Hello September!

It's finally September (!!), which means stores will be opening and jobs will be starting. Since our experience here is more than just getting lost and eating, we have decided to celebrate September's arrival by focus on a few other aspects of our life here. 

Notes on Driving:

The other day we found ourselves in the back of a taxi, going over cobble stones, and fighting against whiplash as our driver put the gas pedal to the floor, followed immediately by grounding the break pedal into the floor. Luckily he also seemed to have no understanding of how to drive  stick shift. This is really an impressive feat since our driver was about 75 years old, makes his living driving, and has been driving in a country where 95% of the cars are stick shift. It was between launching forward and slamming back against the seat that Courtney felt we must address driving in Italy.

If you know nothing else about Italy, you know that Italians are notorious for being the worst drivers. Traffic laws are created but never followed or enforced. Every time you leave the safety of your home you are taking your life in your hands.

It's a coin toss what is more alarming: being a passenger in the car or a pedestrian crossing streets. When you're in the car you're able to see how close pedestrians get to being run down by an inpatient driver. A while back we saw an elderly woman crossing the street and we swore that she was going to be hit. The driver clearly had no intention of slowing down or stopping, and the woman had no intention of running towards the safety of a sidewalk. The most alarming part is hurtling through the streets of Rome and knowing that quite often you are that person millimeters away from getting hit. Sometimes you aren't really sure the drivers don't want to hit something or someone.  You learn quite a bit about yourself when sitting in the back of a taxi. For example, Rachel has discovered that she can get car sick. Even our first Italian friend confirmed that traffic laws are suggestions, theories if you will, not laws in the typical sense. To date our biggest concerns are crashing into a bus in a misguided effort to get around the bus by entering the opposing traffic lane, and internal injuries inflected by the g-force acceleration and logic defying catapults forward while breaking. This brings us to life as a pedestrian.

The first thing you will learn is that cross walk signs have the same green-yellow-red system as traffic lights, however they are paid attention to a bit more. Don't however make the mistake of following the cross walk sign blindly- it'll get you killed.  This point is reenforced but the actual cross walk light, which spends most of its time on yellow. The green light is only on for about 2.3 seconds, with the purpose of telling you if you're gonna cross now it the time to think about doing it. The majority of the time the light is on yellow, which means 'go, but very carefully.' Finally the light goes to red, though it should probably have turned red 20 seconds prior. While the light is red, it's a good time to try and calm your nerves before crossing the next street. The temptation to run for your life is common, however if you relax and try to make eye contact with the driver, we're told they'll make a special effort to avoid hitting you.

Tourists are easily identified as they are typically the people stranded on a medial stripe. They are also known to stand on corners looking confused and scared, with eyes searching for alternative routes.  The culmination of  our experience with Italian traffic involves one very brave young man and his terrified girlfriend.

The Cousines were on their way to the American food store when we were stopped at an intersection that doubled as a great photo-op for tourists....

 The light is red. Across the street we see some commotion. We see a young man that clearly is getting ready to make his move across the street. He can't be bothered with traffic suggestions, and with that he confidently steps into the street and strides across. His girlfriend remains on the other side, unsure of the next move. She doesn't want to cross, but riding high off his victory, her boyfriend is anxious to continue their journey. To her right, 300 feet away is a motorcycle.  The street is narrow; she has plenty of time to cross safely. Totally freaked out the girl takes a deep breath and runs across the street., but in her panic she begins to run on an angle, recklessly out of control in the middle of the  street. Like this:

She finally comes to her senses, but not before her eyes practically fall out of her head...

and she emits this  hilarious sound... Finally she sprints to the safety of our side of the road.

If you are planning a trip to Rome, here's a great article that will teach you how to cross the street in Rome.

Visit to the Castel Sant'Angelo:

Should also be known as the ultimate phobia fighter. Seriously, the place has  the scariest stairs ever. We actually had to negotiate who would go down first. If it wouldn't have drawn attention, Courtney wanted to go down the stairs toddler style. It's incredible that people  were walking up and down these stairs and not falling to their death. Even with all the safety railings, we were still moving as though we were new to walking.

