ROMA and more...

Vassar and Celebrity Spottings

2008-09-06T17:26:00.001-07:00

Okay, Sara got mad at me for forgetting to write a very integral part in the last entry. We took the N train to Coney Island and we sat right across from Toofer from 30 Rock (Keith Powell). It was awesome because it was super awkward; Sara and I stared at him the entire time and didn't say a word to him. Then we whispered about whether or not it was really him. I also took a photo of him, creepily, with my iPhone. Let's just say the iPhone definitely invites users to take photos of people without their consent or knowledge. Anyway, I'll post the photo at some point, but it was definitely him.

Vassar has been fun and a nice change of pace from NYC - a lot more hanging out and lounging around than being crazy. This morning, Kendal and her roommates made waffles and they were delicious. Nothing too crazy has gone on. We are planning on watching Hamlet 2 tonight. Tomorrow we will be going to NYC to hang out with Holly and Ari.

SEAGULL FIGHT!

2008-09-05T22:04:00.000-07:00

Thursday, Sara and I went to Coney Island and Chinatown. It was our last day together and we kept it pretty low key. All of the rides were closed at Coney Island, so we just ate Nathan's hotdogs and sat around on the boardwalk. The best part was when the seagulls were fighting. It was actually kind of scary because they were attacking each other, but still very amusing. It reminded us of Boy Fight from Arrested Development. We went to Chinatown for dinner at a place called Hong Kong Station, which was amazing. It's exactly the way Chinese noodles should be sold. I can't wait to go home to the Bay Area and eat more Chinese food.

Today, I took the train out to Poughkeepsie to visit Kendal. Upon getting here, she gave me a tour of the campus. It's pretty much what I imagined an East Coast college to be like. At night, there were fireworks to celebrate the new freshman class and new school year and Broken Social Scene played. They had an amazing set (but no encore) and the drummer handed me the setlist at the end. Overall, a great start to Vassar.

Conan growled at me

2008-09-04T08:46:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was a great day. I didn't go to the Bronx Zoo in the morning, as I had planned, but I went with Sara and her mom to brunch at Georgio's Country Grill. Everything was incredibly good, but I think the best thing was Sara's yogurt ice cream. It tasted like homemade vanilla ice cream. I can't even find words to describe it; it was just the best thing ever.
After brunch, Sara had to take her mom to the airport, so I got some time to go shop on 5th Avenue by myself. I wandered through tons of stores (Zara, Armani Exchange, JustCavalli, etc) and stared at some amazing window displays at Sak's.
When Sara got back, it was time for Late Night with Conan O'Brien. I'm not a regular watcher, but I do enjoy Conan. We got to 30 Rock early to pick up our tickets and wristbands, then we shopped around because they wouldn't let us loiter in the hallway. Let's just say this was very different than sitting on the street for hours in front of the Colbert studio. When 4:15 arrived, they moved the audience upstairs into lines where we waited about 30-45 minutes. Finally, when we started to move, it was like a maze through 30 Rock. At all these different points, NBC Pages (like Kenneth from 30 Rock!) were ushering us around the building -- pointing at walls we should line up against, separating us into groups for the elevator, gesturing usdown different hallways. When we finally got off the elevator to the outside doors of the studios, that's when the ticket letters (they use letters instead of numbers) didn't matter. So, I rushed to the front with Sara behind me and we were seated in the FIRST ROW. There was a stand-up comic to warm up the crowd, but he didn't talk forever, like the one at Colbert (although the one at Colbert was definitely funnier). Conan came out before the show to say hello to the audience. Note: Conan is not as pale in real life. When he came out he shook my hand (I was the first hand!) and other audience members hands. Then, at one point while talking to the audience, he growled at Sara and I. In reference to his luck with the ladies, and his sexual tension with a particular male audience member. If you watch Conan from September 3rd, you can see Sara and my yellow shirt behind the producer when Conan does his opening monologue bit about current news.
After a wonderful time at Conan, we hurried back to get ready for L'atelier de Joel Robouchon. Let's just say -- best dinner ever. I took photos of the food and Sara and I were just dying while we were there. Definitely the most posh place I've ever been to. The guy sitting next to Sara was on Good Morning America at some point this week (named Max). The guy sitting next to me was a regular customer and everyone knew him. Sitting at the counter was actually really fun because you got to see them plate and all the waiters would come by and chat with you. DELICIOUS (and we paid the price for it).
We had bought tickets earlier in the day for Top of the Rock and we were worried that we wouldn't be able to make it there after dinner. However, Sara and I were amazing and got there in time! Once again, Top of the Rock was another maze to the top of the building, but once we were at the top, the New York skyline at night was so awesome. I took a lot of really cool photos and if you ever go to the Top of the Rock, check out the Target sponsored room.

