Weekend in Rome

Me and Chiara on Friday Night

And yet another exciting weekend! Friday night rolled around, and I was already feeling pretty tired, so I just figured I would stay in and head to bed. But thank goodness for Aurelio and Zoila! We finished up dinner and Aurelio looked at me and said, “It’s Friday night! Aren’t you going out?” Well, I didn’t know where I would go or what I would do, so I hadn’t really considered it, but fortunately Aurelio and Zoila had some good places in mind. As everyone else got ready for bed, I got ready to go out and hit the town, Italian style! I really wasn’t sure what to expect, but I figured I’d at least give it a try. What better chance to meet and get to know some of the young people in Foligno?? Aurelio knows the owner of a really popular wine bar in town, so he took me there and brought me inside to introduce me to some people. I met the owner, although he didn’t speak much English, and one of the bartenders named Chiara. Chiara spoke great English and I spent a lot of time hanging out and talking with her. Apparently she’s quite the social butterfly, so she knew tons of people and introduced me to all of them! Some spoke English, some not so much, but I was happy to not be standing around by myself!

After about an hour, Chiara told me that everyone at the wine bar was leaving to go to a party. She said pretty much all the young people in Foligno would be there, so if I wanted to meet lots of people that would be a great place. I debated whether or not to go but thought, how many chances will I have to go to a big event like this? We headed over to the party and what an experience! This wasn’t like a small party at someone’s house. It was a social gathering at a huge venue with hundreds of people (mostly all from Foligno). There was music by a DJ, art being created on the walls, and awesome decorations – really a neat set-up. From my time there, I learned that Italians aren’t as crazy as Americans or British people when they go out. Most people there were just talking and hanging out. A few were dancing, but overall the atmosphere was pretty chill. Chiara took me from person to person, introducing me to every English-speaking friend she had. All of them had done lots of traveling and have lived abroad (hence why they know English), so we had lots to talk about. For those who didn’t speak English, Chiara just pointed them out and told me who they were, how she knew them, and what everyone thought of them. Because Foligno is such a small town, everybody there already knew each other. I actually recognized some of the people as the students I had seen studying in the library earlier that week. I left a couple hours later, before it got too late, and took a bus home with some of the girls I met.

with some of Chiara's English speaking friends

The next morning, I was supposed to take a train to Rome, but I was so tired I slept in a little too late. When Zoila woke me up, I spent a couple hours frantically trying to plan and put together my trip to Rome, so that I would know exactly where to go, how to get around, and where I was staying. I booked a hostel, figured out the train times, and was on my way to the train station. Two hours later, I arrived in the very wet city of Rome. It was pouring outside so I bought an umbrella from the first vendor I saw. (By the way, never pay 5 Euros for an umbrella from a street vendor… it’ll only last you about five minutes.) I decided to go to my hostel first in order to drop off my backpack. I followed the directions to the hostel just fine, but once I got to the street it was on, I had a really difficult time locating the right number. I eventually found what I thought was it and went upstairs to check in.

Of course, things never work out as you plan, so I attempted to check in, only to find out that my reservation was actually made for the next night. I asked if they could change it to that night. They said there was no room. I tried not to freak out, but was pretty discouraged that I might have to spend my afternoon in Rome trying to find a hostel, in addition to paying double the amount that I anticipated. Fortunately, I think because I look like a helpless little girl, they decided to be very nice and give me a room in another hostel owned by the same company. It was actually the same location I was checking in at, so I didn't have to go far at all. The only downside was that I had originally booked an all female hostel so that I would be able to be in a room with only girls, but the only opening available in the hostel I'd be staying at was co-ed. It turned out to be not bad at all. There were only two other people in there, a couple that I think was backpacking, and they were asleep when I got in the room at night and asleep when I left. The room had bunk beds and was clean enough, and I left in the morning and even got a coupon for a free breakfast at the caffe' across the street.

After I sorted out the hostel mix-up, I headed out into the city to explore and look around. I had planned to take the metro, but when I realized that I didn't have a whole lot of time in the city in the first place, I figured I'd walk and take in as much as I could at once. I wanted to make sure I was able to get to church in the morning without getting lost, so I headed out to locate the church, intending to sight see along the way. I walked for about 30 minutes or so, and finally arrived at what seemed to be a very crowded tourist destination. As I rounded the corner, I stumbled upon an absolutely breathtaking view. My route had taken me right near the Piazza di Spagna, to the very top of the famous Spanish steps that lead down to an incredibly expensive and nice shopping district. The view overlooked the entire city and was accented by a gorgeous, colorful sunset. I got my camera out, took some pictures, and enjoyed the amazing view.

Gorgeous!

The rest of the evening was spent walking. I'm pretty sure I walked for about 3 hours straight. I walked to the location of Rome Baptist Church, I walked to the movie theater to buy my ticket for Harry Potter (in English!!), I walked to McDonald's to eat dinner, I walked through H&M and all the great shops several times, I even walked to Trevi Fountain and threw a coin in. That would be my third time throwing a coin in that fountain. And I'm pretty certain that I've made the same wish every single time. It still has yet to come true.

And don't worry! I definitely got some gelato! It's not quite as silly to eat gelato in Rome in the winter. Everyone else there is a tourist too, and what do tourists want in Rome? Pizza and gelato. So I fit right in :) Except maybe it was a little lame to go to McDonald's... but I had a serious craving for some American food. How much more American can you get than that? If I had seen a Starbucks I might have gone there, but surprisingly, there are NO Starbucks in Rome. I have seen them literally all over the world, in pretty much every major city I've been to, but I didn't see a single one in Rome! So weird, and so sad!