You're not claustrophobic are you? If you are, you may have a problem. So many paths lead to areas that require you to walk sideways through the space, or get on your hands and knees to crawl through doorways. Maybe these obstacles wouldn't be so bad if you weren't painfully aware of how far below ground level- under many many layers of concrete and brick- you are while performing these gymnastics.

Okay, so you're still good? How about heights? Because when you get to the highest point of the Castel, with the iconic bronze Saint Angelo looming directly above you and spectacular views of the city around you, the first thing that comes to mind is, "Please don't let there be a strong wind." It's directly after this awe inspiring experience that you are required descend what are surely in the top 5 of steepest stairways in the world.

Additional Observations: The biggest point of going on the night tour was so Courtney could see the secret passage way that connected the Castel Sant'Angelo to the Vatican. (The Vatican used the Castel as a refuge in case of attack). A lover of all things secret and mysterious, this was to be the highlight of Courtney's experience.  We did not get to see the passage. Apparently it was a separate ticket (the difference of one euro) to get to see the passage. No one mentioned different types of tickets. In fact, it wasn't even until halfway up that we learned of the situation. If we hadn't already climbs about a million steps we might have gone back to get the proper ticket. Or maybe if we had cried the woman blocking our path would've felt bad and let us in. Luckily are resolve is even weaker than that. When faced with three pigeons perched on the rafters of one particularly lonely path, the Cousines turned around rather than walk under them. That's right, we were afraid of the pigeons. Courtney has developed an irrational fear of pigeons flying into the apartment).  After the pigeons took up residence on the balcony, with their ill-fated eggs, we didn't want to attract anymore negative pigeon karma.

Comrades in Complaining (a.k.a Cha-cha- changes):

It's no secret that while we're having a fabulous time in Rome, every now and then we long for the company of fellow English speakers, and a menu that isn't limited to pasta and pizza. With this in mind we keep a handy list of pubs in Rome for when we're having one of those days. 

Without a doubt, Scholars Lounge is our favorite pub. It is owned, run, and frequented by Irish, who absolutely could not be nicer. It was while sitting at the bar that we learned the Cousines aren't the only ones put off by certain attitudes from the Romans. (In our case it is confusion and slight annoyance. In the case of the staff at Scholars it resembles a much stronger dislike.. which might be why only one staffer speaks Italian or even makes an effort to understand).

We thought the bartender was joking when he asked what made us decide to up and move here; he was serious. Courtney's highlight was this exchange:

Bartender: Is this your first time in Rome?

Court: No, I studied here.

Bartender: And you came back?! How long ago?

Court: Seven years.

Bartender: Have you found much has changed?

Court: Not really. I mean some things seem different- hard to say really.

Bartender: I'm sure nothing has really changed, and I can guarantee you that anything that has changed hasn't been for the better.

Lost in Translation:

"This is definitely not a sleft left" -Rach (In English: This is definitely not a slight left.)

"I have sesame seeds all over me!" - Court (No explanation... just randomly said.  We haven't had anything with sesame seeds)

Things We Accidentally Froze in the Refrigerator  (Part II):

• Bananas
• Tomato Sauce
• Iced Tea
• Tuna Fish
• Orange Juice
• Potatoes 

Attacked by Little People (a.k.a. Items Rachel has been hit with by children):

• Stick- while walking in the park, a child playing in an empty fountain, turned, saw Rachel and threw the stick.
• Pipe like Lego- while babysitting for one of her families, the oldest child repeatedly hits Rachel with aforementioned object.

Places Courtney has locked herself in or out of:

• Bathroom at Mercato- somehow managed to lock herself in the bathroom. Seriously contemplated trying to break the door down.
• Door to Apartment- could not unlock the front door. Effectively continued to be locked out while locking Rachel in.

Dreams Do Come True:

Rach: I had a nightmare and woke up all scared that something was in my room. Not a person.
Court: Like a bug?
Rach: No, like a creature.
Court: What kind of creature? An animal?
Rach: A furry little person
Court: A furry little person? And you were still dreaming?
Rach: No, I was awake. I guess it was a furry midget.

Days later..... Location: Scholars Lounge

Court: Did you see that guy over there?
Rach: Who? Where?
Court; The little weird one.
Rach: You mean the furry midget? Wait!! Just like in my dream!!!

