One Week Down

Well, as of yesterday I have officially been in Rome for one week!  That really kind of blows my mind, it does not feel as though a week has past.  Although at the same time it seems like forever ago that I first arrived.. time is such a funny thing.

I have really started to feel at home here on the Cassia (and am even speaking like I know what I'm talking about!).  via Cassia is the main road that I live off of, and last week I walked up and down it to see what was on the road.  I am only about a 7 minute to my school which is very nice, especially because the weather here is still in the low 70's and it has only rained one day since I've been here.

The view from my balcony, looking up the street, towards via Cassia.

View from my balcony, looking the other way.  Some other apartments on my street.

I have met five other student teachers at the school.  One of the girls has been here since the beginning of the school year and will be leaving right before Thanksgiving.  The other four girls are all from the same university and they arrived a week before I did.  They will all be here the entire time I am here.  It is nice to have some other people who are here student teaching.  The four girls I mentioned live in the center of the city, unlike me, and I spent the weekend at their apartment so I didn't have to take the bus every day to the city.

Friday we celebrated Halloween at school.  All the kids dressed up, there was a parade for all the grades, and parents, and then each grade did a performance (they either sang a song or did a dance).  Our fifth graders did a great job on their dance and I was so proud of all of them!  After school I rode the bus home with the four girls to their apartment.  They live only about five minutes from Piazza Navona, and Friday afternoon one of the girls and myself walked there, to the Pantheon, to the Monument to Vittorio Emanuele, and the Trevi Fountain. And I had my first gelato while being in Rome; Strawberry and Vanilla... YUMMY!!! :)

Piazza Navona

One of the three fountains in Piazza Navona

Making a wish in Trevi Fountain.. hope it comes true! :)

Trevi Fountain

Monument to Vittorio Emanuele.. as I was informed by my fabulous tour guide, many Romans do not like it.  they think it is ugly and looks like a typewriter.

Inside the Pantheon

Inside the Pantheon

Raphael's tomb in the Pantheon

Standing right outside the Pantheon.  Silly me did not take a picture of the Pantheon from the front, but I will be back so I'm not too worried!

The girls had traveled to Naples when they first arrived in Italy, and they had met a guy from Chile who was traveling around Italy (and Europe in general).  They became friends and he was in Rome on Saturday, and it was his birthday so we met up with him.  We had lunch and then got gelato from Giolitti, apparently a pretty famous place in Rome.  I tried mango, fruit of the forest (it was like berries) and raspberry, also very good, I think I will try chocolates or something other than fruit next time.  In the evening we went to the Capitoli Museum which had lots of great pieces of art!  It also had a special exhibit with Michaelangelo and DaVinci's original sketches on display.  It was phenomenal to see that!

On Sunday we went to Porta Portese flea market in Trastevere.  It was really neat to just walk around and look at all the vendors.  I even got a new pair of boots for only 10 Euro! :)  After that we sat near the Tiber River, eating some sandwiches.  We then walked up to Santa Maria church, which is also where you will find the Mouth of Truth.  The legend is that you put your hand in the mouth of truth and if you are untruthful, it will bite your hand off... luckily I still have my hand! :)  (A picture of that will be added later, it is not on my camera)  The church was neat to go into especially because the mass that they give is similar to the one I go to at home (just spoken in Arabic), so it was neat to see the set up of the church.  After that we walked back to the apartment and I gathered my things and headed back home.  I managed to figure out the tram/bus route that I need to take very easily and can now do it no problem! :)

Sitting near the Tiber River

Santa Maria church

Relic found in Santa Maria church

Santa Maria church

I'm sorry this post has been so long, but I hope you made it through the whole post, and more importantly enjoyed it! :)  I am going to try to update more often so the posts are not quite as long, it was just a busy week trying to adjust to the area.

And HAPPY HALLOWEEN! :)