Bocca della Vitale

Today we went and saw 'Bocca della Vitale' also known as the 'mouth of truth'! It's an ancient portico depicting a pagan god, believed to possibly be Oceanus. Legend is if you tell a lie with your hand it's mouth, you'll lose your hand! It's also famously shown in Audrey Hepburn's 'Roman Holiday'. 

Also spent some time in the church that houses the stone portico; inside was absolutely beautiful. This church also houses the skull of St. Valentine, an important relic in Catholic faith. A little weird, but I couldn't help but be interested. After that went to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which has the tomb but also has a museum on the history of the Italian military. We grabbed pizza at a place called 'The Glass' (in English) which was delicious. After, I hit up the local market and made dinner with Brittany in the apartment. Chicken, asparagus, spinach salad, toasted bread, olive oil, and red wine. A good dinner anywhere! Have sore feet and a happy heart! 

A free weekend

Today I set off with a couple

of ladies from my group to go sightseeing; we have a free weekend so after 

sleeping in a little we went to go see the sights Rome has to offer. 

We saw the Pantheon; in ancient times it was a temple that was originally built by Agrippa in Ancient Rome; later it was rebuilt by Hadrian. Now it is a Catholic church. 

It is famous for it's dome which has a hole open to the sky; yesterday they did "La pioggia di petali di rose" which is where rose petals are released from the ceiling on the 50th day after Easter. It would have been really neat to see. 

The Pantheon also houses the tombs of Raphael, and the first King of Italy. 

We ate lunch at a nearby place called Osteria de Falcone; I had fettucine noodles with tomato and sausage.  I also had Jerusalem style artichokes, which were fried. They were delicious. 

Afterwards we wandered to the Spanish Steps. 

I was so excited to see the Keats-Shelley house, which is where Keats, Shelley, Wilde, Byron, and many others spent time writing some of their works. It was closed. Boo!

Also the Spanish Steps were undergoing restoration so it wasn't very scenic and a gyspy lady kept begging me for money. Not to mention all the people there wanting to scam you or get you to buy things. 

Later we met up with everyone at the Trevi Fountain, drank red wine, ate good food, and laughed a lot. 

After that we headed back to the apartment to rest up. It was a great day wandering around seeing the sights. 

I have always loved history, art and architecture in particular. Being here is special to me for those reasons and also to have new experiences. I am falling in love with this place!

First day in Roma!

Today was our first day in Roma! We are staying on Via Ippolito Nievo, a street in the Trastevere neighborhood in Rome. We are in an apartment that houses international students; we are all sharing rooms and have no working air conditioner, but that doesn't matter to me really. I'm here to see stuff, not stay in this apartment the whole trip. The neighborhood is where a lot Italians live; there is a coffee shop down the street where a lot of the residents in this area get their caffe latte's and brioche for breakfast. I noticed no one sits to drink their coffee; they drink at the bar, eat their croissant, and then hit the street. There aren't any touristy type shops and we are a little farther away from the more historic parts of Rome. I like to think it's a good way to be immersed in the culture a little better than if I was staying in a hotel next the Spanish Steps. 

Today we went to the Food and Agriculture Organization; this is a branch of the United Nations that basically seeks to resolve world-wide agricultural issues, world hunger, and other issues related to food sources and distribution. The building is massive, and the roof overlooks all of Rome. It was a little crazy trying to catch the tram and buses to get there, but overall it was really interesting. 

Later we had a tour of the Coliseum and the Roman Forum with a professor; I would venture to say he was just as nice to look at as the beautiful buildings that surrounded us. The Coliseum was not as big as I expected; however you couldn't help but feel amazed that something so old had survived the test of time. Having the tour was interesting because we learned a lot of information that helped tie in a lot of historical perspective to this structure. The Forum was also interesting, you could see the layers of the city that had been built over it and that had to be excavated away to uncover everything. There is also a temple/house where the marble columns had been scored from people tying steel cables around them and trying to pull it down so they could build something else, without realizing what really was underneath. 

Later we ate at an underground ristoraunte where I had pasta and then had gelato. I chose chocolate. It was the best choice I made all day.  

The double doors in my room that lead to a balcony

The Tiber River

 View from the FAO Building

The clock in the piazza where Accent University is located; this clock

was built to signify the importance of this piazza because historically, 

this was a street that was used frequently to get to St. Peters and the Pope's residence. 

On top of the FAO building

The Coliseum

Turquoise door at the Forum

Dinner!

Here I am!!!! (Rock me like a hurricane?)

Arrived in Rome!

Excited to see my classmates and get this experience started! 

The flight was long; thank god for compression hose, coffee, and Stieg Larsson's novels! 

Flying over Switzerland this morning!

Off to Roma!!!!

Right now I am sitting at the airport in Philly waiting to jump on my next flight. 

I'll be heading straight to Rome and I am nervous, excited, scared, happy, and 

grateful all at once. 

 I have always wanted to travel overseas, and luckily 

I was able to be accepted to an ASU study abroad program through the School of Nutrition 

and Health Promotion. I will be with 15 other people on this trip learning about Italian culture, dietetics, 

and I am sure a lot of other others things as well! 

This last week before leaving has been the absolute best. 

I went to a concert in Tucson at the Rialto with my close friend R., we saw Steve Earle 

and Shawn Colvin play an acoustic set. They did a songs and storytelling type show, where 

they would explain what was going on in their life at the time they were writing a song, or what a certain song

referred to. 

