Broadening your horizons

I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit that, besides Christmas and my recent trip home, in the five months since moving to Italy I've only left Rome once. Back in September I took a train into Tuscany to visit a friend from Warwick, but since my return I've been a real house cat, content with my urban surroundings. However, a visit from my parents who, like me, have already enjoyed the bulk of Rome's tourist wonders (numerous times), seemed like the perfect opportunity to broaden our Italian horizons and head off to pastures new. Therefore, last week I was on a train at ridiculous o'clock in the morning, well eight o'clock, headed for Siena, just to shake things up a bit.

Checking out the view from the top of the Torre del Mangia

Siena was beautiful, and even though it's been a fortnight since the last snow, the frost in some parts of that medieval town was still yet to thaw and so we got a special view. What a treat! Walking over the cobblestones of the higgledy-piggledy streets in the sunshine was lovely. It was the first day of real sun since the snow, and I'm happy to report that ever since it seems as those winter truly is on its was out. It was a great day and now it seems I've been bitten by a trip bug. Having shown both of parents up by being the only one brave enough to climb all the way to the top of the Torre del Mangia and look out over the the Piazza del Campo, in fact the whole town and beyond, I can safely say my Italian horizons have been well and truly broadened. The view was spectacular! Next month I'm really excited about getting back on the road for more adventures. I'll be visiting new places and old friends whilst catching up with other Warwick students in both Milan and Pavia, before all of us out here on our Erasmus years head over to Venice to check in with our tutors, marvel at the town itself and look ahead to next year and our re-entry into real life.

Deep breath. It's still many months away.

Also keeping me busy next month will be my lovely visitors. I'll be beginning March with my two beautiful Godmothers joining me in Rome to check out the sights and sample the vino. Then it shall come to a close with two of my best friends from home coming over to get a full status report, because you know there's more to it all than what I put on here! I love when people come to visit because I get to do all the touristy things which always help me to fall back in love with Rome as I share them with people who I love, and who love me enough to fly all the way to Italy to see me! I'm particularly looking forward to these visits as I've been working on a list of things I still haven't done; such as go inside the Castello Sant'Angelo and go up to the top of the dome of St Peter's. When my parents were here my mum pointed out that they probably won't come back to Rome now, at least for a very long time, as this was in fact their third trip since 2009. This meant that they were really keen to make sure they'd seen all the most important bits, and having had so much time here overall that didn't just mean the main tourist spots. For example, we visited the church of San Giovanni del Laterano, because that meant they've now seen all four of the main churches of Rome. In fact they saved the most important for last. We went round the gallery at Villa Borghese (lots of marble nudity) and my mum made a point of going back to Trevi to throw in some coins, not quite giving up hope on coming back, I think!

It was great seeing my parents and since they've left I'm rather proud of what a busy bee I've been, booking all my trips. Watch this space for my tales.

p.s. Still loving my Kindle and 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles', although I never thought I'd have to worry about my book running out of battery on a train!

p.p.s. I like trains.

Putting it to the test.

As you know I've been in Rome for five months. Living and breathing Italia. Speaking Italian both academically and socially; both soberly and drunkenly. However, this past week marked the real challenge of my linguistic abilities as I attempted to compose my first Module Report to send home to Warwick. A minimum of 1,500 words to be written in coherent and grammatically correct Italian discussing all that I've studied and sharing my observations of all things roman.

Pause for major freak out and appropriate amount of procrastination.

Now as I’ve mentioned before I am a bit of a geek. I sometimes like to get absorbed in a project and involuntarily secrete the facts and anecdotes I’ve retained over the subsequent weeks, months and sometimes years. I like playing with language to clarify my point and imply more. I also really like plans and lists, colour coding and pretty notebooks.

However, I dislike the notion of things that I ‘must’ do and so very often, unless I get swept away by a very early wave of enthusiasm and obscurity I will leave all things all things that ‘have to’ be done until about three minutes prior to the moment in which they ‘have to’ be accounted for. Don’t judge me, because I know I’m not alone. I have the entirety of the BA Student World behind me.

It’s not procrastination. No, procrastination is all the fun little mini tasks, facebook discoveries and coffee trips one makes mid-writing session. What ails me, and impedes my academic efficiency is ‘the Dread’ That disgruntled, under-appreciated little brother of ‘The Fear’ (often known to come calling and chain students to desks prior to exam season). The Dread is the premonition of how dull the essay, or report, writing process will be. It’s not playing with words, it’s not even the fun research and learning part that leads to colourful spider diagrams and obscure opinions sprawled over various scraps of paper (often covered in biscuit crumbs). No, it’s the hours of drudgery that turn the pretty diagrams and fun debates you’ve been having with your peers (because that’s why we’re on Facebook in the library) into lines of black blobs on white paper. “How many blobs” I hear you cry? Why, however many your tutor has demanded. Eurgh.

