I really like carrying around the smaller euro coins. because they're gold and rusty looking and some of them are scalloped on the edges. they look like pirate money and sometimes when I barter with the street merchants and shake my coins at them I feel like a wild buccaneer.

and sometimes. like right now. when I empty my pockets before doing a load of laundry I shout to myself "Look at of my golden dubloons!!!" and I throw them into the air above my bed and roll around in them like scrooge mcduck.

A long anticipated update.

So I really thought that I was going to use this blog. I did. I had the best of intentions to update it regularly with amusing anecdotes of my zany adventures here in italy. but like most things I grew overwhelmed with the prospect of regular updates and my zany adventures seemed too detailed and boring to list the details of. I have my regular blog so I just use that to vent about life and this little guy was just.. well he was the red headed step son. ignored.

I suppose however since I am so amazingly terrible at keeping in touch with friends and family back home that I should really put in a bit more effort.

that and it's 2am and everyone is asleep and I'm bored so I have nothing else to do.

Anyway where to start? Since I last wrote I have just been living life in Rome for the most part. I've grown very used to living here and the thought of life in America is very distant and vague. I've made some good friends. I go out too often. I spend way too much money. I sketch alot and read a bit. I enjoy my walks to class the best because they are my only moments of alone time.

I've been to Sorento, Capri, Pompeii and Florence with API and Munich for Oktoberfest with Joe and Tim. Capri was easily the most beautiful place I've ever been to in my life. Pompeii was interesting but a tourist trap. Sorento was nice but my hotel had ants and I spent the entire 2 nights there in a frenzy slapping any stray string or hair that grazed my skin, screaming profanities and slamming shoes into walls every ten seconds. Florence was kind of a let down. After living in Rome it was juts kind of lame to be honest. I really liked the city and the river arno and thought it was very nice and clean compared to Rome. But there were so many american students there and the florentines were grade A assholes. it was very touristy and hectic. It made me happy to be living in the quiet rustic neighborhood of trastevere with the sound of my tram and the smell of the tuodi bums.

Oktoberfest was easily one of the most ridiculous weekends ever in my life. It was really fun to have a boys weekend with Tim and Joe who have become my best friends here along with britt. We spent far too much money but I block it out and pretend it didn't happen. I stole one of the giant bier steins, took pictures with passed out kids in burger king, watched a crazy german do a line of coke, snuck into beer tents, danced with 50 year old germans and had an amazing time. It felt so great to be back in germany again. I don't know why I refused to let myself study abroad there, I bet it would have been amazing. It was great to be able to speak the language again. I am so utterly and beyond excited for colleen to come so we can go together.

We went to an AS Roma game which was fun despite them losing, and today we took the train into Marino this small little hilltop town for their annual grape and wine fesitval when they pump free wine through the city fountains and party in the streets. It was so amazingly simillar to fiesta in gloucester that I couldn't believe it. It made me miss summer a little bit but the delicious sparkling red wine that tasted like juice helped numb that homesickeness real fast.

This weekend I'll be staying in Rome to prep for midterms and help Joe entertain his friend and my aquaintance Harrison Sanders from home. It should be a good weekend.

This post is already quite long so I'll hold off on any other details but hopefully I'll update again soon. Ciaooo.

today included by far one of my best moments in italy.

I was walking down the street listening to my pod and boppin along to a sweet smiths song. I start to approach a building where something must have been going down, because there is a parked police car outside and an officer standing there with an automated gun slung over his shoulder. He sees me coming (mildly jamming out) and grins from ear to ear. He starts giving me the most gnarly of faces, suddenly swings his gun in front of him and straight out air-guitars the shit out of it as i walk by. I started cracking up and legitimately rocked out down the street as he continued to air-serenade me. Dude wass the fucking shitttttttt. made my day-week-month-semester-year.


In other news I had coconut gelato yesterday and I'm forseeing another added 20 lbs.


Buttt um there isn't much else to update about. last night we had a really nice dinner in an italian garden restaurant in a big group. I was feeling sick and like a bit of a debbie downer so I just came home after but a few of us all hung around and talked. it was nice to relax for once. it was my only legitimately sober night here. hahaha. and nowwww it's the weekend.

Maybe I'll update about my classes later. they all seem great. and I love my professors. my fresco painting class has one other student. it's going to be weird. especially because she's far more trained in classical studio art, where as I make wearable political pieces or transform peoples faces from 18 year olds into 98 year olds. I knew I should have taken more conventional art classes back home. but what can I say, conventional bores me.

I am in love love love with rome.


I'm so happy here, and having the most amazing of times. I really like the group of friends I've fallen into. And it's great.

it's weird to me that I miss home sometimes. It's always at the most random of times. I'll be brushing my teeth and all of a sudden will just be instantly swept by homesickness. These moments are very few and far between, and they never last long but they're here.

so to all of you at home. I miss you.


Romaa has been wonderful so far. It's taken some getting used to, but it's amazing how much it reminds me of living in NY when I was at nyu. Trastevere is the old end of rome and it's very simillar to the village in a lot of ways. It's charming and rustic but still very much the city. it's nice.


Everyone else went to the beach today and I decided to stay here. I don't know, I guess living in gloucester, the beach just doesn't make me as excited as it does for other people. and I've never been much of a big group&beach fan. Besides everything has been so group oriented, I think I'm going to enjoy a little bit of alone/down time.



Oh and fyi I'd like to prepare you all now that when I come home I will most likely be carrying some extra baggage. in my stomach. because so far the whole "watching what I eat" has consisted of me watching as I eat bowl after bowl of pasta, and consume any and all cheese, bread, carb, canoli, sugary pastry and alcoholic beverage in sight. I bought a lot of fruit and vegetables yesterday so hopefully I can try and get back on track. but i douuuubt it.

