Our first night there we finally saw a face that we knew, the tall man himself, Sam*. It was refreshing to see a new face and hear a new voice that I could understand. That first night we stayed near the airport, slept well, and woke up late and as quickly as we could got out of the hostel before they had to kick us out.
*Sam may also be referred to as Samwise, Samwise Gamgi, Samwell, or the Big Tall Man. Sam is actually a big tall man,
We ate breakfast, I had my first cappuccino of the trip (I have not gone over 24 hours without one since. Mom, I am sorry for all the times I have criticized your coffee addiction, that stuff is good). When we got the Ciampino train station we bought our €1,30 tickets to Roma-Termini and got swindled for the first and last time. These two guys kept asking for any money to help them get to see their family, doing the whole sob story act. Duy gives them ,25¢ because he has more heart than Sam or me, and they proceeded to walk up to the counter, pull out a €100 note, and purchase a ticket. It was one of those "So that's how it's going to be, eh?" moments.
Our hostel was right next to Termini, the large train station in Rome, which isn't exactly the best spot if you're looking for upscale, though looking out of our 4th floor window (5th floor in the US) we were able to see some interesting things. Remember this for later.
The few days we had before the program was our last chance to be on our own and travel at our own pace. Traveling with Don and Jenny has been great because they can point out what's important, old, and cool, and tell you why it's important, how old it is, and why you should think it's cool. Contrastingly there is something quite rewarding about taking the time to figure it all out on your own. Like when we realized we were walking through some old ruins, and they happened to be the Termini Baths aka the Thermal Baths.
So, with that said, we found a lot of stuff that seemed cool, but we had no idea what it all was until monday.
Rome is an interesting city to explore. There are something around 7 straight streets through the entire city that were cut through Haussman style (so, like in Paris) but Rome's are much older and related to pilgrimages, and these visually connect a series of monuments which help lead one around the city. Once you get used to this, Rome is pretty easy, but until then, getting lost is just a fact of life.
The nice thing about exploring at our own pace was that we could nap. And boy oh boy did we nap. We were all exhausted from traveling, Sam without his luggage and only a change of clothes, and it was a good break before the program started. We also did a lot of socializing. We went out a few nights and met some really fun people. The most interesting of which was a wonderful Finish girl and her Italian friends. The story goes like this:
Sam is looking out the window. A girl is across the way. Waves are exchanged. She asks, "Where are you from?"
"Oregon"
"Where?"
"Where?"
"Oregon"
Now at this point I realize what is going on. She is not American, she just speaks english and has no idea where the heck Oregon is, but everyone in the world knows where California is so we usually refer to the famous state before ours.
I decide to interject "We're from the US!"
Now she gets it. The whole, where are you from? What are you doing in Rome? etc is exchanged. We learn she's from Finland, I tell her I love Helsinki. Then I yell "Do you want my phone number?" and shout the digits across the street.
That night we text each other and decide to meet up in San Lorenzo, the student district. We realize that we know only her name, her phone number, and that she's blonde. Though we actually found her! Go figure. So we hang out with her and three wonderful italian girls all night, in perhaps the most memorable night of the trip thus far. It truly summed up the first week and a half of travel: it's about who you meet and the experiences that you share.
Heini, thank you for looking out your window.
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