I planned my report three weeks ago. Decided exactly how many sections to include and how long each one needed to be. I made lists, thorough lists in a brilliant notebook (hardback, Union Jack cover, red ribbon bookmark- you see the notebook really is more exciting) and with a zest which I can only attribute to my long absence from academia I even wrote the first paragraph more than a week before my deadline. But then it all came flooding back and true to form after two days of extended breaks and excuses (and probably only about two hours of actual writing, because let’s face it, 1,500 words isn’t very much) I was exhausted and my spirit was broken as a stared at my laptop screen and smiled to see my very dry, methodical report about my first semester in Rome.

Obviously I’m exaggerating. I didn’t want to write a report. I didn’t see the point and I know that whoever reads it will probably find their experience equally as dull as my own (writing that is, not Rome). However, the real challenge was that this was the first time, since I began studying Italian aged 11, that I’ve ever had to write an extended piece and it did make me realise how many short cuts we use with languages.

Conversationally, for example, you don’t need to understand every word that comes out of the other person’s mouth. Generally if you understand 7 out of 10 you can take their meaning well enough. When responding it’s ok if you don’t know or forget a word because you can just go round the houses a bit and explain what you mean and check that the other person has understood you. Online and texting we use a million short cuts and no full sentences. Oh, and of course, in an essay you can’t lace a sentence with profanities... although sticking “cazzo” in every sentence would certainly have helped me reach the word count more speedily!

I’m half way through and actually at the end of my report I was pretty pleased. I wrote the thing fairy easily (when I paid attention to the task) and didn’t have to look too many words up. However, my grammar needs some work. By some I mean a lot.

New goal: I’m doing well, now it’s time to do better.

All At Once

When I decided to do a Year Abroad and move to Italy, I confess, I was thinking 'I know! Brilliant idea! I'll go and spend a year in the sun... and maybe improve my language skills too'. However, whilst this logic is not without merit the last week has taught me a terrible lesson. Winter happens in Italy too. There's no escape, quite literally when the snow delays your flight for four hours!

Yes. It's a well kept secret, but sometimes Italy experiences a bout of genuine winter- not just the slight breeze that makes everyone wrap up ridiculously in the otherwise warm early November sun. We've had snow over the last two weekends and are experiencing a seriously cold spell.

A snowy Colesseum

But life goes on and my moaning won't. Despite the cold I've had a brilliant week! Life works a bit like London buses, it seems, you send a while waiting for the next big thing but then lots happens all at once. That's certainly been true of this eventful week!

Last Friday I flew back to England for a short but sweet trip and although I hadn't been away too long I loved my time at home. As I mentioned earlier the journey didn't quite go off without a hitch as the weather kept us grounded at Ciampino (aka the world's most boring airport) for four hours, but nothing bonds travellers better than a good grumble (luckily for us Brits it was grumbling in a queue!) and thankfully after that hiccough the rest of my trip went perfectly. I was only home for four days, but in that time I got to see a lot of my extended family, all of my friends that weren't away at uni and got a bit of all the culinary classics that are never quite right anywhere but England. By this I mean Curry, Chinese and anything requiring gravy! The only thing I didn't get to do was go up to visit all my friends at Warwick, but there's always next time.

So why the last minute, short trip home? Funnily enough, even though I'm only half way through my Erasmus year and barely got my head wrapped around all of the things I want to do, I have started to look ahead and to think about what's next... and how to fund these big adventures. Short answer: get a job. So this summer I'm setting my sights on returning to London for what should be an epic one. With both the Queen's Jubilee and the 2012 Olympics in my own city I think I'd be foolish to stay away! So a couple of interviews called me back home and hopefully come July I'll be busy working and saving up for my next big escape!

Since coming back to Rome, however, things have been anything but dull. Jumping straight back into deep end of the Erasmus night life creates many a tale, not to mention that this weekend filled the streets of Rome with hundreds (if not thousands) of my compatriots here to support our boys when they played Italy in the Six Nations. Flying out for a couple of days is probably as cheap as going to a home game  as you only pay about €25 instead of up to £250 last minute, as tickets are like gold dust in the UK!

The frosty pitch at the Stadio Olimpico.

Despite the match nearly being called off due to the snow, which you can see on the pitch, it was a brilliant day. I really like the way rugby fans can enjoy the stadium atmosphere and a bit of national rivalry whilst standing side by side, trusted not to unleash waves of hooliganism and violence, unlike football fans. We were surrounded by Italians chanting away why we belted out choruses of 'Swing Low, Sweet Chariot' and I gave Anna a minor lesson in patriotism when it came to the rest of out national songs. We had a great time and the joy of the two of us just going together was that we didn't have to pretend to know any more about the game than we actually do (we follow it well enough) and it was perfectly fine to spend as much time discussing the players as the actual rugby. Excellent!

A couple of highlights from the match.


To summarise, the last week has been rather good. I've been happy in both of my homes, I've laid some groundwork for next summer, learnt that I like rugby and we got snow- which is beautiful and fun, even if it means it's freezing cold, you may fall over and society grinds to a standstill!