Pillar #1: Romans don't clean up after their dogs.

With all the incredible stuff there is here in Rome, you'd think I'd constantly be looking around at all the people, buildings, and ruins spread around throughout the city. Right? Wrong. I've begun to realize that as a resident of greater Trastevere, you have to keep your eyes to the ground to avoid any unexpected...surprises. But I digress.

Yes, this is supposed to be a blog about my architectural studies and travels. So why am I talking about poo? When you live in a place like Rome--I've been told to consider myself a 3 1/2 month "visitor" rather than a tourist. It sits better with the locals--you really gain a totally new perspective that is much different than a "tourist" would get. Last time I was here (In 2004? Was it really that long ago?), I stayed in a hotel, ate out most every meal, traveled in a tour group of 30 every day, and had everything planned out for me. This time around I basically have a normal semester, but it just happens to be in Rome. That means apartment living, cooking, laundry, walking to class, walking around the city, walking to the grocery store, walking to dinner, walking up 125 stairs to my apartment at least once a day, walking, walking, walking... So you can probably imagine, with as much walking as I've been doing in just over a week, why dog poo left on the sidewalk can be problematic.

I live on the Janiculum Hill (Gianicolo to the Italians), which is west of the city and south of the Vatican, and it's a 25-30 minute walk to our school building in the center of town near the Pantheon. At the bottom of the hill is the neighborhood called Trastevere, which is still pretty authentically Roman (fewer tourists here). The best part about it is the view from the top.


The worst part, as I alluded to earlier...Did I mention that we live on a mountain? There are only a couple of direct paths up, and all involve stairs. The grocery stores and open air market, by the way, are about a half mile from the bottom of the stairs.


Despite arriving a day later than planned following what would have been a scenic detour to Newcastle, England had it not been snowing and foggy (for more on this adventure: http://clairescheesegrits.blogspot.com/2010/01/planes-trains-and-automobiles.html), we have already managed to see many of the sites, and are adjusting to our surroundings pretty well.

I will try to keep my pictures updated both on Facebook and here: http://picasaweb.google.com/rsmith31. Until next time...arrivederci!