American friends :)

Hi everyone! I am sorry I have written in awhile, but to be honest, I didn't have much to write about until this weekend. I spent my second week at school teaching all math classes, which they call "maths", (it really bugs me!!!) and getting to know my students. I finally felt like I was getting to know them! The math planning was pretty easy because they have a boxed curriculum, which means all of the lessons are already written for me. Thursday we didn't have school, which was a great break! It was a bank holiday. I spent Thursday sleeping in, watching movies, and doing a little homework. (wished I would've done more!)

The fun really began on Friday! About a week ago, I looked on my program's website to see if any other girls were student teaching in Italy. There were two girls that were, so I emailed them and asked them if they were planning on traveling and such! They emailed back and said that they would be in Rome this weekend. Thankfully, my host mom agreed for them to stay here. It also worked out because all the teachers I know went to Brussels this weekend. The girls arrived and we got to know each other quickly! We talked about all the weird words they use, how we don't know Italian, and things we missed from home. They both go to school in Washington. It just so happened that it was Marissa, one of the girl' birthday, on Friday. I asked Jo were we should go for dinner and drinks! She is so helpful :) We got ready and hopped on our 62 bus towards Piazza Novona. Surprisingly, we found the restaurant and didn't have to ask for directions! haha (anyone who knows me knows that I am directionally challenged) The dinner was delicious! I had fettacine gorganzola. We also ordered bruschetta (in Italian the ch makes a k sound so we have been saying it wrong back in America!) and some wine of course! Oh, and we obviously split the tiramisu. It was a great dinner! Unfortunately, unlike the restaurant, we couldn't find the bar called "The Druken Ship" without asking for directions. It was pretty hilarious asking people because of the name of this place. Jo recommended it to me and said, "You should go here if you want to hang out with Americans." We found it and I instantly felt a little more at home when I saw the boys in the back playing beer pong! We obviously joined in, anyone who also knows me knows that I am pretty good at beer pong! I won 4 straight games :) Everyone was so friendly and we talked to so many people! Also, everyone was cheering for me in beer pong because I was the only girl! We stayed here most of the night and made our way home!

On Saturday, we went to the Vatican. It was so busy! We decided to join an English tour because then we were able to skip lines. Our tour guide was quite the character to say the least! We got in and it was so different than what I expected. Once you get in, you basically go through it in one big line. You cannot move most of the time because there are so many people! There were signs for the Sistine Chapel and I thought we were getting close....it was like a marathon to finally see this thing! I am glad I did it, but our feet were very, very sore. I am also glad that we went Saturday because it was raining and this was a good activity for that! We all wore a headset so we could hear our tour guide and he never stopped talking....he would sing in Italian, talk to other people, etc. He even led us around the line and people were complaining and he didn't even bat an eyelash. It was quite the experience. The Sistine Chapel was much smaller than I had imagined and everyone is packed in like sardines. It total, it took us 4 hours to get through.....

We rewarded ourselves with some gelato after this! I had coffee and hazelnut, both were delicious! We headed back home and put up our feet. We also decided to just make some pasta at home! It was a great idea. We got ready and went to our same bar again Saturday night! Not as much beer pong, but we still met so many cool people.

Today, we went to the Trevi Fountain and walked around all the shops. I really want to buy some shoes here, but I couldn't find any yet! I will keep searching....luckily, I have 8 more weeks here! Rebecca, Marissa, and I also plannd out our side trips during some weekends! I will be joining them to Luca/Pisa, Sicily/Palermo, Malta, and Tuscany/Sienna. I am so glad that we all get along and that I will be able to travel with some amazing friends! :)

This was one of the best weekends of my whole life and I am so sad to see it end! I really do not want to go teach tomorrow...I feel like I need a recooperation day! Luckily, we do not have school on Wednesday this week! I love you all and miss you!

Ciao!
xoxo Katie