Things That I Miss About Home and Don't Like About Rome

On Saturday I found out that my parents put my dog, Daisy, to sleep. She was a wonderful dog to have throughout my childhood and teenage years and will be greatly missed. She's the first major death in my family (other than one uncle who I did not know well)! I've shed my tears about it, but I'm curious to see what my response will be when I come home in December to not find her there. Since finding out about her death, I've been in a bit of a debbie downer mood. I told myself that today is the last day that I can let myself be overly negative, so in spirit of that, here is a little rant of things I miss about home and don't like about Rome.

• I miss eating Skittles/Starbursts/Nerds. I'm dying for fruit candy; everything here is chocolate.
• I hate how men think they can just pee on the street randomly. I've seen this twice in the past three days. All the urination does give the city a funky smell.
• I hate all the commotion in the morning. It gets SO loud and all I want to do is sleep!
• I miss the meat selection from home. Meat here is expensive and cut very thin.
• I miss seeing grass and plants everywhere. I went to Assisi on Saturday, and it was beautiful! However, it made me realize even more how much Rome lacks in greenery.
• I hate not being able to invade conversations since I can't understand them. :-) I won't know what to do with myself when I return.
• I HATE all the smoking!!!
• I miss Hy-Vee Chinese dinners every other Wednesday at the Sigma Kappa house.
• I dislike the water temperature for our faucets. It's either too cold or too hot, never perfect.
• I hate how all the slow walkers find it necessary to walk in the middle of the street.
• I miss the wide selection of juices and soda in the United States. Soda options here include Sprite, Coke, Diet Coke, Fanta, Pepsi, and I might be forgetting one? Juice options= very minimal.
• All the public affection in the street is disgusting and annoying. At first it was cute, then I probably got a bit jealous, but now I'm to the point where I ask myself if it is really necessary for couples to be doing such things in the middle of the street. I can't think of many situations where it is needed for a girl to straddle a guy while he carries her down the busy shopping street and makeout.

Okay, now that I've done my little rant (and it was harder than I thought to come up with those twelve), I'm going to share some things that I'm in love with Rome.

• The liveliness. Yes, it can be loud, but it makes the days exciting. There's always something to notice and things to do.
• Campo di Fiori. I feel proud of my purchases every time I get something from there. I can get so much for so little! Katie and I did notice this week that green beans are being out of season while potatoes are becoming in season. I'm excited to see what other fruits/veggies will start to be cheap and in season!
• Frigidarium. This is the name of my favorite gelato place and favorite flavor. It has caramel, cookies, and chocolate in it. They stick a cookie at the top and then dip it in chocolate. So delicious! Every time Katie and I go (which is often) we become better friends with the gelato guy that works there. Tonight I ordered in Italian to him "Posso avere il frigidarium?" He got a good laugh as I struggled to correctly get that out. There is another girl that regularly works with him. They both know what Katie and I order aka we're officially regulars. :-)
• Location! I am able to walk to everywhere. It's nice to be able to window shop and admire what is around me while getting a nice little workout. Though stairs can be annoying, they add nicely to the workout. I typically climb 350ish stairs a day (74 stairs to/from my apartment in my building about four times a day plus school stairs and wherever else).
• Young Italians and Europeans! I believe every young Italian that I've tried to communicate with knows some English. While I feel guilty and incompetent about not knowing Italian well, it has been easy to communicate with people here in English.
• The windows to my apartment. They swing open and have shutters. At night we close and lock the shutters to keep out the light but keep the air flow. During the day, we swing them open and attach them to the outside of the building. As dumb as it sounds, it's refreshing to swing the shutters open, stick your head out the window, and get excited for the day ahead.
• Art history. My instructor is great! She made us chocolate chip cookies this past week and always tells us fun facts about things. I lucked out on getting placed in her class.
• Window shopping. Windows are constantly changing with new clothes being displayed. I feel like I'm able to shop without spending the money.
• All of the alleys. It makes Rome feel smaller than it is. You can feel lost in the city even if you know exactly where you're heading. Some of the best discoveries come from taking an accidental left or right or taking a new route home.
• The landmarks. Every single one is everything you imagined it to be and more.

I can assure you that there are other things I love and hate about Rome, but my brain isn't coming up with them right now. Rome is wonderful, and I'm having a great time, but it isn't a fairytale. There still are nuances and things that get in the way of the fairytale. In my eyes, it is a rather regular life but just in a different location which adds new excitement and activities to it.