Its been so long since I last posted. I have been keeping a journal of some of the significant things that I've done here. So, Im not completely losing my thoughts by not blogging. The main things that I can talk about are
Work-related, Friends / Girls, and Culture / Nightlife / Environment. So, if you're in a rush and can't read up on everything at once just look for the corresponding heading and enjoy!
Work-RelatedAIESEC
Since signing our first Traineeship Contract (TN)with the United Nations World Food Program (UNWFP), we have screened the candidates, interviewed, selected and received the intern here in Rome including finding accomodation for her. She is a girl from Rotterdam where AI is located and even knows the PAI. She's working in a statistics / excel entry position for this month with the possibility for an extension.
The second TN Contract has been signed and we are in the screening and selection processes for another WFP intern. Since this is such a high profile position that is open to many nationalities the response to our promotion of the position has been in credible. I receive at least 5-10 emails daily related to applying to this position, which is an Accounting internship for 6 months, since I have had it in available status on the AIESEC network database.
While pursuing other companies as a VP of Exchange this relationship has been developing nicely and has the most potential to create exchange between countries through the AIESEC program. Something like 10-15 exchanges a year!!
The experience from this position has been great with much flexibility in the organization and utilization of the program. I have developed many contacts that can prove to be useful in the future.
INLINGUA
The language school that I teaching at part-time has been tough to get the right hours in the afternoons. Its really close to the AIESEC office and I can travel between the offices easily, but sometimes I have lessons that are in the center of the city that can take up to an hour or and hour and a half each way! So, this teaching experience has yet to pan out for its potential to be an awesome extra income source!
Amici / RegazzeIm sure that many of you probably just cut the fat and went straight to here or culture! I had my first and second visitors over the past 6 weeks. One was my friend Dennis from OSU and we got to catch up a lot. We previously met in LA randomly because we had over lapping vacation schedules. He's a really refreshing person to be around after being in Italy for the couple months without trying to meet and hang out with Americans so much. Not because I don't like my fellow Americans, but I just want to immerse in to the culture and get comfortable speaking in Italian and I think that hanging out with Americans would make things too comfortable for me at this point.
The second visitor was a girl from Brazil that had just finished a work experience in Estonia with a Techinical company in the CS area. She was really nice and got to see much of the city and even nightlife of Roma. She is a prime example of why you can't go to Roma for less than 3 days because there is soooo much to see in such little time. Lets just say she cooks really well...
My friends here are very international. Ive been lucky enough to have a great roomate situation. We all get a long very well and when something bothers us there is a very diplomatic way of resolving issues. Since Magne, my Norwegian roomate working at the embassy, are the only two guys in a house of 7, all the girls are really positive towards our interaction with them ;) I have a combination of Erasmus, study abroad program in Europe, UN workers, embassy workers, and AIESEC members which gives me several different groups to hang out with on the weekends.
This all leads me to some relationship talk. I did a study on relationships in Colombia when I was there in 05' and learned a lot about how a different culture can have the same relationship issues and experiences as myself and friends in the US would have. I was seeing a girl for a short time down there and realized that there could be some connections made even though there is a language / communication barrier.
The situation in Italy is that they love their women as well! On one side of the coin there are the Italian guys that take care of their girlfriends really well which I can respect, but at the same time these Italian men expect their women to cook, clean, and take care of their babies their whole lives. Which isn't bad or good necessarily, but what I see as a cultural difference compared to the US where many independent women might look for Hillary Clinton to become President... On the other side there are the most scandalous of the scandalous here where you'll make out with a a girl to find out that she's happily ''engaged'' as they call it when they have been dating someone for a long period of time. Even then girls will still keep something on the side due to insecurity issues etc. When asking a guilty kissing participant she told me, ''What?! well girls have 2-3 bfs because guys have 3-4 gfs!'' Which leads me to believe that its normal out here and I dont even ask anymore whether someone is seeing someone or not. From my perception life can be easily compared to some drama in the US, ''exchange relations,'' as well call it in AIESEC. But what I dont know won't kill me right?! I have my Norwegian roomate to keep me sane because the other 5 girls dont have the relationship experience that I can learn from.
For the most part though Italians dont like to speak to people that are international. So, in the beginning it was really difficult to have normal conversations at bars and clubs. Now the language has just started to click in my mind and I can express and understand most everything. To explain Italian guys on the other hand, they are traveling in packs of 3-4 and are really prideful of their country. The Italian male perception towards Americans and other nationalities of women is that they want Italian men and thats why they are in this country... starting to understand the picture a little? Again communication is the key and that has motivated many Italian guys to learn english one way or another... haha! So, my prestige and favor with the Italians has increased as my language understanding and speaking has increased. Go figure!
This city though has 3 million in the center and another 3-4 million in the surrounding areas. There is every nationality you can think of here and if you want to taste something you just have to have the nose to find it!
