A lot has happened since my last post, and frankly I would have given this up all together is a friend of mine hadn't expressed a little annoyance at the fact that my last post is over a month old, verging on two.
My first semester of grad school ended in the middle of April, and I think I did ok. It's kind of surprising to go back to school, after working and have to reacclimate yourself to the lifestyle that school affords. It's all about self-discipline, and I think that is the hardest thing, above all the work, exams, and papers. Of course being in Rome doesn't actually contribute to the betterment of one's self-discipline, but I'm doing alright I suppose. So, the biggest news to share about the end of my first semester is that I applied for a graduate assistantship, on a whim, and what do you know, I got it. The catch to this great opportunity however, is that I'll stay in Rome until I finish my program, which as of now looks to be, next summer (If I'm not absolutely fluent by then, it'll be a big disappointment!). In any case, I'll officially start working at the end of August and am very greateful for the opportunity.
As for fun stuff, there is much of it. After school let out, my ex-roommate-still-friend Cameron came from Astoria to visit for 10 days. We bummed around Rome and saw a few sights, but we also got to go down to Sicily with a few of my friends from school. Of course, as is usual since January, I got sick. I spent two of the four days in Sicily in our B & B in bed, while everyone was out running around Catania. I missed a day trip to Taormina, a beautiful cliff town overlooking the Mediterranean. I did get to go to Siracusa however, perhaps less picturesque, but full of ancient Greek and Roman ruins. Once I started feeling better, it was a good time. We found Sicilians/Catanians to be generally pretty nice people. You never know, of course how far and wide anti-americanism can permeate these days. Then again, there weren't all that many other American tourists as far as we could tell, mostly German and French. The owners of our B & B were a young couple just starting out with the business, but they were able to give us a few tips on the hot spots in Catania (which by the way is a college town and host to the largest American military base on the island), my favorite was a Vegas inspired (alla Red Square if you've been to Vegas lately- very plush and trendy) martini bar. They did say that we had to do at least one thing while in Catania: eat horse. Yes very very scary. Who would ever do that or do it willingly? Let me just say that horseburgers are quite tasty, but I'll never do it again.
So our four day stay in Sicily ended and we returned to Rome. Suprinsingly, the more I leave it and return to it, the more familiar and comforting it feels. Elise came down again from Milano, for yet another pseudo-college reunion. The three of us, Cameron, Elise, and I (minus Francie of course) had a great time just being together and being around familiar faces. While all of this sickness and traveling and visiting was going on of course, there was the Conclave. The first night Cameron and I sat in the park surrounding Castel Sant' Angelo waiting for the smoke, but cold set in and the enormous amount of news trucks and satellite dishes suggested it was better we go home. And of course as with my time in Venezia, we left Rome for Catania the next day and the College of Cardinals chose a pope. However, when John Paul II passed away, I was relieved to not have had to deal the hundreds of thousands of people stampeding the city; and with Benedetto XVI I arrived in Rome to see the thousands start to recede a little. I love the fact that when John Paul II took ill, Rome filled up with Poles and of course many others from around the world, but now that our new pope is of German origin, there is no shortage of Germans in Rome. I live about a mile away from the Vatican, and I can say that since his coronation, a day has not gone by where I've not heard German on the bus, going down the street towards St. Peter's.
In the midst of all the papal goings-on the weather started to warm up, and my first trip to the beach, outside of Rome, was in order. Cameron, Elise, Isabella, Helen, and I spent two days in Ostia and it was perfect. Helen, was set to leave that next Friday for New York, having finished her semester abroad in Rome and we wanted to give her a proper goodbye. Cameron and Elise were also going home too, so our time at sea was a nice way to close out the vacation. After the girls all went their respective ways, Isabella and I were left to make trouble in Rome on our own... which of course we did.
Anyway, that's all for now...if you want to see pictures, send me an email. Love to everyone.
