Day 7- Not Homeless

Buona Sera. Everything is right in the world. I have a place to live. A lottt has gone down in the past two days...yes, finally more than just a lot of walking. Yesterday was do or die. I was freaking out and really had to find an apartment so I set up a bunch of meetings to see apartments around the Marconi area in Rome, which is closer to where my classes will be.

I left around 11:30 (with sneakers on, I gave up on nice looking shoes when I found blisters on my feet from the day before) and went to the first apartment. Which I liked. Good price, nice roomate, but roomate still, which I wasn't really planning on. So I kept going, and saw the next place which was a lot less impressive than the first. Crossed it off my list. The next room I was going to see was a lot further, and we had agreed on 3:00 so I had some time to kill.  I basically just walked around because it had proved the best way to get to know the area...and behold, I randomly found myself in front of the section of the school I'll be going to, the Facolta di Lettere y Filosofia...(I just looked at my school website for the first time since I got here to make sure that was spelled right). But I was going to meet Daniela there later to look around so I just hung out around there a little before taking the metro to the next place. I walked and found the address, but when I explained I was there...all I understood was that the lady wasn't coming. That the apartment would only be available after March 20th. Now how do you get mad at someone without being able to speak to them in their language? I tried to say my coldest thanks possible and hung up. Bitch. BUT I told myself it was too far anyway and went right back to where I was before to meet Daniela and tour our school so as not to be completely and utterly lost on Monday. It is preeetty big, but small classes, and very oddly constructed...There are random doors that lead to nothing but more doors, and doors that look like exits but actually open up into more hallways. Weird. At one point we were in a 5x5 white, empty room, and three of the walls had doors leading to other places. Very twilight zone. So it would seem getting lost is going to be a big possibility even after all the exploring. I can just picture myself in the Three Door Room trying to guess which is the way to my next class. It's gonna be great. But we finally found the cafeteria, which was enough for both of us to be satisfied with ourselves. I got a salad (igual que las de la cato....con lechuga fresca y aceitunas, bolitas de mozzarella, tomates cherry, aceite de oliva...aceto balsamico jaja) because by then it was 4:30 and I was famished-my purchase of the day until then had been a bottle of water. Daniela had nutella pizza. Yes. Nutella. Pizza.

At the next place I went to look at, Valerio (I always want to call him Valentino I don't know why-maybe my fantasy of living with a high fashion italian designer) let us in. Daniela offered to go with, to have a second opinion. Now even at the front door of the apartment, we were looking at each other confused because the amount the room was posted for in the ad did not coincide with how nice this place was. I was almost scared to ask again because clearly I had misread. But indeed it was within my budget and I get a room all to myself. Valerio is about 30 and lives there with his girlfriend, along with another student, who'll be leaving in April. We talked a little, I looked around, thanked Valerio and left. And the night was young, and so are weee, so it was decided that we should resist just turning in. On our way to getting my jacket...oh my god is that a chocolate market? Why yes I think it is. Everything chocolate. Shoes, phones, cheese, scissors, roses....Amazing. And then there were the plastic cups of strawberries. There to buy with melted chocolate poured over them. And cannolis. Beautiful sicilian cannolis. It will take all my strength to not go back and eat all my meals there.

After a while, we tore ourselves away and kept walking through the night. I noticed that the city smells different that late-better I think. It's like those nights where you're not freezing or anything but the tip of your nose is kinda cold and you can sort of see the cold in the air. It was nice. We casually ended up at a few tourist spots-the Colosseo and Fontana di Trevi, Piazza di Espagna. Things that make you realize-no you are not in just any city. YOU ARE IN ROME. "Yeahhh buddy."

Then I took the wrong bus home because obviously the route of the number 3 day bus is different from the number 3 night bus. Oops. I don't know..I didn't even care being lost. It's not like I had somewhere to be. Really, why wouldn't you want to be lost in Rome? Soon enough, my keen sense of direction led me back. So to the pillow it was, to sleep on my decision to be made.

And after weighing the pros and cons, I decided on the second one. So moving day tomorrow. 12:00. Yesss.