05/08/07

Today was another great day. I decided to take Ruth’s advice and look for the shortcut to the Tram. I’m not convinced it’s much faster, but I went with it anyway. I suppose the change of scenery keeps me on my toes. In today’s class, we primarily covered the definite article, which can be quite challenging in Italian since there are so many radical changes.

After class I went to one of the main post offices in Rome at the Piramide station to pick up my MoneyGram wire transfer and buy some stamps. Talk about an ordeal! Not only did I get to practice my basic Italian, but I also was able to observe some of the measures the Italian government has put in place in order to create an “order to the madness” by instituting a ticket-numbering system – one of those take a number and wait to be called type of deals. I’m guessing it’s relatively new because many of the people were still unfamiliar with waiting for service without going right up to the counter to ask a question. In this regard, I think Italians have a long way to come.

In order to get to the Poste Italinane, I had to take a bus and then a metro. As a kid taking Denver’s RTD public transportation system, I never knew it would pay dividends. Just like Joel said in Mexico, “I have a BMW (bike, metro, walk!). Definitely on the top of my list of things to do while in Rome is to rent a “motorino” (scooter) and just cruise the city. I’ve begun to gauge just what is required to get around in this town. Although Rome is a huge city, it’s very manageable to just walk a good majority of it.Oh I forgot to mention that on my way to the Poste Italiane, I passed the ancient Coliseum. It was huge and simply amazing just to look at a piece of architecture that has so much history. Afterwards, I had pizza with some of my fellow students from Scuola at a pizzeria. Lo and behold, an NBA basketball star walked in with his entourage. I couldn’t tell who it was, but I believe he plays for the NY Nicks. This post is rather random, but maybe it’s because it’s 12:02 am.

What a Difference a Day Makes

What a difference a day makes. After having been on the road for the past seven weeks, it feels nice to finally “settle in” here in Rome. Although my accommodations are lack luster, they are a step up from the Czech Management Center (CMC) in Celakovice. It reminds me of the story that one of the staff from the CMC told when he mentioned that several T-birds had been complaining about their stay at the CMC prior to a trip to Russia. After the trip to Russia, once they returned there were no more complaints. Since I was a participant, I can very much see the irony of this story.

As I’ve written in a past blog, the Pellegrino tag line of “whatever language you speak, live Italian” is so appropriate. Roma or the “Eternal City” is a marvelous place. Today I bought a couple of books: 1) a Spanish/Italian dictionary (I find it much easier to “think” in Spanish and translate into Italian) and 2) a Best of Rome city guide from Lonely Planet. According to the Publisher, the author of this book, Abigail Hole, “came to Rome for a month, and liked it so much she stayed.” I can certainly understand and appreciate why she did so. I’ll leave it to her words for how to describe Rome: “Its caputi mundi´- capital of the world – days may be over, but Rome is still the world’s greatest capital. It’s cityscape as theatre, filled with monumental spectacle. Here history thrusts through the walls of the present, but it’s not a heritage city pandering to the past: it’s chaotic, relaxed and frantic, filled to the brim with its stylish, traditional, anarchic, conformist, self-centered, charming and ebullient inhabitants.”

I began my “big” day by wandering over to the # 8 tram line. I couldn’t recall which direction, Ruth, my host-mom had mentioned to go towards the city center. As such, I looked for a friendly face and found an elderly woman with whom to try my Italian. I said, “Scusi, Largo Argentina?” She pointed the direction and I said, “Grazie mile” to which she responded “prego.” There, it couldn’t be so difficult, could it?

After about a 30 minute ride to downtown, I got off the tram and tried to locate where I was on the map I had borrowed from Ruth. It was hard not to gaze at the wondrous buildings, rich with thousands of years of history. There is no other city like Rome in all of Europe and arguably the world. I’ve only been in Rome for a little over a day, but I already feel like it is one if not the most favorite city of mine.

My first day of class was great. Not to brag, but I was one of the best students. However, other students were pretty sharp, despite the fact that it was a beginner’s course. My instructor is named Rossana and she is the typical Italian woman. She speaks loud with a “mama mia” tone and gestures as if she were mimicking Bruce Lee’s Kung Fu.

After class I wandered around the city, gazing at the sites and people watching. I was counting down the days until I got here. Now that I’m here I need to be productive and really get out and see the city and all of the things that make Rome, Rome.

Roma -- 05/06/07

After a long night of staying up and watching the Oscar de la Hoya fight live at “The Pack” sports pub in Prague with a few foreign ex-pats, I went back to the apartment I rented on Karoliny Svetle #9 and gathered my things. I only got about 45 minutes of shut eye before the taxi came. The flight to Rome was pretty uneventful other than the fact it was packed with Italians.

During my time at Accenture’s training facility in St. Charles, Illinois, in between training sessions we’d often find video clips to play for the trainees in order to provide brief moments of entertainment. I clearly remember one animated video in which it showed how Italians different from other citizens of the European Union. In this video clip it pokes fun at Italians as loud and unruly, which so far I find to be less of a jest and more of an accurate stereotype. As I learned in my cross-cultural communications course last module, stereotypes are great “shortcuts” into gleaning insight into a foreign culture.

On my way to the apartment where I’ll be staying, I saw several scooters (“motorini”) and plenty of Pizza joints. I’m staying with a middle-aged German woman who has been living in Rome for the past 30 years. She’s a journalist and still writes for various German publications. I would classify her as a former hippie, and one who is still very much a woman grounded deeply in reality. Quite the intellectual, she speaks German (natively), (excellent) English, French, Italian, and a little Russian and Portuguese! A woman after my own heart! She admitted that she formerly had anti-American sentiments, but confessed that was not her reason for never having visited the US. She confessed that she has a sincere fear of flying and prefers the 17 hour train ride to Germany over the much cheaper and faster option of flying.

After not having slept much from the night before, I decided to take a long nap. I was awoken to being called for dinner. My host mother prepared me spaghetti with pesto, a green salad and fresh “salata caprese.” My host mother and I talked about various things about Rome. She loaned me her map and I decided to walk around the neighborhood to familiarize myself with the surroundings. My neighborhood, Monteverde Vecchio, is a little far from the city center. Tomorrow morning I’ll be taking the Tram #8 from Piazza San Giovanni di Dio to the final stop on the line, Largo Argentina.Time to get some sleep for my big day tomorrow...