Wow, that was long.

One word: Amazing.

2008-09-02T20:09:00.000-07:00

I was on my own today, but I got around just fine. In the morning I went to the Met (Upper East side). I managed to see everything I wanted to see in 4 hours. Roman and French sculptures, Expressionism, Impressionism, Post-impressionism, Modern art -- all great. I loved the Monet, Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Matisse rooms. I also bought some souvenirs!

The only thing I had planned for today was the Met, so I left myself time to head over to The Colbert Report (Upper East side). I waited in the standby line starting at 3pm and by 4:15pm, I was the first person on the standby list! Eventually, I got into the studio, which was followed by a lot more waiting. However, all this waiting was worth it! Once Colbert ran into the studio, it was amazing. He did a Q&A out of character before taping the show, where he sang to us. Then, the show began. He would do lots of hilarious, small things during the commercial breaks. He threw out free Wriststrong bracelets, but I didn't get one. Now, I'm going to watch The Colbert Report on TV to try and spot myself in the crowd.

Even though I did less things today, I'm still extremely tired! Waiting in line really took it out of me. Next entry: Conan!

Art and Chocolate

2008-09-01T18:43:00.001-07:00

Day two was much more relaxed than Day 1. The morning was spent on the internet and watching tv. After lunch, we went to the MOMA (Midtown). The Dali Painting & Film exhibit was amazing. It was an entire floor filled with Dali paintings -- including The Persistence of Memory -- and Dali films. I was surprised because I wasn't aware that Dali was a filmmaker, but his movies were very surreal (like his paintings) and well made. I would love to spend more time with his films in the future. The paintings and sculptures on the 4th and 5th floor of the MOMA were great. Liechtenstein, Warhol, Magritte, Matisse, Monet, a Van Gogh (Starry Night was not there), and more. There was also a great exhibit called Berlin Street Scenes.
Unfortunately, while I was at the MOMA, I broke my Oktomat. It's not completely a lost cause, but the camera definitely has some issues, ones that I would definitely consider manufacturer issues. I think it will be fixable with some tape and screw drivers but I'm still a little bit pissed because I've had it for less than a month. Unfortunately, because I'm on vacation (aka not in San Diego), I can't return/exchange it with Amazon. It ruined my time at the MOMA a little bit, but I still had a great time because of the wonderful art.
For dinner, we went to Max Brenner (Union Square) and Karen joined us for dinner, along with Sara's friends Raebekah and David. WOW, so much chocolate. They had a small "real" food menu, but the dessert menu was huge and filled with chocolate-y goodness. They also had these pipes running all over the restaurants that were for these chocolate machines, very much like Willy Wonka. The chocolate fondue was excellent! The flame got a little out of control at the end, but it was still fantastic.

Tomorrow, I'm on my own. Sara and her mom are going to the US Open for tennis. I'm planning on going to the Met, waiting in the standby line for The Colbert Report, and meeting up with Karen after her first day as an NYU graduate student. I think I'm ready to take on the subway by myself. After all, how hard could it be?

Upper East, Upper West, Greenwich, Midtown...

2008-08-31T17:58:00.001-07:00

Today was my first "day" in New York City -- at least day time. The first thing we did was take the R to the 6 train to get to the Upper East side. While riding the 6, I fulfilled a life long dream of riding the 6 while listening to Jennifer Lopez's CD "On the 6." Surprisingly enough, the song I picked finished withing the exact amount of time I was riding the 6. Fate? I think so.
For brunch, we went to Sarahbeth's in the Upper East side, which was amazing. It was this adorable little brunch place with quite a few old people. Sara and I decided that you can tell if a brunch place is good depending on how many old people you see there. Old people know their brunches. I was going to take a photo of these 3 old ladies, but Sara said that would be ridiculous and forced me not to. The food was delicious; I had Crispy Potato Waffles (think latkes, but in waffle shape and fluffier).
Afterwards, we walked to the Guggenheim. It was much bigger than the Peggy Guggenheim in Venice (at least in my opinion). They had this great exhibit on Louise Bourgoise and their permanent collection was fantastic as well (Pollock, Van Gogh, Manet, etc).
After spending a few hours at the museum, we went in search of the Belvedere Castle in Central Park -- too bad it took us forever to find it and possibly longer to find our way out of Central Park. Finally, we ended up on the Upper West side. We didn't really explore, as we were on our way to Greenwich/West Village.
I had a list of things to do in the West Village -- eat at Bamn, hang out in Other Music, and move the giant cube. Too bad none of them happened. The food at Bamn actually looked kind of gross and Other Music was closed. People were sitting around the giant cube, so that didn't happen either. We also went on a long hunt for a bathroom. Finally, we ended up at S'mac for dinner. Delicious, although I probably should have gotten the Nosh size.

