finally a decent internet connection

More things to learn all the time! The Internet is so spotty at Medag so I have to wait for solid Internet connection at school next week.  The time is currently 1:46 AM and we all promised ourselves it would be an early night for us but of course the Internet doesn't cooperate until now.  In the mean time, we have been sightseeing like champs.  The churches here are like nothing I have ever seen, and St. Peter's Basilica was awesome as advertised.  The Coliseum at night was amazing, and I finally figured out how to use my camera settings and got some really great first pictures.  

Last night we had our first club experience, La Maison. Apparently this particular place only lets students and essentially all non-Italians in only once every few months.  It was free cover but I found out the hard way that drinks costed between 10 and 15 euro...ouch.  Cabs are also pretty expensive but surprisingly reliable.  We found this out because the meter starts running as soon as they park to wait for us.

20 euro later..... 

The other issue with money is that we often find ourselves in situations where the only option we have is to pay more so we can get someplace, eat, achieve basic necessities, etc.  I guess this will hopefully solve itself as we become more familiar.  

We are thinking about going to Naples/Sorrento/Positano/Amalfi Coast this weekend. Without our Permesso di Soggiorni in place with the polizia, we are unable to legally travel outside of Italy.  This may be a fun option even though it's our first weekend in Rome.

We figured out that JCU and everyone who is providing us with necessary information has not been so good about that, so we are discovering a lot on our own: where to buy books, how to get from one campus to the other, bus schedules and where they go, the Metro, shortcuts to school from the apartment, places to socialize at night, etc.  We literally walk miles every day, but I guess that is good considering all of the glorious Italian food we are eating.  Speaking of food, we made our first official dinner tonight and it was successful.  Conquered: the market and the stove.  Still working on finding healthy things to eat, doing laundry, lack of hot water, and getting used to all the walking!