Europe :)

Sorry this has taken so long to update but the internet is very spotty and I don't have access to it much!! Plus, I had finals last week in Roma, which took up quite a bit of my time, but now I am done with the tough finals!!

The picture above is my friend Ron and I at the European Constitutional Court. We got to go on the terrace and had a speaker. Basically the equivalent of the Supreme Court! Very cool!!

We got to Strasbourg on Monday for the focus on gender in the law and international human rights and the institutional field study. It is extremely interesting and we spend our class periods talking about international human rights topics. We took a bus to Luxembourg today (GORGEOUS CITY) and we get to visit the European Union's International Court of Human Rights tomorrow which should be very interesting :)

Last week was basically spent on finals, and the week went by extremely fast!! It was kind of sad to say goodbye to some of these people I have spent the last month with. You become extremely close because you spend every waking moment with these people!

We had a final banquet at a restaurant called the View in which Justice and Professor Ginsburgs attended. The view from the restaurant was amazing and we had a great time!

This past weekend I went to Amsterdam which is another gorgeous city. I cannot wait to go back some day!! The weather was more my style--around 65-70 degrees which was a welcome change from the 100 degree weather of Roma!!

I will be in Strasbourg until next Friday and then I am going to Paris with some friends and meeting up with Heather and Whitney!! YAYYYYY!!!!! This weekend I am not going anywhere as I am running low on funds (hint hint mom and dad). The rest of the group is going to Paris o see the end of the Tour de France!! That would be sooo amazing!!

Well better jet--I am extremely tired!!

Week Three!!

I apologize in advance for how short this is going to be as I am studying for finals that are on Friday while trying to incorporate all of the "last minute" sightseeing and goal accomplishing that I need to do!! There are still so many things I wanted to do, but our days seem to be so packed with activities and lectures that it makes it diffcult to do anything else!

Last week we begun our lectures by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg which were amazing. She is one of the most intriguing people I have met and she is so intelligent it is indescribile.

Last week I also went to the Vatican museum and saw all of the historical artwork there and the Sistine Chapel. We also visited the tombs of all of the Popes and St Peters. We then found an amazing, cheap little pizzeria and had dinner.

This past weekend, I went to Cinque Terre which translates to 5 lands or 5 villages. We hiked for about 6 hours on Friday from town to town. If you don't know much about Cinque Terre you should google it. It was a beautiful vacation and it was fun to lay on the beach, hike, and swim all weekend. We went Thursday through Sunday and got back that night.

This week we have a final banquet (tonight) and a visit to the Supreme Court of Italy (Thursday) and studying for finals while trying to get in the last few sights and pack for France!! This weekend, we have a three day break before going to Strasbourg and we are taking off for Amsterdam!!

Ciao!!

Week Two

I haven't been very good at updating this but that is because I had a final last week! I will try harder :)

This is the view from the top of the Attorney General's office. We had a special invite to hear the top attorneys of Italy speak on various topics from civil law, to criminal, to tax, etc. The language barrier was a little difficult and it was, like usual, hot as crap in the building. It boggles my mind that Italians do not seem to notice the lack of air conditioning. I thought I was going to fall asleep because it was sooooo hot in there! This picture is taken on the rooftop patio and the building in the back to the right is the Supreme Court of Italy, and the hill behind it is where our school is located so that is kind of a cool pic. Once again, I have like ten million.

On Thursday we went and got pedicures and Italian pedicures are clearly different than American in the fact that you sit on a medical bed and put your feet in a bucket, and what you get depends on the ladies mood. Jesse got the deluxe pedicure version and I got the low end version but whatever. It was quite the experience!

Here is a picture of my roommate and Emily and I on Thursday night at a little hole in the wall restauant. Thank god we get along really well because it would be miserable not!! Even though my roommate cannot tell time ;)

Tomorrow I will write about my Fourth of July weekend :) Just need some pics to add!!

Ciao!!

Things I Have Learned in Italy

1. People here move SOOO slow. No one is in a hurry to do anything. If you want to fly somewhere, you MUST get to the airport abut 24 hours early because that's how long it takes to get through security.

2. The concept of forming lines is foreign to these people. Everyone just kind of crowds around whatever it is that you are trying to get to and there is no structure. Another good example is the airport when you are trying to check in and get your boarding pass. Don't bother getting in line. And be prepared for it to take 5 hours minimum.