Tomorrow will be busy as well and Sara's mom is coming.

Baltimore

2008-08-30T13:31:00.000-07:00

I'm at the Baltimore Airport for a layover. I have another hour before I board and I'm extremely excited about arriving in NYC. I'm a little nervous about getting myself to Penn Station but I'm sure I'll figure it out. There's no way it will be more difficult than traveling around Europe. In general, I hate flying. However, the flight to Baltimore wasn't that bad. I guess in comparison to the flight from SF to Rome it is quite short. OK, that's it for now since I'm on the iPhone.

part 2

2008-07-15T22:44:00.000-07:00

So, I've decided to make my study abroad travel blog into a travel blog, in general. All of my adventures in new places and in new cities will be posted and updated here. Stories, photos, who knows what else will be here -- maybe I will finally make a video.

Next up: New York City- August 30 to September 8

last destination before the us of a

2007-12-20T10:49:00.000-08:00

I'm back in London sitting in Mandy's flat. London is cold but not nearly as cold as Berlin or Brussels. I've even stopped wearing tights under my jeans. Oh yeah, and I've decreased the pairs of socks from 3 to 2. I also finally got to change my outfit after 5 days (you have no idea how good that feels). Mandy is currently sitting on her bed feeling bored that I'm on blogger blogging, but she doesn't even know that I'm blogging about her right now. We're also listening to some Ella Fitzgerald to get in the Christmas mood despite the numerous Christmas markets we went to in the past 5 days. We went to this super cheap sushi place for lunch/dinner, at least cheap by British standards, and we shopped for presents at Covent Garden. Sushi was a nice change after a delicious 5 days of sausage, potatoes, cheese, and fried dough. Basically, Brussels and Berlin have amazing food for super super cheap. I would want to live there just for the food, except it is way too cold there. Anyway, photos and actual entries will be written when I get back to the United States. See everyone soon!

Je veux ... a hot dog... avec ... sauerkraut?

2007-12-17T07:11:00.000-08:00

So I just arrived in Berlin from Brussels. I will be here until the 20th and then I will be flying back to London. I leave London on the 24th, so see everyone in America then. Mandy and I have been having a great time here mingling with the locals and eating as much delicious food as possible. There is so much Christmas spirit here. Okay, off to see the Berlin Wall!

Goodbye, Rome!

2007-12-14T08:40:00.000-08:00

I am currently in London and I will be going to Brussels in the morning. I left Rome this morning after 4 months. I will post again when I return to the United States with photos and stories about my last weeks in Rome and my trip to Brussels, Berlin, and London.

2 weeks left

2007-11-29T12:30:00.000-08:00

I have two weeks and 12 hours left in Rome. It's weird to be leaving Rome for good. For the past three and a half months, whenever I left Rome, I knew I would be coming back. However, I have lots of things planned for the next two weeks!

Before talking about the new stuff, here is a recap of what has happened lately:
I met with Mariela for lunch on Wednesday. Unfortunately, that was the only time I could see her in Rome because I had class.
Thursday, the girls upstairs invited me for a Thanksgiving dinner. There was tons of food, pretty much everything besides turkey. It was really delicious and my friend Brenna made a delicious pumpkin pie.
On Friday, I went to the Auditorium of Maecenaus (which was cool because it is closed off to the public) and then Monte Testaccio, which is an entire mountain made of pottery shards. Apparently the ancient Romans liked to build step pyramids with their junk. Friday night, we had another Thanksgiving dinner! We had turkey and chicken this time, as well as all the other Thanksgiving goodies. I made a kiwi cheesecake to contribute to the feast. I think this is the most food I have ever seen at a Thanksgiving dinner. I believe the group of us finished 5 kilograms of potatoes.
Saturday I spent the day at Opolontis and Pompeii. I actually like Opolontis more than Pompeii; Opolontis is very well preserved and I found the wall paintings more impressive.
Tuesday and Wednesday I went up to Bologna to visit Giovanna. If you ever want to eat amazing Italian food, GO TO BOLOGNA! This was possibly the best Italian food I've ever had in my life. It was also much cheaper than Rome. The best part? All the tourist attractions were free!
Today I went to the Palazzo del Esposizione to see the Mark Rothko, Stanely Kubrick, and Mario Ceroli exhibits. I really like Mario Ceroli's architectural works. He's very into wooden cutouts of human figures. The Stanley Kubrick exhibit has inspired me to watch all of his films. The Rothko exhibit was cool because I had seen his stuff at the Tate Modern in London too.

