Looks Like We Made It

The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful, mostly because I was so tired that I don't really remember it. Once we landed in Rome, both globalization and the major cultural differences were prevalent. For instance, the Italian version of customs is much different than the scary, secure USA customs. Basically, it's on the honor system, they quickly stamp your passport and if you have nothing to claim you walk through the green doors and Bonjourno, welcome to Italy. But as soon as we were on the train from the airport, I saw a Jeep billboard as well as a Marriott and Hilton Hotel.
We took two trains to get from Rome to Orvieto, and at this point Michelle and I were pretty confident we were pros at trains, but the Roma Termini station was crazy busy, and we had trouble navigating the station where signs were only in Italian (and people spoke mostly only Italian), but we found our train and made it here!
The town of Orvieto is absolutely gorgeous. The views, as you can see, are breathtaking. I had seen many pictures of it before, but they really don't do it justice. It's hard to believe that the view is real, as well as the gorgeous, huge Duomo (church) at the center of town.
Our apartment is at the edge of town and we must walk up a large hill to get to the school which is near the Duomo. This is a good thing considering the amount of gelato I plan on eating while here.
My first Italian meal was pizza, which I find fitting and topped off with gelato, which was the best thing I have ever tasted. It might just be the fact that I had been living on airport food, but it will be hard to go back to regular icecream, that much I know for sure. And this is my bad segue to a section I like call:
Things to Know About Italians (some stereotypes are true):
1. They have bad hygiene: ok this one doesn't apply to everyone, and probably not as much here in Orv, but I did notice a drastic difference between the scent of my mostly American United flight and my mostly Italian Alitalia flight. This musk was particularly noticable on the guy sitting next to me.
2. They drive like maniacs: I was clenching on for dear life on our short ride from the bottom of the Orvieto cliff to the top, and almost getting hit by a car is a common occurrence on our narrow streets.
3. They drive really nice cars: every car here in Orvieto is either one of those tiny, go-cart-esque cars or a luxury vehicle. I see more Mercedes, Porches, BMW, and Audi's than I do Fords and Chryslers.
4. They're fashionable: I knew this, but ohh my gosh, men in Armani suits and women in couture EVERYWHERE. I was excited when I packed my most stylish clothes, but it's just not enough, I feel inferior.
5. They speak English, kind of: I was told before I came here that most Italians spoke some English, but in some cases it's very limited. Orvieto is a popular tourist day-trip (hoards of them pile out of buses and into the Piazza Duomo), but usually it's just "cash" "water?" "bag?" Some definitely know more, but I have learned how to order by awkwardly saying the menu item and maybe throw in some more broken Italian words, while pointing and nodding at the menu. Also, signs are usually translated into English, but the English is never translated perfectly. This is true everywhere in Italy, and I just find it kind of funny that these sign makers couldn't find anyone who was 100% fluent in both languages to translate the signs.
6. They listen to music in English, kind of: Most of the music I hear is some sort of Italian Hip-hop with English rapping, but the English never really makes sense or means anything. The lyrics are like "I would like to go out and eat with you, yeah, yeah, I would like to go out and have dinner"


Well that's all for today. Michelle and I are currently enjoying a freshly cooked pasta dinner and a bottle of Rosse Umbria wine. I will try to keep updating this as much as I can and add more pictures. The wifi in my apartment is strange, and we only get it about 4 hours a day.

Please comment so I know that I'm not talking to myself! Ciao!