another blast from the past

this was i think by far the best summer i`ve ever had. no enlightening moments like in japan; it was just crazy, fun, embarrassing at times, but always unforgettable...i learned alot about intl law, italy, people in general, and myself.

I had a great birthday. no bachlorette party or night club or anything...just a long dinner party then barhopping...we (read i) was drunk before we even left the restaurant to go to any bar (italian white wine gets me everytime) and then people were buying me all kinds of birthday drinks. i was so wasted by the time we got to the 3rd bar that i ended up walking home with this blue-eyed boy and fooled around for about 3 hours...sike! hahaha. D`s more than enough for me ;) My roommate didnt have such a great birthday because of some stupid boy she has this crazy crush on so the next night we had a girls` night. also this was my roommate`s friend`s last night in rome...first dinner at this great restaurant across the street from the residence and lots of house wine and pasta and seafood. then to one of the apartments with A/C where i tried some hash and we just played cards, listened to music, male-bashed for a little while (not me), drank more wine, smoked more hash...then 2 of the girls went on this secret mission and left for a few hours and 2 boys crashed the party (i told them they werent invited a few hours before) but they were fun so we let them stay...one of them made us a bong thingy for the hash.


2 days later we (the good girls and i) left for venice...almost missed the train because one of the girls didnt bring her reservation number and had to wait in this long line about 15 minutes before the train was departing...2 of us were on the train 5 minutes til departure and the other 2 were in line; i remember calling saying we`re getting off the train and we`ll just take the next one. but they made it on the train just before it started to pull off. turns out all you had to do was tell the conductor your seat number and poof your name appears on her pda and she prints out a ticket for you. Venice was amazing...i wish we had stayed longer. our apartment on the outside looked really sketchy and we were all worried because of our not too nice island apartment 2 weeks before...the front entrance looked like it would just crumble at any moment...old exposed brick and not in a good way. but once we went upstairs and opened our door we were all very relieved to find a very modern, fully renovated apartment with pretty much everything but A/C. We were all having some problems with the skeleton key locking the bathroom door the first night, and then the next morning i woke up because i kept hearing this jiggling noise. and I.O. was locked inside the bathroom. finally got her out after about an hour (maybe it was closer to a half hour, but it was still long, cause i took a couple of breaks to let the 2 other girls try to get her out). Didnt lock or shut the door after that.

And lots of other crazy adventures during those 6 weeks. Cant wait to go back!

ciao-ciao roma

my sister jinxed me when she asked if it had rained in rome recently. I went 5 weeks without rain since that crazy rain-hailstorm i got caught in with my roommate the first day i arrived. but last night we splashed our way up the hill anyway and had one last dinner party with dirty, wet roman feet and i didnt order the 4euro chianti. dinner in italy is always fun because no one will rush you to leave so u can just chat for hours-trying to decide if you want to order another course or not-until finally you have to beg/chase someone down to give you the check (which always takes another 15-20 minutes to arrive).

yesterday morning we finally made it to the vatican museum up the street and braved the line which turned out to be moving pretty quickly and the gelati made the heat more bearable...inside in less than 30 minutes. however the main event, the sistine chapel, was surprisingly lackluster and last night i had to throw out my fav green shoes of all time and this morning my last 2 rome buddies left and i still have a final exam to turn in and i have to pack and clean up this apartment.

but...i get to watch the world cup final tomorrow (italy v france) on some big screens with a bunch of drunk, crazy fans somewhere not in campo di fuori (maybe i`ll buy a little italian flag). the metro is on strike today...maybe the taxi drivers will go on strike again right on time for the world cup game ;)

plus i have a couple more days to visit things like the famous jazz club around the corner, the open air markets, villa borghese, maybe buy that yellow dress and have one last clubbing night in tesstachio? ;) And/or i could just pack and type my final and stuff myself with my last pizzas and pasta and gelati ever (or atleast for a year). hmmm i should also go eat one last big tasty for moni and grab a milkshake for io (the least i can do for friends). cant eat like this back in philly.

ciao-ciao roma.
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i will not drink vino again...

