Weekends in Roma

Ciao everyone, I hope you're all having an excellent start to your weekend and that Friday was excellent, I realized last night after about 7 oclock that I hadn't updated. Really it was the first time not doing so that I was in Roma that I didn't do so. Whoops, time just gets away sometimes I guess. Then again, yesterday involved a lot of reading, some sleeping in a little, a trip to the grocery store and not much else before around say 3. It was pretty quiet; everyone has a bunch of reading from class that just needed to get done and so we just hung around quietly, all breaking our readings from time to time with something of minimal importance, but you need it sometimes to break through the boredom.

It's weird having to study and go to school really over here; it's such a foreign and different environment with so much to do and see and yet you can't always be going out to see and do things, there's work to be done. I read about 200 pages these past few days along with doing the dishes (very, very necessary . . . some people don't know to clean up after themselves it seems) and getting occasional updates from KK in Crete. I'll let her tell you all about that excitement in her blog and you can all read it over on hers if you really wanted, but it's been eventful for her for sure.

Around 3, Chad, Alex, and I ventured out to try and find a guitar for Chad and Alex because they both play quite a bit and neither had the space to bring one. So, Chad decided to buy a cheap one, and the ACCENT Center offered to pay him up to (but no more than) 50 Euro for anyone he bought at the end of the program so they could pass it on to one of the next groups of kids here in Rome. We went to a few different places, and one place was really nice, but was only a repair shop. On our way towards another one, we kind of doubled back and I saw a shop that really just disappeared into the walls, nothing too noticeable, and I stopped us really quick and went inside.

I am very, very glad we did.

We found a shop that sold Refried Beans, Black Beans, Tortillas, Mexican rice, and really just an assortment of Mexican foodstuffs and supplies, which we all fawned over, since it sounded so good. In the back of the store, they also had a lot of Soy Sauce, Noodles, and other Asiatic cuisine supplies, which was cool as well. It's pretty reasonably priced too, all things considered, and we are definitely going to have a Mexican Potluck here in the near future, no doubt about it.

From there we went to a book and music store where I happened to find a 40 Euro guitar for Chad, and it was actually pretty nice, and even better, Chad gets paid 50 euro for it at the end of the semester, meaning he earns ten bucks for playing the guitar. Not too shabby if you ask me. And I gotta say, it's been funny hearing guitar again, since Trav always plays back home and hearing it in the background brought back some found memories of home and made me think about how the guys are all living together now down at 6163 Lakewood in La Jolla. I'll be back there before I blink twice, I know, but it's weird to kind of remember that life toils on without thee.

We went back home and I was hungry around 4ish, but we decided that at 7 we'd go to the Mexican food restaurant around here and pig out on it. So, I read a bit and snacked just enough to get by until we went to La Cucaracha at 6:30.

Now, Mexican food over here is an imitation of Mexican food in the United States, so I coined the term that really it's like third-person Mexican food. Don't get me wrong, it was very good, but it wasn't anything like Mexican food back home. The nachos I got were supposedly meant for 2 people, but I could've eaten two of them, so go figure. We all had some Tequila too, since hey, I'm 21, it's a Mexican restaurant, and why not go all out?

After it was all said and done, we needed to pad our stomachs a bit more, so we went to see my good friends at Pizza e Birra for some pizza to layer over the food, and it too was excellently placed, no doubt. We came back and although there was talk of trying to stay up til 3am to watch the debates, we soon realized none of us would be able to make that jump. Bert and I chatted with some of our neighbors downstairs until around 10:30 when we trekked over to get some authentic homemade and very large Gelati. Yum. I had a Crema / Caramella / Nutella huge cone and I was, to say the least, full when this evening was over.

I had a little trouble going to sleep last night although I was very, very tired, but I eventually got there and before I read any reactions to the debates, I watched them on CNN, all hour and a half of them, and I know I am biased, but I really think Obama held his own and looked pretty solid in the debate he was supposed to be the weaker of the two candidates, on Foreign Policy. He really made McCain look uncomfortable at the beginning with the Economy problems, and I think that's going to go a long way in helping some swing voters. But a good, rousing morning of Political observation, and I am always a big fan of watching both men having to respond to one another.

Biden / Palin should be really fun too. Can't wait for that one.

But yes, today is more reading and everything, and then maybe tonight going out to get some food, who knows? Tomorrow there's a match between AS Roma and Atalanta, and AS Roma is the HUGE club here in Roma for Serie A, or the Italian Soccer. It's a big deal. Totti is a God here. It's played out at Stadio Olympico, and I know a few people want to go see it; it's something that'd be really awesome to go see at some point when I'm here, that's for sure.

Anyway, that's about it for me. I hope you have an excellent Saturday and this time next week, KK and I will be chilling in Interlaken, Switzerland. Can't wait for that! I hope you all have a good one, and until next time,

Ciao.