When in Rome...

I like to define this past weekend as my first "real" weekend in Roma, and what a weekend it was.  There was no settling in, no mandatory orientation trips, no days planned out to the exact hour.  It was just me and my friends and Roma, exactly how I have always imagined it, with the absolute freedom to do as we pleased. 

Friday began with shopping, followed by a dinner downtown of pizza and a panino and the incredible three-flavor gelato combination of dark chocolate, coffee, and caramel.  We returned to the JFRC, watched a movie, got ready, and headed to Testaccio, an area known for its popular discoteccas.  The evening was nothing short of eventful and proved many stereotypes about Italy I had been told over and over again, including the persistence of Italian men.  Saturday was my roommate's twenty-first birthday, and was a leisurely day filled with a walk in Balduina (our neighborhood), coffee and pastries in town, and a visit to the local hair salon.  If you think that Italian women take time making themselves look presentable, wait until you see the men.  My roommate and I waited on a man in the salon for over an hour as he had his hair washed, cut, blow-dried, and styled.  And it was not as if he had a lot of hair or a high-maintenance haircut.  It was simple, run of the mill short hair that apparently required twice the amount of time it took to cut everyone else's hair in the salon.  After the salon we headed back to campus and set out for Trastevere, known to be more “authentically Italian” than Testaccio.  Following a few direction mishaps, we ate dinner at a delicious restaurant where I had my first pesto pasta in Italy and an incredible apple strudel with gelato.  To top it off, we ate just like the Italians at around ten p.m.!  We finally made it to Trastevere only to be caught in the rain, and it was in the middle of the downpour that we decided to go home.  After attempting and failing to find a taxi (it is illegal to hail them off the streets here) we crossed the bridge to a piazza with a little more promise.  However, as we walked up to the taxi stand it dawned on us that everyone in Roma apparently had the same idea, and we were faced with a line of about twenty people who were wet, tired, angry, and drunk.  Getting into a cab quickly turned into a competition, and I witnessed people shoving each other out of the way, racing after taxis, fighting, and screaming –– all in the middle of the pouring rain.  After about twenty minutes we made it into a cab and arrived safely back at campus, soaking wet and happy to be home.  My bed had never looked so inviting.  

This weekend may have had its ups and downs, but it was one that allowed us to see Roma on our own time and in our own way.  We have seen the antiquity of this eternally beautiful city paralleled by its modernity, have seen its culture by day and by night, and have lived amongst the Italians.  I guess it’s true what they say, that when in Rome, you really do have to do as the Romans do.  

Before leaving for Trastevere -- happy birthday Saiena!