Flea Market

Last Sunday, the 18th, we went to the Flea Market. It's held every Sunday a couple miles south of us. We ate lunch and hopped on a bus and went.. The bus took us pretty close, we just had to walk a couple blocks and cross a bridge, which is better than the hour walk it would have been from our apartment! They had everything here. Shirts, shoes, jewelry, leather, food, electronics, and massive amounts of people. We decided to walk down one side and come back on the other.. We arrived and the market was only open for a couple more hours so we went to work. There were a lot of cool things we saw. Italian leather shoes and belts and clothing. Lots of leather wallets and jewelry. We made it down half of the one side before it was noonish and people began packing up. The market was close to two miles long with tables on both sides, and we only saw a quarter of it.. There was a lot of the same stuff just new people selling it. I only made two big purchases on the day, something for Deven and something for Tonya. All I can say is I showed up with Euros and left broke..

On the way back we took the 280 bus north and got lost.. We thought it would turn and cross the river at some point, but it kept on going north on the far side of the river and crossed over way too far from home.. We rode it all the way to a north bus terminal station and waited until it turned around and rode it back home to a stop close by St. Peters Square. It only cost us about an hour of our time and we got a little bus tour of the city north of the Vatican. I also got to see the sports complex where Rome plays its' soccer games. I've got to go there on a field trip soon.

Santa Marinella Beach

Last week we went to the beach again. We thought we would try something new and go to a beach north of us instead of the other beach we went to last time. Our roommate recommended it so we thought we would go give it a try. We had to take a train about a half an hour north of us to Santa Marinella. The beach was just a short walk from the train stop. Adam gave us really good directions, John had sketched out a map and he was spot on. Took us a couple minutes to walk down there. When we got there we were pretty bummed about coming to this beach cause the extent of the free beach can be seen below.. There was only about 20 feet of beach because there was a private beach right next to it. We were kind of pissed that we listened to Adam. The bottom was really thick with seaweed and coral and rocks. There were also lots of minnows we could see, the water was crystal clear. We swam out to the rocks and climbed up and rested for a bit.

We swam in and talked with some of the locals, one of them translated what the other was telling us. She asked us who we were, what we were doing here and this and that.. We told her we were studying abroad from the States and she gave us some information about the area. 
We went to lunch. Had some margaritas, which is a cheese pizza personal size in Italy, and had a beer. We walked down the coast going to lunch and we found a spot we wanted to try out.. The free beaches don't have umbrellas for you in the sand, and this one was wide open so we knew it was public. 


There was also more than 20 feet of beach which was good! The sand was really nice and this beach was so much better than the small one we went to in the morning. We took a short nap then saw there was also rocks off in the distance. We decided to swim out lay on the rocks, after that we had to wade in to get John's camera so we could take some pictures on the rocks.. Once we took some pictures we called it a day and headed in to dry off and catch the train home. Below is a link to the rest of the pictures we took at the beach.

Da li Cochi a Trastevere

Went to the sandwich place again and soon as I walked in Matteo he said he had a sandwich for me to try. He insisted that I at least try it. It was a sausage carne con spinach and mayo and fresh mozzarella. We started a small conversation with Matteo this time and he asked us where we were from and what we were doing in Roma. We told him we were from the Midwest. He told us that he was going to California on vacation this February. John got a chicken and mozzarella sandwich that looked awesome. I'll definitely have to try that sometime!

Below is a few pictures I found of the place with some of their friends..

New thing, Ending each post with a different Italian word/phrase.
Buongiorno - Good Morning
Buonasera- Good Evening
Buonanotte- Good Night

Classes

I've already got a 6 page paper due in a couple weeks. It's about the history of the three main sports in the US baseball, basketball, and American football and why Americans watch them. It shouldn't be that hard but I have to read the book before writing the paper. At least the book is about sports.

I've also got my first test tomorrow in Italian 101. It's over letters, numbers, dates, foods, places, and basic greetings. It shouldn't be too hard but I've got to put in a couple hours of studying yet this afternoon.

After the first couple of classes of History of the Catholic Church I can see that it will be pretty hard to keep up for the tests.. Good thing our first midterm is a take home test. Our teacher is smart enough to be on the History Channel he just struggles with relaying the information to the students. He expects us to know Greek and Latin words and symbols when most of us don't know any of them. Over the first two weeks we learned the history behind the Dollar Sign, the Old Testament and New Testament and how Religion is linked with Justice in Rome.