Walking on Via del Corso

After all that walking, I was totally beat, and I very gladly went to sit down in the movie theater. Harry Potter was great. The theater was packed, and there were tons of Americans and English speaking people all around. It would have been really nice to have met some people and hung out with them, but it didn't happen.

This is what I've learned about traveling by yourself. It is amazing and it sucks all at the same time. It was absolutely incredible to be on my own schedule. I could go wherever I wanted, any direction I wanted, any destination I wanted, on my own time, as fast or as quick as I wanted, without a single other opinion to conflict with mine. It was quite a freeing feeling. I loved it. Yet at the same time, doing whatever you want on your own is only fun for so long. By the time the movie got out, I was incredibly lonely. I was doing so many fun things, but I know they would have been so much more fun if I had someone else to enjoy them with.

Harry Potter was great, but it was a kind of a dark movie, which wasn't helpful for me right before I had to walk around in an unfamiliar city by myself at night. On my way back to my hostel, I was hurrying through the streets when I looked up at a building next to me and noticed that it was an absolutely beautiful hotel. I was outside in the cold, in the dark, and could hear peaceful piano music floating out from inside where there was an amazing lobby with cozy, warm, and beautiful atmosphere. It was totally calling me. I didn't even have to think about and walked right inside. I sat down on a comfy couch, listened to the calming jazz piano, and appreciated the ornate decorations. It was bliss. I ordered a cup of tea, and they brought me an entire tray of cookies to accompany the whole pot of tea that I got. I didn't even want to know how much it was going to cost, but I knew that the whole experience was totally worth it.

While I was sitting there, I was joined by some unexpected company. A man about 80 years old walked up to me and asked if I was all alone. I offered him some cookies since I had way more than I'd ever eat, and he sat down and we began to talk. Well, we attempted to talk. He kept asking me questions, but considering the fact that he is almost completely deaf, he could not understand me at all. Every time he asked me a question I had to repeat my answer five times, not before he would get it, but before I would give up trying to get him to understand. The conversation went something like this:

Old Man: So how far are you from the place you're staying?
Me: (After repeating myself three times) Oh I don't know. A little ways. (I really didn't know. But even if I had, I wasn't about to tell some random man where I was staying)
Old Man: Well that's nice. It's too bad you're not staying at the hotel I'm at. It's quite lovely. There's a shuttle service right to the front door.
Me: Awkward smile
Old Man: So how far did you travel to come to Rome?
Me: A few hours (again, why would I give him my exact whereabouts?)
Old Man: And how old are the children you watch?
Me: Three and six
Old Man: Oh there's three children?
Me: No, two. A three year old boy and six year old girl.
Old Man: Oh how lovely, three boys. How old are they?
Me: No answer
Old Man: Hmm... that must be the head waiter over there. I think it's... no maybe it's the other waiter. No that's the one, he's the head one.
Me: Sipping tea....

And, Repeat.
Repeat.
Repeat.
Repeat.

Yes, that's right. We had the EXACT same conversation FIVE times. He would ask me all those questions, pause for a moment, and then start all over again. I do believe he asked how far my hostel was from where we were about umm.... EIGHT times. I am not exaggerating. Really. So it's true... short term memory loss actually does happen! I experienced it firsthand!

The next morning I got up and checked out of the hostel before heading to church. I attended Rome Baptist Church, a place I found online when I typed in "Baptist churches in Rome." Let me tell you... the list is short. RBC is it. It may even be the only Protestant church in Rome. So I went, and it was so refreshing to be able to worship with English speaking, Christ-loving people. I went to Biblestudy at 9:30 before the main service and found it quite interesting what the topic was: why church is important. We read from Acts 2 and talked about how church is more than an event. It's a group of people. The important of going to church is not just to learn about God, but to be able to have community and to fellowship with other believers. That is why just watching sermons online while I'm in Italy is not going to cut it. That's not why my heart craves to go to church. I yearn for this type of community, this interaction with other believers - teaching, having fellowship, eating together, praying, and praising God together, just as it describes in Acts 2. And God is so good. I found exactly that while I was at the church.

The church was a little more traditional than maybe I would prefer, but how wonderful it felt to sing alongside other Christians and say Blessed Be the Name of the Lord, in another country, in a different time zone, with people around me from all over the world. It was absolutely beautiful. And just in the short time I was there, I connected with dozens of people that offered to let me stay with them the next time I'm in Rome or that wanted to hang out whenever we get a chance. I found one group of people that looked about my age and walked up and introduced myself. Turns out, two of the girls are actually au pairs in Rome and are planning to stay for about another year. I was thrilled, because most people I meet at this time are heading back to the States in just a couple weeks since they're on a semester schedule. Here, I not only found girls that are my age and that can totally relate to what I am doing right now, but I also have the assurance that they will be around the whole time I'm over here. It was really enjoyable getting to talk to them and hear about their own nannying experiences. It was the first time I've had any sort of connection or contact with other au pairs so I loved being able to share stories with people who could really understand. We ended up hanging out all afternoon on Sunday. They showed me around Rome to some of their favorite spots, and we got lunch and gelato. I don't know if I'll be able to go to Rome every weekend, but as long as I do, I now have friends to hang out with and stay with there! What a wonderful blessing God has given me!

Madeleine and Jess, the au pair girls I met

exploring Rome with my new friends!