Even though I will be leaving in 2 weeks, I have tons of things planned! Tomorrow I will be going to lunch at the Jewish Ghetto (a free lunch paid for by my school!), visiting the synagogue at the Jewish Ghetto, seeing the Pop Art exhibit in Rome, and watching the Rossini opera Mose' In Egitto (Moses in Egypt). Saturday I hope to visit Via Appia Antica (the catacombs) and the Baths of Caracalla. Oh yeah, and I plan on fitting school work in somewhere.

Break 2, Birthday Weekend, Barcelona

2007-11-18T14:32:00.000-08:00

Seeing as I have not updated for a month, there is a lot to say. I guess I will go chronologically in order to not forget anything.

October 19 - I went on a field trip to Celano, a small farming community and town in central Italy. I went with my anthropology class and it was actually much more interesting than I thought it would be. We visited a castle, a few churches, and finally the farming community in the drained lake bed.

October 25 through November 3 - This was our second break from school. I decided to travel around Northern Italy instead of leaving the country. First I went to Siena and I stayed with my friend Maria. Siena is a medieval town south of Florence and it was a very nice change from Rome. I got to see the different contradas which I had learned about in my anthropology class. I also had an amazing kiwi gelato at their Campo. The Duomo also had amazing floor mosaics, a Michelangelo altar, and a Bernini altar piece. After Siena I took the train to Venice. I met up with my roommate Kate and her family. Her family was super generous and very very nice. Her parents were really hilarious. Venice is probably the most beautiful city on earth. It reminded me of the New Orleans quarter in Disneyland. I bought tons of souvenirs for family (murano glass, obviously) and I went to the Guggenheim museum which was small but very amazing. It had a very good collection of work for such a small museum. Peggy Guggenheim is also buried there which I thought was cool. After Venice, I went to Florence. I stayed with Rachael in Florence. She has the most amazing apartment. She lived right next to the Ponte Vecchio and had a balcony overlooking the river and bridge. It amazes me constantly that every single Italian city is completely different from the other. Rome is ancient, Siena is medieval, Florence is renaissance, and Venice is just one of a kind. I went to the Accademia to see David and the Uffizi. I spent an hour in the Botticelli room in the Uffizi because it was that good. It is one thing to see a print or reproduction, it's another thing to see the painting in person. In addition, I saw the Ponte Vecchio and the Duomo. I also went to Santa Maria Novella, a church, and it was also beautiful. Once again, I bought souvenirs for family at their open air markets. When I finally got back to Rome, I showed Julia and Maureen around the city.

November 8 - Mandy arrived in Rome and the birthday weekend began! We did lots of walking around and site-seeing: Piazza del Popolo, Santa Maria del Popolo, Villa Borghese (park), Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain. We went to the Hard Rock Cafe for my birthday dinner and it was delicious. It's probably the best meal I've had in Rome. The portions were American sized which meant that they were gigantic. I haven't been that full since I got to Rome.

November 9 - Mandy and I went site-seeing. We climbed to the top of Saint Peter's Basilica and saw a couple Michelangelos. At night we went to the ballet at the Teatro dell'Opera (the main opera house in Rome). We saw Peer Gynt which was amazing - the dancing, the dancers, the music, and the set. It's the first ballet I've ever seen live so I was very impressed. The opera house itself was very ornate and beautiful.

November 10 - I had a field trip to Hadrian's Villa, which is a villa preserved from the 1st century AD in the time of Hadrian. Visitors are not allowed on field trips, but I brought Mandy anyway. It was nice to see the architecture of a villa and how large they actually were. The best part of the villa was this man-made lake with an outdoor dining room. After this, Mandy and I went site-seeing some more: Colosseum, Roman Forum, etc.

November 15 through November 18 - I visited Sarah in Barcelona! I got there Thursday night and for some reason a lot of the stores were closed. However, I still got to eat a Catalonian dinner (some kind of stuffed meat dish) and afterwards we went to this delicious coffee place and had cafe con leche and crepes. The next day, we went to the Miro museum and we went to Razzmatazz. We were at Razzmatazz, a discoteca, from 1 am to 5am so when we got home we were very tired. On the bus ride back, I got to eat some very delicious churros. The next day we went to Park Guell which is probably my favorite place in Barcelona. Of course, being with Sarah, we took a million pictures in the park. Too bad I didn't recognize Park Guell from America's Next Top Model, otherwise more pictures would have been taken! We also saw a lot of other Gaudi buildings. Unfortunately I cannot name them because I will completely butcher the spelling. For dinner we had tapas, which was exciting, because it's very Barcelona thing to do. I wish I had more time in Barcelona because there were many museums, particularly the Picasso and Museum of Contemporary Art, that I did not get to visit and I would have liked to see some of the Gaudi buildings in the daylight. Also, the Magic Fountain was not working.

