Week 5

Wednesday, September 25: My New Testament class went to the church of St. John Lateran (San Giovanni) which is the cathedral of Rome and of the world. Even though I don't love sight-seeing, the size and grandeur of this church was breath-taking. There are huge statues of different religious figures and really intricate mosaics and designs all over the church. So, I actually did enjoy this visit. After classes, my friend finally showed us the good Mexican place that is about 20 minutes away, by bus with some walking. It was delicious, but again I still don't feel a need to eat anything other than Italian. That night, we also went to a really cool "library" themed place that specializes in chocolate shots. The shot glass itself is made out of chocolate and they use different liquors like hazelnut or coconut before topping it off with some whipped cream. Way better than any other shot I've ever had! Then, we went to Scholar's, which is the Irish bar close to our apartment. We met some cool people from Australia who told us about crocodiles and kangaroos and used words that I've never heard of. It's so interesting to meet people from all over the world!

San Giovanni (unfortunately they were doing some construction)

Inside the Church

Chocolate Shots!

Friday, September 27: My program had another included trip to do some wine harvesting. We got on another bus around 9:30 and drove for about an hour before stopping at a rest stop. There was a long line for the bathroom so I got a snack while I waited for everyone to clear out. What happened next was probably the most awkward and embarassing moment yet for me here. I was the second to last person in line for the bathroom; an Asian boy in the SBSJU (St. John's in Minnesota) program (somewhat linked to my program CEA, but not really) was behind me. There were two one-person bathrooms, so Rachel went into the men's room and then I went into the girl's bathroom. I hadn't even completely sat down on the toilet when the Asian boy opened the door to my bathroom and literally started to walk into the room..... I was mortified! He mumbled "sorry" and then I ran to the door to double check that it was locked and shut. For the rest of the day, I avoided him but apparently he told all his friends, SO rude, even though I did tell mine. It was actually pretty funny but I never wanted to interact with him or see him again after that! 

So the actual wine harvesting was really cool. We were in a field full of grapes and we each got to clip off the grapes and fill a basket with them. Then, we got to see the big containers and machines that they use to make and store the wine. There were also a ton of animals here: dogs, cats, horses, and roosters. I wasn't really a fan of the dogs and cats but I liked seeing the horses and hearing the roosters. We were also able to purchase 3 bottles of wine for 10 euro which is a pretty good deal. I got some. Then, we went to a delicious and HUGE lunch. We had to walk up a really steep hill to get there but it was a good workout before all the food we ate. The meal included some appetizers, really good fried zucchini and fried carrots, delicious ham and cheese lasagna, lemon chicken, french fries, salad, and some flan-type dessert that tasted like cheesecake, and of course both white and red wine. We were all so full afterwards. 

Fields of grapes

Where we ate lunch

After lunch, we walked back down the hill and got back on the bus. Six hours later, and of course the Asian boy is sitting right in front of me on the bus. He kept glancing over at me and I was wondering if I had taken his seat or he had dropped something in my area. THEN, he looked at me and BROUGHT UP the incident and apologized again. He said something about how the security guard told him to go in and he kept rambling on and on. Honestly, I wasn't even listening and I just wanted him to stop talking. I think I said something like "don't worry about it" "it happens" "it's fine". I just wanted him to stop talking, I couldn't belive he brought it up! At least it's a funny story to tell now. On the bus ride home, I took a nap and then took another nap once back at home. Doing all of these trips and always being on the go is very tiring!

That night, we went to Tony's for dinner. Tony's is right by our apartment and while they cater to Americans, the food is really good and they do some nice inclusions like free wine, free bread, and free tiramisu. I got the penne alla vodka which was very good. Probably shouldn't have even had dinner since I was so full from lunch but a big group of us had been wanting to try Tony's for awhile so I couldn't resist. After dinner, we all went back to Gilda, the club from last Friday night. Right when we walked in, of course, who do I see but Asian boy dancing with a girl in my program!! Can't escape him, even though I REALLY want to. Luckily, the SBSJU kids leave Rome for good for 2 months in Athens in mid-October. Hopefully, I won't run into him too many more times until then. But, overall Friday was a really fun day spent with a lot of cool people in my program!