i keep getting drunk and embarassing myself (and possibly others). and this time i cant even blame it on my roommates and the rest of the cast because they`re all gone now...left for greece last night (i had to pass on spending 4 days on an island w/ them). i can blame them for monday night`s adventure that thanks to the taxi strike took half of us 2 hours to get to this bar-club thing that io and i thought really suck (we wanted a real club). but they loved it because of the really cheap drinks plus all the girls did bodyshots while one of the bartenders videotaped (another first for me). plus sketchy italians trying to kiss you after one dance or just rest their heads on your slightly exposed right boob (took me a minute to realize this one because i thought it was io or one of our drunk boys). besides the tequila and yager shots, we (read i) were gulping down sex on the beaches (delicious) and something blue (io) and just got really really really drunk...watched my roommate have a serious makeout session with one of the girl bartenders, played with some italian`s curly fro, drank half of M`s beer when he went to the bathroom and blamed it on froguy, and told C all, and i mean all, my business...i wasnt so sure we would make it back home without a taxi. but we did and it only took us a 20 minute bus ride and peeing behind a kiosk (not so easy at 4am drunk). didnt make the 8am trip to the vatican museum. didnt pay for anything either so wasnt that bad afterall. But getting drunk from 4 glasses of white wine at the restaurant next to our apartment building last night was horrible...the wine here, even the cheap house wine, is so good i cant help ordering it. the good girls left me in my empty apartment but of course i left again (even though i couldnt find my keys i just kept my door open) to go hang out with some other people because i wasnt tired yet and i was doing a really bad job drunk dialing people back home. i dont remember everything i said but i will definitely be avoiding certain people today. i will not drink vino again...i will not drink vino...i will not drink.

no worries ivana

note on the post below: although most of the quotes were in fact said by me (or directed at me) and most of the things mentioned happened to me, it`s all fun craziness nothing scary. i am still very much the same person i was before i came to Rome...ive never had a high tolerance for alcohol (still dont) and ive only tried drugs (the hash) once in my life...definitely still love to party...went out last night because one of my roommates was leaving for philly in the morning. And we`re going to see the FREE Black Eyed Peas Concert around the corner from the university tonight. As much fun as i`m having though, I`m sooo homesick. Even wanted to switch tickets with my roommate...if i could see the concert first ;)

so dont worry. i`m not doing anything stupid or regrettable...off to school for the A/C and a review session.

what happens in roma, stays in roma...

okay maybe not when half the people here are from your school...


crazy bar-hopping birthday

girls night hash party crashed

drunk before the pub crawl even started

almost missed the train to venice (almost missed the train back to rome too)

outside sketchy crumbling walls, exposed brick not in a good way apartment that was fully renovated on the inside

tube top disaster (funny moments) at the club; dancing on the hip-hop stage in florence for 2+ hours

cheek-pinching-rubbing your back waiters in venice and florence

locked in the bathroom

stefano the gondolier who adores black women

gondolier in training outfit

writing names on the wall leading into the florence museum to see Michaelangelo`s David

meeting up with my "high on ecstasy" roommates at same club in florence

chubby finger in the middle of my pizza

naked (and still a little drunk) in the sauna during business class

half a bottle of chianti to myself

fav quotes:
"YOU went on the pub crawl??!?"

"oh that was `maureen` (wink, try not to laugh) with the camera at the club in florence (we got a pic of you making out too :)"

"isnt t*a*ku cute?"

"[..] 10 times better when you`ve smoked some weed...only one of you should smoke though" (i.o. advice)

"can i ask you a question: why dont you do your hair?"

"wanna try some (insert whatever meat dish i`m eating)?" me asking one of the vegetarians

"eeehhh?...eeehh?" (i.o. trying out her japanese on taku :)

"ive never seen flat spring rolls before...you get 2 for 1?...wow that`s a huge bottle of water...why didnt we try this restaurant earlier?" (us pretending it was our first time at the chinese restaurant near the school)

"did you eat my yogurt?"

"hey do you still need to buy deodorant..."

"why does she sweat so much?"

"i can eat shrimp because shrimp are bad.." (says the vegetarian with no deodorant who was attacked by a school of shrimp in grade school)

"why are our beds pushed together?"

"who said i was black?...(after gondolier stefano denies my request that he sing to us and suggests we sing something since black women have the best voices)

"no...you love mon*ic*a"

"let`s go to McDonald`s!"

"i`m not drunk...just a little tipsy"

"are you okay?" "you look like you`re hurting"

"the limoncello is the yellow one; the yager is mine"

"i wanna go to the partay"

"i think i`ll order 2 things" (me and moni)

"a drunk dog has three legs"

"why`d u leave me on the elevator"

"i wasnt sleeping...i was just resting my head"

"my name is Ka*Se*Tttta" (emphasis on the "ta")

"...saved the shortest for last" (mon at the banquet)

"all i need is a little bit..."

