The worst part is going to be mom crying as I leave, because it's always sad when she cries. :(

MD and SS and I had a nice long conversation yesterday about travel in Europe, and especially about what to expect from foreign boys. According to SS, being alone with an Italian boy is essentially saying that you'll have sex with him. This is definitely good to know, one way or another. Also, SS warned that Italian law is fuzzy in this regard. Apparently it's a legit defense against a charge of rape to say that if you willingly went to a man's apartment, you were basically asking for it. The general advice is to travel in packs, and to keep your girlfriends close, especially at night.

We also talked about perceptions of Americans abroad. MD and SS said that because they weren't slutty or stupid, they often got mistaken for German or Dutch. Let's see...brain vomit: wear sunglasses all the time, don't be nice to gypsies, there is a good gelato place near the residence that is familiar with Temple students, and reserving seats on the train is important because Italians don't want people sitting next to them.

I have to say, I'm very glad that I've been in a city for the past two years getting used to things. To go from Waterford to Rome would be a double shock: one of getting used to Italian culture, and another one just getting used to how to live in the city. Basically, living in Philadelphia has taught me how to be a lot less friendly. I know how to dispatch beggars, avoid eye contact with creepy people, and make even bitchy cashiers at 7-11 smile. I feel like these skills will carry over in Rome, which is good because it would be twice as hard to learn them while also dealing with a foreign culture and language.

I'm going to make this post a list of questions that occur to me, things that I want to figure out before I leave for Rome. I'll keep the list in this post, and then edit it as I find the answers.

- Laundry soap. Take it with me or buy it there?
------> Buy it there. And apparently the very economical - and very Roman - thing to do is wash clothes in the bath and then air dry them by hanging them out the window. I just hope it's nice enough the be able to do this!

- Water. Can I drink the water in Rome, use fountains, availability of bottled water, and do you have to pay for water?
------> Foutains are a-ok. Rome has public drinking fountains posted around the city, which provide good, free water. And I have the inside scoop: apparently the fountains pour water down around waist level or so, but if you plug up the spout with your finger the water shoots up from a hole at the top so that you can drink it!

- Calling home/cell phones. What is the best way to contact the States?
------> I've heard ringing endorsements for Skype, which I will be downloading and practicing with, because it's currently kind of a mystery to me. Other than the fact that my roommate Freshman year used it to videochat with her bf for free, so that is a good sign. (She not exactly a tech whiz lol.)

This is my actual first entry since I redesignated my lj. I might eventually backdate an intro post, but I want to make sure I get this entry down before I forget it.

Things are coming together for Rome. I found out yesterday that I received an Art History Scholarship from the University, although I haven't been told any of the details yet. I don't even know how much money I've been awarded. This is especially good news for me, because my single biggest worry for the past year has been money and saving up for this trip. I'm now thinking, based on how much I've got in the bank and how much I need in order to pay off outstanding bills, that I might want to take out some extra loans. While I'm not planning on being extravagant and buying suitcases full of Italian leather shoes, I don't want to skimp either. I want to be able to actually experience Italy while I'm there, and it's probably going to take more money that I have to do that.

Anyway, what I really wanted to get down was the conversation that I had with K, an Art History prof, a few days ago. He was thrilled to hear that I was going to Rome. Actually, he went to Temple as an undergrad, and participated in the same program. :) Anyway, he talked about his experiences and I don't want to forget some of his suggestions. Not all of it is going to make sense to me right now, but I'm hoping that once I'm in Rome it will be clearer. He said to be sure and try Pizza Rustica. I get the impression that this is a type of dining experience rather than a specific restaurant. Either way, he was very insistent about this, and he said that they best place to get it was on the "wrong" side of the river, which is apparently the artsier student area. He also said that there is a grocery store very near the residence. You go down a hill and turn (right?) for groceries, and (left?) for the open market. Or the other way around, I can't remember now!

Oh, I also talked to a student who was in Rome last spring. She was super informative as well, and she had a lot of good practical information. She said the public transportation pass can be bought for a months worth of unlimited use, which I think was about 30 euro. That's seriously amazing compared to Septa's rather crappy $78.00 for a monthly pass. It's literally cheaper to buy tokens (@ $2.90 for 2) every school day, which is totally insane. Anyway, I also asked her about the weather, and she said to definitely bring warm clothes. My vision of Italy doesn't really incorporate the cold, but I have to be realistic. ;) Boo for winter, but I'm excited anyway.