3. Everything closes at around 2 pm and stays closed until about 4. Don't think you are going to get anything between those hours because everything is closed for siesta. That's right, naptime.

4. Don't go to a restaurant before 7:30 because either they won't let you in or if they do, they ignore you until 7:30 and you just sit there and wait.

5. Dinner takes forever and your meatballs come as a separate course from your spaghetti. Spaghetti first, solo meatball next.

6. Drinking 6 bottles of wine the night before your first final exam is a BAAAADDD idea.

7. Italian men are a huge boost to your confidence. They love American women.

8. Stick to sidewalks and as close as you can get to the building because the drivers are freaking crazy.

9. Cab drivers pass cars on the wrong side of the road and cut around normal drivers and turn in front of oncoming traffic. It's like a scary carnival ride.

10. There are mosquitoes in Italy. (Yes mom, Williston is NOT the only place with mosquitoes)

11. Apparently just like in America, I do not tan when spending all day in the sun. I just stay the same pasty white color.

12. Gelato is like a way of life around here. In my head because it is served in a smaller cup, it is better for me. More than likely untrue.

13. I would kill for Chipotle.

14. If you ask for your food to go, people don't understand. Yet another time-saving, efficient concept that is foreign to Italians.

15. It is sooo hot here. In every picture I take my makeup is gone, my hair is frizzy from the humidity, and I am sweaty. We keeping laughing that every picture has two things in common: sweaty face and big sunglasses. And PS the showers are never enough because when you are done getting ready from your shower, you are sweaty again.

16. I read somewhere that Italians eat a half of a pound of bread a day. A HALF POUND??!! Obviously, the low carb diet doesn't exist and I still don't understand how these people are so skinny. The staples of my diet are: tomatoes, cheese, bread, persecco, gelato, vino, and sometimes pancetta or prosciotto. I had the most amazing brie and speck pannini that looked like it was about 1000 calories.

17. Despite all my complaints, I secretly love it all :)

Venezia :)

This past weekend I went to Venice! There were 8 of us who went. Venice is a beautiful city. It is what you picture in your mind when you think of Italy. We flew there on Saturdy and arrived in the late afternoon, checked into our hotel and did some sightseeing. We basically walked around for the afternoon and looked at all of the shops and then found a place to go to dinner. I took over 100 pictures (oops!! And then my camera died, of course!!) Then we found a karaoke bar and continued to take it over singing every fabulous American song we could think of and tons of American students studying abroad showed up! On Sunday we went to Piazza de San Marco and saw the Basilica di San Marco and the palace. I have sooo many pictures and will upload them to like Kodak Gallery soon at some point but I will include a few :)

This weekend we are staying in Rome to celebrate the Fourth of July and see the sights!! Last night we had an art lecture on historical art in Florence which, to me, was very interesting!! Tomorrow we are going to the office of the Attorney General of Italy!!

Buongiorno!

Today is truly the first day that I have felt completely normal and not tired! That is probably because of the fact that we did so much on Tuesday and Wednesday that I was really exhausted!! Anyway, here's what I have been up to the last few days!!

Tuesday--I had my first classes (8:45-12) and then that afternoon we went on an Orientation Tour of Rome. We went to the catacombes of Sebastian and the Basilica of St Peter and we were supposed to go the the Forum but there was a strike so we weren't able to make it!! We also drove past the Colleseum and I took a couple of pictures out of the bus of that. Definitely will have to go back there!! My camera died on Tuesday so I didn't get many pics the first few days but I will steal some from my roomie and once I get them I will post them on here!!

Then we had a group dinner at an restaurant in the neighborhood (the whole group). Meals are very long here and everything is served with wine. You have appetizers, salad, pasta, dessert, and wine. Then we walked home and stopped at a little bar on the way home for a beer.

Wednesday--We got up REALLY early in order to get spots at the Vatican to see the Pope. If you go very late, you won't even get in there. He began to speak around 10:30 am. We took the train down to Vatican City and got in line and got the best spots in the place!! We got up in the seated area and sat in the very last rows so that when he drove around the place in his little cart, we were RIGHT there. Like practically could have reached out and touched the cart!! Being that I didn't have a working battery to my camera, I didn't get any pictures but the guy next to me got some amazing pics of the Pope! He does an address to the crowd in Italian and then different priests address the crowd in their own language and then the Pope does a shorter version of his address in each language. Then there is a prayer and Our Father is sung in Italian (words on back of ticket) and then he blesses the crowd and any religious items you bring! I had my silver cross that I got for Christmas a few years ago so now I can say that it has been blessed by the Pope!

