While living in Rome, Italy I have had the opportunity to try many different foods. One of my favorite dishes and no surprise is pasta! The pasta truly is as good as everyone says it is! There are many different types with many different sauces and accompaniments. My favorite are the tomato based sauces. I even have had the opportunity to make pasta, twice! It only takes flour, semola flour, eggs, and olive oil. It was a fun activity and a great cultural experience.

I am currently taking an Italian course while I am here to pick up some basic Italian. The locals really appreciate the effort of trying to speak and learn their language. This has helped me when it comes time to order or ask for things. Not everyone here speaks the best English so they do appreciate the extra efforts, even if I only know a few words or phrases.

I live in an apartment surrounded by Italian families. The apartment is very tiny and old,
but has everything you would need, nothing more.

My average day consists of me waking up early and heading to the gym which is about a 10 minute walk from my apartment. The gyms here are very small and they do not have many workout studios that offer classes. After my workout I head back to my apartment to make breakfast and coffee. Coffee is made out of a moka pot on the stovetop. This was something very different for me to get used to, it brews a strong coffee! After, I will head to class for the day, school is only a 10 minute walk for me as well. Mondays and Wednesdays consist of class from 8:30am-4:15pm, but I do not have class on Tuesday or Thursdays which is nice. The days I don’t have classes, I try to walk around the city to places I haven’t been before. This gives me lots of time to explore and head to the local markets. At night I make dinner from food that I get from these markets or I will eat at a new restaurant with my friends. The food at the markets here is incredible. They have so many different foods to choose from, all fresh and sourced from Italy! This is something I love and don’t get to experience at home.