Ciao Roma!

SIIIGH! So we finally made it. We left from Minneapolis on Tuesday at 7:30pm and got into Amsterdam at 4am (11am for me) and left 3 hours later on a 2 hour flight to Rome. We got to Rome at 4pm (so 9am your time) and then were taken to our apartments. (Rome is 7 hours ahead of USA Central time). We unpacked and walked around the neighborhood to find the super market and places to eat. We shared some pizza and gelato and some wine and called it a night early around 10pm. There are 5 of us living in our apartment, everyone has their own room except Tarin and I share one. There are 2 bathrooms, a living room, and kitchen with dining room. Today we had to meet at the ACCENT center (where our class is) for an orientation. They gave us a ton of tips for how to use transportation, what to do to keep safe, what to do in an emergency, where to buy necessities, etc. To get to the ACCENT center we were supposed to be able to follow the directions on a map they gave us..too bad the map had north on the bottom of the page and so we confused left turns for right turns and so on. Luckily we were able to figure it out with the help of a man on the bus and got going in the right direction. After the orientation they took us on a little walking tour and then we all ate lunch together at a restaurant and have pizza, bruschetta, and french fries. I guess they thought we'd want american food, but fries were the last thing I wanted! The pizza here is so good! I also had a sandwich this morning with the freshest mozzarella I've ever had. The traffic here is NUTS. Absolutely NUTS! They kind of drive in lanes, but if they want to turn they just go around other people and cut people off. Mopeds weave in and out and drive SO fast! Everyone is on the defense when driving so there aren't any accidents because everyone expects others to drive stupidly. To cross the street you have to be aggressive and go for it or you'd never get across. They only stop to let you walk if you are in their way. We are going to go grocery shopping right now so I will right more later.