ANYWAY. Monday, I took my last final, wrote in my blog for three hours in the computer lab at school, stopped and got my last pizza at the red door place by school (MY FAVORITE. I'm actually craving some right now... ughhh, soooo good!), walked home, showered, and started packing. Then we went across the street with our thank you note (translated by one of my roommates Italian profs) to say our goodbyes to Rosalita.
Rosalita has been like our Italian grandmother. We actually found out with like two days left that her real name is Dalia, but she will always be Rosalita to us. She owns the pizzeria across the street and has the best supplis around. She was always there (except between 1-4pm and on Sundays) when we were starving and too lazy to walk to the grocery store. Or when we just wanted to see a smiling face. She always greeted us with "Ciao Bella! Ciao! Bella, come stai oggi?" She gave us free pizza all the time and she's just fabulous. It was actually the first place we went on our first night in Roma and we accidentally ordered two GIANT pizzas. Our first real Italian experience. I've probably already included all this information somewhere else, but oh well.
We gave her our card and she loved it. We chatted a little bit, our Italian still bad, but better than the first night. We got some pizza and supplis. We took pictures with her (she allowed us behind the counter!) and she brought us fresh, hot supplis for free. Yummmm. When we left,I heard her tell some random passerby's that we're American and we're going home! Ha. She's such a nice lady.
After that, I finished packing and planning my last day in Roma.
Tuesday morning I woke up and headed to the Forum. Ugh. What a waste of time. There were no tours and my audioguide map was mismarked. I wandered around and had no idea what anything was. I then realized that I have already seen the entire Forum from various locations around it. So thaaat was a waste of money. I had bought a combined ticket for the Collosseum, so I went there next. I joined a tour (which also included the Forum! But I couldn't go back in the Forum unless I bought another ticket. Stupid me) and it was interesting, but I already knew almost all of it. When we were in line for the Collosseum, we had to wait foreverrrrrrrr because we were behind a group of French students and all the boys had knives in their backpacks but wouldn't admit it so security had to search all their bags and it took SO LONG. It was worth it though. The Collosseum is super cool. I loved it. So, when in Roma, skip the Forum and just see the Collosseum... unless you do a combined tour.
After that, I headed to Trastevere to meet
We talked about our time in Roma and how we can't believe how quickly it went. We both agreed that
WHY did I save this church for my last day!!? It is sooooooooooo pretty and big and wow. Breathtaking! I think it's my favorite church in Roma! I kept thinking "I have to come back here.. especially for mass" and then realizing I couldn't. So depressing.
Caught the bus home, changed my clothes, and went to AUR for the farewell party-thing. We ate some pasta, drank some wine, said our goodbyes. I still couldn't believe I was leaving Rome! We didn't stay too long, we came back to finish packing and get ready for traveling the next day. We cleaned the apartment out and then Victoria, Jessica, and I went out about 11:30pm to see the city one last time. We went to the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, and Piazza Navona.
The Trevi Fountain basically sums up my Roman experience. We got there and immediately were asked to buy roses, take pictures, etc. Then some Italian boys started taking pictures of us on their phones, so we were like what are you doingggggg? Which made them think it was okay to come talk to us. They plop down in between all of us, put their arms around us, buy us roses, take pictures, try to kiss us, etc. Out of control. Italian boys are just crazy... at lease the ones you see in the street. The ones in the clubs and stuff usually aren't too bad. Finally I said "Basta!" (enough!) to which he replied "vaffanculo" (which I will not translate). When I told him I knew what that meant, he tried to tell me he was singing a song... okayyyyy. So we took the roses and raaaaaaan.
After that, we sat at the bottom of the Spanish Steps and ripped up the roses so our step was all covered in petals. It was really pretty. Then we turned around to see a whole line of Italian boys mooning their friends. Ohhhhh Roma.
We got back around 2am and grabbed a few hours of sleep before we all left in the morning.
THEN the fun started. I woke up bright and early, said goodbye to Roma, still not believing I was leaving. I had to travel with two bags that probably weighed about 75lbs each (not an exaggeration), my backpack, my purse, and another bag that probably weighed about 30lbs. I was realllllllly looking forward to hulling my bags to the train, getting situated, and then switching trains in Milano... not.
