The next two weeks we took turns working in Rome and in Tivoli designing a museum on the site of Hadrian's Villa. The groups consisted of five Italians and one PSU Arch and one PSU Larch. Our group, aside from not letting us do any of the design work, was really nice. They even invited us to their house one day and cooked us a real Italian pasta lunch. At the end there was an award ceremony in which my team sadly did not win anything. Then there was another champagne party for us on a rooftop terrace in center Rome. Overall it was a good experience to work with Italian students and get special treatment at archeological sites, but I am glad it is over now!
So basically I live in Piazza Navona, the largest and most famous one in all of Rome. Our residents are on the third floor of a church designed by Bernini, a famous architect. There are three sides of hallways surrounding an inner courtyard. Two hallways have bathrooms, kitchens, and rooms, while the third is the entrance, common room, and what we call the internet cafe (aka the hallway everyone sits in order to get a good wireless signal). Danielle and I live together across the hall from some Larch boys we met. They are awesome and so is the one boys girlfriend. It is pretty much the six of us doing everything together. We cook meals a lot for the whole group and also have "family" dinners on Sunday nights where we dress up and go out to eat. We shop at really small grocery stores that have the basics, including 87 euro cent boxed wine! We eat mostly pasta and sometimes salad or chicken. We recently discovered tortillas so our next mission is quesadillas! We have also been to the beach in Ostia which was really nice. The water was beautiful, clear, and warm but the sand, as soft as it was, was black as night because it came from lava. Another thing that isn't too far off from home: there is a bar a few doors down from our house that is an American bar and shows all of the football games. The owner is from Pennsylvania so PSU is actually a priority there. All of the students from past semesters have signed flags that are hanging on the wall.
As far as classes go, I am taking four. Studio of course is the major class that takes up most of time. This semester we are designing a piazza that is to be combined with an open air market and commercial front residential buildings. The site is really close to the Colosseum so I am there at least twice a week. The next class is basic Italian for beginners. Our teacher does not really speak English that well so as to be imagined the class is very slow as she tries to explain things in English. Then I have cartography which is awful. The teacher is really scary and he yells a lot about random things. Once a week we have a lecture and the second meeting of the week consists of four hour walking tours across Rome. We are graded on maps we draw of the routes we take each week! My last class is just a basic history on Rome and the different styles and types of architecture that can be found here.
Other than that it is still pretty much like normal life. Some changes to get used to but overall it has been great. I feel like I already forget what it is like to live in America. The other day I heard a police siren and it is so different from the ones at home. I then tried to picture an American siren in my head and I still can't figure it out!! That's fine though I guess soon enough I will hear it again. For now I will just enjoy the time I have to listen to European sirens!
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