Originally posted on my Tumblr travel blog, A Roman Spring with IES, in 2008.
- Tuesday Night Outings with the girls on Amba Aradam (Sarah, Christine, Sindhu, Julie Ann, and Whitney).
- Tomatoes come directly from the gods. They are seriously the best tomatoes I have ever eaten.
- My favorite cookies, Pan di Stelle. Chocolate goodness.
- Walks back home from school after Italian with Sarah.
- My homeless friends. Dazey (looked like she was always dazed), Opera-Singer (the singing lady at Largo Argentina), Pink Lady (always had her face painted pink), and Groggy (always sat on the buses between Termini and downtown, most of the time his pants were down to his ankles).
- My Italian class and Gitti (my italian teacher).
- Wine and cheese parties with the girls on Santa Croce (Lindsay, Giane, Molly, and ISC Laura).
- Gelato at Teatro and Giolitti!
- The best wine in the world for 2 euro or less.
- Seeing the Colosseum everyday. “Oh, what is this huge building I pass everyday to or from school? I don’t know but it looks really old.” That’s right, it’s the frickin colosseum.
- Walking into busy traffic that has no signs of stopping. But yes, they do stop when you start walking into the street. Gotta love the Romans and their crazy driving.
- The old Italian man that sits just outside my window everyday and yells things in the thickest Italian accent I have ever heard.
- Being able to call Rome “home”. “Rome-Home”.
- Really busy mornings on the 40 Express bus. This definately isn’t a positive memory but it’s definitaly a memory that I will have for a long time to come.
- Playing soccer with IES kids, and once with Valerio and his friends.
- Going to a Roma calcio game.“Roma Roma Roma”.
- Making pasta every night. I can make about 10 different types now.
- Making Tiramasu in Italian class.
- Being mistaken once for an Italian by a Japanese tourist. He tried talking to me in Italian and then I asked him if he spoke English and tried talking to him in English, but to be honest, he wasn’t good at either of those languages.
- Being able to tell the difference between real-homemade gelato and the fake-manufactured gelato.