My Walk Around Rome

Yesterday was beautiful that I decided to adventure out by myself and explore Rome. I had a lovely walk to the Largo Di Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary, Piazza Venezia, The Collesuium and Via Del Corso. 

The Largo Di Torre Argentina  is square in Rome, Italy, that hosts four Republican Roman temples, and the remains of Pompey's Theatre. It is also the home of the cats from the Argentina Cat Sanctuary which is a no-kill shelter for homeless cats (of which Rome has many). This historical area provides a safe place for the cats to eat, sleep and play. The shelter's volunteers provides these little furballs with all the care they need. I have yet to volunteer for them, but I did go and take some lovely photos of the kitties.

 Then I continued my walk by heading towards the Piazza Venezia. This piazza lies between the South end of Via del Corso and the Roman Forum. The piazza is home to The Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II (National Monument to Victor Emmanuel II). It  is a monument built to honor Victor Emmanuel, the first king of a unified Italy. The monument was designed by Giuseppe Sacconi in 1885. It was inaugurated in 1911 and completed in 1935. It has acquire a bit of a controversial reputation, because its construction destroyed a large area of the Capitoline Hill with a Medieval neighborhood for its sake (it is often referred to as "The Wedding Cake" because it's alittle over-the-top) but it is pretty non-the-less.

 My last stop of the day was at the Colosseum. It was fully packed with people, so I couldn't get inside but I took some pictures of the outside. The Colosseum's original Latin name was Amphitheatrum Flavium, often anglicized as Flavian Amphitheater. The building was constructed by emperors of the Flavian dynasty, hence its original name, after the reign of Emperor Nero. The Colosseum was used to host gladiatorial shows as well as a variety of other events. The shows, called munera, were always given by private individuals rather than the state. They had a strong religious element but were also demonstrations of power and family prestige, and were immensely popular with the population. Another popular type of show was the animal hunt, or venatio. This utilized a great variety of wild beasts, mainly imported from Africa and the Middle East, and included creatures such as rhinoceros, hippopotamuses, elephants, giraffes, lions, panthers, leopards, bears,  tigers, crocodiles and ostriches. Battles and hunts were often staged amid elaborate sets with movable trees and buildings. Watch The Gladiator  and that will give you a better idea on how it was used.

 

 And then I started heading back home. I love how close I am to everything. It took me about 25 minutes to walk from my apartment to the Coleseum. 

Ciao Ciao!

Kathleen

A Late Valentine's Gift to You All....

I just read this in my poetry class in honor of Valentine's Day :D

Litany By Billy Collins

You are the bread and the knife,
The crystal goblet and the wine...
-Jacques Crickillon

You are the bread and the knife,
the crystal goblet and the wine.
You are the dew on the morning grass
and the burning wheel of the sun.
You are the white apron of the baker,
and the marsh birds suddenly in flight.

However, you are not the wind in the orchard,
the plums on the counter,
or the house of cards.
And you are certainly not the pine-scented air.
There is just no way that you are the pine-scented air.

It is possible that you are the fish under the bridge,
maybe even the pigeon on the general's head,
but you are not even close
to being the field of cornflowers at dusk.

And a quick look in the mirror will show
that you are neither the boots in the corner
nor the boat asleep in its boathouse.

It might interest you to know,
speaking of the plentiful imagery of the world,
that I am the sound of rain on the roof.

I also happen to be the shooting star,
the evening paper blowing down an alley
and the basket of chestnuts on the kitchen table.

I am also the moon in the trees
and the blind woman's tea cup.
But don't worry, I'm not the bread and the knife.
You are still the bread and the knife.
You will always be the bread and the knife,
not to mention the crystal goblet and--somehow--the wine. 







I hope ya'll got a good laugh out of this, I certainly did! He is making fun of the absurdity of love sonnets. Billy Collins is ingenious :)


And in light of Billy Collins, I have created my own silly sonnet:


You are the cheese to my macaroni.



You are the very essence of my detergent, the flowery freshness to my sheets,
And the very socks that warm my feet,
The shiny rolls of the aluminum foil cannot describe the instense glow that bounces from my eyes when I look at you,
For you are my gloopy glue that holds my heart in two.
 
Indeed you are the lighter to my gas stove.
The autocorrect to my iphone,
And the mozzarella cheese to my pizza.
My love to you is like the smile of Mona Lisa,

For you are the cheese to my macraroni.




Happy Valentines Day!! :)

Relfection #1

In November I blogged about things that I was worried about doing in Rome, but now that I have been here a month, I can put some of those worries to rest :)

Here was my orginal list:

Things I am Worried About:
1) Saying goodbye to everyone here. I will miss you all!
2) Will I be homesick?
3) What does Culture Shock actually feel like? Will I experience it?
4)I wonder what its like to do laundry over there?
5) Is there internet?
6) How do I order a cup of coffee?
7) Will I be able to cook?
8) Are Italian men really as flirtatious as people say they are?

1) I still miss you all!! I wish you all could come here so I can show you what an amazing place Italy is.
2) Yes, but I think we all are a bit homesick. I miss my family, friends and cats, hot water, dryers, normal showers, regular pavement, big cups of coffee and English but being away from all of that just makes me appreciate it more!
3) Still experiencing it. When I first got here none of it seemed real, like I was on the set of a movie. It is very overwhelming at first. Most of the places Ive gone, I have been with Americans so it hasnt been too bad yet.
4) Laundry is a 4 day process. There is no dryer, so we have to air dry all of our clothes. Jeans take forever to dry out completely!! I learned very quickly that it is a bad idea to wash all my underwear at once because it takes them a day or two to dry!
5) Yes, but it is sketchy and slow. The first week I was here our internet did not work, so we had to go to the bar across the street to use the wifi there.
6) I still am sketchy on that one. I usually make my own coffee with the Mochi that we have at home, or I buy an espresso from the coffee vending machines at school. They are the coolest things, those coffee vending machines. For .40 Euro cents you can get a little cup of espresso all made up for you, it even comes with a tiny spoon! I love it!
7) Yes, we can cook but it is different here. The stove is gas, and not automatic so we have to light it ourselves. That took some getting used to. We also don't have a microwave, I am still learning how to reheat something on the stove.
8) Yes, they are. End of story.

