The Temple Site in Rome!

I had the opportunity to go and visit the temple sight in Rome this past week! Framing for the temple, visitor’s center, stake center, and housing centers are complete. It was quite the interesting trip to the area, but beyond exciting to see! My friend, Ben, and I took a bus from Termini (the main train station in Rome where the metro lines meet) to a new shopping center in the Northeast part of Rome. Let’s just say that everything about the temple being built in Rome is a miracle. For starters, just finding the land in itself is a miracle. Rome only has two metro lines (as opposed to a city like Paris, which has at least 16) because it is nearly impossible to find a route to dig a metro that does not—at some point—run into some sort of an ancient structure. Every time the city starts to make plans for another metro line, they find themselves halted by a 300 year old house or an ancient underground city. I’m telling you, everywhere you look in Rome, there is history and—according to law—you don’t knock down that history to make way for the future (I could extract so many analogies, lessons and things about Italian culture from that fact). So, when the Church bought the land in the early 1990’s—according to code—trenches were dug every ten to fifteen feet to ensure that no ancient ruins were found anywhere in the 14.8 acres of land. None were. But just 100 yards past the temple sight, an underground city was discovered. Luck? I think not.

When the church actually bought the land, it was in a very remote area in Rome where there was really nothing but freeways. Recently, however, a huge shopping center was built there and, because of it, buses to that area of Rome have gotten more numerous, and there is talk of a new metro line or train track to that area—which will simplify the travel tenfold for those members of the Church coming from all over Italy to do sessions.  While the public transportation decent, the buses don’t bring you directly to the temple, and without Moroni and his trump shining in gold, it wasn’t the easiest place to find. We asked several people if they knew where the temple or temple road was. Several people knew the road, but most hadn’t heard about the temple. There was one man, who seemed excited for the ‘Mormon temple’ to be built. He said that it would be great, and then asked if I was from the ‘Mormon University in Utah.’ Haha I think that people in Italy who actually know about the Church, just assume that all Mormons go to BYU, which I suppose isn’t too far off the mark.

The Rome Temple Site

So, after asking at least seven people for directions, we walked less than 10 minutes and found the temple. I was bummed that we couldn’t go in and look around the site; apparently that is not allowed…don’t worry though; I have two more months here and a lot of determination. Instead, we climbed up 8 flights of stairs between a couple of buildings that were nearby and got to look down and see the temple building in progress. It’s really exciting here; you can tell that the members of the Church are more anxious and excited than ever. And they should be. Did you know the Rome temple is only the 14^th temple built in Europe? I think there are that many in Utah alone! It really does make me grateful to live in a place where I can so easily live and practice my beliefs. It seems that every aspect of the Gospel takes more effort here. I am repeatedly reminded that the Church is new in Italy; I love that I get to be a part of it for the few months that I’m here.

The temple being built is definitely the most exciting part of being here, but the everyday things are still fun. I've learned a lot, but one talent I do not hold: Bartering Prices. When you walk around any city in Italy of significant, or even decent, size, you are bound to see dozens of street venders. I always have my eye on the shops and street vendors that sell purses. Since was in desperate need (Need…? Want…? Need.) of a new purse, I stopped with Mara—as we were chowing down on some gelato—to look at some beautiful purses. I felt EXTREMELY proud of myself for talking the street vendor down to half the cost; and by talking, I definitely mean standing there looking unsure, until he offered me consistently lower prices :). My pride, however, was short lived when Mara, ten minutes after me, managed to get two purses for the price of my one. She rationalized it to me by telling me she was poor which 1) is untrue, 2) extremely untrue compared to a college student who just bought a $1400 plane ticket and is living in Rome for the summer, and 3) irrelevant to the fact that she managed to get two designer purses for the price of my one. Turns out that I have a lot to learn, beyond my research on dating and courting practices, during my summer in Italy.

Having just been jipped, I was open to the idea of bartering. As was my friend, Emma Harper, who decided she wanted to try to get these ridiculous and fabulous, Italian-genie-looking pants that we had decided to try on for fun at a local shop. I thought the prices were fair, but thought the price for my purse was fair, until I realized I could have gotten two for the price of one. So, when she wanted to try to barter down a price for the pants (that she was already set on buying), who was I to stop her? The owner asked us how we liked the pants. Emma told him that they were great, but that she had seen similar ones at a nearby store for half the price. BIG MISTAKE. It was like we had unleashed the hulk! The owner started yelling at Emma, telling her that there was no way you could find Italian-made pants for that price, and that she could go get her Made-In-China knocks offs if she pleased. He was heated—arms folded when they weren’t waving in the air demonstrating his disgust; he was red faced, his head was shaking and he starting to mutter Italian too quickly to understand. While it probably would have been smart to walk out of the store before steam actually started coming out of his ears, we still wanted the pants. I tried to act as if nothing had happened and purchased a pair for myself, while Emma tried to make comments, loud enough for the owner to hear, about how the other pair she had seen (which were nonexistent) must have been made in China, and how she preferred Italian-made clothing anyway. We bought the pants, and basically ran out of the store. Bartering definitely works some places, but I’d probably not test your luck everywhere you go. That said, it made for an experience, and you never do know. 

