yesss

On Sunday it was so beautiful and we got a little taste of spring. The weather was so beautiful that we all just sat in the sun, in a park near the colosseum. Ah, it was a perfect day!

On Tuesday I MOVED! I love my new apartment. I am living with a girl from work Shauna who is also from the west coast (Oregon). She is great and we are both so happy to live in a place near work. To me, it could not get more perfect. My old living situation was less than ideal so it is like a palace to me!! :)

More pictures from the park...the sun was going down but that is the colosseum behind me. 

La Vita e BELLA

I am doing well! For the first time since coming to Rome I feel settled and like I am actually LIVING HERE and it feels great!

Missing everyone still!

xoxo

This a picture inside the colosseum in Rome. Kelly, the girl in the red came to Rome just to take the class to get certified to teach English but actually lives and teaches in Korea. It was her last day and she still hadn't been so we all went and made a day of it...(after we saw the colosseum we had a picnic in the grass and drank some delicious vino! :) )

I am slowly but surely starting to feel more comfortable with my situation in Rome. It has been an overwhelming six weeks, stressful and wonderful at the same time, but I would not trade it for anything. I am finally beginning to get more of a grasp on the language. I still have soooo far to go, but it is coming along. I can pick up phrases and words and understand a lot more now than I could a few weeks ago! Teaching has also gotten easier and I think I am improving in that area as well. I have some great students who are so wonderful people and who I have become friends with!

My impression of Italy is worlds away than it was when I was studying here. I have met so many more Italians this time around and have learned a lot more about their culture, politics (a very touchy subject here), and way of life. Many of them can't understand why I have come here to teach English when all the opportunity in the world is in front of me in the United States. It is unfortunate but there is not much opportunity for people to advance in the world force here. I find their lifestyle and approach to relationships with others very appealing though. Dinners last for hours, they can be so helpful and kind, and truly enjoy the company of others, they spend hours walking in parks...la dolce vita. 

An Italian Dinner

My Italian roommates insisted on cooking dinner for a few of my American friends on Saturday night. I assumed some pasta and wine…but they prepared a 3 course meal. Bruscetta, lasagna and then chicken and potatoes. All home made (I had my American friend who can speak fluent Italian tell them I could taste the all the love!). It was such a delicious meal. They are so incredibly hospitable. And all of them are amazing cooks and so inviting. Dinner lasted about three or four hours, la dolce vita! J

It was so nice and so much fun. Since there were a couple of translators at the dinner (my American friend and one of my roommates who can speak English pretty well) a few issues from last week got cleared up for me. For instance: when I moved in I was told Stephania (one of the girls in my room), had a “phantom.” This was their English description of something that Stephania does and I was definitely not clear on what they meant by this…I just sort of laughed and remained confused not really understanding what they were meaning. Well last week in the middle of the night Stephania and Anna (my other roommate) were having a full on conversation at about 3am. I am a light sleeper and was really frustrated by this, especially since I had to get up early for work. I couldn’t say that I was angry because I can’t say it in Italian and they can’t understand English, but after they turned the light on I sat up in bed and gave them a what-are-you-doing-right-now! Kind of look…it turns out that Stephania’s “phantom” is that she talks in her sleep a lot and usually it doesn’t make sense (at this stage of my Italian I would not be able to tell the difference, so to me it sounded like she was trying to have a conversation with Anna). So Stephania’s “phantom” always wakes Anna up and she has to wake Stephania up to tell her to go back to sleep. THAT is what happened, but I just thought that they were being rude! We all had a nice long laugh when we figured out the communication errors.

Some other funny translation/interpretation struggles:

When I was doing the dishes and my roommate Rina insisted on doing them. She wanted to say, “I will wash them.” But said, “Wash me.”

Or when my roommate Stephania was telling me about how she studied Psychology in school and was telling me why she is not yet a Psychologist. She meant to say, “It’s a long road,” but she said, “The street is very wide.”

I am constantly making these same mistakes when I try to speak in Italian, and usually get a lot of laughs as I struggle to ask simple questions to my roommates (it is all in good fun of course). It’s important to remember to have a sense of humor! …I am learning that it is the most important thing to take with you when you travel.

Over all, life is good here in Rome! I have met some really great people and have already had some great times. I am teaching at The New British Center in Rome. The students are all levels ranging from beginner English speakers to advanced English speaker. I have found that I like teaching beginner-intermediate best, but I enjoy all the levels, and have realized that I love teaching. I am still in the process of being trained by the school I am working for and I am ready to feel more comfortable and get into the swing of things.

Still missing everyone, but I am doing great J

“You can kiss your family and friends goodbye and put miles between you but at the same time you carry them with you in your heart and in your mind, because you do not just live a world, but a world lives in you.”