"oops...was i loud?"

"well atleast someone is getting some"

"from now on, im not drinking any more...[big smile here]"

"i`m not drunk...i just feel hot. feel my head/neck."

"my fingers are all tingly"

"is that an italian professor sitting next to you?" (me asking my IBT professor about this really cute guy who happened to be another rome professor`s husband)

"what`s that thing on your neck?"

"are you wearing a skirt?" "do you have another one (for me)?" "oh...i should know that since i`m half indian"(me asking one of the guys)

"eeww...is that his butt crack?" (referring to same guy from a balcony 2 floors above)

"do you watch german midget porn right here (on the bed i was sitting on)?" (still the same guy)

"come back, zak"

when in rome...

my birthday is tomorrow, monday, but i`ve been partying since thursday...skipped the beach trip this morning but dont think i can pass tomorrow night because my roommate and i have the same birthday. last night wasnt so bad...we just went to this bar-club to watch the world cup game and then stayed to dance (all 90s hip-hop for some reason) for a little while and i didnt drink much at all (and passed on all the free drinks i was offered). but then most of the group went to a second bar afterwards and ended up in a middle of some fight with riot cars and everything...one of the guys was trying to stop a fight and got hit in the head with a bottle, tooth chipped and bloody lip, and was actually handcuffed until 2 of the girls begged for him to be released somehow...a few of us got a cab back home to hang out at the apartments because i knew some drunk american or italian might start something.

it really is like some crazy eurotrip: drugs (popping and snorting ritalin???!!!, smoking weed/hash, whatever else they do when i dont hang out with them), alcohol (tequila, yager bombs, limoncello shots are really good though), sex (not me), and some sightseeing in between. i mean it is a lot of fun, but not when you cant remember someone getting beat up (not me) and not when you can`t hold your alcohol (that`s me). i think it`s so ironic that i ended up with roommates that are the leaders of the "cool" group in this summer program...jocks and party animals who are a really bad influence (and half of them are on Pass/Fail for the summer because they dont go to temple). my legs were still hurting from thursday night clubbing until 4am but i went to my 10am class tried and not completely sober yet.

havent missed any classes yet and dont plan to because i`m definitely getting grade boosts for all the participation...i love my intl business law class and im always talking in that class...will be really shocked if i dont get A`s in both classes. and goal #2 is exploring italy so i usually hang out with some quieter friends during most of the week. we tried to go to the vatican museum yesterday and rolled out of bed at 8:30 and the line stretched for a mile seriously ( i still cant believe we live like around the corner from the pope) so we just walked up the street to this famous castel and then over to the famous avenues. oh and i got a "big tasty" from the mcdonald`s directly across from the pantheon...was craving beef and convinced the quiet group to "research" the mcdonald`s with me ;)

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father`s day...havent seen my dad in months so dont think it will matter if i dont call him from italy. my brother`s about to be a father soon, hopefully not before i get back home, and i`ll have another niece to spoil like crazy.

Rome`s poor seems to be limited to a young women sitting on the ground with a small child in her lap or an old woman on all fours, bowed head holding out a cup. it caught me off guard at first because they would be sitting right at the entrance or stairs of some major tourist attraction or basilica. as soon as you step in or open the door, she`s there waiting. japan`s poor was always well hidden and the police liked to shuffle them from one park to another...i never saw any in the train stations.

the island i went to this past weekend, ventotene, was full of immigrants from the former ussr who spoke a weird dialect that confused even the italian tourists. the apartments/condos/houses we stayed in were spread around the center of the island and the area where i stayed made me think of mexico because of all the lizards and exotic wildlife and spanish-style homes. ive never been to mexico but i imagine (and from the few movies ive seen) it would be like that island.

rome also has a very diverse population of immigrants from north africa to yugoslavia to china to india...although it seems like most of them make a living in the services or by selling bootleg prada and gucci to american tourists. some have souvenir stands set up. but except for the puma store we went to last week havent seen any working in the restaurants or shops. there are a few asian restaurants near the major train stations though.

the men, as beautiful as the women sometimes, can be pretty aggressive and bold...they stare at every part of your body without shame and try to get your attention by saying "bella this or that" or some weird english mixture (we went to a few parties/bars in ventotene and i remember this one guy kept saying he loved me ?!?). and you try not to laugh so they wont be encouraged or follow you. but they seem harmless, despite all the warnings we were given before we arrived, although i havent walked the streets by myself yet. the older men are the funniest.

i feel like all i do is walk and eat and walk and eat some more. no wonder europeans are so much thinner than americans. i`m eating tons of carbs everyday, 4-5 meals a day, with plenty of wine and cheese, and i`ve actually lost weight since i left home. it`s great: all you can eat pasta and pizza and gelati without worrying about your figure (reading your weight in kilos doesnt hurt either...small, comforting numbers compared to pounds). i actually have to force myself to eat more some days so i wont wake up feeling starved because of all the calories ive burned exploring rome. was not feeling the croissant and cafe for breakfast though, so i gave in and bought cheerios today.

