Check that off...

I have literally done and seen everything I know about or wanted to see in Rome. I'm out, i've done it all! Today i did the last thing i really wanted to do, the EUR. I'll get to that in a moment though. I took both my finals, for having teachers that kept saying "its only a 2 credit course ...in rome...dont worry" they were both hard! Business was hard because it was all about stuff we ddint cover (worst teacher i've had yet) and environmental because it was a 4 hour exam with only 2 hours to complete it. I think i did well on both, but i was still a little shocked.
After my final yesterday i went to the american embassy and the church of bones. Most embassys are a building, ours is city blocks! It has its own cafe's and dozens of buidlings and looks like a wedding is going on there at all times. I was not allowed in. I took a few pics and one security guard approached me and told me i could not phot graph him, i told him "Io sono Americano" and that was the end of our discussion. Mike on the other hand had a different encounter. WHen he took pictures a security guard (who arent american) came over and demanded to see the photos. Mike had literally one of just the american flag before he got caught. Just the flag, it could have been of his porch at hme, there was nothing else distinguishing in it. THe guy told him to delete it and mike said "ok i'll delete it...but you have to tell me why" the guy didnt really answer and i missed a part of the explanation but it quickly turned into mike tell him that he wasnt a marine, he was a faggot, and how mike is more american than he will ever be. Mike gets mad easy.
THe church of bones was closed from 12-3 for siesta and since it was 1:30 i got lunch and bought a book to read at an english bookshop while i waited. THe church was cool as its decorated with over 4,000 monks bones. No pictures or video allowed inside ( i did both) At this point i feel i need to qualify why i will not be posting such pictures; in high school i remeber connecting to the internet at 56k    ...in italy i connect at 4k (at best) sometimes i connect at .45k.  Its terrible, i cant upload a picture like that. Maybe i'll leave it on over night or something.
Today i had my environmental final and then i went to termini station to get my venice train ticket. What a complication that was, the line to get a ticket was huuuuuge so i went to the self service. I had everything i needed to say written down in italian so i was ready to roll. This would have been alot easier online except that the trenitalia web site is broken. So when i got to the little machine it asked me what language i wanted, italian, german, or english. Of course i chose english and it then said "welcome" and everything from that point forward was in italian. awesome. so i'm not sure what i really bought, i'm fairly certain i leave rome at 12.45 on sunday to go to venice  ....but there is alot of room for error. Thank god i got parry to call the university of miami and find out where i need to go, because its thursday night and they still have not told me despite over half a dozen e-mails. If it werent for parry i would literally be left out to dry....i hate them and in the name of decency i will refrain from the curse words i wish to use, but will likely use ot their faces when i find someone in charge (its pass fail and anoymous grading, so all is well) ANy who, after i got my ticket i grabbed the subway to the EUR.
The EUR stands for more or less European Exhibit Area, its where mussolini intended to showcase 20 years of facisim by building up an area of the city with facsist monuments and archetecture. Of course a pesky little war came along before it could be used and today serves as kind of an up and coming wall street/suburb area where alot of american ex-pats hang because its the most modern part of the city. To get there i had to ride the subway, its only a euro and you buy the tickets at tobacco shops. I havent had or seen ANYTHING to do with pick pocketing or theiving, but on the subway i can see how it happens, i didnt let go of my camera the whole time. Note: one way you can italians from foreigners is by how much they are sweating. I looked like i just ran a marthon in shorts, sandals and a t-shirt...they are in suits with jackets and FINE. Anywho its packed car with people shoving and stinking. One woman got caught in the door and had a pretty sick bruise, but that was the only entertainment i got. There are 3 EUR stops, so i just got off at one and figured i would figure it out. From noon till 9:30 i have had a few small conversations but not spoken a single word of english (except for a "dammit" when i fell off a step) I had pictures of the archetecture stuff i wanted to see and i was not dissappointed, at first i thought i got off the equivilent of paoli (for the philly fans) or the end of the green line (for my dc followers)   it looked just residential and far from anything, but within a moment i saw the civilita del labor or the square collusem as the romans call it. It struck an emotional cord. All at once i felt like i was looking upon something ancient, yet the city of the future, simeple but beautiful. It was definetly the top 3 coolest things i've seen in italy. Of course it was meant to strike an emotion in you, it was meant ot dazzle. It was way cooler than the 2,000 yeard old colluseum for real. The whole district was. I walked aroudn there for 5 hours and easily felt like i could have done 5 hours more. Not to sound weird, but it almost made me well up in tears, it was so supremely impressive, I cant really put it into words. I've been in the white house, seen the kremlin, sky dove, nothing took my breath away like this. When i can i'll post hte pictures, but it wont do it justice. It was kind of like carnegie melon's campus, coupled with an idealistic creation of a city. If you could sit down right now and create a city, with wide lanes and perfectly apportioned buildings and everything efficient, clean, and perfect, thats what it was like. There was even an engraving of what i assume is supposed to be italy's history, from romans to "modern day" and the modern day is musslolini giving the roman salute to soldiers, the never tore it down or destroyed it. It was creepy, yet immaculate. I'm so glad i went, Rome went up 1,000 points in my book for having such a weird little paradise. Tomorrow i'm gonig to try to get my hair cut in italy, so it might drop back down immediately. Tomorrow my landlord is coming to examine the apartment for check out, i might have to explain how i broke a chair and 3 glasses. Whatever, he doesnt have my credit card and i just wont pay, USA USA USA. I've been doing international law for months now, its super hard to bring even a convicted torturer to trial in another country, let alone collect 50 euro from me. For dinner tonight i went to a place called "old bear", it was good, I got pumpkin lasagna and eggplant parm. I wanted to see how they doo eggplant parm here (more or less its lasagna, but instead of noodles they use thin eggplant slices) Note: eggplant= pumpkin and melanzone= eggplant and putarello= plum. David and his roomate mike, got mussles, they were as big as a human tongue!!!! I've never seen them so huge. TUesday and THursday are the days when Rome as a whole gets fresh seafood for whatever reason. It was cool, i have a picture of that too. I have friday and saturday with nothing i want to see or do, so i might try to go to pisa, but i dont know how far it is, how much it will cost, or well alot things i should know in order to pull it off. There's the right way, the wrong way, and the italian way....which is close ot the wrong way but takes longer. well its late and the lanlord is coming early so ciao bella!