It was truly a great night for me; Steve Earle is one of my favorite musicians because I find his

lyrics and songs incredibly interesting. He can write a song about anything. 

I also loved listening to Shawn; she's a powerhouse of vocals and is a pretty good guitar picker herself. 

We got to meet them and take a picture; I was completely starstruck!

Later that week I met up with a group of friends before I left for Italy; a few friends came that I didn't even know were in town! We went to George and Dragon, a pub in central Phx that's a little 

grungy but those are the places I like best. 

I had so much fun laughing, drinking, throwing darts, and playing pool with the good people in my life. I seriously feel so undeservedly lucky to have these opportunities and my friends and family. 

In spite of having a rough past couple years, these moments serve to remind me that I really do have a good life. 

That being said, I guess I should find something to grub on before I get on an 8 hour flight!  

How to pack for a month in a carry-on!

So. 

I leave for Italy in a just a few days! I can't believe I'll 

be spending one whole month in one of the most beautiful countries in the world. 

I am planning on packing for this long trip in one carry on bag. That's right. ONE carry on. 

After reading countless blogs and combing pinterest for ideas on what and how to pack, I came up with the following list: 

*Passport

*Wallet including photo ID/debit/credit card/emergency contact information

*Photo copies of passport and credit card info

*iPhone and iPad with charging cords

*Plug adapter (I found mine at Target); the electric sockets in Europe don't match the ones in here in United States

*Italian phrasebook (I used the one by Penguin Press)

*Cross-body bag or purse

*5 plain t-shirts

*1 undershirt

*1 sleep shirt and pair of sleep shorts

*8 pairs of panties

*2 cardigans

*3 bras

*2 pairs of jeans

*2 convertible dresses (converts to maxi dress/skirt/or midi dress)

*1 nice dress for going out

*5 pairs of ankle socks

*2 scarves

*1 pair of nicer leather sandals (in general, Italians dress nice and you won't see them wearing rubber flip flops unless at the beach)

*1 pair of Toms

*1 pair of tennis shoes (for all the walking you will be doing!)

*1 pair of nice casual shoes; leather ballet flats

*Clothesline

*2 bars of Lush shampoo- I like the New! and Godiva bars

*2 bars solid conditioner

*baby powder- use as dry shampoo or for rash, etc. 

*1 bar of Lush Fresh-Farmacy face soap
*1 bar Pacifica exfoliating soap

*Sink stopper

*Laundry soap sheets

*Umbrella

*2 packs of Trader Joe's makeup remover wipes

*Lotion wipes (I bought 2 packs from Pacifica)

*1 pack of wet wipes (to freshen up on the airplane or on travel days)

*Nail polish remover wipes

*Ear plugs

*Sleep mask

*Cosmetics: waterproof mascara, BB cream, e.l.f. blush and bronzer duo, Benefit brow palette, Urban Decay Naked basics palette, Tarte lip stain, FAB face lotion, Neutrogena Toner, travel size B&B de-frizz serum.
*Hairbrush

*1 toothbrush

*Toothy-tabs from Lush

*Jewelry

*Nail file

*Lint roller

*1 yoga headband

*1 package Unisom sleep tablets

*1 can of hairspray- I used the travel size Bumble and Bumble classic hairspray 

*Downy wrinkle release

*Travel journal

*Travel blow dryer

*Travel straightening iron

*Luggage locks- you could encounter people trying to steal things     out of your luggage or steal your bags while on the train or bus. Get luggage locks and carabiners to secure your bags so it decreases your chance of getting your things stolen! 

*Neck wallet to hold money!

It's possible I could be forgetting things on this list; however this is what I have packed for now. 

I am hoping this will be sufficient enough to get me through the month. Only a couple days and I'll be headed to Rome!

Another day, another dollar.

I hate when I leave my job feeling powerless. It's literally one of the worst feelings in the world...

 I use this blog as an outlet for now to vent my frustrations about my job; please don't misunderstand me.... I love being a nurse. When I make a difference, the physicians work with me, and my patients are actually decent people who aren't abusing me (physically or playing mind games) then it's the best damn job in the world. 

Today was hellacious. I constantly feel like I'm 'punished' because I work quickly and get my shit done. The charge nurse could obviously see I was running my ass off with situations going on with my patients... and gave me a sixth post-op patient when all the other nurses on the unit had four peeps. 

Then, I had a patient who stated she felt unsafe going home to her spouse... alluding to abuse/a volatile home environment. She also had significant anxiety and depression; the surgeon who was her attending physician totally blew me off when I suggested a psych consult so she could be evaluated and have an outpatient treatment regimen set up. Then the case manager blew me off saying it would probably fall through the cracks because she is just too busy. This patient's spouse hadn't called her once or come by since she was admitted for the past four days. I don't know that she has a home to go to when she's discharged. 

And pretty much I felt like I was the only who cared... 

and maybe I was. 

I was really damn irritated for the rest of the day. 

My amazing friend Kristen met me for a beer after work

and that was probably the best therapy for a crushed soul...

just laughing about stupid things and talking about 

our passions. 

Today I spent the whole day studying for a stats

test that is tomorrow. 

I really hope I pass. 

If I don't I'll be superbly angry. 

However... one month till I leave for Italy! I can't wait! 

I have got a lot of really exciting things happening in my life right now... so even though work has got me down lately 

it doesn't even remotely negate all the good stuff in my life. 

(Prickly pear cactus that I thought was amazingly pretty. Love Arizona springtime!)