The Italy Reads program is staring soon and we have a meeting Monday about when we will meet with Italian High School Students to discuss the book. John just got the book read and the training done a couple of days ago. I had the book read a couple of weeks ago but just finished the training on time with him.

First time at the weight room a couple of days ago, and I already benched all the weights they had. They have a really small weight room with one bench and a couple of different machines. They also have three treadmills and 3 stationary bikes. I guess it will be good enough to get by because it's free. There's a couple of pictures of the gym below.

Packers vs. Panthers at 7:00 our time. It's a noon game in the states. Should I try to stream it, or just go to Abbey Theatre to watch it?

Da Beach

Sunday morning we got up bright and early to go surfing in Ostia. John had the bright idea of coordinating a trip to the beach to go surfing. He supposedly lined everything up with the surf school and booked us a time to go surfing. A group of us met a Piazza Trilussa right by campus at 9 o'clock.  We got out a map and looked at what train we needed to take to get there. It looked to be about a half and hour train ride. We walked down the Tiber to our Train stop and bought our biglietto. And we were off. We were instructed by the train teller to take the train all the way to the last stop and the surf school would be somewhere close by. We were a little leary because the last four stops on the bus line had the wave symbol which means they would be by the Mediterranean.


We went all the way to the last stop like the teller said and everyone there was getting on a shuttle bus so we hopped on too. It took us a couple of miles up the coast. When we got off we followed the signs to the free beach. We changed into our suits then looked for the surf school. John asked a woman at the beach where the surf school was and she just laughed at him.. It was a couple of train stops back about a half an hour from where we currently were. John Fail. We then just decided to stay put for the day and just swim.  We swam for a couple hours and grabbed a salami sandwich at a ristorante for lunch. Take a look below at some of the photos from the beach.

Iowa vs. Iowa State

Last weekend we went to a local bar to watch the Iowa vs. Iowa State game. We showed up a little early to get a good seat and maybe get something to eat. Mark knew someone from ISU's College of Design so we knew there would be a couple of other fans there to watch the game. I guess ISU has a campus here in Rome for Design students studying Graphic Design, Interior Design, and Architecture. They regularly send 50-60 students over every semester from Ames.

Walking to the bar John already started talking smack so I thought I would bet him, what do I have to lose.. I was just hoping the Cyclones kept it close. So we put a little alcoholic be on the line. Soon as we made the bet John was wondering if I would buy him shots to get the bet out of the way since he was so confident that Iowa would win.. I just let him keep talking cause that's what he's best at. When we showed up we met up with some fellow classmates and we found where the game would be played so we grabbed the best seats available. There were about 25 ISU students at the bar. The bar was getting full so we still had time to move around. John ordered some barbecue wings and we watched the beginning of the Wisconsin vs. Oregon State game. They had technical difficulties getting the game to stream onto the big screen so I was updating everyone on my iTouch. I would have to turn it on and check the score every 15 minutes and turn it back off so it wouldn't die.

Finally they got the game on the screen around the second quarter and it was a pretty close game, something like 10-10. The whole second half was back and forth and the Cyclones were up most of the game. The atmosphere at the bar was pretty intense! Some of the design students taught some of the locals some chants and the school song. John found some people of his color in a corner of the bar, there were only like four other Iowa fans there.

Midway through the fourth quarter our stream got cut off and we didn't know what was going on.. We had to rely on a couple of iPhones and John's Iowa fans' computer for updates. The Hawkeyes scored and the two point try was successful and the Cyclones now have to score a touchdown and XP to tie it! We kept checking the score updates as frequently as we could hoping the stream would come back on the internet. Somehow the Cyclones scored, we didnt' know how, but it was tied up and going into overtime! Feele the Steele.

The stream came back up and the bar erupted! We got the game back on just in time for overtime. Iowa scored first in the first overtime and the Cyclones matched it. The Cyclones then scored first in the second overtime and all they had to do was hold them to win. The Hawkeyes scored a TD and now it was headed into the third overtime. Cyclones hold the Hawkeyes to a FG, now all the Cyclones have to do is score to win.. Sometime during the third overtime our stream is cut off again and we had to check for updates yet again.I was the first to notice that Iowa State had scored and showed my iPod to Mark.

The place was about to go nuts! Iowa State just beat Iowa and we couldn't be there to rush the field.. Whatever, cause we won and the twenty or so ISU students at the bar went crazy. Looks like John is going to have to pay up this time. We took some quick pictures and John was no where to be found. I'm pretty sure he bolted to the back alley to start sulking. The link below is a album to some of the pictures that were taken after the big W. The last picture is straight off of ESPN.

