Above is the American University of Rome
Above on the lft in the back is Morgan and all the way on the right is Valorie
Greetings friends. I would like you all to know that I am officially in love with Rome. I still miss a lot of things about home and I wouldn't want to live here forever, but the next few months I think are going to be wonderful. Yesterday morning we woke up bright and early to go to our orientation. The man who lead the orientation was like a dad giving us the basic safety tips that we have all heard a million times. He also scared us to death telling us horror stories of things that have happened to students at the University when they weren't being careful.
After the meeting, some of the girls and I went to change our schedules, then ventured off past the university to see what we could find. We walked down a beautiful, narrow, winding cobblestone road with tall walls and gates on either side. The street was lined mainly with different embassies (is that the correct way to pluralize embassy?)
When we got to the end of the street we came upon this huge, beautiful fountain and a spectacular view of the entire city. We were all in tears because we were so happy to finally see parts of Rome we had only dreamed of seeing before. We took millions of pictures, and were really scared of two armed guards who were walking back and forth because we had been yelled at some earlier for taking pictures near the embassy they were protecting. However, these guards were really friendly and took pictures with us! The only english word they knew was "chewing gum" and asked us for some in payment for the pictures. It was hillarious.
Later on that night we had the walking tour of Rome, which was run by the school and showed us how to get to and from the center of Rome. We saw hundreds of ruins, the cat sanctuary, the tomb of the unkown soldier, and the colloseum!
One of the tour guides, David, who works for the school, is also a club promoter. He was the guy who met Caroline and I at the airport when we first arrived to show us where our apartments were. We wanted to go out last night so we asked him where we should go. He told us to go to Gilda, a club where he works, and he said he would put us on the VIP list and get us right in. He gave us his his number and a paper with the club name and address on it and told us to call him when we got there.
After the tour we went home and made a delicious dinner with pasta (of course) mozzerella, basil and tomato, bread, fruit salad, and wine. We sat at the dinner table for about three hours just chatting and having a wonderful time, when we realized it was 10:30 and we should probably get ready to go out.
We ended up not leaving until sometime after midnight. The clubs in Rome don't open until midnight so this was fine. We went to the stop for the number 19 bus which would take us straight to the Colloseum, which is right near Gilda. We waited at the bus stop for 20 minutes when we realized the bus might not be coming.
We were all debating on what we should do- keep waiting or walk a great distance and take the tram- when Caroline turns to us and with a panicked face said "Guys. I am not lying to you right now. There is a man standing over there exposing himself." We were all silent for a minute while we absorbed what she just told us. Carefully a few of the girls scooted over to where Caroline was looking and saw that yes indeed, a man was standing a distance away facing us with his manly parts hanging out. We all turned immediately and started jogging towards the tram. Luckily, the man didn't follow us, and we can look back now and laugh at the situation. I think it may be the wierdest thing that has ever happened to me.
On our way to the tram the bus came by and stopped for us. After our frustrating night so far it seemed like things were finally going our way since we finally got the bus. However, our attitudes changed from joy to frustration again once we got off the bus and realized Gilda would be harder to find than we thought. We asked all the older couples we saw if they could show us where Gilda was, and they would give us directions but none of us payed attention. I think we all assumed someone else would pay attention. We also met up with David's friend Morgan, another club promoter who told us how to get to Gilda, and found our way there eventually.
The joy we felt upon arriving at the club quickly faltered when we found out the club was full and they weren't letting anyone in. Morgan arrived soon after we did and explained that they would probably let people in shortly because they weren't serving anymore alcohol so people would start to leave. We didn't feel like waiting and asked him if he could show us where Art Cafe was, which we had read about online earlier and where he told us he would be going later in the night. He told us he would take us there and his and David's friend Valorie came with us also.