Rome, probably like any big city, has its share of extremely high end fashion. There are certain parts of the city that you can travel to and see women dressed in Prada from head to toe—it’s a sight. But at the same time, you still have the everyday, middle class stores. I almost laughed when I saw H&M (which was four stories, but very narrow), on the street. I guess it makes sense, Italian Vogue fashion is not real life for the masses. And while I can appreciate a designer item as much as the next girl, my favorite part about Italy is the everyday things. Ya know, as different as the culture seems sometimes, at the end of the day, we're a lot more similar than different. That's what I love.

Calcio & Crepes

Coming to a country where you don't have the language down means that you have to have a good sense of humor; though if I'd known any Italian swear words, I may have used them yesterday. I was trying to purchase a bus ticket to a nearby town, La Dispole (it's beautiful! gorgeous ocean and so much going on—it's also the town where I go to church). After telling the cashier what I wanted, I put my 5 Euro-bill down on the counter. She didn't take it. I reconfirmed to her where I wanted to go and she started yelling! I guess I should note that most Italians speak loudly and passionately in everyday conversation, but I swear this was more than the usual. The louder her voice got, the faster she spoke, and the less I understood. Apparently I had put her in some sort of a frenzy because I was trying to pay with cash instead of coin. Really? Then, I got on my bus—slightly annoyed—decided to write my friend Andrea (who is in Chile on her mission) a letter, zoned off slightly, and made a mess of the letter because the bus driver decided to follow 6” behind the car ahead and was constantly slamming on the brakes. At one point, I looked up from writing and realized the bus had passed my stop! Turns out you have to pull a cord-thing (this is technical terms, obviously) to get off—who'd have known…? I jumped up, tried to ask the bus driver a question—which he didn't understand, and he tried to answer—which I didn't understand. After a minute of a jumbled attempt at communication, I told him I'd just get off where we were. I figured that it was better to end up in the right town, even if I was quite a ways from where I intended. An old lady—bless her heart—got off the bus with me; honestly, I think the only reason she got off was to help me. Unfortunately, it didn't up being that helpful of an exchange (not due to her lack of effort); she was trying to give me directions, which I thought was interesting because she didn't actually know where I wanted to go…but I listened politely. I understood quite a bit of the words she was saying, but mainly heard 'destra, sinistra and dritto' (right, left, straight). I took pride in my understanding for about .039 seconds until I realized that the only thing I was taking in were her words, not her meaning—which is an obvious problem... After letting her finish, I thanked her and told her I would call a friend to come get me. Then she asked me if I spoke 'ingles.' Consumed by a fleeting feeling of relief, I told her I did. She waved her hand in front of her face, shrugged her shoulders, and told me that she didn't. Fabulous. My friend Marcos, bless his heart too, came and found me (luckily I made it to the center of town, so I knew where I was, just not where anything else was). When he got there, I apologized in advance for speaking so quickly and spent three minutes venting in English (he understands a lot—from translating song lyrics for the past three years! But if I speak too quickly, it doesn't make sense to him. I know the feeling). He listened politely, and then suggested we switch to Italian so I could practice. It's funny because sometimes it's too easy to speak English here because there are so many people that know it; then I find myself in situations like yesterday and remember why it's so important to keep up with my Italian.

Worst organized picture...ever.
Ethnicity from left to right: American, Italian, Uruguayan, American, American, Peruvian, Romanian 

 On Tuesday there was a huge soccer (calcio) game at the Olympic Stadium in Rome!! it was called Partita del Cuore, which basically means Heart Game. It was a kind of charity/fundraiser game where Italian celebrities play against each other. It sounded pretty legit and I figured that, even if it wasn't a 'good game,' it'd be fun to go out with everyone and be in Rome's Olympic stadium. No doubt it was fun, but I'm telling you, it was actually a really intense/exciting game. I'm trying to decide whether I thought this because I don't ever watch soccer and don't know skill when I see it (probably somewhat true), but Eduardo told me that everyone in Italy grows up playing soccer, so—while not professional status—the celebrities that played actually knew what they were doing. I think my favorite part of the game may have actually been the crowd though; Italians are known for their passionate ways, and they didn't let me down. You could feel energy in the stadium. I did have to laugh, however, because it was not the soccer itself that got the fans most excited. No no no no, it was the 5 woman in short, tight, dresses and baseball caps. When they walked along the track, everyone got to their feet and the men looked like they were going to explode or faint from excitement. Knowing that the women must be really famous Italians, I excitedly asked who they were. Answer: women in short, tight, dresses and baseball caps. Seriously though. From the crowd’s reaction, I would have thought they were a famous singing group or maybe women from Italy's national soccer team, but alas, they were just random women. I think that is insight in itself into the minds of Italian men.