A couple of friends and I then walked around Rome and ate lunch at a little ristorante where we had panninis (again) and gelato. We then caught the bus back to the school, did a little reading and had class at 3:45-7 pm. We then had a big barbeque outside and came in to finish some homework for class this morning.

Last night we booked tickets to go to Venice this weekend and we fly in there Saturday afternoon and stay until Sunday evening!!

Today I had class from 8:45-12 and then I did some solo sightseeing/walking around the neighborhood. We live in Monte Mario, a neighborhood in the Northwest area of Rome. It is a middle class neighborhood so there aren't many stores. You defnitely can't find things as convenient as in America!! The other interesting thing is that EVERYTHING shuts down after lunch for siesta. Like every store completely shuts down!! That would NEVER happen in America. People are always busy and always in a hurry. Today when I was walking around I stopped in a caffe to get a sandwhich, and the guy was soooo appalled that I was taking it to go. He knew I was American right away because I didn't sit down and eat!! Italians eat for hours and very slowly!!

Well I better jet--I am going to do some reading over the weekend since I won't get home until practically midnight from Venice!!

Ciao!

Day One!!

I have arrived in Rome!! Traveling by myself in a foreign country wasn’t as bad as I had thought. Everything is in both Italian and English. Sometimes asking questions is a little annoying but most everyone speaks at least a little English!! Getting myself here was quite a chore!! I went home after Christy’s wedding, and had to leave Williston by 2 am. Thank god I had so much help :) I slept the whole airplane ride to Minneapolis where I got off at 6:15 am and had to sit there until 10:30. When in Minot, the lady checking my baggage told me she could arrange to get it all the way to Rome being that I had booked my ticket from Minot to Minneapolis separate from my ticket from Minneapolis to Rome. Hello? Big mistake. Duh. Anyway, when I got to Minneapolis and got my boarding pass before getting on the plane, the lady called down and asked if my bag had been transferred from Northwest yet. She said it hadn’t but that it wasn’t a big deal and she would take care of it. When I got to Charlotte and Philadelphia I asked about my bags and of course, no one knew anything and they couldn’t check on it even though I had my baggage receipt. I’m pretty sure at least point you can figure out what is going to happen just like I did!! In Philadelphia, I met a lady who was going to meet her husband in Rome and he had given her VERY explicit directions on everything!! This lady went way above and beyond. I decided to ask her if I could stick with her once we got there to figure everything out! (Smart move.) Once we landed we met up outside of the walkway thing and we got through passport control and everything pretty easily. She then went on to “change up her act” as she called it. She took a small purse out of her fanny pack (YES!!) and changed her money and passport and put it around her neck and in her shirt. She then tied her fanny pack around her belt, and put on a different shirt over it. Whoah. I get it that there are pickpocketers but this seemed a little extreme!! Anyway, then we went and stood by the baggage claim for about 45 minutes while everyone’s bag slowly trickled in. EVERYONE EXCEPT MINE!! Sure enough, I went to the customer service line and they had left it in Minneapolis. They had, however, realized the mistake and the bag was on its way to Rome and would be there in about 5 hours. This was at 10:30 am and as I write this now, I have yet to see my luggage and it is about 10 pm!! No one seems to be in a hurry to do anything here!! Except drive. (More on that later.) So Debbie left because she had to meet her husband and I stood and filled out a claim forever to get my bag. I finally got up to the train station and got my ticket. I still have no clue how I figured this all out being that I speak no Italian, but I somehow did. I took the train to Termini which is like a City Center of Rome. I then found a taxi to take me to the school. I had planned on taking a taxi from the airport but Debbie convinced me this was the way to go!! I probably saved myself 40-50 euros doing it this way, and I haven’t quite figured out the exchange, but in the airport, 60 euros was equal to $97. So I saved some cash!! The taxi driver almost killed me and everyone on the road every second of the drive but I got here!! It blows my mind that everyone in Italy does everything soooo slow, but when it comes to driving, they are maniacs. Like SERIOUS maniacs. Why drive so crazy to get somewhere and then be so slow?? I don’t get it. Anyway, I am here. I start class tomorrow even though I have no clothes, no books, nothing. I borrowed my roommate Emily’s shampoo and conditioner, etc. so I could shower, and I have been sleeping all day trying to catch myself up! Pictures to come soon!!

Ciao!

PS--the pic is from my room window!