Rachel's Theoretical Analysis of Directions:


Court: What's the difference between a slight left and turning left?
Rach: A slight left means move to the left side of the road to prepare for a left turn.
Court: So a slight left means cross the street?
Rach: Correct. You are going to the left, only slightly.
Court: So a slight left always precedes a turn left? Does this rule apply to rights as well?
Rach: Yes. I think so.

(Rach taking out directions)

Rach: It says slight left, then make a right.... oh... well than I have no clue what the difference is.

Things We've Learned:

•  We are unable to properly plan an entire excursion. Just like there is no perfect crime - the criminal always forgets something essential that seals his fate- the Cousines are totally unable to organize a day-trip without missing some crucial part. Some examples:
• Forgetting the directions to the restaurant we'd been dying to go to (note: still haven't made it there)
• Attempting to follow directions and still managing to get off track.
• Continuously having the Aurelian Walls block our path. The walls might have been built to keep enemies out, but they are doing a great job of keeping us in. (Though with our tendency towards getting lost this may actually be a blessing in disguise.)
• Getting lost inside a park. The Cousines have adopted Sundays in the Park into the routine.  After our enjoyable little excursion quickly turned into a reenactment of the Blair Witch Project as we attempted to get out of the park before it closed at dusk.

A Typical Day for Cousines in Rome

Now that we have a week under our belts I think it's safe to say a typical day in Rome has emerged for us. Technically the day starts the night before when we plan the next day's goals and establish how early we need to get up to get them accomplished. As they say, the best laid plans...no matter how early we get up, eat breakfast, get showered, and leave the house, we always arrive at our destination during siesta. For those of you who don't know what siesta is, it is roughly the time between 1 pm and anywhere from 5 to 7:30 pm that everything closes. Everything.  A Plan B to achieve your goal is always necessary since you have a 50/50 chance of having the store re-open. In our neighborhood there are whole blocks we know solely by the graffiti covered grates.

A prime example of our problem is the bread bakery that is literally attached to our building. The closest we've ever gotten is seeing the bakery through the closed glass doors. It's become our personal challenge to get bread from that bakery. Courtney's window is geographically the most likely to draw in the smell of fresh baking bread. She spends most mornings in a half sleep sniffing for signs of baking bread.

Then there is the on going shower situation. It's nearly impossible for us to remember to put the water heater on in enough time to allow both of us to get a hot shower. One of us (normally Courtney) must sacrifice themselves to a shower that mimics get caught in freezing rain. This only heightens the other potentially hazardous shower challenges. The size of the shower is equivalent  to a port-o-potty. Sudden movements are not encouraged, and escaping the experience with fewer than a dozen run-ins with the shower doors is considered a success. Because your feet get so dirty walking around the city, you have to make a special effort to clean them when showering.  If the cold water or the size of the shower didn't get you, than the rapidly filling shower base might. The majority of your shower focus goes to finishing the shower before you flood the bathroom. Thus balancing on one foot, while trying to avoid direct contact with the pelting freezing water, and watching the rapidly rising water for signs of flood is quite literally taking your life in your hands.   It's not unusual for us to ask each other if everything is okay as soon as we hear the water go off. We're just grateful  the shower doors are plastic.

Okay so now we've gotten up, eaten, and showered, it's time to leave the house. We can't take the elevator to the lobby because we can't figure out how to get out of the elevator once we get there. We're on the third floor so getting off at the first floor is just silly, but because the stairs are granite it takes us 10 minutes to get downstairs for fear of falling. Next is the 45 minute walk to wherever we're going. After multiple days of extensive walking Rachel's left knee is destroyed and the right side of Courtney's back and right leg are ruined. This pretty much doubles our walking time. By the time we're halfway there we are sweating profusely and need another shower. On yesterday's excursion Rachel was quoted saying "I'm sweating in my shorts." A little while later.. "Hold on!..I'm falling out of my pants."

And after lunch:
Rach: I have to get up in a certain way.
Court: Because of the gimpness? (not the first reference to Rachel's injured knee)
Rach: No because of the sweatness

But fear not we're problem solvers.  Rach has been scoping out canes to address the walking problem. ("I saw the canes at that little store. Next to the mops.")  Court's still looking for a back brace. We've also invented personal canopies in an effort to reduce the sweatness.

