First Day in Rome

Warning… typos are my specialty. I just type and I don’t really spell check so if there are funny mistakes I’m sorry.

Okay, now that I have warned you about my mistakes, I can begin with my blog.

Wow. All I can say is wow. I cannot believe that I am here! It is a surreal experience. Even though that I have traveled all over the world, it still amazes me that anyone can get on a plane and fly to a completely different part of the world and get there in one piece.
After this one day of traveling I have realized many things about myself and about situations a foreigner faces.

(I have decided that I will try to provide a section of what I have learned about myself and what I have learned about being a foreigner in another country. Also I plan on providing random tips on various subjects. I plan to also have a section that talks about my day. This will be list of things that happened. One more thing I plan to have is an appreciation for wine meter…hehe )

About Myself
I love learning different languages! I think I would like to live here. I’m actually speaking Italian to people. Today I asked for “the same thing” in Italian when I ordered Nutella gelato. (I can say it really well, but I do not know how to spell it.) It was awesome! The man even understood me. My friends here say that I have a really good accent. I don’t know if it is true.

A good tip on how to speak Italian: Relish every syllable that you say! If you say everything in the most expressive way possible, Italian will come so easily.

About being a Foreigner
IT IS HARD~ (If you do not know the language, the culture, the customs, and cultural quirks.) I never realized what it was like to truly feel like an outsider. It is really scary. I think if I were here by myself I would have a tough time. Since there are many people in the program, I do not feel so intimidated, but I think when I am by myself I will not know what to say.

My day: Today I arrived in FCO and it was very cool and a bit cloudy. We took a taxi because a woman on the plane helped us get a good deal on a taxi. I packed the perfect amount of clothing because everything is so cute here that I want to buy it ALL! I found out that I live in the second housing option, which is called “Vaticano.” I live so close to the Vatican that it is utterly insane! Today I met Emanuele. He is a native to Rome who I met on skype. He is 20 years old and probably the most adorable thing in the world. He is very sweet and sincere. He helped me SO much because I had to run many errands (Make copies of documents, get a SIM card, find Nabihah a phone, get food for the next day at a supermarket). We ended up accomplishing almost everything, which is really awesome because in Italy there is NO one-stop shop. If you need something you have to go to a small shop that only does/carries that one thing. It is a bit inconvenient but it adds to the character of the city (and this city is bursting with character).
An example of what not to do when you do not know the language of a country you are visiting: Do not just giggle nervously when someone speaks to you in a language you do not know. For example, Nabihah, Emanuele and I went to a cell phone shop to get my SIM card. When we got inside there were too people who could not speak Italian and Emanuele was helping translate for them. He stepped outside with them to point out where they should go which left Nabihah and I in the shop alone with the merchant behind the counter. He started to speak to us in Italian and Nabihah and I both did not know what he was saying. Very slowly Nabihah said “Non PAY-lo Italian” and giggled. But even after our lame attempt, after we sounded SO not Italian, the man continued to talk at the same speed but loudly and in Italian. Nabihah and I did not know what to do. We both wished that we knew what to say, but we really didn’t so we smiled. Then, I was too shy to try and speak. Note: that statement is coming from a girl who has no shame. This shows how intimidating it is being a foreigner.

After we ran a few errands the rain was starting to get really bad so we went back to the apartment. Emanuele showed me a bunch of websites that he said would be important. One was for learning the public transportation system and the other was a university site. He also showed me his favorite Oasis site. Hehe (He loves him so Oasis).

After he showed me some useful sites, we had to turn in papers at the main residence. After that we went food shopping at Todis, which is a local discount super market. Emanuele helped us a lot there too. He told us many helpful things like what milk to buy, what cookies are his favorite, and which cheese is best of pasta and which is best for eating plain. He also said that if I want to know how to pick the best of any fruit of vegetable that I should ask an old woman. After I said okay he said, “But for this you will have to ask in Italian. Maybe later you can, but for now is ok.” He even helped me with bagging my food. Nicki, my other roommate, said that he was only helping bag my things because he likes me, but I do not think that true.

Later on that night we went to a complimentary dinner that EAP hosted for us. I had the best cheese pizza in the world.

Good tip about Italian pizza: Just because the crust of the pizza is burnt does not mean they kept it in the oven too long or that they made a mistake. The burnt edges are the best parts! Eat them and love them!

After dinner we all went to the apartment below and had some wine with people (don’t worry Mom… not too much hehe). It was fun, but I was so tired from the whole trip that I was falling asleep in my chair. The combination of the wine and the jet lag really helped me sleep through the night.

Well that is it for day one. I will write again soon. Ciao.

Phrase of the day: Non, is for children. – Nabihah tried to put something in the small part of the shopping cart where babies sit and Emanuele advised against it.


Sareet, Nabihah, and Me on the plane to NY.

Small gathering with wine that we had the first night in Rome.

It was snowing when we flew over NY!!!! It was awesome!

This is our kitchen in the apartment.

Me on the plane!

Sareet and Nabihah on the plane