Before the game, Eduardo and I walked around Rome in the pouring rain. It's funny because it was amazing and miserable all at once. Amazing because it was Rome, and miserable because it was FREEZING and the streets were practically flooding. We talked about how it would definitely be one of those memories that is great in retrospect (spending a day in Rome on a rainy day—kind of has a ring to it), so that we should probably just ignore the cold and enjoy the moment. I'm glad we did. :)

After the game, at 11pm—in true Italian style—we went to grab dinner and a local panini and crepe shop. Being the difficult American that I am, I wasn't satisfied with anything on the menu. Ham is to Italians what chicken is to Americans, and I just wanted chicken. Diego spotted the only chicken item out on the menu, which was a panino. I wanted a crepe. I asked them if they could just put all the panini items in a crepe for me; I thought it was an easy enough request, but apparently substitutions are not the norm here (the customer is not always right in Italy); luckily the workers were nice about it and gave me my specialty crepe with a side of ma-che-sei-mato (but are you crazy) looks. Totally worth the extra effort, it was DELICIOUS! I really can't believe how quickly time passes here; all I know is that I'm ready for another weekend in Rome!

Diego and I eating our crepe and panino after the soccer game.
side note: that was my hair after spending all day in the rain. Keep the judgments to a low ;)

I really can't believe how quickly time passes here, all I know is that I'm ready for another weekend in Rome!

Rome At Night

So, although I've been to Rome quite a few times and explored through most of the major sites, I am continually told that I need to experience Rome at night. This weekend, I FINALLY did! I sometimes study at the local library in Bracciano, and met a girl named Giulia there last week (It totally reminded me of BYU—making friends on the 5th floor haha) and she invited me to go out with her and her friends on Saturday. We started our night around 9pm, grabbed dinner, hung out in the town's Piazza, and headed over to a house where a HUGE group of people were watching a big soccer/calico/futball game. It was quite the interesting night. For starters, because everyone here wants to practice their English (I will seriously speak to someone in Italian and they will answer in English), I hadn't been using my Italian as much as I should have, but most of her friends didn't speak English, so I was forced—which I need! It was probably about midnight when the group decided to go to Rome! I considered just going home and sleeping, but then I reminded myself that I only have two more months here. I'll sleep when I’m dead. First thing we did was go to a bar, which was a bit strange for me because I'd never been to one. There were a few chuckles when I ordered water (and split a Nutella crepe with a girl named Livia), and the group seemed pretty intrigued by the fact that I didn't drink or smoke (everyone smokes here), but then just said, "Brava!" Which has basically the same meaning in English—good job!

After that, they wanted to show me the Olympic soccer stadium. It was probably near 2am when we got there, but if it hadn't been for the dark night sky, I would have thought it was the middle of the day. The only difference was that rather than tourists lining the sidewalks and streets, it was all the young (my age-ish) Italians; girls in designer dresses and 5" heels—every one of them! It was a mix between walking around in a movie and a high-fashion magazine. I wanted so badly to pull out my camera and take a thousand pictures, but I think that not drinking and smoking, not speaking Italian fluently, having blonde hair and not wearing 5" heels, was enough to differentiate me for one night; pulling out a camera would have been overkill. The only regret I have about it is not having a picture to show for it, but I'm sure I'll have many more opportunities to capture similar moments. I don't think I got home until 4:30am, and let me just tell you that I may have gone to take a nap at 7pm on Sunday, and accidentally slept until slept until 8am the next morning! The funniest part was that it wasn't even a particularly late night for the group I was with. Time is just different here, it may take some getting used to, but I have a feeling that these are the things I will remember most fondly. I don't think I'll ever look back on my experiences in Italy and feel like I missed out on anything. I only have 2 more months here, and I am going to live them up! 

I didn't actually take this picture, one of these nights I will though; so I can capture the epicness of Rome at night
This photo doesn't do it justice!

