Una Passeggiata(A stroll)

What a beautiful day in the eternal city. It never ceases to surprise me. Today is a bit of a rest day for everybody after the hectic move in.We are now sitting on our balcony overlooking the grand street of Viale di Trastevere. In the pictures you can see me enjoyoing my San Pellegrino and book in the Roman sunshine with the company of my roommate Zak from Maine.

Today, I woke up and decided to take a stroll on my own, just me, throughout the main part of Trastevere. I put on my italian coat and followed with my italian man-bag. Yes, everything was in place for my relaxing stroll through my ancient city. I left the building greeting the seccurity guard standing outside the door on the sidewalk. He guided me to the transportation I needed to go downtown. I then boarded the tram and arrived after a short trek in the tiny streets of Trastevere. It was a little empty but still fuill of life. Shops were closed on some streets but vivacious and glowing on others. A myriad of people walked the streets with me. Some Italian, and some students. I hear languages everyday and am always interested in their intricacies and flow. Then, I see this old short Italian lady drop her cane and lean up against the building. I quickly ran over urging "posso aiutare!"(I can help!). She gladly stands back up as I retrieve the cane for her. She then starts mumbling something as I ask her if everything is ok. I was wary at first not knowing if she was tricking me or if she was just on her way to the market, but I knew nothing was awry from the situation, so I continued. She then asks me to help her to the end of the block, and I oblige by giving her my hand that she takes gratefully. We end up chatting for a bit(she was a slow walker...) and she loved to hear I was a student and knew exactly where John Cabot was and told me that I am very lucky. She loved my italian and wondered at my heritage. She gave me her name, Maria, and I told her mine, Biagio. She loved it and would not call me Blake but instead Biagio because we were in Italy. We parted ways with her grateful grazie's and I continued on my stroll...not before checking all pockets coats and bags for any missing items. But as expected everything was in place.
It's funny the things you see and realize when you have the opporunity to be a bystander on someone else's life. Walking through these narrow pathways of Rome I did just that, peering into the lives these people lead and how their differences compare with my way of life. The knowledge to be gained is much when seen on a neutral ground, yet there is still so much unseen that I want to know. I find myself repeating phrases of conversations of people on the street silently correcting myself if I say it wrong and then fileing words for my vocabulary. It's amazing how easy it is to blend when you are open to the way of life and people. I soon realized that my pace had lessened and that I had lost track of the time...how odd?

Upon return to my apartment in the late morning, the guys were musstering and begining to rise. So, while waiting I decided to take the garbage out. As I do, I realize that I have no idea what goes where! And in Italy there are tons of different containers for stuff. Luckily another tenant form my building was also taking her garbage out. I kindly asked her and she helped me. ALthough she said the word recyclables in spanish with a Spain accent...I couldn't help myself, so I asked her and she is from Madrid! I can't pronounce her name but she loved my Spain spanish and offered help whenever I wanted it. We kept switching between Italian, Spanish, and English so my mind was abuzz with words trying to go to their separate places. I think it's nice getting to know my neighbors, because that way they will be kinder in cases of noise and other such things which I assume will happen this semester living with the people I am.

Wow, I can't believe there can be more to tell, but there is! So I arranged a dinner last night at a restaurant on our street with everybody. It had a great deal of only 10 Euro per person which includes appetizer, entree, dessert, and wine! We arrived and sat down and our waiter asks us the usual in broken english and to make a really long and unforgettable dinner short I will say that the food was absolutely amazing as you can see. NUTELLA PIE for dessert...I mean is there anything else someone could want? The wine was phenomenal, and it just kept on coming! I must have given such praises that our waiter Fabrizio told the chef who came out to meet us. He loves the University kids and gets them all the time. He loved our group though and said that whenever we come back he will make us something special. It made all of us feel really good that we just made a "hang out" place on the third night. These people really care about food and our enjoyment of the whole process. There was no rush to get out of Le Fate(the restuarant) and the timeing of every ourse was perfect. I could not have asked for a better dining experience. On top of everything, the portions were so well prepared that I was not stuffed and not yearning for more...I was perfectly content....Italy.

Well, school starts soon and I am getting ready! I am eager to explore more of Rome and immerse myself in the gift it has to offer! Ciao for now!

Blake