We have a great balcony that we've been so excited to sit out on. To date that's not been possible... a family of pigeons has set up house on our balcony. The mother spends most of the day sitting on the eggs nestled in one of our flower pots. When we approach- typically to try and put laundry out- she stares aggressively. The situation has gotten our attention so much that we're constantly running into other rooms to make sure a pigeon hasn't come in.

Another daily challenge is our ability to communicate. Not with the Italians, but with each other. In English. We also suffer from nonsense thought processes. Some examples:

• "My stomach still feels weird. I don't know if it's more hunger....- or just sick."- Rach
• Courtney spent 2 days without her fan before realizing the fan isn't going to turn on if you keep hitting the off button.
• "I just stayed awake so slowly."- Courtney
• "I need to move myself into the big bag."- Courtney
• "I feel like we fell asleep in a poppy field..... you know like Dorothy and her animals" (referencing our random 8 pm nap- Dorothy and her animals is commonly known as The Wizard of Oz)- Rach
• "I know! That's what I always worry about when I watch the movie." -Rach (When asked if it was meant to be a poppy field how did anyone ever wake up to make it to the Emerald City)

* Special Note: the above phrases and situations occurred without the influence of alcohol.

On Taxis:

We have yet to get in the taxi that we approached. When we ask to be taken somewhere we are constantly told "It's far." Well yes, thank you, that's why we've decided to take a taxi. (Unfortunately that rationale didn't dawn on us until last night). Once we've established that we will be taking a taxi, the group of taxi drivers gather to discuss who will take us and which route to take. In fact this process takes quite a long time, seemingly to give other taxis within a 10 mile radius to arrive and contribute to the discussion. Often when we're in the taxi Courtney's ability to respond to questions posed in English disappears. But she does try to answer. It's just to answer a completely different question. (Example: "Would you like the air conditioning on?" Courtney: "You want to set a price instead of the meter?")  When you're walking you absolutely always wish you were being driven, but there are many times where you are made to regret that wish. I'm fairly certain there is nothing worse than being in a taxi with a broken seatbelt.  If you have any sense of self-preservation this is the worst thing that could happen to you.

Sight of the Day: One toed pigeon while eating lunch near the Vatican.

Word of the Day: Oobleck (def. sticky green substance invented by  the good Dr. Seuss) When used in a sentence: "I don't like walking through tunnels. I don't want oobleck to fall on me."

Situation of the Day: Typically Italians only shop for the food they will eat that day. As Americans we're used to stocking the fridge. As we checked out today the cashier asked us if all that food was just for the two of us.

The Arrival

Ciao!!

Well, we're finally here and settled into our apartment. It's been a fun, hilarious, and long few days.

Since arriving we have seen the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Colosseum (Question of the Day, provided by Rachel: What's the Colosseum made of?), and the Spanish Steps (Or what Rach likes to call them: The Stairs). We've also spent quite a bit of time walking around and exploring the various neighborhoods in Rome. If you want to see pictures and videos of our adventures visit our link photobucket page

Some things we've learned:

• Our hotel was not near anything....

              Us: Can you recommend any places to eat around here?

              Receptionist: There's one about a kilometer away.

              Us: That's it?

              Reception: Well you can eat at the hotel restaurant.

             Taxi: I know exactly where your hotel is, I used to live there. There's nothing to do.

             Us: Nothing? As in there isn't anything for us to walk to?

             Taxi: Correct. How did you even find that hotel?

             Us: (Rachel looks at Courtney... Courtney turns and looks out the window).

• After a few days, your English- even amongst other English speakers- begins to fall apart, making communication difficult.

          Court: There's Dior

          Rach: There's Dior (what Court heard: where?)

          Court: Right there.

          Rach: Yea (what court heard: where?)

          Court: Straight ahead, Dior.

          Rach: silence...

          Court: (exasperated) Yea, RIGHT THERE.

          Rach: I KNOW! I said, there's Dior.

          Court: and there's Gucci

      -----PAUSE----

         Rach: Where's Gucci?

      

• If you want a hot, or even warm, shower you need to plan hours in advance.

               I can tell you with great certainty that Rach and I took the coldest showers of our lives yesterday. You'd think with it being so hot here that it'd be refreshing... yep, not so much.

• Doing laundry is an all day activity. 