I promise I will post pictures soon! I have lots of essays and projects coming up and unfortunately I am not on vacation, but I am actually in school. I am excited to have lunch with Mariela this Wednesday; she's visiting from Cairo, Egypt. I am also planning on visiting the Rothko/Kubrick exhibit Thursday and the Pop Art exhibit Friday at two separate museums. Also, I have a field trip to the Auditorium of Maecenus and Monte Testaccio on Friday. I have an all day field trip to Pompeii on Saturday which I am very excited for. Finally, this Sunday the Vatican Museum is free so I will be waking up early to attend that! I think I may also be attending an opera this week - Moses in Egypt - which I am very excited about as well. In all this craziness, I promise to upload some photos here from the past month.

I only have one more month in Rome, so I am trying to do as much as possible! See everyone in the Bay Area on December 24th and in San Diego on December 28th!

Eurochocolate!

2007-10-15T08:06:00.000-07:00

Before photos from the past week/weekend, I have some exciting news! Well, exciting news for me? I'm flying back to the Bay Area on Dec 24th instead of Dec 27th, which means I will be flying down to San Diego around Dec 27th. This will give me time to settle in before school starts. Hopefully I will have time to hang out with friends in the Bay Area and give presents before I go back to San Diego. Will anyone be in San Diego on the 27th? I might change my flight to Dec 18th depending on my travel plans with Mandy.

Now to the photos! I have not uploaded these onto Facebook yet because it takes too long and my internet in my apartment is still not working properly/ever. These pictures are in reverse chronological order because that's how Blogger posts photos (and I don't know how to change it).

Sunday night: Amazing bakery! Everything is about 50 cents Euro, meaning VERY CHEAP. I plan on taking Mandy here when she comes to visit. The best part about it? It's open 24 hours, 7 days a week.

Sunday morning: Myself in front of the beautiful Tibertina Island with my new sunglasses that I bought at Porta Portese (the biggest street/fleamarket you will ever find). I might take Mandy to Porta Portese depending on when it opens and how early we plan on getting up before her flight.

Saturday: Beautiful Perugia. Perugia is in Northern Italy in the countryside. This was the location of Eurochocolate 2007, an international chocolate festival.

Saturday: Uh, salami and baci chocolate bar? It wasn't actually real. They just sold salami in honor of chocolate? I didn't really understand it. I wish it were real so I could taste it.

Saturday: Playstation was also at Eurochocolate. Here is a Playstation 3 carved out of chocolate next to 2 real Playstation 3's. I got to eat a piece of this delicious Playstation 3.

Saturday: Me & the Eurochocolate sign. The poster reminds me of Disneyland for some reason.

Friday: Ostia Antica is an ancient Roman city, much like Pompeii. The entire city has been preserved although not in nearly the same condition as Pompeii. This picture was taken from the top of an ancient apartment complex. The photo shows more apartment buildings and the central courtyard.

Wednesday: We went to see the Ara Pacis and it turns out the Valentino exhibit was also there! Che forte! (Italian for "How cool!") The Ara Pacis was cool and I'll post the photos on Facebook when I have time, but I thought the Valentino exhibit was even better. There were tons of beautiful gowns, Valentino's sketches, dresses worn by celebrities (including Audrey Hepburn). Best part? I got to go for free and during class time!

Tuesday: The Colosseum is pretty much the epitome of Rome, or at least the face of most postcards. Here are the undergound structures excavated by archaeologists showing the gladiators' dressing rooms and animal cages.

Tuesday: The view of the Colosseum from above. It was amazing to see all the walkways and this great architectural feat. Unfortunately, I had to rush through this because I had Italian class that same morning (which I ended up being 5 minutes late for anyway).

So, that's my last week in Rome in a nutshell. I bought so much stuff for people. I bought 2 ties for my dad, a pashmina shawl/scarf for both my mom and stepmom, a purse for Holly, a pack of 99% pure chocolate for Yasha, a scarf and a pair of sunglasses for myself, a pack of chocolate pasta for Kendal, a pack of chocolate pasta for Holly (if she wants it), and some chocolate bars for myself. I also bought ballet tickets for Peer Gynt. It was only 25 Euros per ticket (one for me, one for Mandy) for the best section, Platea, because we are students! Students get a 50% discount which is pretty awesome.

