That's right friends, it has been raining here in Rome pretty much nonstop for the past 5 or so days, and the streets are basically a series of puddles with a couple cobble stones still visible here and there. Today I was able to run outside because the sun came out for the first time in what seemed like years, and it was amazing! But for the most part the rain has not been slowing down the adventures! My school in Rome is about a two minute walk from the Tiber river, and with all the rain this past week it has risen somewhere around 15 feet, completely covering the bike path next to it, and threatening to carry what appears to be all the garbage in Rome down stream (it was pretty gross).
Since Switzerland I have been enjoying feeling much more at home in Rome, and a lot less like a travelor, which is really fun! Having to catch up on homework, planning a couple other trips, and many different gelato runs pretty much filled my week.
On friday I was supposed to volunteer at a refuge center in Rome, but it was canceled due to the rain, meaning I did not need to wake up at 8 am on a friday when I didn't have class... But this did give me a good two hours to read my bible, a book for fun, make coffee, and enjoy some me time before my roommates woke up.
The real adventure this week, however, began on Saturday. A couple girls on my floor and I took a train about an hour away to a town called Orvieto. Orvieto is a cute little town out in Italian wine country, built on top of a hill. After we took the part train-part gondola contraption up the hill we spent a couple hours looking over the cliff, and wandering around the cute little town. All the while it was raining, and we arrived in Orvieto during the afternoon nap time, meaning we where basically stuck out in the rain because all of the shop owners where sleeping... Learning how to navigate train travel with a small group of people was definately an experience, and I am very grateful I did it with other people before I have to take a train to Flourence by myself in two weeks!
On sunday I woke up very excited for a long awaited day of sports! With big plans to go to a Roma soccer game, and then an Irish pub to watch the Super Bowl, I chose to ignore the downpour and get ready for an exciting day! The first 8 minutes of the Roma game was a ton of fun, the stadium wasn't that full, however we learned quickly that when people tell you Europeans take their soccer seriously, they where NOT exaggerating. While I couldn't understand all of the cheers going on around me, the hand motions, and 20 plus security guards surrounding the one, tiny, visitor fan section helped me decipher that they where not saying nice things to the Parma fans.
Unfortunately the game was postponed 8 minutes in because the field was so flooded the ball wouldn't move... leaving my friends and I to navigate our trip home much earlier than expected. We had forgotten to look up information on the bus that would get us home, and so after about an hour wandering around, asking people that did not speak english for help, and waiting for a bus that I am convinced was never going to come, we gave in and called a cab. While our Roma game experience was not ideal, it's one of those days that helps put other travel problems in perspective, and it made the cheese burger, fries, and beer that we had at the pub for the Super Bowl taste even better!
This week was not quite as eventful as last, but it helped me feel much more like a local! I have now been asked for directions (in over four languages) more times than I remember, and while I have only sucessfully helped once, I consider that a huge accomplishment.
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