One week in...

I've been in the lovely city of Roma for one week now :)

I still can't get enough of the city and can't even think of leaving it to travel elsewhere quite yet. Within these seven days I've encountered some challenges, found some new favorite things and made some accomplishments.

Challenges:

1. Where do we put our garbage? Which piazza has the truck at which day of the week and at what time of day and for which type of waste? Why are Italians so specific about their recycling? Does paper go in the blue bag or the white? What is that red bag for?....
2. My discussion-based European history class has only five other students and is intended for history majors...Food and Agriculture, here I come. (Learning about food is always more interesting than learning about early European wars in my mind, and my history professor reminded me of a LARPer...)
3. Power outages. Every time we try to run our dishwasher the power circuit breaks...repeatedly. I'm currently sitting in the living room in the dark.
4. Fish. I decided to be brave and order fish at a restaurant. It was very authentic...the head was on my plate. I'll wait to order fish again when I'm back in the U.S., I prefer pizza here.
5. Mon cheri....dark chocolates filled with cherry liqueur. You think it would be delicious. It isn't. I rinsed out the liqueur and ate just the chocolate.
6. My bed. Definitely not my comfy mattress at home with two layers of memory beneath two plush mattress covers. I think the pillows are 80% dust mites by now....icky.

New favorites:

1. Pizza, gelato. cappuccino. mozzarella bufala. pork panino. I am still searching for my favorite places to eat but there are more than enough good restaurants and cafes to keep me occupied this semester.
2. Wine. Tonight I had my first professional wine tasting. 3 white, 3 red, 1 dessert. The variety ranged from the cheapest bottles costing less than 5 euro, to nice wines costing over 50. Now I know what is good and can't wait to continue to refine my palate.
3. Grocery shopping. Way better than DC’s Safeway. My fresh veggies come from the open market at Campo di Fiori, bread from the local bakery, and cheese is fresh from the formaggeria. There are so many food options I hardly know where to begin!
4. Window shopping. My plan for the weekend is to make some memorable purchases. Apparently all the best shopping is by the Spanish Steps, so that's where I'll be! I'll be looking for new boots :) Apparently January is the month for sales, as the word "saldi" is in every store window!
5. Nutella. Yes, I gave in. Usually I don't go for the chocolate-hazelnut combo, but this wonderful spread goes well with everything. Bread, crackers, apples, crepes...the possibilities are endless.
6. The weather: 60°F and sunny. It is perfect for walking around the city, getting myself lost and eating gelato!

Accomplishments:

1. Navigation. I can (finally!) walk by myself from my apartment to both campuses!
2. Speaking Italian. With the help of my professors, my roommates, and the Italians that I encounter in stores and restaurants my language skills are definitely improving!
3. Free stuff. As posted earlier, I already won a free trip to Siena and even got a free Italian textbook today! Is this luck or destiny telling me never to leave this city?
4. Battle: cobblestone streets v. Laura. So far, I'm winning. No falling yet but I have not attempted to wear heels yet.


Lastly, here are some pictures from my walking tour of ancient Rome last weekend. I'll be taking a tour of fountains and piazzas this weekend!