This week I am going to the Palazzo Massimo to see Roman wall paintings, Celano to visit a rural potato farming community, and H&M. There is less traveling this week, but I'm sure it will be equally hectic. I have midterms and projects due soon, so I will be doing a lot of studying. See everyone soon!

Classes in Rome

2007-10-09T07:30:00.000-07:00

Mondays & Wednesdays:
11.30-1.30 Culture & Identity in Modern Italy
2.00-4.00 Roman Art
4.30-6.30 Ancient Roman Civilization

Tuesdays & Thursdays:
11.30-1.30 Italian (3rd quarter)

Photos Long Overdue

2007-10-09T07:03:00.000-07:00

La Notte Bianca - Acrobats in Piazza Del Popolo

La Notte Bianca - Circo Massimo

Las Du Fallafel - Paris, France and recommended by Lenny Kravitz

Glasgow Science Center - BIG CHESS!

Glasgow, Scotland - MEAT PIES!

London, England - TELEPHONE BOOTH, calling Mandy

London, England - Mandy in front of the tiny cottage

Trafalagar Square - Being a pigeon lady

London, England - Mandy and I with a Horse Guard

London, England - Myself as the Queen

London, England - Mandy as Princess Diana

Palantine Hill and Sight-Seeing

2007-10-08T14:33:00.000-07:00

Today I went to the Palantine Hill for my Ancient Roman Civilization class. Unfortunately I did not take any photos because I was too busy taking notes. However, I believe I will be going back in December for another class field trip. I will hopefully take photos when I go back. I'm actually pretty excited to go back because I won't be stressed about taking notes. When we go back, we will also have access to two underground rooms which are closed off from the public. These rooms are supposed to have amazing Roman wall paintings. It's amazing to see buildings that have lasted through CENTURIES. Augustus/Octavian first established it as an imperial residence in the 1st century BC. There are still many walls and structures left over, especially the underground sites. Underground sites were not always underground, but slowly the ground level has changed through the centuries. The best part? They have not finished excavating the hill! Anyway, it's amazing that once you enter the hill, all the traffic and city noises just disappear. The Palantine (one of the 7 hills of Rome) is quiet and much greener than the rest of the city. It's quite lovely.

Tomorrow morning I will be going to the Colosseum. Wednesday I am going to see the Ara Pacis and Augustus's Mausoleum. Friday I am going to Ostia Antica (a port town on the coast of Italy). Saturday I am going to Perugia (north of Rome) for a chocolate festival. Sunday I will be sight-seeing (for homework) the following: Via Appia Antica and the catacombs, Baths of Diocletian, and Pyramide. LOTS of sight-seeing, so be prepared for lots of photos.

Basically, ROME IS AMAZING! By the way, I'm going to buy 20 postcards for only ONE EURO tomorrow morning. So all the postcards I've promised will be coming! Apparently the H&M in Germany had a sale where everything was 2 euros. I'm going to try the H&M in Rome to see if the sale is here too. I hope so!

Pringles Delight Original

2007-10-07T07:27:00.000-07:00

So, I just came back from Di Per Di (one if Italy's supermarkets) and I'm eating some Pringles Delight Original flavor. First off, what kind of flavor is "Delight Original"? I figured it was just Original, but I have to say they are significantly less salty than the real Original flavor. They're still good though, but i'm disappointed. I'm also drinking some mango juice, which is probably filled with preservatives but I'm going to pretend that it is healthy.

I don't think I've ever written about the supermarkets in Italy, so here it is: Supermarkets are not as popular with Italians as the open-air markets. Open-air markets are open every morning from 7am-1pm. Local farmers sell their products at the open-air market for cheap/competitive prices and in general the food is probably healthier. However, I'm too lazy to get up at 7am and by the time I do get up, it is time to rush to class. I usually shop at Di Per Di or Todis (another supermarket). When Americans think of supermarkets, we think of Safeway or Ralph's. Lots of aisles, lots of selections, lots of everything. For Italians, it is a one way winded path that zig-zags around the store to maximize space. Literally, there is only ONE WAY you can go. You must pass everything they offer in the store before you reach the checkout. By the way, they usually only have one or two checkouts open. (What's that all about?) You might think be thinking "that sounds like a big hassle" but Italian supermarkets are ridiculously small. I would say, probably a fourth of a Ralph's. Another thing I noticed is that they do not eat tv-dinners. They also do not sell pre-made cream sauce because you are expected to know how to cook. So far, I have also not seen any canned soups, which I have been craving (cream of mushroom? chicken noodle?).

