What I Did and Did Not Expect in Roma
My first week living, studying, and adventuring in Roma just ended and I have seen a lot of things. It feels as if I have been here for a month already! I figured I would use this first entry to reflect upon my previous conceptions of Roma and determine if they are accurate. I realized after a day or two of being here that I did not know much about modern Rome. I only learned about ancient Rome in my high school history classes, so I drew most of my assumptions from my trip ten-day trip to Europe in 2017. Although I visited Italy on this trip (Milan and Le Cinque Terre), it did not prepare me for the bustling and frenzied environment that is Roma.
I will start with something that did not surprise me – all the dogs! I remember people having dogs everywhere in Milan, so I expected the same here. Unlike in the United States, people in Roma take their dogs everywhere – on the bus and tram, into stores and restaurants – I even have a dog here! Well, Billy is my host family’s dog, but still, he hangs out with me often. On the other hand, I did expect to see more cats, because my professor explained to me that Romans consider cats as fellow citizens. However, I have seen very few cats so far.
Something else that I guessed accurately is that sizes in Roma are smaller than in the US. For example, many people drive Fiats and smart cars, which fit 2-4 people are most. People are also a tad slimmer here, probably due to the smaller food portions, more people on bicycles, and the infrequency of fattening fast food restaurants. This leads me to my first surprise. Although the food portions seem smaller, I was left stuffed after my first couple of meals! I think this is because I ate too much bread before the main courses. Also, salads are a part of the SECOND course, which means that by the time I would barely finish my pasta, I could not make it halfway through the salad nor could I touch dessert. I will elaborate on dining in Roma in a future blog but, for now, I will say that I am training my stomach and appetite to complete a full Italian meal!
Another thing that caught me off guard was the incredible amount of tourism balanced with a prominent residential population. I know I should not be surprised, considering that Roma is one of the greatest and most popular historical landmarks in the world. However, I made the foolish misconception that many make in assuming that Roma is only the Colosseum, a couple of pretty Churches, Vatican City, and some people. In reality, Roma has more than quadrupled the number of monuments than I expected and several neighborhoods that are not dedicated to tourism. I was baffled when I noticed the incredulous amount of graffiti and trash in the streets of my neighborhood, as well as people doing normal tasks such as grocery shopping. In sum, people actually live here, and I don’t know why I didn’t realize that!
A little more on the tourism, there are many stores and vendors that sell the stereotypical magnets, postcards, T-shirts, and little tote bags that read “ROMA ROMA ROMA,” just as in other major tourist areas like New York City. In addition, many vendors sell spices, pasta, wine, and other food products that proudly read “MADE IN ITALY.” I have classes in one of the biggest tourist areas, an open space called “Campo di Fiori.” I did not expect part of my commute to involve navigating through mazes of outdoor shops, customers, and vendors looking to talk to passerbyers every chance they get. Pro-tip: Keep walking and don’t make eye contact! If you really want to see their products, stand far away, glance quickly while you walk, or wait until the vendor is talking to another customer! Furthermore, I did not think I would see so many signs in English, both in tourist and residential areas. It is so frequent that I believe even a non-Italian speaker could get by fine. Many people speak English too, often answering in English even if I address them in Italian (I heard it is because Romans are not patient, but I don’t know how true that is!). I guess I should not be surprised since English is becoming a more universal language.
I will conclude with the things that caught me most off guard – the traffic and public transportation experience. I will be completely honest when I say that the life of a pedestrian in Roma is unpredictable, often unsafe, and a bit chaotic. My host mom said that drivers often ignore signs (if they even exist – I have yet to see more than one stop sign) and do not stop for pedestrians. As a result, I often must run across streets instead of simply walking. Most streets do have traffic lights for both drivers and pedestrians, signaling when to cross. However, sometimes streets only have pedestrian traffic lights, which means cars can still fly around corners, not realizing that people are crossing the street! Please don’t worry about me, for a came up with a safe solution. I only cross the street if at least 2 or 3 other people are crossing, since drivers are more likely to slow down if they see more that one person. I knew this trip would be challenging but not in this way!
And then there’s public transportation. Oh mio Dio, where do I begin. I will elaborate more in the future blog but here are the main points: 1) For the bus, there is no timetable because buses in Roma are notoriously late. This is the reason why my hour commute becomes an hour and a half 2) I still do not understand bus location schedules. I am not kidding when I say my commute to and from school looks different almost every day, especially with the bus! 3) I also take a tram to school, and it is reliable. The tram is a train that runs on the street alongside cars and makes stops – I did not know Roma had trams. 4) Public transportation is free (I think)! My professor gave everyone transport cards and I have only used mine for the subway. People get on and off the bus and tram without even seeing the driver/conductor. I am not sure if transportation is definitely free because there are small pay stations within the buses and trams that people occasionally use. My commuting experience had been an enormous part of my adventure in Roma, which is extremely different from just walking to class at Dartmouth!
I do not want to end on a negative note so I will finish with my Roma la citazione I wrote in my Italian 6 class. I will put it in English to save everyone time:
“Roma is like an onion. Everyone knows what the outside looks like (Colosseum, Vatican, etc.) but, when you dissect the city, you learn more about its inner parts and true core. Think of the tears you shed while dissecting as tears of excitement and adventure!”
Ciao!
-Maxine 🙂