Steele Jantz is an automotive paradox, he is both automatic and clutch!!

Iowa State Fight Song

Last Weekend

Last weekend we got to go on a pub crawl. One of the local JCU residents organized it with the bars and got us some good deals.. It was cool to get shown around the city and to a couple of the more well-known bars. Went to a local church for mass Sunday night. Almost died it was soo hot in there. The mass was all Italiano which didn't help. Found a Carrefour (Market) that we can shop at, it's about two blocks away. It has everything we need and fresh fruits and vegetables. I assume we'll be taking many trips there during our stay.

This Weekend

Have big plans for the weekend! Going to one of the American bars tomorrow night for the Iowa Iowa State game.. Kicks off 11:30 am or 6:30 pm our time.

Then surfing on the East Coast of Italy over by the Airport on Sunday. Not sure if I will surf or just hang out on the beach.. Hopefully pictures of that will be posted afterwards.

First Couple Days of Class

Classes all day Monday and Wednesday. History of Sports looks like it will be an interesting course. It has to do with the history of sports, where it came from, what defines a sport, and what not. It also will discuss sports and how it interacts with politics and culture.

Introduction to Italian shouldn't be too hard. It's just like learning Spanish. There are a little pronunciations that are different..

History of the Catholic Church looks to be very interesting too. Looks like it will be all facts. The first couple days we went over the history behind the dollar sign how it goes back to Christianity, we also talked about the history of all religion. We also got a lecture on the 'Shroud of Turin'. Google it for more information, it was a very interesting talk today. We also get to go on site in a couple weeks to the best preserved archaeological sites in the world. It's under the Vatican City.. One of the early Roman Emperors buried people/artifacts there, hope to get more information on that tour.

Web Design looks to be pretty easy to. I will make a portfolio that I can also use for my Senior Design Project. I'll probably also make a new template for schmitzelectric.com as well.. I already revealed my skills to the professor and he has high expectations.

Lastly, we have an onsite tour that meets Tuesday morning. We also have a mandatory field trip to Pompeii at the end of September. We meet at sites around ancient Rome and have class there. I think it will end up being like a walking tour.

I Heart Paninis

Today in our break for dinner, the crew went to the usual for some paninis and slices of pizza. After we ordered and were about getting full the clerk hands us a free pizza on the house. The guy even knew my order before I told him.. Looks like were getting to be regulars!! Gratzie!

Study Abroad

Pictures from our flight and when we first arrived. Pictures of our apartment and a few pictures of Roma.

Study Abroad 2 - Walking Tour

Navigation 101: Walking Tour throughout Rome. We saw the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, The Colosseum, The Pantheon, the bookstore and took a ride on the Metro.

Pictures Again

Here is the link to some pictures I took on a walking tour through Ancient Rome. (Again on Picasa or GooglePhotos)

https://picasaweb.google.com/101326286097173142059/StudyAbroad2WalkingTour?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCPf57_q2venE-AE&feat=directlink

JCU

First day of classes tomorrow. Starting at noon straight through till 5:30 then a short break for dinner. Got a physical tomorrow so I can use the gym at the Residence Hall. Then last class ends at 8, listing and heading home. Ciao

More to come about some tours I went on along with some pictures..

Pictures

Here is a link to my first album on www.picasaweb.google.com:
https://picasaweb.google.com/101326286097173142059/StudyAbroad?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCIWgkoungqfLYw&feat=directlink

Arrived!!

Arrived yesterday after flying through Detroit and Paris, arrived in Rome Fuimicino Airport around 4:30 and took until 6 to get Mark's lost bag squared away.. We thought we were going to miss our shuttle to our apartment we didn't know the address to yet! We got there in time, and signed up for the shuttle, got our welcome packages, keys to the apartment, and had our pictures taken for our IDs. We were lucky to get to our apartment in one piece they way Romans drive, I guess if you have a moped you can drive and park anywhere you want. (That includes passing on the shoulder and driving in between cars). We got to our apartment, a block away from Vatican City, nice building, on the top floor. Put our bags in a janky looking elevator and moved our stuff in. Took awhile to get situated and get moved in. The apartment is a little small and far away from campus, 10 minute walk, but it will have to do.. I think we're gonna go check out the two campuses Tiber and Guarini tomorrow and take care of some more paperwork.