I dont kiss and blog stories... sorry that information isn't free online! So, come visit me and get the REAL story! ;)
Culture / Nightlife / EnvironmentI have many different types of friends and we can all appreciate what Roma has to offer. Some more than others of course, but there is this aesthetic joy that people can think about when walking to work and seeing historic monuments, etc... Italians though are not so happy as you think. They cover themselves in designer clothing and hide behind huge ass designer shade knockoffs and drink coffee and smoke all day long. Which leads me to believe that there is this a general insecurity of not fitting in or not being accepted here by the young people.
The nightlife is really awesome. There are so many places that I can discover on a daily and weekly basis that Im starting to map out the locations on our Roma map. We know what works and what doesnt work and I think I have gained some knowledge about partying in my day....
My old age is coming quickly and its ironic because that same day is the national holiday in Norwegian culture for their independence. Here are the main spots that we go to and a brief description of them.
Campo di Fiori
A very international piazza, remember you can drink in any piazza pretty much, they are all beautiful! This one in particular has a statue of a famous Italian that we tend to meet up with people at and is centralized near Torre Argentina. There are a few American bars and many students that end up going there. Many tourists are also advised to meet here because many people speak english in this area. There are dozens of places within 5-10 minutes walking from the Piazza statue.
TestacchioThis location has many discotech nightclubs as well as is the popular location for students of Roma Tre. There are so many on all of these streets that all of them are packed with clubs that you can't possibly imagine even going to all of them in one year!! There is a street behind the old faculty of Economics called via Libeta where there are at least a dozen places that are a combination of cool bars, to chill clubs...
TrastevereA new location that Ive recently been exploring more with my roomates where there are many beautiful side streets and people everywhere. Piazza St. Maria in Trastevere, Trillussa Square, and others offer l'aperitivo's at night where its small amounts of italian foods in a buffet style including drinks. I think I mainly avoided this area in the beginning because I thought it was all American and would make me miss my friends in the States... Im over that now so there are some crazy nights to come!
There are many other locations such as Piazza del Popolo, Piazza Navona, Piazza Venezia, and Torre Argentina that can also provide a great night out for the social group. I cant talk about nightlife and culture without talking about the Food!!
FOOD
The best thing about living in Roma is that you have access to the freshest and highest quality produce in the world. I really enjoy cooking large amounts of vegetables here knowing that I can buy it for so cheap and it tastes really good. I've learned how to make a carbonara sauce, many pasta dishes, utilized ingredients for soups, rice mixtures, etc.
The other best thing is coffee here!! I never had a taste for coffee until now... even while being in Colombia I didnt appreciate it and I cant really explain why. The espresso machine on the stove top is a must buy before I leave! The meats here are really high quality - the salami, prosciutto, porketta, salsiccia all are related pork products. If youre not a pork eater then dont eat the meat in Roma!! The fast food shops are all pizza places with lots of different ingredients some strange some normal, but they are really good, pepperoni is a whole different story here. Have you ever had potato pizza or a tuna, lettuce, tomato, a mozzarella pizza?? They even use zuchinni flowers on one type of pizza thats really crazy!
If there is one thing that I can say about Italian culture is that they love their food!
Well I wont get in to politics in the US, but I will briefly explain the situation with politics. Its just a big mess here. With over 30 different parties wanting to gain power and no resolution to their collective issues. There are only 2 or 3 parties that are aligned down the middle and are looking for a collective aggreement between the parties. The rest of them are all really specific about their country ideals, beliefs and values. For example, one party wants to seperate the Northern part of Italy from the Southern making two countries and if that party wins, the Prime Minister would rule the Northern half of the country and not worry about the Southern part. How do you think that goes over with the people?! Actually, there is some support for that ridiculous belief!
Drama Drama Drama is what consumes their lives as well as de-sensitizes Italians to what consumes them. When Bill Clinton and Monica arrived in the news Italians were like, hey I like Bill Clinton now, he's normal. When something like that happens in Italy its not news at all because politicians do that all the time. Every Prime Minister in Italy always gets ousted from power before they finish their term. The only one in the past 20-30 years that has lasted the whole 5 year term without being kicked out of office was Berlusconi and he just happens to be the richest or seemingly richest man in Italy.
But for now, Im enjoying the diversity, the regazze (italian girls), food, weather, the people, my roomates, drinking in Piazza's, the city itself, the ancient structures and buildings, the fresh water you can drink from the tap, the langauge, the business contacts, the United Nations contacts, and UN interns that I've met.
What I havent liked have been the hard adjustment that it takes to come here. Relocation, accomodation, Italian business, bad stereo types and prejudices, and the dirty streets of the city.
For now thats all... I really hope get the chance to visit this city sometime in your life. It really has a lot to offer!!
Ciao!