Now, it may sound like I am just vacationing for 3 months, but I do spend a lot of my time working on my research project and doing other homework. I am looking into studying dating and courting practices of young adults in Italy here, and right now I'm basically doing a lot of preliminary work. I have to conduct between 10 and 30 interviews while I'm here, asking young adults about it and their personal experiences. I had my interview questions drafted, but I think I will be using a total of...zero of those questions. Being here, I'm already learning so much about it and I've realized that the questions I was planning to ask aren't even relevant. I was trying to study Italians from my American/BYU paradigm, which has pretty specific norms. Dating and courting here is much different—for starters, it's normal for people to date for four to seven years without getting married. Serious relationships begin earlier and last longer (without ever mention the "M" word). There is no such thing as dating around; going on dates with one person Friday, and another Saturday would leave you with a less than stellar reputation. It's easy to make judgments on a culture's practices and compare them to your own, but I've come here with the attitude that nothing is better or worse in either place; it's just different—except for the food, its better here ;). A friend I met my first day in Italy, Eduardo Garcia Griotti, told me that what he disliked most about some Americans (especially those from Utah) was that they would come here and be so opinionated, that they wouldn't take time to consider an alternative way of life, they'd just say, "No, I disagree. That's not right." I think one of the best things about traveling, is that it opens up your mind and exposes you to different ways of life. It changes your perspective. Giulia was telling me how it was hard for her to understand people who were so set in their ways, that don't want to travel, see new things or meet new people. I've got to admit that, while I do feel like I'm living a dream sometimes—just being in Italy—it’s been so much more than a vacation; I'm constantly reevaluating my thoughts, beliefs, opinions, and practices. I feel like I finally understand that quote, "The more I learn, the less I know." The more I learn, the more I realize there is know, and that I don't know it; it's like I get to the top of the staircase of knowledge, open the door on top, and find 100 more staircases leading to all sorts of additional knowledge. As much as I've discovered in my time here, I feel like it's just made me more aware of the fact that there is SOOO many more opportunities to progress. So, while there is no way to know everything, I'm doing my best to learn, and learning to be okay with ambiguity.

And, just some of my daily life adventures:

My host mom, Mara, and I made fresh Italian pizza the other night. It's delicious—the ingredients are much fresher here. We didn't use any pizza sauce, just a whole lot of olive oil, and then topped it with different things—tomatoes and mozzarella, shredded potatoes and cucumbers. (Italians do put some pretty crazy things on Pizza; I've seen hot dogs, French fries, salad, fish, and all sorts of random things that I would never expect.) Our pizza ended up turning out quite well!

My host mom, Mara, and I with the pizzas we just made.

Fresh Italian Pizza; before we cooked it

Homemade Pizza Margarita, fresh out of the oven

Ping pong seems to be quite the sport here among GANS (Giovani Adulti Nonsposati) LDS Young Single Adults); this is just us playing after institute one night. I definitely have a ways to go until I'm on par with some of the guys here. It kind of reminded me of going to Arlington and playing with Rob Ahlander and Ammon Spencer—intense. :)

While I'm used to seeing cats and dogs run across the street back home, I'm getting much more used to seeing foxes and, yes, hedge hogs in Italy. I swear they're everywhere! Diego and I are always on the lookout for them. Coming home one night, we barely avoided hitting one, and decided to get out of the car and see if we could find it. We did! It was trying to get through a little hole in the fence, and wasn't having any luck, so we decided to help it. Honestly, I think we were more likely to cause it to have a heart attack than anything, but we did manage to bend up a part of the fence and help it get 'safely' to the other side.

Diego 'petting' the hedge hog

Just getting up the nerve to actually touch the hedge hog,
though I have a feeling I scared the poor thing a lot more than it scared me..

a hedgehog trying to get to the other
side of the fence

Safe and sound on the other side of the fence
away from traffic

The Pantheon & Vatican City--the Sistine Chapel!

So, I think it is somewhat ironic that I last blogged about not feeling like I had a voice because, now, I legitimately don't have a voice—it's gone; I can hardly whisper. I think it's probably a result of waiting 3 hours for a bus in Rome and not getting on one until 3am (the public transportation here went on strike last Friday and the bus system was a mess). Either way, I have decided that the Lord most definitely has a sense of humor. Can I just say, "Lesson learned."? Last time I wrote I felt like I didn't have a voice, but I did—I guess I just wasn't taking enough initiative. My studying (the Italian language) is improving and I'm able to understand a lot more this week than I was last week. So, I'm learning slowly, but its coming. And I'm definitely in better spirits :)