The First Real Entry. and it's a longgg one.

Well I have finally arrived and recieved internet access here in the beautiful city of Roma.

I've been here for a few days now and am loving it. La Dolce Vita for sure.

I guess to start with we can talk about the flight. Got to the airport way early, checked in my luggage and met up with brittany. after some teary goodbyes (for brittany. me and my family were just like PAYCE!) and a harrowing journey through the world of airport security, we made it to our gate with plenty of waiting time. I naturally stocked up on some trash magazines (britney got her body back! jen and john are over! brad walked out on angelina!) and brittany naturally stocked up on chips ahoy. Swiss Air messed up our tickets and didn't sit us near each other on the first flight but we were fine. I drank a bottle of white wine and then a bottle of champagne. aka I was drunk. but I was like "yusss now I will be able to pass out!"
well think again little drunk man. as much as i tried I was completely unable to get any sleep. the grumpy old man next to me however slept like a baby. a drooling baby.
it was really weird flying over time zones at night. The airplane served us dinner at like 10:00, then shut the lights off and everyone but me slept for like 4 hours, but then we were in europe and it was morning so they turned them on and served us breakfast. Apparently I preregistered as a vegetarian though so they had meals all ready for me. which was nice.

We had our stop over in zurich and then had a small flight into rome. At the airport however we encountered some trouble. Brittany, me and two other girls from stonehill going to jcu were all on the plane and were all supposed to be picked up by a service arranged through API and brought to our orientation hotel. The man (massimo) who was picking us up was an hour late however. we were standing around trying not to freak out and find whoever was supposed to be there. API should really have told us deets like where to meet and given us a phone number. So when Massimo finally strolls in holding a sign with our service on it we were very relieved. Massimo however spoke zero english and thought it would be a fun game to say "Okay Andiamo!" and RUN through traffic towards the bus. The four of us each with 100+ lbs of luggage each trying desperately to keep up and not get hit by craaazy italian drivers who were thirsty for american blood. I broke my neon yellow aviators and I am still bitter. fucking massimo.

anyway long story short we made it to the hotel, showered, had an orientation meeting, had a great dinner and then a big group of us walked down at night to the Colosseum and the tomb of the unkown soldier and wandered around the ancient end of rome. We ended up at Scholars an irish pub and had some celebratory drinks for making it to italy. Day 2 we had guided tours of the colosseum, the pantheon, the trevi fountain, and some other areas nearby. more orientation stuff and then a crazy night out. we went to dinner and I had an amazing salad and a 1/2 liter of wine. I love how cheap alcohol can be here. I got 1/2 a liter for 3 euro, and seeing how I had eaten nothing but corn flakes and salad all day got kind of toasted. haha. That however was only the beginning. I apparently seemed to forget that I was a 148lb tiny man and drank a long island iced tea, 2 shooters and a pitcher of carlsburg. needless to say i was shwasted. and have been paying for it allllll day long. I am only just now at 6pm starting to feel human again. It was a great night though and all the kids here are great, we all seem to be getting along really well so far.

Today I half woke half crawled out of bed just in time to shower and get my luggage downstairs for move-in day. All orientation long they wouldn't give us specific details of our apartments. THey just kept saying "Italians don't use as much space, you are going to have to get used to living in a very old building and possibly a small apartment, and said we very well might not have internet or television ect. We were all freaked about the internet. But then we get here and holy shit. We are living in a pent house apartment on the 6th floor. The most amazing and spacious apartment I could have imagined. My double would be a quad at least if it were stonehill. I have a huuuuge terrace with an amaaazing view off of my bedroom, and another one looking into the courtyard off of the kitchen. Fully furnished with modern furniture, pots pans, some food and drinks already here, right next to the tram, satelite tv being installed in september, fucking maid service twice a week. it's increddddddible. the terrace is my absolute favorite part. We went exploring and bought a little bit of groceries at the discount supermarket right next door. Decent bottle of wine for 1.85 aka my life is amazzzzzing.


I'm really loving it here, I'm having the best time. So far it's been a little nerve racking but now that I've moved in to my apartment, I am really starting to feel like it's real. I am so glad I chose to come here, and I feel so lucky that I have everything I need here. It feels great to be living in a city again. I forgot how convenient and exciting it was. And I think I'm finally mature enough to take full advantage of it, unlike when I lived in New York. So far I'm having the best time, and this is only the beginning of it. I can't wait to make travel plans and start going all over. We are so close to the airport and trains and trams. Me and Brittany have to book some tickets.

skype name

skype me!

jerremmiahh


same as my aim screen name. when i get my webcam i can dance for you.

The First Entry

Hello Friends... Fans.. Internet perverts alike!

This is the first official entry of my abroad blog. I figured as I'm going to be very broke/busy in italy this will be the best way to keep everyone in my life up to date on my goings on as I make the move to rome for the semester.

Currently it is my last night in gloucester. My bags are packed, (and largely overweight), my room is clean, my lists are checked, and I am pretty much ready to go.

It still hasn't really hit yet that in less than 20 hours I'll be taking off, but that's usually the case with me.


I fly out of logan at 9:30 tomorrow night via Swiss Air to Zurich, have an hour lay-over, then fly to Rome arriving at 2:00pm. Me and my friend Brittany are flying together and are getting picked up by an API-affiliated service at the airport and dropped off at our orientation hotel.

After talking to a girl from last year I heard that orientation was insane. people pooped in the hallways. in all seriousness. And I mean, I don't know what says fun like public defecation. I only hope that I can introduce myself to 40 new classmates and the country of Italy in such a way. (fingers crossed!)


anyway, I should get some sleep. not sure when I'll be updating next, but keep your eyes and eyes peeled campers.