Address

My address in Italy:

Chelsea Langen

c/o The American University of Rome

Via Pietro Roselli 4

00153 Rome, Italy

Catching Up

Tonight is the first quiet night in my apartment as my roommates and I are starting class tomorrow morning at 9:00am. None of us are quite ready to go back school but at least we are over the jetlag! This first week has been a ton of fun exploring a little bit of the city, seeing some of the sights and getting to know my five roommates. The girls I live with (Dianna, Talia, Bridget, Lauren and Molly) are from all over the states—Chicago, Wisconsin, Michigan, Baltimore and New Jersey. None of us came into this experience knowing any friends so everyone is really eager to have fun and hangout together. I definitely lucked out with such an outgoing and friendly group and I think it’s going to be a great semester! The only problem so far is that we all have one big thing in common; we don’t speak ANY Italian (non parlo l’italiano)! Since we live outside of downtown Rome away from the touristy area, finding someone who speaks English is rare. To be completely honest, communication has been pretty hard… I can’t order in a restaurant, ask/understand directions or even tell the doorman that our apartment buzzer is broken. Maybe it’s a good thing that my classes are starting tomorrow!

Aside from my language barrier struggles, I am loving Roma. The food is great and you can buy wine for the same price as water at our favorite grocery store! Everywhere I look is something beautiful… The girls went looking for the Trevi Fountain yesterday but we literally stumbled upon the Pantheon instead & getting lost here is actually fun. This morning I woke up to a bunch of noise outside our apartment to find a market in our Piazza (literally 2 steps from my apartment door) that spanned 2 miles down the road. Hundreds of vendors were set up selling everything from scarves and paintings to purses and nylons. It happens every Sunday so if you are visiting me—our market is quite the experience. Anywho, I'm off to bed--first day of school in the morning! Ciao!

Just a few photos

Making my first espresso!

The view from my apartment

Two of my roommates & I outside our school

Our first night out in Roma!

The Colosseum at night is incredible!

Just wandering the streets of Rome...

Arriving in Roma

I have officially landed in Roma! I got really lucky on my flight with an empty seat next to me & was actually able to get some sleep. Rome is absolutely gorgeous! I am living in a neighborhood called Testaccio which is about 20 minutes (by tram and bus) away from my university. The school itself is incredible... It's located on the Gianicolo (the second tallest hill in Rome) so it overlooks the entire city and is covered in palm trees and flowers. My apartment is a lot bigger than I expected, even if the beds are teeny tiny. We have 4 girls living here so far (waiting on two more roommates) sharing 3 bedrooms. There are 2 bathrooms--yes we have a bidet--and a total of 3 balconies. I am totally exhausted and finally going to get some sleep but I will update more later!