I spent the entire weekend in Rome, and it was absolutely amazing. I spent Friday with Cinthya—who is visiting from Canada and only staying in Rome for another week or so. Most people here that are my age either work or have school during the day, so it was nice to have someone my age to hang out with. Honestly, it was just nice to enjoy some 'girl talk,' and it definitely didn't hurt that we got to walk around Rome and see the sites while we were doing it. So, in Italy (and most big cities in Europe), each restaurant has employees that stand outside and try to convince you to come in (or sit outside) their restaurant and buy something. Most of the employees are men and they're typically super friendly, flirty, guys. Cinthya and I were walking through a little street lined with such restaurants, and taking pictures when one of these men asked, "Do you want a picture?" Figuring that it would be nice to have a picture together, rather than just dozens by ourselves (because with 2 people, obviously one takes the picture, so only one person gets to be in it), we said sure. I looked down to turn on my camera, and when I looked up, I saw Cinthya—looking somewhat confused--with the man's arm around her; he was obviously ready for me to take a close up picture of him and Cinthya. Realizing now that he had not been offering to take a picture of Cinthya and I, but rather offered to let us take a picture with him, I snapped a shot of him and Cinthya, and she—likewise—took a picture of him and I. Then, he offered to get us some juice and chocolate—his 'present.' Who were we to turn down treats from a nice little Italian restaurant? I've got to say, it's nice to be in Italy and it's nice to be a girl. 

The Pantheon

On Saturday, I spent the day with another BYU student that is studying in Italy for a bit, named Ben Hansen. We decided to tour around Vatican City—which has definitely been one of my favorite places thus far. Seeing the Sistine Chapel was absolutely AMAZING—breathtaking really. I swear, walking around Rome is like walking around a textbook, but a million times better! We, technically, weren't allowed to take pictures in the Sistine chapel itself, but we may have snuck a few in—which I think was pretty impressive considering the fact that there were security guards walking all around making sure that people didn't. Maybe we should have been slightly better at following the rules, but I think that a picture is worth a thousand words, and, well...I wanted one. :)

Might you notice The Creation of Adam right above us?
One of Michelangelo's most famous works of art!
Yeah, worth snapping a picture in a 'no picture' zone :)

After snapping pictures in the Sistine chapel and the rest of Vatican City (which is actually an independent state—the world's smallest!), we decided that we should probably not miss out on the opportunity to climb all 551 steps to the top of the cupola (dome) of St. Peter's basilica. It was a long way up, but actually pretty fun—there must have been eight different kinds of staircases and little windows all along the way so that you could check out the amazing view. There were even some places where you had to lean while you walked because the floor was slanted. One of my favorite parts was when we got to stop, walk around the inside of the cupola and look down upon the main alter. I actually got to watch part of a mass from that point, which was ridiculously beautiful. I've always heard that catholic masses are kind of boring, but everything I saw and heard--the clothing, the decoration, and the music—were nothing short of magnificent. 

I got to watch the mass from here,
kind of looks like I'm watching from a prison, but it was really neat.

This stairway was slanted, so you legitimately couldn't stand straight up

551 one reasons (steps) worth climbing to the top to see this view!
 You could walk all the way around, and see all of Rome from the top of the dome :)

And the reason we didn't want to come down, Welcome to Italy: the country of PDA...

 And as the Italians say,
 "                                                                                                                                                           "

Voice

A couple days ago, I went running for the first time since I left the States, I needed it—even if that did mean getting lost in Bracciano, flinching every time a lizard darted in front of me, having a minor freak out and jumping about three feet in the air when I saw a snake, only to realize that—on the return run—that it was actually an old rope. Go figure. Ah well, I'm sure those two extra calories I burned from jumping over that dumb rope probably evened out the three servings of bread with olive oil and salt that I ate. :) I wanted to run to the Lake, so I could just sit, think, and enjoy some tranquility. I came around a bend towards the lake, and knew I was close, so I kept running so I could get there. I kept running, and ran some more, and some more. I could see the Lake, but I couldn't figure out a way to actually get to it. In the back of my mind I kept reminding myself that I still had to run back home, so the further it took me to get there, the further I would have to run back. After 40 minutes, I decided to settle for a distant view—I found this run down gate and an old trail that had been overgrown, and found myself a nice little rock (that I shared with one too many ants, and a couple creepy spiders) and just took some time to relax and reflect; it was nice, and well needed.

Nice view right? Yeah, this is where I live!

Diana, my host sister left for her mission a couple days ago; she is serving in the Salt Lake Temple Square mission and is in the Provo MTC now, so it's kind of like we traded places! Her parting advice was to not lose courage with learning Italian; she also told me that she knew I was supposed to be here because she knew that her Mom would miss her and needed another son. Obviously, by son, she meant daughter, but I didn't mind the mix up in words, I know how it is. I'm sad to see her go; you know when you meet those people that you just instantly bond with? Diana was one of those people for me, and even though we only spent a couple of days together, I can tell that we have a long friendship ahead of us.