In other news, I've been trying to upload photos but the internet in my apartment is wishy-washy at best. I better not insult it too much on my blog because it might stop working again. I am VERY excited that Mandy is coming to visit me for my birthday. We're planning on going to a ballet, Peer Gynt, and hopefully I will be able to bring her on my site visit at Hadrian's Villa.

In an ode to Mandy and her greatness, here are some pictures from London that are long overdue. She's been hounding me about these for a while, so here are a couple:

This was taken shortly after a lady was taken away in an ambulance. The little boy kept eyeing the guard until finally he told him to come over for a photo. However, the little boy looks rather unhappy. Taken at the Tower of London.

One picture for now, the internet refuses to upload any more photos. I promise to post a lot more soon, probably on Tuesday.

Knockin' On Heaven's Door

2007-10-03T16:34:00.000-07:00

Marcus, from downstairs who I just met today, just came up to our apartment and played guitar for us for 30 minutes. It was pretty much the most entertaining thing since I've been here.

Paris, Glasgow, London and back to Rome

2007-09-28T11:41:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged in a long time because my internet at home (my apartment in Rome) does not work very well, if at all. Luckily, it is working right now somewhat. Since my last post, I've gotten chinese food for my roommate Kate's birthday, went to 2 museums, and had a one week break from school. I have a million pictures to upload, but my internet connection will not allow it. I will try to upload all of these on Monday from school, which has a better internet connection.

My one week break was great. I travelled with my friend Andy. We went to Paris for 4 days, Glasgow for 2, and London for 3 days. It was great to see Mandy in London. Paris was awesome and I want to go back because there is still so much to see there (especially the Orsay Museum). Versailles is pretty much the most gorgeous place on earth. I want to live there.

Since I've been back, I've been going to school all day. My classes are: Ancient Roman Civilization (bascially why I am here...), Roman Art, and Culture and Identity in Modern Italy (Anthropology course). My school schedule is: M/W 11.30am-6.30pm, T/Th 11.30am-1.30pm

I will update this later (probably from school) with photos and captions.

La Notte Bianca and Photos

2007-09-09T07:15:00.000-07:00

Every time I read Sarah's Spain blog, I feel like I must update. I'm getting pretty behind on the updating, but here is what happened in the past week:

-Kate and I went to this delicious Indian restaurant in Rome. It's far away from our apartment but very close to a metro stop. It was really cool because there were tons of Indian stores around there as well, kind of like a Little India. I had Rogan Josh, Raita, Naan, Mango Lassi and Rice. It was delicious. (Although pricey.)
-We went to a soccer match: Roma v. Siena. Rome won 3-0 and it was really fun. The Rome fans sing songs, cheer loudly, overall just fun. I don't really understand soccer beyond kicking the ball into the goal, but everyone was so energetic that it was fun. There's a match against Manchester United at the end of the semester that I want to go to. I'm sure that would be intense!
-Booked my flights and hostels for my one week break (Sept 15-23). I'm going to Paris, Glasgow, and London. I'm excited to go to London and see Mandy! Possibly get some delicious Indian food and some fish and chips?
-Visited two museums (pictures will be in the next post, I haven't downloaded them off the camera just yet).
-We tried another Indian restaurant near our apartment which was decent, but not amazing. It was pretty cheap so we might go back there.
-Last night was La Notte Bianca, where the entire city stays open/awake until 8am. Many of the museums were free and there were performances by various artists or groups. Friday night we also went to a light show commemorating the beginning of La Notte Bianca. We started with Piazza del Popolo but everyone was waiting for some performance to start so we walked around Villa Borghese for a while. We went to this contemporary art museum in Villa Borghese and saw some strange bell and boat performance on a lake. We headed back to Piazza del Popolo and there were acrobats performing. Afterwards we went to the Spanish steps, wandered around, sat on crates full of grass with tons of other tired Italians. Finally, we got food at 1AM and walked around some more. There was a lot to see, but there were too many people and we were a little bit lost. Overall it was fun night and a great experience! (Pictures to come in the next post.)
-My mom visited Rome and she took Kate and I out for dinner. I had Ravioli with Spinach and Ricotta Cheese AND Lamb Chops!

Here are some photos from last time's post:

PANORAMA! The Italian version of Wal-mart plus Costco.

Rogan Josh, Naan, Raita, Mango Lassi.

