One of the best things about being in Rome, is that I have been introduced, first via e-mail, to a seminarian friend who studies with the L.O.C. (Sounds like a rap group, doesn't it? Well. Not really) and has been incredibly helpful these past few days in getting me situated. Rome is much cooler when you have an insider showing you places. Saves you work, time, and headaches.
Yesterday, thursday, my friend met me at the Pantheon (Did I mention it is my next door neighbor?) and we did a small look around the center of the city. We pretty much went to every major spot, and measured which we liked best, etc, as to not spend time on that which we did not find as interesting. Only, most things are incredible, so there was much time spent many places. And actually, he helped me find Conservatorio Santa Cecilia, which is on this little quiet side street right off of Via del Corso. It was pretty incredible to finally be standing in front of it, and it definitely gave me a sense of great peace to finally be in front of it and to know where it is, which is rather close to where I am staying. I also learned where to buy the cheapest gelato in my zone (I live in a very centric area, which is great because of the culture, etc. but not so great because vendors are constantly trying to rip you off... like my taxi driver.)
But today was definitely the better of days, because I visited the Vatican. Not by myself, but again with a seminarian with many other seminarian friends working there. Such a difference! I basically got a giant tour of all the most significant things, and all the best information, for free. It was really pretty incredible. And due to all of his friends working there, we got to climb up to the top of St. Peter's Basilica before anyone else was really allowed. But can I just say, we complain about climbing stairs in the United States??? My God, you have NOT climbed up stairs until you have done so in St. Peter's. It's no so much how many stairs there are, as much as the way they are mostly positioned which is mostly small-heavily slanted-spiral. I know. Picture that. When we finally got to the top, there was an Italian woman saying, 'This is truly a sacrifice, a penance, a torture...' But to be quite honest, all that climbing was so worthwhile. You can see ALL of Rome from there. It's really breathtaking and really not able to put into words. That's the truth. We finished by then visiting all the tombs of past Popes and eating more gelato (How is it that this city has 558,876 pizzerias, 476,354 gelaterias, 876,456 cafes, and no bathrooms? Mind boggling.)
So now, I am just soo cheesed because I got an inside tour of the Vatican, and am now looking forward to next week, where I will start getting in contact with Santa Cecilia and getting ready for my audition once I am settled. Ahhh... 8 days until my Italian exam. Piece of cake, piece of pie, right?
God bless all of you.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
"LAURA!!!"
Well, so far so good, needless to say, I have had some issues with Taxi Drivers, etc...but it is nothing I hadn't prepared for. (p.s. When someone explains to you how disorganized and nuts the Italians, believe 99.9% and leave only .1% to be an exaggeration) Overall though, the sisters at the house where I am were very very welcoming and have been helpful in short stress tantrums.
My room in the house is really beautiful, in that rustic sort of way. It apparently was an old theater of sorts. The cieling is a complete religious mural of angels, and you can imagine how great it is to look up at that while you are reading or getting ready to fall asleep. That's of course what I like most. I also have a crucifix and a giant picture of the Blessed Mother that came in the room. What else do I need, right?The rest of the house is really pretty nice too, just as you would imagine, with old windows, no curtains, and fresh flowers all over the place. Neighbors drying their clothes. It's really something straight out of a movie in that way.
The only negative to being so close to neighbors is that they fight, vocally, a lot. Mostly during the day, thus far. Today Laura, who is a teenager living next door to my window, yelled at her mom, or elder, for about an hour. They really have no care to be discreet. It's certainly interesting.
The Pantheon is so beautiful. I mean, it's one thing in pictures, but in real life it's soooo huge!!! And you ask yourself, 'My gosh...how is this place still here after so long!' Incredibly well preserved. And it's my next door neighbor. :)
Today, my seminarian friend, Fernando, will meet me at the Pantheon, and will teach me how to buy an SMS card so I can make local phone calls, (Making international calls is rather difficult, and I don't think I will be able to do it often, considering I have to go to a special internet place. But I will write as often as possible by internet.) and then we will visit the Vatican!! Very exciting...
But boy are all of your prayers keeping me strong. Thank you all so much for all of them and know that you are also in mine too. Do not worry. I am doing o.k. and will be in touch.
La pace di Dio sia con voi.
