Thoughts of a Traveler: First Day

Our first adventure involved finding our way through the winding streets of Rome to get to our first orientation meeting at one of our "campus" locations. This location happens to be right next to the Pantheon. We were also given our cell phones, which are small brick phones.

After our meeting we began to explore the streets of the city. The streets are in no particular order, are often very narrow, and extremely confusing. For the first time in my life I have been unable to find my way around, and this feeling of continually being lost is very frustrating.

We also made our first trip to the grocery store. We were obviously lost and confused since every lable and item was in Italian. They also do not have peanut butter!! However, wine can be found for 2 Euros a bottle. Checking out also resulted in interesting situations. In Rome plastic bags cost money, so we brought our own bags. The cashier also made fun of us because he was frustrated that he had to speak English for us to understand. "Ba -hag" he asked in an annoyed voice. I've also discovered that Italians do not like to make change for larger bills. My total came to around 25 Euros, I handed the cashier a 50. He looked at me, still annoyed and started yelling in italian and pointing at my total on the screen. I then pulled out a 20 and a 10 and he shoved the 50 back into my hand. Therefore, I'm clueless as to what to do because I am running out of small bills.

Finally, we ended our day with a nice meal. My roommates and I worked together to make an alfredo sauce. The dinner was completed by a 2 Euro bottle of wine. Altogether, it was a pretty tasty way to a day.
However, I must admit that I'm suffering pretty bad from homesickness and often find myself getting frustred and upset easily. I'm hoping that this will pass soon.