Got on my first train. It was really hard and took about 30mins to walk down 7 cars and get my bags on, but I did it. I shoved all my bags on the empty (phew) luggage racks at the end of the car and found my seat. I had a single seat and the two across from me were empty. Niiiiice. I wanted to sleep, but I was too busy looking at my last Italian scenery. I was also very entertained by this little Italian girl a few rows up who was talking to everyoneeeeeeee. At one point her mom told her to stop talking and she goes "Parlo, parlo, parlo, parlo, parlooo" Hahahah. She was really funny and making friends with everyone.
Arrived in Milano, ready to conquer my second train... except this is where the problems start. First I get off the first train and some guy like puts all my stuff on a cart, takes my ticket out of my hand and walks me to the train. Then he demands 10euro. I had a fifty and a five so I gave him 5 and told him it was all I had. He was not happy. So I put all my stuff on the train, then find my way to my seat. It's in like a little 6 person compartment thing. So I go back to the end of the car to get all my bags. I literally take up all the overhead storage. Then the other 5 people come and they all have a bag each. So that was drama. Especially since none of them spoke any english.
Then we go up one stop and the train just sits for 45mins. No air conditioning. I am dyingggg from heat and dehydration, plus we're all cramped together in this little room. Then they announce the train is broken and we need to move to the train 3 platforms over in the next 5mins. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? Some boy helps me gets all my bags down and then runs off and I am literally the only person on the train, with my 5 bags, 3mins already gone, not even knowing what to do.
So I start running with each bag and throwing them off the side of the train. I drag them to the elevator and it's taking me forever. I see the conductor and ask him to help/hold the train and all he does is wave his arm and go "vai! vai! rapdio!" (go! go! fast!) Thanks a lot.
I get on the elevator. I go down to the ground floor. There are 4 old ladies waiting for the elevator to the other platform. They tell me to squeeze in and THEY of all people actually help me with my bags. They're like 80 years old! We get off the elevator, they jump on the train. I start throwing my bags (or more like heaving and then dropping ish with a slight throw) and as I'm running for my last one, the doors start to close. I grab it, sprint (luckily I saved the backpack for last) and jump on the train as the doors are closing.
So here I am, on my third train. It's a regional train, which means it only goes like a 45min route, max and this is a 4.5hour train ride I'm supposed to be on. No one tells us what to do. So I'm panicking at every stop, trying to figure out if I need to hull all my bags to the door to throw it off. I call my mom and have a breakdown... taking care of all those bags by myself was too much, I had no idea what was going on, I almost missed the third train, I forgot to write down the address of where I'm living in Geneva, I don't even want to be going to Geneva if it means leaving Rome, etc. I get off the phone, calm down, and go sit next to my giant pile of luggage.
Finally some guy comes and tells me I need to switch in a city in 30mins, go a few stops, then switch to another train. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? So I get off at that city and basically everyone on the train is panicking and it's me and the ladies who helped me in the elevator and an asian woman. The asian woman has lots of luggage too and she speaks italian, french, and english and she says "I help you, you help me, we help each other". Aaaaaand of course there is no elevator at this station. So we start dragging all our bags down the stairs. Then we drag them all over to the new platform. Then we drag them all upstairs. She watches the bag while I go get some water and a snack. Then I watch the bags while she goes to the bathroom. We had checked the schedule and had missed the train we were supposed to be on, but there was another one coming from Milano which would take us right to Geneva! So we waited an hour for that one. We got all the luggage on the train, then I watched it while she looked for seats. She had made friends with a french lady on the last train and there were three seats by her! Wooooo. We store our luggage and sit with her.
I talked to them for a while about where I was going/had been and they shared their stories too. The asian lady was Pilipino and she had been in Italy the past four months with a relative. Now she was going to Geneva to stay with other relatives. The french lady was on vacation in Italy and she works in Geneva, so she was catching a boat from there to go home. For the most part though, it was a relaxing ride and I slept with my iPod on.
Switzerland is really beautiful when you first enter into it. Lots of mountains, waterfalls, lakes. But once I got closer to Geneva, it kind of turned ugly. I don't really like the architecture and everything is black, brown, grey, beige, etc. I like the center of the city, by the river and lake, but other than that, it's more of a modern city. It's also super small.
Also, it is reallllllllly Americanized (Westernized?). There are McDonald's and Starbucks and DOMINOS(!) all over and lots of people speak english and I don't really feel like I'm in Europe anymore. Which is not what I was going for at all. I stayed here to continue my european experience and that just not what it feels like.