My room in the house is really beautiful, in that rustic sort of way. It apparently was an old theater of sorts. The cieling is a complete religious mural of angels, and you can imagine how great it is to look up at that while you are reading or getting ready to fall asleep. That's of course what I like most. I also have a crucifix and a giant picture of the Blessed Mother that came in the room. What else do I need, right?The rest of the house is really pretty nice too, just as you would imagine, with old windows, no curtains, and fresh flowers all over the place. Neighbors drying their clothes. It's really something straight out of a movie in that way.
The only negative to being so close to neighbors is that they fight, vocally, a lot. Mostly during the day, thus far. Today Laura, who is a teenager living next door to my window, yelled at her mom, or elder, for about an hour. They really have no care to be discreet. It's certainly interesting.
The Pantheon is so beautiful. I mean, it's one thing in pictures, but in real life it's soooo huge!!! And you ask yourself, 'My gosh...how is this place still here after so long!' Incredibly well preserved. And it's my next door neighbor. :)
Today, my seminarian friend, Fernando, will meet me at the Pantheon, and will teach me how to buy an SMS card so I can make local phone calls, (Making international calls is rather difficult, and I don't think I will be able to do it often, considering I have to go to a special internet place. But I will write as often as possible by internet.) and then we will visit the Vatican!! Very exciting...
But boy are all of your prayers keeping me strong. Thank you all so much for all of them and know that you are also in mine too. Do not worry. I am doing o.k. and will be in touch.
La pace di Dio sia con voi.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
When in Rome ...
..Do NOT do as the Romans do :)
It has taken me quite some time to write again (I truly exaggerate that. It's just because I'm used to internet connection 24 hours a day!) Well, I must get used to it, because I don't think I will have interenet connection here all the time.
Let's just say that Rome ALREADY has its ups and its downs (If I truly were to tell you all that I have already witnessed, and I have only been here for 5 hours, you would literally not believe it. ) But the nuns I am staying with are pretty wonderful, very helpful, and VERY funny. And I am also meeting a friend tomorrow who will show me the Vatican.
I am just speechless right now. I can't believe God has put me here, and I certainly didn't expect it to feel THIS intense, but I am going to go with it, and I shall become a better person.
Five hours, and counting. You are all in my prayers and I love you soo soo very much.
It has taken me quite some time to write again (I truly exaggerate that. It's just because I'm used to internet connection 24 hours a day!) Well, I must get used to it, because I don't think I will have interenet connection here all the time.
Let's just say that Rome ALREADY has its ups and its downs (If I truly were to tell you all that I have already witnessed, and I have only been here for 5 hours, you would literally not believe it. ) But the nuns I am staying with are pretty wonderful, very helpful, and VERY funny. And I am also meeting a friend tomorrow who will show me the Vatican.
I am just speechless right now. I can't believe God has put me here, and I certainly didn't expect it to feel THIS intense, but I am going to go with it, and I shall become a better person.
Five hours, and counting. You are all in my prayers and I love you soo soo very much.
Frankfurt=NT-proof
Frankfurt is officially NT-proof. End of story? Yes. This airport incredibly organized. VERY functional.
Well I am sitting right next to 'McCafé', which SHOULD be 'McDonald's', but it's way too legitimate to be. Petition to bring 'McCafé' to the United States.
I met this really interesting Russian woman who talked to me on the bus ride BACK to the airport about how much she hates the French....airport. And the French ... in general. It was...interesting.
But God is good. I am in Deutschland (Did I spell that right?). I am safe. :)
Now: Frankfurt...Next stop: Bella Roma :)
Well I am sitting right next to 'McCafé', which SHOULD be 'McDonald's', but it's way too legitimate to be. Petition to bring 'McCafé' to the United States.
I met this really interesting Russian woman who talked to me on the bus ride BACK to the airport about how much she hates the French....airport. And the French ... in general. It was...interesting.
But God is good. I am in Deutschland (Did I spell that right?). I am safe. :)
Now: Frankfurt...Next stop: Bella Roma :)
On the way 'Frankfurt'...
It is ‘6:21 a.m.’ on the dot, ROMAN time (Shh... I am trying to convince my body that this is really true...Eastern standard time, huh? ;) and I am sitting on the plane close on my landing time, which will be in about 45 minutes, in Frankfurt, to then wait for my transfer to Rome. We did rather excellently on time, or at least I think so, due to the fact that this plane was supposed to land at 8:05. Who knows, maybe she said an hour and forty five minutes when I asked? Ahhhh...such is my understanding of things. We shall get there when we get there.
