ciao- rachel and I are sitting here eating our dinner of cereal, cheese and crackers, and some nasty euro canned soup. dont feel too bad for us though, we have some yummy ice cream waiting for us in the freezer. Now, we aren't complete losers: rachel is sick and annie went out last night. We have officially been in Rome for 1 week- boy how the time flies. Rachel got sick on wednesday and has been out of commission since. But she is getting better and to quote what rachel just said, " I have a vision that tomorrow will be a good day." Sounds like a line from Obama's inauguration. How insightful- anyways, here is the low down on a scuola: 

Annie's classes:

1. History of the italian mafia: its going to be soooo cool. I already started reading Gomorra, the novel about the mafia in Naples. Our teacher is funny: he will be the first to admit that Italy isn't the most ideal country. He describes the inefficiency of the government, the corruption, the HORRIBLE traffic, and everyone's link to the mafia (including the current prime minister). So far, this class is my fave.

2. Rome through the Ages: another history class, but its a borefest and my teacher says "uh" after every sentence. The only redeeming factor is that alot of it is taught on site, so that means we get to meet her at certain locations and that is where our lesson will be for the day.

3. Photography: Rachel and I are both in this class and our teacher is the Italian version of Johnny Depp...he is very cool and edgy (think pierced ear). We get to take pictures around rome and put together a portfolio so by the time we are done we should have 10-12 good shots. you can book your appointment with us starting in june since we will be professionals by then. 

4. Italian Language class: rachel and I are both taking this class but we have different teachers. Annie's teacher prolly says 5 english words the entire class. Rachel's teacher is really sexy and all the boys in her class drool over her. we are both learning alot though- we are going to be bilingual!!!!!!!!

5. Classical mythology- rachel is taking this class and she sits in the front ( such a good student- she just mentioned that she thinks she is already the teachers pet). the teacher is very professional looking but very nice...she is really interested in the class! yippee...wahooo....moving on.

While rachel slumbered and got better, I walked around Trastevere today with some pals. IT IS AMAZING- everyone needs to visit this area in their lifetime. to me, it is exactly what i thought Rome would look like. There are quaint restaurants and shops on every street- the streets wind around and fork in different directions. The buildings are very rustic with arched doorways- people & dog watching at its finest! i ate a yummy vegetariano pizza while sitting outside in the sun...jealous?

anyways, rachel is feeling molto better. we had a good convo with Diana and ludovico today- we love them so much. Diana is being such a mom about rachel being sick- she makes her tea and soup and constantly asks her to check her temperature. she is the sweetest lady- we are so lucky to have her. but do you want to know something strange that we learned today?? the longhorn sign is equivalent in Italy to flicking someone off. Actually if you want to know the full meaning, it means your wife is cheating on you with someone else which is verrrryyy disrespectful here. so if you visit, dont throw up the longhorn to say your from Texas because you will probably make some italian very mad. 

we know yall are probably sick of reading this so we will take a hike. we are about to watch roman holiday with audrey hepburn- cant wait. here is our new italian phrase we learned tonight: Ci Vediamo Dopo (see you later!) Ciao!

p.s. Rachel eye infection update #45: they are getting better!!!!! the drops that the eye doctor gave her are working and today they were much clearer. keep your fingers crossed!