We walked farther and farther away from the Colloseum down winding roads and we started to get nervous. We knew, from reading online earlier, that the club was underground, but this was a ridiculously long way away where there were no cabs (but there were police everywhere) and we all had on heals. Our feet were killing us since we had to walk a verrrrry long distance on cobblestones. Eventually, after traveling through a long underground tunnel where the metro was, we heard music bumping in the distance.
We turned the corner and see before our eyes the most amazing underground club we could have ever imagined. When we entered, Morgan got us VIP bracelets. We were, as far as we could tell, the only Americans in this club, since it is so hard to get into and is only open four times a month. We couldnt' believe that it was only our first night out and we were allready in one of the best clubs in Rome with VIP bracelets. The club was sooo much fun with all different rooms with different music themes. When we first got there we all went up to buy a drink only to find that drinks were 15 Euro. Yes. 15. Fortunately, after that we each got a free drink thanks to Morgan, but don't worry everyone we stood at the bar and watched the bartenders mix them and put them directly into our hands. And we were all very smart and only had two drinks.
We were all very very cautious the whole night, making sure we were all together at all times. If someone had to go to the bathroom we would split up into two groups of three so that three people could stay and watch our things and three would go to the bathroom. We never left our drinks and kept them covered when we held them. If any creepy guys came up and started to harass us, Morgan would immediately move us to another section of the VIP area, or ask the person to leave, and they would. He was like our own personal security guard. Since he is a club promoter it was his job to watch over us for the night. He makes a certain amount of money for every person he gets to come to the clubs he promotes.
We danced the night away and though we were always on alert and always cautious, we had a wonderful time. We were so happy that a night that had started out so awful turned into the most amazing time ever. Morgan and Valerie walked us all the way back to the bus station after we left the club to make sure we got there safely.
We barely made it back since we were all wearing heals and refused to take them off and walk barefoot on the extremely dirty Italian streets. We finally got back to our apartment at 5:30 am, which is normal for nightlife in Italy. At 1:30 this afternoon Amy came in and woke us up. We were all amazed we had slept the entire day away. Though the club was loads of fun, it won't be a common occurance because we don't think we can handle the late night into early morning thing. We are all proud of ourselves for being so cautious yet still having a great time. We are so glad we all get along so well and really look out for each other. Like I said before, I think this will be a great semester.
After the meeting, some of the girls and I went to change our schedules, then ventured off past the university to see what we could find. We walked down a beautiful, narrow, winding cobblestone road with tall walls and gates on either side. The street was lined mainly with different embassies (is that the correct way to pluralize embassy?)
When we got to the end of the street we came upon this huge, beautiful fountain and a spectacular view of the entire city. We were all in tears because we were so happy to finally see parts of Rome we had only dreamed of seeing before. We took millions of pictures, and were really scared of two armed guards who were walking back and forth because we had been yelled at some earlier for taking pictures near the embassy they were protecting. However, these guards were really friendly and took pictures with us! The only english word they knew was "chewing gum" and asked us for some in payment for the pictures. It was hillarious.
Later on that night we had the walking tour of Rome, which was run by the school and showed us how to get to and from the center of Rome. We saw hundreds of ruins, the cat sanctuary, the tomb of the unkown soldier, and the colloseum!
One of the tour guides, David, who works for the school, is also a club promoter. He was the guy who met Caroline and I at the airport when we first arrived to show us where our apartments were. We wanted to go out last night so we asked him where we should go. He told us to go to Gilda, a club where he works, and he said he would put us on the VIP list and get us right in. He gave us his his number and a paper with the club name and address on it and told us to call him when we got there.
After the tour we went home and made a delicious dinner with pasta (of course) mozzerella, basil and tomato, bread, fruit salad, and wine. We sat at the dinner table for about three hours just chatting and having a wonderful time, when we realized it was 10:30 and we should probably get ready to go out.
We ended up not leaving until sometime after midnight. The clubs in Rome don't open until midnight so this was fine. We went to the stop for the number 19 bus which would take us straight to the Colloseum, which is right near Gilda. We waited at the bus stop for 20 minutes when we realized the bus might not be coming.