Diana, my host sister, and I at the airport, right before she left for her mission in Salt Lake City, Utah

I've spent the last couple days hanging out with my host mom, Mara, and trying to get a lay of the land. Bracciano is absolutely beautiful! Did I mention that Tom Cruise got married here? Yeah, there is a castle in Bracciano, and that's where Tom Cruise was married. So, basically what I'm saying is that this place is beautiful. I have a lot of exploring to do and a lot of things to figure out, but I definitely cannot complain about my location. :)

And Italy in general is great, but definitely not without challenges. I know people have been where I am and can relate to how I feel, but I definitely feel a bit out of place sometimes—I have my moments where I just feel alone. I know, how can I be complaining when I'm in Italy, but it's not really a complaint, it's just kind of what adjusting to any new home would be like. It's different than traveling around where you see new sites everyday and are with a group of friends; now, I'm trying to establish a new life here—3 months is a pretty significant amount of time.

Having blonde hair is pretty much the tip of the iceberg with differences between me and the typical Italian. And honestly, it's not really even the differences that get to me, I truly do think we have more things in common overall, and from what I've seen, I really like the Italian culture and people. The challenge is more the fact that I can’t express myself the way I want to because I don't have the language down well enough. Before I came, I talked to a friend, who had recently gone on a study abroad to Spain; she told me that when she first got to Spain, she felt like she lost her personality. I didn't quite get what she meant until now. This is hard, even to articulate in English...I guess I feel like I have lost myself a little—not that I don't know who I am, but more so that I can't express who I am to everyone here, and so other people don't know my true personality because it's difficult to get to know me when I can't express my feelings/thoughts/beliefs well. I prefer listening to talking anyway, but it's beyond frustrating for me to not be able to say what I want to say when I do actually want to say it. Does that make sense? My host mom was explaining to a group of people about why I was here, and that I didn't speak very much Italian, and it was just frustrating. I didn't want to be rude and interrupt her, so I waited until she was done (which was kind of painful) and then tried to explain myself in my own way. I guess it’s just a lesson in taking initiative, my host mom is absolutely wonderful and always means well, but its better that what people here know of me, comes from me—even if it does come via broken Italian. That said, I am—honestly—so happy to be here. I feel like I'm going to learn a lot in these three months; I already feel like I've learned a lot and I've only been here a few days! I went for a bike ride into central Bracciano the other day, and it was just what I needed. I was sitting near the castle (where Tom Cruise was married) just studying some Italian when an old man walked over to see if I wanted a picture taken. Why not? He took one, and then we started talking (in Italian) and I was explaining to him why I was here and that I wanted to work on my Italian; he just told me "piano, piano." Which means: slowly. He also suggested that I come back to see the sunrise. Will do!!

The picture the old man I met, Gabrielle, took of me 

 Some panorama shots I took (Thank you Grandpa Bob for getting me such a great camera!:)

Street Slang and Dubbed Movies!

I feel like I'm getting more into the flow of normal life, the problem is that I'm still not exactly sure how to function here, but it's coming. I just ran a load of laundry and hung my clothes out on a clothes line (type thing) to let them dry outside; I definitely wasn't about to hang my bras and panties out there for the world to see though, so while I am trying to get fully immersed, there are a few lines that I don't know if I'll ever cross...

The food here is pretty different as well, lots of carbs, but nothing is processed; seriously, the freshness of the food here is AMAZING! For breakfast, I usually eat/drink warm soy milk and break biscuits into it, then eat them when they're kind of soggy. By biscuits, I mean a kind of cracker-cookie thing. It may not sound good, but it actually is. Who would've guessed? My favorite thing though is honestly the olive oil here—which is doused on pretty much everything we eat! The family I'm living with gets it fresh from a man that lives close by. I honestly think that I would be happy if the only souvenir I brought back from Italy was the Olive Oil. One thing that I'm not such a fan of is prosciutto crudo which is basically just raw ham; okay, well maybe I'm simplifying it a bit—it's uncooked ham that is preserved with salt and whatnot to amplify the flavor. Italians put it on pizza, eat it plain, and Diego told me its best with cantaloupe... Who knows though, I like the tomatoes here (which I despised in the States), so maybe the raw ham will grow on me as well. The Merchetti family (who I’m staying with) is truly wonderful. They've tried to make me feel a lot more comfortable in a lot of little ways. When we were talking about how many carbs Italians eat compared to people in the States, they asked me what I usually eat for lunch. I told them that I ate a lot of salads with fruit—like lettuce with strawberries, kiwis, etc., so now lettuce with apples is a common addition to the dinner table. :) Oh, another thing that's different here is that no one drinks tap water, all the water they drink is bottled, and a lot of it is carbonated; I never really drink anything with carbonation, so I can never really gulp it down, and I'm pretty sure I'm making myself dehydrated… gotta work on that!