                And when you do use the washing machine it sounds like a plane taking off.... for about 4 hours.

• Public restrooms can be a prime location for getting yelled at.

            While I was getting us gelato, Rach was busy getting yelled at by an old woman posing at the bathroom attendant. The yelling continued well after Rach had left.

• Waiters tell you when it's time to leave.

                 Our second night in the hotel we again ate at the their restaurant (see above). After we finished our meal, we relaxed a bit before asking for our check. When we politely asked for our check, our waiter said no. He apparently felt that we need to sit and relax longer. So we quickly finished our beverages in the hope of getting the check. Then we just waited another 45 minutes until our waiter felt it was okay to give us the check.

• Going green hotel style.

                  In an effort to go green, the hotels now require that you place your room key into a slot within the room in order to work the lights. After removing the card you have approximately 30 seconds before all the lights go out. How did we discover this? Well Rach went to get bottles of water. Court was in the bathroom getting ready to shower. After a few seconds all the lights in the bathroom went out. With no other source of light, Court spent the next 10 minutes walking into everything in the bathroom and knocking everything over. It wasn't until Rach returned that the lights were restored and Court could make it out of the bathroom. Though extensive clean-up was required.

• Air- conditioning is more important than you think.

                 Host: Good afternoon ladies. 

                 Us: Hello. We'd like a table for two.

                 Host: Sure. Inside or Outside?

                 Us: Inside.

                 Host: Okay, it'll just be inside and downstairs. (what Court heard: it's downstairs and has no air)

                 Court: No air conditioning?!?!! (horrified)

                 Host: Haha... Of course we have air conditioning! (Responding as though Court's absurd).

•  The Italian perception of Americans perception of distance is hilarious.

                   Taxi: Wow... you know that's far right? Like 20 minutes in traffic.

                   2nd Taxi: Your neighborhood is really far from the metro. It's a 10 minute walk.

                   Interviewer: Where do you live?

                   Us: Pigneto

                   Interviewer: Where? Pig- what??

                   Us: Pigneto.

                   Interviewer: I have no idea where you are talking about.

• Court can fall asleep at anytime, while continuing to talk nonsense and not remember anything later.

                      I took a shower while Court was writing in her journal. I got out of the shower to find Court passed out with her journal still open and the pen in her hand. Court turned to me and began talking. She continued to mumble nonsense and have no clue what was going on. When questioned later she recalled nothing.

           Another time I ran out to make phone calls. When I returned I found Court asleep. As I was closing the room door, Court said "oh I didn't you came in already." I said, 'I didn't, I'm just coming in now." Court was sleeping across the bed.I told her to sleep the right way. She insisted that I sleep across the bed as well. So there we were facing each laying across the bed. I tried to set the alarm on Court's phone. I couldn't figure it out and asked for help. Court grabbed the phone and claimed to have changed the time zone and set the alarm. An hour and a half this obnoxious noise is blaring and Court is telling me to turn it off, even though her phone is right next to her. I finally realize it is my phone going off across the room, because I set it for 10:15 am US time. Court's phone went off at 10 pm- claiming it was 8 am and it was set for 8:30 am. 

• We've settled into our odd couple roles quite nicely.

                  I make sure Rach takes her vitamins everyday, and Rach opens things and makes sure I don't get sticky hands. It's working out quite nicely.

        

In our first four days, we have eaten pizza and gelato at least six times, and pasta twice. Last night we forgot to get bread. It was a sad and lonely meal that involved salami, cheese, and mustard. Today we slept in, which meant that by the time we left the apartment everything was closed. On Sunday's if you aren't closed all day, you close for siesta and never open again- so no bread again.

Goodbye Philadelphia, Hello Rome/ Arrivederci Philadelphia, Buongiorno Roma!

Rachel and I have decided that things were getting a little stale. It's time to do something totally random and different. So we're moving to Rome! We leave July 28th, and will be living in a fabulous apartment in Pigneto. (Near the Pantheon)

The best way to share all our adventures, stories, and pictures with everyone was to document them on a blog. So here it is!

Look out for more updates and details as we get ourselves ready for the experience of a lifetime. (And of course, we love visitors... so let us know if we've inspired you to come see us!)

Wanna drop us a line? Email us at: Cousines

Ciao,

Court & Rach