But anyway, to finish my story. I arrived 2.5hours late and checked into my room. The place we're staying is like a conference center/temporary housing/hotel/office. I don't really get it. My room is a good size, but storage wise, it is lacking. I just have one tiny closet for ALL my stuff. I've made it work but I have a lot of stuff under my bed and my shoes are taking up half my floor. We have community bathrooms down the hall, so it's like being in the dorms again. I do have a sink in my room though, which is nice. I only have two plugs, which is already problematic. I have to keep my food locked up in the basement, I have a little like box/locker thing for my dishes/food and another tiny one in the fridge. Also, dishes wise, they only gave me a tiny, tiny pot and a big, big saucepan. Hellllllo, how am I supposed to make my pasta!? Doesn't make sense. They provide breakfast for us... aka baguette and honey and jam, so that will get old, but oh well.
Aaaaaand as I was unpacking, I realized I left my backpack on the train. I called like 10 numbers and none of them worked. Finally, I went to the train station, but lost and found was closed. So I woke up early yesterday morning and went back to the train station. Where they told me to go to a website to fill out a claim. Then I got an email from a guy at AUR who says someone emailed him to tell him my backpack is in Milan. I emailed that guy. Haven't heard back from anyone. I reallllllllly want my backpack back as it has my retainers, glasses, planner, some money, etc. So hopefully that comes back to me soon!
After the train station, I stopped at Starbucks, as I hadn't had it in foreverrrrrrrrrr. It was way overpriced, but I splurged anyway because I missed it so much! The first sip was heavennn, and by the third, I was disgusted. I don't really even drink coffee, which is why I like starbucks, because I can get coffee stuff without it tasting like coffee. But it was sooooooooo bad. It tasted so sugary and gross. I was craving my Italian cappuccino soooooo much after that.
I'm really missing Roma a lot... A lot, a lot, a lot. I miss the bars like every two feet where I can get a great cappuccino and a fresh croissant for breakfast. I miss the noise. I miss the size. I miss the PRICES (everything in Geneva costs SO MUCH... about $10 for a sandwich or a piece of pizza. I went grocery shopping and I bought what is about 8-12euros worth of food in Rome and it cost me THIRTY-TWO Francs! I am already so poor and living here is just going to ruin me). I miss the tiny grocery stores and having to go to different places to get the rest of my food... I panicked when I walked in the grocery store here, SO BIG! I miss the fresh markets. I miss the crazy drivers. I miss the colors and the winding streets and small allies. I miss all the stuff there is to look at (basically nothing here besides a fountain and a flower clock). I miss the food. I miss my hangouts. I miss everythingggggggggggggg. I almost feel like I'm here for a weekend and I'm bored already and can't wait to go back to Roma. But I'm stuck here.
Hopefully it will get better... I completely skipped the "honeymoon" phase of culture shock, so that might not be a good thing. I'm still really excited for my internship, but I'm starting to wonder if I should have just come home instead. Spend the summer at Macy's, getting out of debt, enjoying a Michigan summer... but oh well, too late now.
Yesterday we had orientation in the morning (after I woke up at the crack of dawn to go to the train station). Then we went on a tour of "old town" with the worst tour guide ever. She wouldn't tell us anything, just kept pointing to things and telling us to look them up. I can't even remember all the stuff she told us to look up! Also, she just kept talking about the Protestant Reformation... the same info over and over and over and over again.
After that, we went grocery shopping... where I was overwhelmed and then in disbelief over the cost. We came back and ate some lunch. Then we went to some art galleries that were opening for like 15mins. Then we just walked around for a few hours. Came back and hung out with the boys for a little bit, talked to my mom and friends, then went to bed. The one good thing about here is my bed is SO COMFORTABLE!
This morning we had another orientation and now we're supposed to leave in 30mins to go on a Scavenger Hunt around Geneva... in the pouring rain. We're also going out for a fancy dinner tonight as a group and I really hope EUSA is picking up the tab... because I am too poor for that business.
Soooooooooo that's what's going on in Switzerland.
OH and the other thing is I have NEVER been more confused when communicating! I'm so used to listening to italian for the words I understand, not the whole sentence. So I've been doing that with the french. But I can understand whole french sentence, so then I get confused. Any word that I learned in Italian, I can't remember in French. Or I go to speak and I'm not sure if the words I'm using are itlian or french. I can't even remember my numbers in french anymore, and I learned those nine years ago! Then when I do remember the french, I start to get nervous that I'll forget the italian I know, so I practice it in Italian too and then I just get confused all over again. I keep walking around saying "si" "grazie" "bongiourno" "buona sera" "scusi" "ciao" and it is all wrong. Ahhhhhhhh.