We were all debating on what we should do- keep waiting or walk a great distance and take the tram- when Caroline turns to us and with a panicked face said "Guys. I am not lying to you right now. There is a man standing over there exposing himself." We were all silent for a minute while we absorbed what she just told us. Carefully a few of the girls scooted over to where Caroline was looking and saw that yes indeed, a man was standing a distance away facing us with his manly parts hanging out. We all turned immediately and started jogging towards the tram. Luckily, the man didn't follow us, and we can look back now and laugh at the situation. I think it may be the wierdest thing that has ever happened to me.
On our way to the tram the bus came by and stopped for us. After our frustrating night so far it seemed like things were finally going our way since we finally got the bus. However, our attitudes changed from joy to frustration again once we got off the bus and realized Gilda would be harder to find than we thought. We asked all the older couples we saw if they could show us where Gilda was, and they would give us directions but none of us payed attention. I think we all assumed someone else would pay attention. We also met up with David's friend Morgan, another club promoter who told us how to get to Gilda, and found our way there eventually.
The joy we felt upon arriving at the club quickly faltered when we found out the club was full and they weren't letting anyone in. Morgan arrived soon after we did and explained that they would probably let people in shortly because they weren't serving anymore alcohol so people would start to leave. We didn't feel like waiting and asked him if he could show us where Art Cafe was, which we had read about online earlier and where he told us he would be going later in the night. He told us he would take us there and his and David's friend Valorie came with us also.
We walked farther and farther away from the Colloseum down winding roads and we started to get nervous. We knew, from reading online earlier, that the club was underground, but this was a ridiculously long way away where there were no cabs (but there were police everywhere) and we all had on heals. Our feet were killing us since we had to walk a verrrrry long distance on cobblestones. Eventually, after traveling through a long underground tunnel where the metro was, we heard music bumping in the distance.
We turned the corner and see before our eyes the most amazing underground club we could have ever imagined. When we entered, Morgan got us VIP bracelets. We were, as far as we could tell, the only Americans in this club, since it is so hard to get into and is only open four times a month. We couldnt' believe that it was only our first night out and we were allready in one of the best clubs in Rome with VIP bracelets. The club was sooo much fun with all different rooms with different music themes. When we first got there we all went up to buy a drink only to find that drinks were 15 Euro. Yes. 15. Fortunately, after that we each got a free drink thanks to Morgan, but don't worry everyone we stood at the bar and watched the bartenders mix them and put them directly into our hands. And we were all very smart and only had two drinks.
We were all very very cautious the whole night, making sure we were all together at all times. If someone had to go to the bathroom we would split up into two groups of three so that three people could stay and watch our things and three would go to the bathroom. We never left our drinks and kept them covered when we held them. If any creepy guys came up and started to harass us, Morgan would immediately move us to another section of the VIP area, or ask the person to leave, and they would. He was like our own personal security guard. Since he is a club promoter it was his job to watch over us for the night. He makes a certain amount of money for every person he gets to come to the clubs he promotes.
We danced the night away and though we were always on alert and always cautious, we had a wonderful time. We were so happy that a night that had started out so awful turned into the most amazing time ever. Morgan and Valerie walked us all the way back to the bus station after we left the club to make sure we got there safely.
We barely made it back since we were all wearing heals and refused to take them off and walk barefoot on the extremely dirty Italian streets. We finally got back to our apartment at 5:30 am, which is normal for nightlife in Italy. At 1:30 this afternoon Amy came in and woke us up. We were all amazed we had slept the entire day away. Though the club was loads of fun, it won't be a common occurance because we don't think we can handle the late night into early morning thing. We are all proud of ourselves for being so cautious yet still having a great time. We are so glad we all get along so well and really look out for each other. Like I said before, I think this will be a great semester.
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