Surprisingly enough, I have gotten quite a bit of sleep (Mostly because I had three glasses of wine in order to calm down, but that’s irrelevant, right?), and so I predict that this is a much better situation than it would have been had I NOT done that. And while I maybe should be sleeping after ‘snack time’ (we’ll talk about that in a second) I just can’t help but look out to the clouds. I wiish you could all be here to see this. The sun is coming out, while my plane is flying over the clouds.It’s shining this strong reflection just north-east of the plane, where the sky looks like a giant lake of beautiful pure-rose colors. Some of that sunlight reflects less on surrounding clouds, so that the clouds actually have a cream color, which makes the sky look like a GIANT beach! It’s so incredible! Only, I wish beaches really DID look like that. Oh well. Maybe in Heaven. :)
So about snack time, and all OTHER food times. Let me just say that only on a European airline would they walk around continuously pouring you glasses of wine and giving you cheese...For free. Yes sir. Free. F-R-E-E, which, to us Americans, when traveling inside the states, all I can say is ‘Yea RIGHT!’. As my aunt Nelly would say,’En los aviones hoy en día, lo unico que te dan es la soba de todas las papitas que nadie se quiso comer en casa!’ Roughly translated into, ‘On planes now adays, all they give you is the crumpled potato chips no one wants to eat on land!’ Thus, I have made a very dutiful connection: ‘Lufthansa cares about YOU! ‘ (Nope, they are not paying me anything to advertise them.) Hooray for good plane experience!
But mostly, I have had a really kind man from Israel sitting next to me on this journey, which God bless him for tolerating me. I have a window seat and he, of course, the aisle, and well, some of us know how much fluid Rosie drinks and how many times she visits the ‘waushraum’ a day. Poor guy. That’s o.k. He’s too legitimate to quitamate :)
Due to the fact that the pilot is now talking to us about all sorts of things, in a language I can’t understand and that my college professor laughed at me everytime I tried to pronounce, I think I will get off here. That seems like the safest thing. Next stop: Frankfurt.
Surprisingly enough, I have gotten quite a bit of sleep (Mostly because I had three glasses of wine in order to calm down, but that’s irrelevant, right?), and so I predict that this is a much better situation than it would have been had I NOT done that. And while I maybe should be sleeping after ‘snack time’ (we’ll talk about that in a second) I just can’t help but look out to the clouds. I wiish you could all be here to see this. The sun is coming out, while my plane is flying over the clouds.It’s shining this strong reflection just north-east of the plane, where the sky looks like a giant lake of beautiful pure-rose colors. Some of that sunlight reflects less on surrounding clouds, so that the clouds actually have a cream color, which makes the sky look like a GIANT beach! It’s so incredible! Only, I wish beaches really DID look like that. Oh well. Maybe in Heaven. :)
So about snack time, and all OTHER food times. Let me just say that only on a European airline would they walk around continuously pouring you glasses of wine and giving you cheese...For free. Yes sir. Free. F-R-E-E, which, to us Americans, when traveling inside the states, all I can say is ‘Yea RIGHT!’. As my aunt Nelly would say,’En los aviones hoy en día, lo unico que te dan es la soba de todas las papitas que nadie se quiso comer en casa!’ Roughly translated into, ‘On planes now adays, all they give you is the crumpled potato chips no one wants to eat on land!’ Thus, I have made a very dutiful connection: ‘Lufthansa cares about YOU! ‘ (Nope, they are not paying me anything to advertise them.) Hooray for good plane experience!
But mostly, I have had a really kind man from Israel sitting next to me on this journey, which God bless him for tolerating me. I have a window seat and he, of course, the aisle, and well, some of us know how much fluid Rosie drinks and how many times she visits the ‘waushraum’ a day. Poor guy. That’s o.k. He’s too legitimate to quitamate :)
Due to the fact that the pilot is now talking to us about all sorts of things, in a language I can’t understand and that my college professor laughed at me everytime I tried to pronounce, I think I will get off here. That seems like the safest thing. Next stop: Frankfurt.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)