Exploring my neighborhood

Fontana di Gianicolo

The past two days have been full of new adventures, of (partially) getting lost, lakes, and food. Yesterday, we had to take our Italian placement exams--all of us who have a few semesters of Italian under our belts were stressed, sitting before the testing with our notebooks and study materials, trying to cram what grammar principles we could into our already exhausted brains. After the written and oral exams, we had the rest of the day to ourselves, and since it was absolutely beautiful out (and has been since I got here!), it was great to have some time to explore. After my last experience of the streets of Rome, I decided to stick closer to my neighborhood, to at least soften the eventual blow of getting lost on my self confidence. I looked up some directions on Google maps to get to the Villa Doria Pamphilj, which, according to the map, should only be about a 25 min walk from my apartment. Well, I either took a wrong turn, or didnt go far enough, but I (of course) didnt end up there. Instead, I stumbled upon the Chiesa di San Pietro in Montorio, a beautiful church, up a hill around the corner. And once I passed the church, I also found the Fontana di Gianicolo, an almost half-piazza right across from the Spanish Embassy. Next to the Spanish Embassy? Men with guns. So....I looked PASSED  the Spanish Embassy to see an ecompassing, breathtaking view of the area I am living in, Trastevere. I walked a bit further, but ended up turning around after a bit, worried I wouldn't be able to find my way back.

When I got home, my ISC, Illaria, and I met up with a few other ISCs and their IES students (there ended up being 5 us of Americans) and we all went to an apperitivo (and Italian equivalent to Happy Hour in the States) at a pretty popular restaurant in our area. Of course, Italians love their food, so for 6 euros you got whatever drink you wanted and food-and as much food as you wanted. It was a nice, relaxing night, as we took our food outside and sat on the steps and just chatted. After that, we walked over to the Isola Tiberina, a very small island in the middle of the Tiber River, where an Italian Cinema festival was going on, and where other bars and restaurants were having apperitivo functions. It was a warm night, so being right on the river was wonderful.

Today, IES ended our orientation week with a trip to Lago Martignano, about a half hour outside of the city (of course it took about an hour to get there because we had to drive THROUGH the city), where there were sailboats, paddleboats, canoes/kayaks, grasss to lay on, and fresh cheese/meat/bread for lunch. The day turned out to be amazing, especially since there was a chance for rain. I went out on the paddleboat with a few people I've met and it was fun, just talking relaxing in the sun. It was a great capstone to a long-albeit exciting-week.