SO just for the sake of memories way down the line, I'm going to go into painstaking detail in describing an average day. Average meaning: no traveling involved. Except from the dorm room to the classroom to the mensa.
As most of you probably know, I'm rooming with Paige and Elise again this semester. We're living in a room about the size of the single room I had last semester. With only two desks, and about 120 books for classes. We're all morning people. So we normally get up around 6, but Paige is up even earlier. This is prime homework time. Except on Tuesdays and Thursdays (classes start later), when I go to the pathetic excuse for a gym on campus and attempt to ward off the pasta weight. The mensa (cafeteria) opens for breakfast at 7. Its always the same: slices of white bread, cheese, ham, two types of cereal, and croissants. Which is fine with me.
On "A" days, we have Lit Trad, Art and Arch, and Phil of Man. Classes start at 8 AM and go until 1 PM. We get 15 minutes between classes. But lets be honest, by the end of the last class, no one is even listening any more. But it's Art and Arch which is the only class I've currently got an A in.... So lesson learned: stop caring and you'll do fine :). We also have "A*" days, which means that the Art and Arch class is on site somewhere in Rome, like the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Borghese Gallery, etc. However, on these trips we have to be in our big group of 105, so we always look like tourists, which is something I hate. But it's a great excuse to go into Rome, and we've seen a lot of cool things. On "B" days, we have Theology and History, and classes don't start until 10. However, breakfast is still at 7, so if you want to eat before lunch at 1, then you have to get up anyway. There's something about the classes at 11:30... they just go on forever. Our class attendance in mandatory; we are only allowed one absence before they drop us from the course. Which blows. Anyway, we have two classrooms on campus, one called the Aula Magna (also used for Sunday Mass and Monday night Meeting), and the Aula Minore (which is located in the basement of the dorm; it's always really warm in that room, so combined with uninteresting philosophical material, it makes for some great naps).
On days we don't have Art and Arch field trips, we have the rest of the day off. Except on Mondays, when we have the mandatory Monday Night Meeting, where the dean tells us what we're doing for the week and people make various announcements about upcoming activities and such. Dinner is always at 7. And it's always pasta. With vegetables soaked in oil. Delicious??..... We spend the rest of the nights doing homework. "homework". This semester, there's really not enough hours in the day to do all the work. The first thing to go was reading for Art and Arch. Then philosophy reading stopped happening. And then Theology turned into more of a glancing over. And then West Civ reading got delayed for five weeks. The only thing I've consistently done the work for is Comedy/Tragedy. Our strategy for the semester: divide and conquer. I do about 1/4 of the work necessary, as do Elise, Paige, and Renee. It's great to have wonderful roommates who will share their notes. Finals are going to be a special kind of nightmare. At least I've relaxed my perfectionist standards.
So now that the general schedule of the week is layed out, here's what we like to do in our free time:
Elise and I walk to the Dem (local supermarket) and count how many times we get honked at. Our record was 10, with one guy enthusiastically blowing us kisses. Italians are very forward.
Also, we like to put on heels and do jumping jacks in the room to piss off the boys below us (Andrew and Nick). This is loads of fun, until Andrew gets pissed enough to start throwing oranges at our window. So, if the window is not all the way shut, it tends to get in and explode over everything.
NOTE: we just played this game, except instead of running around in heels we were banging drawers on the floor. about fifteen seconds later the oranges start hitting the window. And then explode. So our window is now coated in pulp. Thanks, boys.
We spend most of our free time planning our next trips and looking up things to do in Rome.
And that's what an average day is like in Rome.
Time for an Art and Arch trip to Baroque churches! This weekend we're staying in Roma for the beatification of Pope John Paul II. Except I'm sick of large crowds of people, so I might not go. Haven't decided yet.
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