On Saturday, I went out with a big group of young adults from the Rome area. The LDS church is great for so many things, and making friends is definitely one of them. It's nice to come to Italy and have an instant group of friends. Our communication is still kind of lacking, but we make it work. :) We went to the Rome, hung out, walked around, and I tried to avoid watching Public Displays of Affection (which are EVERYWHERE, mainly because everyone lives with their parents until they are around 30, so I guess they don't really have anywhere else to go to kiss, and they therefore do it in the park, for the world to see...). Anyhow, I’m grateful for one of the guys I met, Eduardo, who is half Uruguayan and just moved to Italy a few years ago. I feel like he understands me and is really great at making me feel comfortable and at home. We spent a good deal of time that afternoon talking, as always, in half English and half Italian.

 Later that day, the group went to grab dinner; I didn't even end up eating because I was still so full from lunch, even though it was 8pm. Everyone sat around talking, then they decided to play this 'game(?)' where someone would choose a mood (sad, angry, jealous, annoyed) and something to say (in Italian, obviously), then act out these scenes. I figured I'd just watch. False. After a couple girls went, I found myself with 15 Italians staring at me, waiting for me to act like a jealous girlfriend, sitting in between my boyfriend and his ex-girlfriend and say, "Che cosa sta facendo qui?" (What is she doing here?) (haha). My first instinct was to get out of it somehow, but honestly, even if I tried, they probably wouldn't have let me. It may not sound like a big thing, but try being center of attention in a group of people you don't know, and try to say things passionately, in a language that you don't know very well. I did it though, and everyone got all excited, clapped, and said that I did really well. I figured that they were all just trying to be nice, but I don't actually think that was it because apparently my second attempt at acting wasn't all that great, and they had no problem telling me! Of what I've experienced, I’ll make the blanket statement and admit that I love Italians—they're passionate about everything they do, which is fun to be around. They're pushing me to break out of any comfort zones that I was trying to retain :) They taught me some street slang as well, and in an awkward situation, all I have to do is say one of the phrases, and everyone laughs and thinks it’s funny. I'm trying to determine if that's because it's funny that I know it, or just if how I say it is funny...either way, it works.

To end the night we went to a movie: The Avengers. In Italian. I was pretty thankful that it was at least an action movie, and a little easier to follow than a drama, but I still would have been completely lost if Diego (my host brother) and Eduardo hadn't been sitting next to me and translating for a majority of the film. I still missed out on a lot of the humor—which I've realized is pretty difficult to translate, but I enjoyed it and found some humor in the fact that the movie was dubbed. I was the only one that thought anything of that fact though; pretty much the only dubbed things I've seen are little clips from those random Asian karate type movies which are the epitome of cheesy. But I guess that's how a lot of the movies are here. They do show most films in English as well, and even most of the music Italians listen to is English.

A Birthday Wish in the Trevi Fountain!

I got into Rome at 6am on my birthday, having gotten about 6 hours of sleep in the 72 hours prior—I was tired, but at the same time rejuvenated because, well, it was my birthday and I WAS IN ROME! Seriously, could I ask for a better birthday present? I definitely think that this will be one for the books. I said goodbye to Shawn and Hayden, and left with Andrea—a girl around my age who is a good friend of the Marchetti family (my host family) who offered to take me around Rome for my birthday. Honestly, it was perfect—we just walked around the city and I got to see the Colosseum, the Pantheon, Navona Square, the Trevi Fountain and The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We are going to start spending every Friday exploring Rome—since I will be about 45 minutes away and that is her day off. She also invited me to travel with her for a few weekends while I'm here to see Florence, Venice, Pisa, Cinque Terre and some other must-sees in Italy. I also get to go to Sicily for 5 days with a group of young adults from my church here! Everything is just working out—it’s such a testimony builder, the Lord obviously has a better plan for me than I do, so I'm just going with it. Believe me, even if I spent years planning, I don't think I could have ever organized such an amazing summer. :D It's funny to think that up until the day before I got on the plane to fly to Germany I didn't even know where I would be living in Rome. Now, I've got so much figured out (yet still have a long way to go) and got to spend my birthday in Rome, eating gelato by the Pantheon! And to top it off, I made a wish in the Trevi Fountain! I figured, "I may not get to blow out candles on my birthday or have anyone sing to me, but I think making a wish in the Trevi Fountain is probably a tad bit better anyway." :)

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier,
It was actually only built about 100 years ago

Colosseum, anyone?

