Rome Wasn't Built in a Day

Welcome home to my apt in Roma
The mini kitchen with washer
My dressing/getting ready room
Bedroom on raised steps
Living room with fireplace (thats a sofabed guests)
On my walk to work across the Tiber
My grocery store
My church
Just wandering around the Jewish Ghetto
My first meal I made myself in my new place

orrechiette with pancetta, garlic, basil, spinach

I've now been in Rome for one week, and frankly the main thing that has run through my mind all week is - WILL NOT COMPUTE. If living in New Zealand was surreal, I haven't quite been able to come to terms with the fact that I actually live in Rome now. It could also partly be the jetlag, 48 hours of flying time and who knows how many times zones. I still haven't quite managed to stay awake past 10pm and still wake up at 5am (or earlier) everyday, or like last night went to bed at 7pm and woke up at midnight. Anyway, I'm here and in one piece even if I'm not totally together mentally yet.

Here's a bit of a summary of my first week of life in Roma -

My arrival was made a bit smoother in that my driver was from Ecuador so we could habla en espanol, and the vacation rental that I had reserved was right in Trastevere so I could quickly get some prosciutto in without venturing too far. The next day, my first full day here I had set up an ambitious day of apartment viewing. With map and dictionary in hand, I set off. The day was characterized by me asking questions in Spanish and them answering in Italian - this has become a theme which I am desperately working to break with Italian studying. The second place I saw actually brought a tear to my eye because I couldn't believe the place for the price. Rome apts are very expensive and most don't have full kitchens (meaning no oven, and usually only a mini fridge and two burners), and I had set a high standard wanting a terrace/outdoor space but also within walking distance to work. I went to see another four places, but just reconfirmed that the 2nd place was the one. The other thing to figure out was getting 1100 Euro in cash immediately, from my foreign bank accounts. The end result is I'm all moved in, my landlord is adorable and welcomed me with fresh fruit in the kitchen, champagne in the fridge, and a fire in the fireplace. Um you had me at Buongiorno - so for my 30th birthday I got myself an apartment, first ever time living alone. When in Rome....(ps, how soon do you think Rome cliches are going to get old? In the meantime....)

-Work: While going back to work full-time is not awesome, if I have to be in an office 40 hours a week, this isn't a bad gig. To start off the day, I walk past the Forum and then my office has a window, and I share it with two girls, one from Mexico and one from Spain - more hablaing en espanol which is good cause I've been worried about losing it. Also, the transition into the subject matter has been pretty easy since its what I was doing before NZ and I know a lot of the people already. Not to mention, my office is directly next to one of many coffee bars and the cafeteria which has an outdoor terrace with views of all of Rome. And thankfully the IDB gave me a good understanding of what working in a huge bureaucracy is like with all the infighting and largesse and ten coffees a day. It's also nice to be exposed to a ton of interesting projects/studies/work and have the freedom to explore and make the position somewhat into what I'd like. However, I do get lost about ten times a day just in the building. Another added bonus of working for the UN is they figure all the Visa stuff out for me and even give me a diplomatic card, which makes life in Rome (and the EU) much easier. Extra added bonus - there's a post office, and "commissary" on site which sells American products at discount prices, and a whole Expat group that also offers Italian lessons.

Remember how patience was one of my goals/NYE resolutions for 2010, well its going to get its true test living in Rome. A wise friend who moved to Europe a few years ago, LJ, always talked about the hassles of life in Europe and I while I tried to mentally prepare, living in New Zealand certainly didn't make the transition to Europe's way of doing things any easier. As one example, I bought a SIM card at the airport which I had researched prior to arriving to make sure I would have a phone right away. Well come to find out that SIM card is incompatible with my phone, and after a long convo with customer service the only way I can get a refund is by going back to the airport. So I went to go purchase another SIM card on my lunch break, but alas the Metro was shutdown because of a strike. Just one of many examples this week....

-Learning paso per paso:

-Apparently you can't order a cafe latte or cappuccino in the afternoon unless you want to

look like a total tourist. Only some version of espresso. I've come to favor the macchiato (with milk froth) or the cafe marocchino (with bitter chocolate)

-You also should only take pasta with lunch, not dinner unless you also want to be a tourist

-Dominating the streets: needless to say the craziness of Roman traffic is a bit to adjust

to from tranquil NZed where you often don't see any cars. Coupled with the fact that on

my first day in the office I found out my co-worker was out all week cause she had been

hit by a car walking home from work. In true Roman traffic sense, the pedestrian light will

be green when it is also green for cars to turn, and no they don't stop for you, so you

either wait forever and never cross or you DOMINATE the streets and walk with authority

and pray that no one wants to commit manslaughter. Or you find a local who is crossing

and keep them to the side of traffic so they get hit first

-Grocery shopping - best done at public markets where you can also negotiate prices and

they usually (in my one week here) throw in a few extras, like bits of herbs or a few extra

tangerines. I went shopping for the week and spent 40 Euro for tons of veggies, fruits,

cheeses, prosciutto, pancetta, and fresh pasta. I did end up with quite a few more items than I had been planning on given that I can't really negotiate yet and when they rapid fire me with Italian I usually just give in and say "Si". Soon to be on this blog a before photo of the giant food baby that I am about to give birth to, so you can follow my bump as it grows

-Shopping in general - I had to leave a few things behind in NZed (just replay Dulles and

you'll get the gist but without the tears) and I needed a new bag here in Italy but planned

to take my time finding a bargain, well the canvas conference bag I was using temporarily

broke on my way the other day and after going in a few places, one lady got the better

of me rapid firing me with Italian telling me how it was all made my hand and of very good

quality, needless to say I am now the proud owner of a new Italian leather handbag. Note

to self, if I want to hold onto any Euros, hold off on shopping till I can speak a bit more

Italian.

And it's nine now, so off to bed, more soon hopefully from a more clear mental place, but all in all - yes Rome you and I are going to get along, I'll work on my patience, and you just continue to work on being kind to me while I learn Italian- deal