I will reflect about this again on March 8th!!

Ciao Ciao!

Guarda il neve! (Part 3)

If You Wish to Send Me Mail....

Send LETTERS to this address:

John Cabot University
Attention:KATHLEEN STAHLER
Via della Lungara 233
00165 - Rome, Italy

Send PACKAGES to this address:

Study Abroad Italy
Attention: KATHLEEN STAHLER
Via Corsini 1 int. 46
00165 Rome, ITALY

A special note about packages: Sending packages to Italy can be tricky. Families and friends should do their best NEVER to send you packages that risk getting held by Italian customs agents. During the last few semesters numerous students were unable to have packages released or had to pay exorbitant fees ranging from 100 euro to 500 euro in order to release them. Even simple items like candy and clothes will incur these charges. Computers or computer parts (battery chargers, etc.) often require fees close to 500 euro and sometimes the fees are even higher. Contacts and viatmins can also cause problems. Prescriptions are sometimes not released even when a fee is paid because they require health insurance documentation, so be sure to have all prescriptions filled (enough to last you the entire semester) before you arrive in Italy. Always write For "Personal Use" or "Used" on the outside of the package and we recommend declaring a the minimum value ($1.00). NEVER write the word medicine on the outside of a package. (courtesy of the SAI office)

Please note that it takes atleast 3-4 weeks for letters to arrive in Rome from the US.

Ciao Ciao!!
Kathleen

A tour of my kitchen

Here is a video I made this morning. Please excuse the awful background noise, our upstairs neighbors are using a jackhammer and a few elephants to build a spaceship.

Guarda il neve! (Part 2)

The snow is absolutely beautiful! We went on a walk today and took tons of pictures. Here are some of my favorites:

Guarda il neve!

I wasn't expecting to see snow this year, let alone here in Rome! It is a very pleasant surprise not only because IT IS SNOW but also because John Cabot shut down early and my classes were canceled! Remember when I said earlier that the cobblestones are slippery when they are wet? Well in the snow, they are icy sheets of death. Its like being on an ice rink without ice skates. I bought rain boots today that have good traction, so I should be okay.  They are pink!!!!

Rome is very unequipped for snow, so everything has shut down almost completely (except for the boot store which is making a ton of money). I think we are going to stare in this weekend, instead of going  out. Florence can wait until it is sunny! We are going to book our trips this weekend, we have narrowed it down to two trips: Paris and London (through Rick Steves). We are also going to book the Venice trip through SAI and a few of the day trips that are through John Cabot. Very exciting!!!

Here are some pictures of the snow!

Il Dulce Vita

Ciao from Rome!!

I have had quite a few adventures since I last updated. I've been very busy now that classes have started. I am really glad that I decided to take Italian 101, it's really helping me get around Rome! Now I can say "Ciao, come stai? Di dove se........?" and understand the answer.

My roommates and I have been trying to not eat just pizza and gelatto all the time, so we have made it a goal to homecook as many meals as possible. Its been working! We have made salmon, chicken, pork and even tried baking artichokes. Last Saturday we went to the farmers market in Campo Di Fiere and bought fresh fruits and veggies for the week. I also tried fresh squeezed pomegranate juice, it was delicious! I love all of this fresh food!

I finally joined the gym here, which was surprisingly a long and awkward process. I had to pay 20 euros to have a doctor check my heart beat by slopping this blue goo all over me and hooking me up to a machine. Then to check into the gym we have to check into with two different desks and  trade in our ID for a gym pass. It is worth it though because the gym has a Salsa dancing class! I made a work out schedule for myself, and I plan to stick with it. It's the only way to continue eating that gelatto!

Speaking of Gelatto, I have had some very tasty combinations here. My favorite so far has been Ameretto and Cafe at this place called Blue Ice. My favorite gelatto shop though is called Gelatti's by the Spanish Steps. There I had strawberry champagne flavor, which was delicious!

Highlights of these past few weeks:

 This is the gelatto we had at Gelatti's. It was so good! I really could eat this everyday. Yesterday I found 5 Gelatto spoons in my pocket, I think I might have an addiction problem.

 These are my lovely roommates; (from the left) Laura, Linda and Becca. Couldn't ask for better! We are having a ton of fun together!

 The wonderful dinner Laura cooked for all of us.  On the menu was; pork, salad, broccoli and wine. Yum!!

 This is the best Tiramisu in Trastevere! It is literally heaven in your mouth.

 This is a pomegranate juicer at the farmers market. He would juice the pomegranates right there and hand it to us freshly squeezed. It was soooooo good.

 This is part of Campo Di Fiere At night it is the hot spot to go for dinner and drinks, but in the daytime it is quite a lovely Farmer's Market.

 The Freshly squeezed Pomegranate juice!

 Strolling down the streets of Trastevere with our groceries from the farmer's market.

 This is a smaller version of the Colosseum near the center of Rome. We went through the archie site to get to this bakery that has the best chocolate chip cookies.

 They are SO good.

Fresh zucchini from the Farmers Market. We ate it last night with sauteed onions and eggplant.

Until next time!

Kathleen