Finally...

I know, I know. You thought I fell off the face of the earth/got arrested and deported from Italy. Not so. I’ve just been a little busy. Rome has been busy. But it’s ok now. I can tell you what I’ve been up to.
Well, I went to Palm Sunday mass at the Vatican. It was very crowded but not nearly as crowded as other Easter events. I saw the PopeMobile in action. Awesome. Benedict ought to cruise around in that thing more often. I also saw some very formal Swiss Guard uniforms and I saw them do something. That something was preventing old ladies from sneaking their way into the ticketed seating area. They had to physically restrain them. Nice work, guys. It was awesome how excited people were for the Mass though. The usual flag waving and so forth. But I also watched a group of nuns sprint across St. Peter’s Square when it opened so they could get some palms and a good seat. Funny. I went with Fareen who is Muslim so she was a little confused by it all. Especially when they sent the priests out into the square for Communion and everyone was pushing and shoving each other to get some Body of Christ. (I totally got some.) But it was a nice Mass. Mostly in Italian but once again Latin served me well. Anyway, that was a nice day.
Rome was crazy packed with tourists for Holy Week. Hordes. That’s what there were. Hordes. I was also really busy with school. Presentations and so forth. Matt from Madrid was in Rome with his two friends so I hung out with them. Then saved Matt when he missed his flight and let him stay in my apartment. But it was good to see someone from Iowa again. Then Mom, Dad, Galen, and Nolan came to visit me! They arrived on Thursday morning and stayed till Tuesday morning. So they too were part of the horde. But I forgave them that because they brought peanut butter and new camera for me. (Side note: I’ve already damaged the screen of this new one. But va bene. I can still take all the pictures I want.) Anyway, it was wonderful to have them here for Easter. We visited the Forum and the Vatican. They saw the Coliseum while I was at class. And of course we ate well and often. Friends met family and family met friends. I think everyone truly enjoyed each other’s company. We went to the Via Crucis at the Coliseum on Good Friday. There my brothers got to see Benedict for the first time albeit from a fair distance. It was long but good. And more Latin! I can’t even remember what we did the whole time they were here. Gelato. Umm…for Easter we went to Santa Maria in Trastevere. It was a reasonable length of time and though in Italian, I think everyone followed along rather well. We had a leisurely Sunday and Monday. Saw some Caravaggios and sat in the park. Dad was perturbed by all the leisure. And more eating! Thanks for visiting me, family. I miss you all and love you!
Nikki rolled in from Ireland on Sunday night. So she got to hang out with my family and friends too. It was awesome to have her here! I did more tours of Rome. Also headed to the Vatican Museum which was great though very tiring. There is a lot of art in that building. One night, Nikki, Mike, Pooja and I headed out to a bar to watch Roma play Manchester United. Roma lost badly so we didn’t end up watching much of the game. We did hang out with a bunch of high school boys from Chicago who were on a school trip and some pilots who were in Rome just for the night. Both groups were doing their best to be drunk. It was hilarious. I found out I am good at conversing with high-schoolers because I make fun of them when they’ve had too much to drink. That’s nice to know…in a way.
Then on Thursday night, Nikki, Esther, and I went to Termini to pick up Esther’s friend Matt. It was around 11:30 PM so Termini was more shady than usual. The bus there was rather crowded and I was standing up in the aisle. People were pushed up against me. Then I felt my bag jostle a bit. I thought it was just the guy next to me readjusting his coat. But then the movement continued. I could distinctly feel someone rummaging in my bag. So I turned around and I see the man behind me holding my wallet. I had literally caught him in the act of pick pocketing me. So I grabbed my wallet back, shot him a death glare and yelled no. Then the bus stopped and he jumped out and ran away with his buddies. I probably should’ve done more, like yell ‘thief’ or punch him. But I was just glad that I still had my wallet. So that was interesting. Then we had to wait around Termini for awhile because Matt’s plane was late. Termini late at night is not a good place for girls. There were a series of men trying to approach us, as usual. Then one guy tried to talk to us and we kept trying to tell him to go away. Finally he just looked at me and said, “You have sex with me.” Again I used my death glare and shouted ‘no, go away’ in Italian. And he went away. Thanks for all the fun, Termini.
Anyway, once we had collected Matt we all went to see the Trevi Fountain. It’s nice at night, not crowded. Although there was a rat running around. Eh, there are probably lots of them in Rome; what else do the stray cats eat? So we got home around 3 0r 4 in the morning. I took a short nap but then Nikki and I returned to Termini because she had to catch a bus to catch her flight. Daylight makes Termini a much nicer place and it was a smooth send-off. Thanks for visiting me, Nikki! Hopefully we’ll be able to meet up again soon. Berlin? Yes.
On Friday, Esther, Matt, Stacey, and I hung out. Went to the Pantheon, had a delicious lunch, walked around a bit. Then I went to the Vatican to mail some things and hang out and people watch. There an Italian fellow who was sitting near me started talking to me. Apparently he was a poet and I had inspired him. So he gave me the poem and we chatted for a bit. But then I met Stacey and we sat around some more waiting for Esther and Matt to finish their St. Peter’s visit. After that we all went back to Termini to pick up Esther’s friend, Tommy. His bus was in an accident on the way from the airport (nobody was hurt) so he was late. Then we got pizza, watched some street performers in Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere, and finally headed home. We lovingly call these particular street performers The Ambiguously Gay uDo. They do acrobatics interspersed among some creative dance while wearing skintight black leotards. Amazing. Anyway, I have to end here for now. Apparently, I have to go to school. But I will write more because this past weekend I went to Pompeii! I know! You’re on the edge of your seat with anticipation. But you’ll have to wait.