The Pantheon! I definitely ate gelato for my birthday on the steps right
behind me in this picture :)

The Trevi Fountain! Where I made my birthday wish :)

Andrea is AMAZING—we spoke Italian and English, I should probably be more disciplined and only speak Italian, but it's hard because everyone here speaks English pretty well and they want to practice. That said, I'm learning a lot—it's so much easier to learn a language when you’re immersed compared to classroom learning for an hour a day. I'm learning a lot about life here in general as well—the metro in Italy is much cleaner than it is in France, but so much more crowded! (A prime location for pickpocketers, so I definitely have to be careful with my purse—can't be losing any Euros and I definitely can't lose my passport!). The streets here are narrow, I can’t make out any lines dividing the lanes, and it seems as if cars can turn regardless of the light (red, yellow, or green), so even if the street sign says that a pedestrian can walk, you've got to watch out. Oh, another thing, everyone here drinks bottled water and it's kind of expensive. So, I was excited to hear that there were drinking fountains outside, by drinking fountains—however—I mean these little faucets that have a constant stream of water coming out that you can fill your water bottle with. I thought it was pretty cool; I watched Andrea fill her water bottle (for free) and took a drink. It seemed pretty sanitary UNTIL I saw a man plug the bottom stream with his finger, which made the water shoot out a different hole—more like a drinking fountain. Ughh so much for sanitary...

K, looking at it again, I realize it doesn't look very sanitary,
but when you're dehydrated, I swear it looks a lot less disgusting...

After touring around Rome for the day, Andrea and I went to an LDS church building in Rome for a YSA (young single adult) or GANS (Giovani adulti non sposati = young adults that are not married..haha) activity. It was actually kind of hilarious because a few minutes after I got there, so did 12 other students from BYU who are doing a study abroad in Italy and were in Rome for a few days—I ended up knowing 3 of them! Can you say small world? I come all the way to Rome by myself and end up in the same place as 12 other BYU students on my first day, what are the odds? Ugo Perego, who helped me find my housing in Italy, taught a lesson in Italian—I probably picked up about 20% of what he was saying... Then, we had dinner (a late dinner, but that's normal here). Can I just state the obvious: the food in Italy is good! And whoever told me the portion sizes here were small, was lying. The trick is to just ask for less initially (usually someone else dips your food for you and gives it to you) because once the food is on your plate, it's pretty hard to turn down... After dinner, everyone played games. Then, all of a sudden, the lights turned off an everyone started singing, "Buon compliano a ti, Buon compliano a ti." I actually recognized the tune before the words, turned around and saw a woman walking toward me with a cake-like dish with candles on it while everyone sang happy birthday to me in Italian--they had made me a birthday cake, and it turns out I got to make a wish in the Trevi Fountain, have people sing to me and blow out candles! Life is good.

Afterwards, the other BYU students left, the locals stayed, and we played more games. Apparently people in the States play this game as well, but I've never heard of it. I don't even know what it's called now, but basically either a guy (uomo) or girl (donne) stands in the middle; the guys line up on one side and are each assigned numbers, and the girls line up on the opposite side and are assigned a letter. The person in the middle calls out a letter and a number. So for example, if a girl was standing in the middle of a circle, she could call out "8, A" The boy who was assigned number 8's goal is to kiss the girl in the middle (on the cheek), but the girl who was assigned letter A has to try to kiss boy 8 before he can kiss the girl in the middle. I may have made that more confusing than it needed to be, but it's basically just a game where you try to kiss someone, and not let someone kiss you. Haha. Benvenuto in Italia! (Welcome to Italy). And it turns out, I'm pretty awesome at the game, I was extremely good at avoiding/denying people who were trying to kiss me (haha). Years of practice, my friend. That said, I must say I think I prefer the Italian greeting/goodbye--a kiss on each cheek, over the typical American handshake. Though, most of the Italians here will shake your hand if they think you will be uncomfortable with this 'kiss.' As I was leaving the activity, a few people asked me if I was okay with the greeting/goodbye before doing it, and several people just shook my hand--which I can tell is kind of weird for them. I appreciate how comfortable everyone is trying to make me feel though, but—hey—go big or go home, right? :)

Diana—who is the girl whose house I'm staying at (but who leaves on her mission soon) told me that I "would make a great warrior." I'm not exactly sure what she meant by that (lost in translation), but I’m just going to take it as a compliment! I am so sad that she is leaving, she is absolutely wonderful! Our conversations are really interesting because I speak English and some Italian, and she is the exact opposite—speaking Italian fluently and knowing some English. So we have these (come si dice Italian/English...kind of like spanglish...italiagish?? Englia?? Something like that) conversations that are all sorts of mixed up, but it's a great way for both of us to learn. Her brother, Diego speaks English very well, so it's easier to slack with him, but I'm staying strong. I always say, "Parliamo in Italiano!" which just means, "Let's speak in Italian," but I know he wants to practice his English as well, so it looks like I'll be speaking a lot of Italiaglish during my stay :) Diana told me not to lose courage to speak in Italian when she leaves, though she did mention that she thought it was strange that I wanted to learn Italian because it is not an important language, like English, but that it was nice that I wanted to learn. Learning languages truly opens doors, so my goal is to learn Italian, than Spanish (because it's useful and similar to Italian) and keep going if I can!