Roma v. Siena soccer match

Panorama!

2007-09-01T08:16:00.000-07:00

I recently got an Italian cell phone. If you do not have the number and would like it, please email me. It's really old and looks like a phone I had in middle school. It's a Nokia with a non-color display and no camera. However, there is Snake in the games section which I am excited about. I get free incoming calls (local or international), so feel free to call as much as you want.

Today Kate (my roommate) and I went to this store called Panorama. It's kind of a mixture of Wal-mart and Costco... It was huge and crazy. I will upload photos later for this. I ended up buying some snack/breakfast food and some other things I needed (like nail clippers). It was pretty cheap, but we had to take the metro there. It's not really a store that is worth the trip, so I probably won't go back for a while. It really has almost everything -- from tools to clothes to frozen fish, and even a hair salon.

Last night, I went to my first "discoteca" called Coyote. It was pretty far from where we live -- I live in Prati and it was in Trastevere (these are all neighborhoods within Rome). It was half foreigners and half Italians. Most of the people in my school were there last night. It was fun because they played a lot of American songs so I knew the music.

Lately I've been missing American because I miss American food. Not "American" as in hamburgers and hot dogs -- although I do miss hot dogs -- but restaurants that exist in America. There isn't much variety here (surprise surprise) because Italians eat Italian food. However, Kate and I tried to get Mexican food and it was very bad here. They don't really have cheddar or American cheese, so everything is with parmesean or mozzorella. In fact tortillas are really expensive here, so the food isn't very good. Definitely no Cotixan's. Tonight we're going to try Indian food, so I'll let you know how that goes.

Pictures in the next update!

Ferragosto

2007-08-26T04:30:00.000-07:00

Every year in Rome, the entire city closes for the month of August. During Ferragosto (the name of the holiday), Romans leave the city to travel elsewhere on vacation. When I first arrived, most shops and restaurants were closed for the holiday and slowly shops are reopening. On Monday, all the shops will be open again and I am looking forward to seeing the city in its entirety! Tomorrow, I also start my Italian language practicum, which is an Italian class 4 days a week for 3 hours a day for 3 weeks.

Flight and First Day in Rome

2007-08-23T12:04:00.000-07:00

My flight from San Francisco to Rome consisted of 3 parts: SFO to Chicago, Chicago to Frankfurt, Frankfurt to Rome. My flight from Chicago to Frankfurt was delayed for 2 hours so I missed my connecting flight unfortunately. This was a huge hassle because I needed to check into my program before 7PM (in Italian time). I made it alright and checked into my apartment. By the way, hot dogs at the Chicago airport are not that impressive. It's the kind of hot dog you'd put together at a BBQ with nacho cheese. I also got a meal voucher from the transfer desk at the Frankfurt Airport and they only had nachos and strange food. I saw their hot dogs and they looked pretty plain as well. I live in Residence Candia in an apartment. Candia is very close to the Vatican and many street markets. My room is very IKEA. My bed is the top bunk and there are 3 people in this room. There is a lot of closet space which is nice. This morning my roommate Kate and I walked around rome and ended up seeing the Trevi Fountain, many high end designer stores, and the Santa Maria del Popolo. The Santa Maria del Popolo was this beautiful church with lots of sculptures, painting, etc. in side of it. They had individual chapels inside the church that were donated by families in the past. My roommate Kate is an Art History major so she knew a lot about this stuff. I took a couple photos of the church (which are below). The piazza outside, Piazza del Popolo, wasn't as impressive as some of the other piazza's but I took a panoramic photo which I suppose I will compile later to make a full shot of the piazza. In the afternoon, there was an orientation for ACCENT -- one of the groups that organizes this EAP program. Afterwards, I had fettucini con gorgonzola and apple and lemon gelato. There is another orientation tomorrow from the UC affiliates and an italian language placement test.

Arrival

2007-08-22T13:20:00.000-07:00

Short entry: I've arrived in Rome. Longer entry to come.

Housing Information

2007-08-19T00:43:00.000-07:00

i will be staying at the residence candia in rome. you can check out the place by going to their website: here. i will not be receiving mail there, so please refer to the mailing address.

Mailing Address

2007-08-18T23:15:00.003-07:00

Mailing address in Rome:
Charlene Wang
c/o UC Rome Study Center
piazza del'Orologio, 7
00186 Rome, ITALY

Contact Information

2007-08-18T19:09:00.001-07:00

i leave for rome on august 21. here are a few ways to contact me while i am abroad.

1. skype: wang.charlene
2. email: charwang @gmail.com or chw011 @ucsd.edu
3. leave a comment here