Took me long enough

i couldve sworn i wrote something on this blog more recent than the November post below ;)

anyway, I just finished my first year of law school, never been so excited to go back to school. Taking International Business Transactions and International Litigation/Arbitration at Temple`s Rome campus right now which is pretty amazing. They have us in these really nice apartments with a balcony, bidet, kitchen, living room, wireless, maid service everyday, and a 24hour concierge. We live 2 blocks from this huge open market where you can buy anyything from fresh fruit to pillows for really cheap. and if you want to take a break, plenty of restaurants, bars, cafes lining the streets as well. there`s also plenty of specialty stores and a supermarket very close. ive been walking to school everyday (about 40 minutes unless you get sidetracked by the pears or croissants). Dont even have to speak italian for the most part you can point or try to read the menus or someone might know a little english...but i`m finding it pretty easy to pick up and i learned some very basic phrases before coming. Italians have a siesta from about 1 or 2-4 so most restaurants (sometimes banks and museums as well) are closed and then reopen for dinner...but you can always get food at a bar or cafe.

Havent seen too much of the big sites yet, but we live about 5 blocks from vatican city and i can walk to the spanish steps and pantheon and colloseum from school. Going to Pompeii and then the Capri islands for the upcoming three day weekend-we get to say in 2 or 3 bedroom condos. Very excited because this will be my first island/beach experience outside of the U.S....Japan`s beaches were horrible. Rome is kinda reminding me of disney world with all the crowds and exhibits. if the crowds with their cameras arent enough, there`s a mcdonald`s a few feet away from both the pantheon and spanish steps (wouldnt be surprised to find a walmart around the corner from the colosseum in a few years ;). people are friendly for the most part, and despite all the scary stories i havent been robbed or attacked by a group of children or italian men yet. some areas are a little dirty and sometimes if you`re lucky you`ll get on the train covered with grafitti. you do have to be extremely careful crossing the streets though, especially with all the motorbikes creating their own lanes and going down 1 way streets and driving on the pavement and racing thru the old alleys and avenues full of hundreds of people. everyone has those very tiny smart cars so they can park halfway on the pavement or even perpendicular to the street however they can fit into the space. ive only seen 1 stop sign since ive been here and unlike in london pedestrians have the right of way at their own risk.

they have trolleys with their own exclusive lanes in some parts of the city (i didnt see any in london). you can just hop on a bus or on the train without showing a ticket because the transportation system is based on an honor code; if caught without a ticket or an unvalidated ticket then you pay a fine of 50-500 Euros. i always see people buying tickets and monthly passes so they must check every now and then, but no one`s asked to see my train/bus pass yet. The italians do not understand the concept of waiting in a line when there`s a huge crowd trying to get gelatti or coffee so dont even bother trying to figure out who`s next. and as a general rule you pay first, so crowd the cashier and shout your order, and then rush the counter. at the non-touristy cafes you dont have to worry about crowds or making a mad dash. wine and beer here are cheaper than bottled water...seriously. the food-no atkins diet here-is amazing of course and because i walk so much im always eating...even though it looks like ive lost weight already in only a week. my roommate likes to cook so we have dinner parties alot and i kinda got a little drunk from only 3 or 4 glasses of wine last night but no harm done.

London reminded me a lot of boston, only much much more expensive and much bigger of course. Very clean city, extremely beautiful with lots of public parks, very diverse, loved the doubledecker buses. my cousins took me on the London Eye first which is this huge ferris wheel thing where you can see big ben, west minister abbey etc etc from all different heights and angles. a really great panaramic view of the city better than the view from the eiffel tower i thought. i want to go back to london for a longer visit; i could live there if they banned smoking in all public places. beautiful apartments and homes which im sure cost an arm and a leg but are worth it. dont have to worry too much about being hit by a bus or motorcycle, or people jumping in front of you for tea.

i`ll try to post something once a week. ciao!