A Weekend Without Many Things....

This weekend ended up being very off.

First of all, the internet in my apartment went out around noon on Thursday afternoon, and as of right now, still hasn't been restored.  It definitely showed me how dependent my roommates are on internet, but having it out for almost four days now has been ridiculous.

Friday, I woke up and did some homework in the morning and went to the supermarket.  In the afternoon, I went to school to use the internet and check my email.  Around 2:30 I took the tram over to the Trevi Fountain and met my friend Connie from St. Norbert.  She is studying in Lancaster, England this semester and was on vacation with three of her roommates to Rome for the week.  We caught up at the Trevi Fountain and got some gelato at this place called Blue Ice.  Then, we decided to walk to Piazza Novona and walk around and explore the church - St. Agnes - in the square.  Later, we all walked to the Vatican and noticed that there was some big activity going on in St. Peter's Square.  There were a ton of cars being parked in the square and I almost got run over.  Some Italian in the car honked at me, but oh well!  We walked up and down some of the streets just outside Vatican City and I spent a little bit too much money on some religious items.  Oh well!  It's the Vatican - what do you expect???  At around 7:00 PM, Connie and I said our goodbyes and I made my way back to my apartment.  I went to dinner with my friend Tynisha, and then I went to bed.

Saturday, I spent most of my day at the library on campus.  I started and finished my History of Modern Europe paper.  I tweaked my thesis a bit, and now my paper is about how Marie Antoinette was a misunderstood Queen of France, who, in the eyes of French citizens, exemplified problems with the French monarchy through her lifestyle, which contributed to the spark of the French Revolution.  Instead of making the paper to attack Marie Antoinette, I came to sympathize with her through my research of her, and changed the direction of my paper.  I'm very proud of it, and think it will be a winner!  I was at the library from about 12:30 PM until about 7:30 PM writing the paper.  I made a true Italian dinner with Tynisha that night that consisted of tomato and mozzarella salad, bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, pasta with tomato sauce, and chicken.  It was so good!  We ate it out on her balcony looking over the city and had a great time.  I went to bed earlier Saturday night too because I had to get up for Mass in the morning.  

Sunday, I started my day with 10:30 AM Mass at Santa Susanna.  It was great to go to Mass and get some time alone.  I had another sense of my Grandpa Kasprzak watching over me while I was attending Mass and got a little choked up.  I know he is here with me, watching over me every step of my journey.  After Mass, I caught the #40 bus back towards the tram stop and was completely crushed on the bus!  It was packed to the brim!  And when I mean packed, I mean packed!  The BO was ripe and you had absolutely no personal space.  There was this lady standing by me, and every time the bus driver would open the door, it would hit her in the back and she would go, "Ow".  I got off as soon as I could and gasped for air!  It was awful!  Dad, get ready to experience Italian public transportation in two weeks!  After I got back from Mass, Tynisha asked me to go to the Vatican with her.  She had to buy some rosaries and say a prayer for one of her cousins.  I would never pass up a chance to go to the Basilica, so of course, I went with her!  The Vatican ended up being packed, and there was this annoying French tour guide who kept trying to skip me in line.  I held my ground and didn't let him pass.  I looked at Tynisha and said, "You know you are becoming a local in a place when tourists start to tick you off!"  We returned to the apartment around 2:00 PM and I switched rooms in my apartment.  I am now living with my buddy, Cuyler.  I didn't have a problem with my original roommate, but we were on opposite schedules.  Cuyler and I are on very similar schedules, and we hang out all the time.  Cuyler's original roommate hangs out with my original roommate, so they moved in together.  Now, I live on the other side of the apartment and have a balcony looking over our main street right next to my bed!  It is so nice to sit with the doors open, breeze coming through, listening to the sounds of Roma and soaking it all in.  The balcony is very big and is nice to do homework on or just grab a little R&R time in the sunshine!  Since the internet in my apartment was still out yesterday, I had to come to school to Skype with Mom and Dad last night.  We had a nice conversation, and I'm getting excited for Dad's visit!  I went to dinner with Casey and Bliss after they returned from their trip to Sicily last night, and then waited for my roommates to come home.  Cuyler and Peter returned from their trip to the Amalfi Coast around 10:30 last night and the three of us busted a gut laughing as they told me the stories of the antics the two of them pulled in Capri this past weekend!  Priceless memories!  I headed to bed early last night because this morning I had to grab the train to go to Fiumicino Airport in Rome by 7:30 AM to pick up my friend Laura who is visiting Casey and Me for a week from Cairo, Egypt!  It should be a fun week!

I wasn't really looking forward to spending this weekend alone and doing homework, but it ended up being okay.  I was kind of sick all weekend too, but the combination of gallons of orange juice, fruit, yogurt, and hours of sleep seems to have done me well.  Although it was a weekend without most of my friends, without my health, without going out on the town, and without internet, it ended up being a memorable weekend in Roma!