Hot and bothered

Updates, updates, updates!!!!

Last time I posted, the big drama was with my roommate cheating on her boyfriend. Normally, when someone I'm around is doing something I don't approve of I continue going about my business unaffected; however, since I was cheated on by my last serious boyfriend (not my wonderful Joe) I'm a little sensitive to the idea of someone around me committing adultery. As such, I created a rather hostile environment around the apartment. The hostility was palpable.

After a few days of this, my roommate mustered the courage to ask me what was wrong. I tried to avoid the whole cheating situation, but really I didn't have much ammunition to go on and she saw right through my attempts to accuse her of random things. She badgered me a bit and I cracked, spilling my anger about having to live in such close quarters with a cheater and a liar.

Sigh...

This is when she told me that she had actually broken up with her boyfriend the same day I had confronted her and the professor's cousin about their inappropriate behavior. She said she didn't say anything to me because she didn't think I cared. Embarassingly enough, I began to cry because I felt so guilty about being hostile; I felt a flood of emotions related to the aforementioned relationship; I felt relief after experiencing several weeks of extreme discomfort with the situation. So, while indeed she is (rather seriously now) dating the professor's cousin, it's was techinally legal and without sin. All in all, I was really happy she confronted me and now things are much calmer and more peacful around here.

The newest drama in my life has to do with this woman who tends the front desk of my gym during the afternoon hours. The gym is very hot because she, the person who sits down and does nothing, believes that even though it's 90+ degrees outside, it's perfectly okay to have the A/C off, the fans off and the windows open so long as the lights are off (??????). I attempted to explain to her that this was not condusive to a productive, vigorous cardio session and that I may die, but she doesn't speak English.

I asked her to turn on the A/C... I was pointing to it and fanning myself with my hands while saying, "Calde," the Italian word for hot. She nodded, said, "Ahh, sii" like she knew what I was talking about and then got up to go to the bathroom. She clearly had not understood. Sooo, I walked over the the A/C remote and turned it on. After she came out of the bathroom I motioned to her that I had turned it on. She got angry at me and said, "Next time, please ask before." Sometimes, I think I live in an alternate universe where I could SWEAR that I'm the only one who experienced what just happened 2 minutes ago. This was one of those times.

At any rate, the gym is consistently at least 85+ degrees, though it is hotter around 1-3. Instead of fighting with this woman, I coordinate my workout time with the evening class as this is the only time the A/Cs are reliably on and it's not as hot out. I'm sure that woman would have them work out with the windows open because it's just soooooooo cool outside.

As a result of all of this, I have turned into that gross gym person whose sweat flies all over the cardio equipment. It isn't bad enough that I accidentally broke a treademill during a hard run last week. No. I also have to be the person who leaves sweat drop stains all over the place. It's just so hot and humid in there that the sweat evaporate neither from my body nor from the floor/equipment/innocent bystanders. I've always seen these people in the gym... I just never thought I'd become one.

Today, I ordered a used camera lens from ebay. I'm getting my first wide angle lens and I'm sssooooo excited!!! I did some research and I found what appears to be a good, amateur lens for a great price. Looking forward to that.

Robin and I are still working out the details for Vietnam and Cambodia, but it's all coming together. Getting all of my visas situated is going to be a huge pain in the butt. My India trip has me a bit concerned because I'm waitlisted as #6 for the train I booked and my number hasn't moved at all since I bought it. I'm going to have to look into another train or a lower class. Yikes.

Clear skies ahead

I'm back in the computer lab at La Sapienza this week. I'm trying to avoid my roommate, who has been cheating on her boyfriend with the professor's cousin. After confronting the two of them at the beach a few weeks ago, Joe advised me to create distance between myself and them. While it does bother me that my roommate is amoral, I don't know what kind of agreement she has set up with her boyfriend (if any at all). What bothers me the most is that she actively alienated me by monopolizing the professor's cousin's time. By flirting with him so unabashedly, she clearly captivated him. This self-centered behavior and a complete disregard for others is what really grinds my gears, as Peter Griffen would say.

Anyway, I am still trying to make the best of my time here. I suspect my roommate was away with her boy toy this weekend so I took advantage of having the place to myself. I also took a long walk around the city down to Campo di Fiori to see if I could find a dress for my brother's upcoming wedding and a tie for Joe. No such luck as most stores were closed. I took advantage of the beautiful, blue skies and whipped out the cam. Kind of disappointed that I didn't get more artsy pics. I feel like this batch came out semi-matter-or-factly.

Additionally, I've been plotting my escape... I mean future travels. I booked all kinds of airfare last week. I'll be flying from Rome to Mumbai next month where I will spend about a day and a half. From there I will hop a 24+ hour train to Kochi. While it would be easier to hop a plane, I really want to experience the countryside, see the sights and just generally live life! Upon arrival in Kochi, I plan to book a backwater tour through Kerala, "God's own country". So excited about that!

My tour will end up back in Kochi where I then depart on the looong journey to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to meet up with Robin. We have to iron out the details, but I believe we will be going to some sand dunes and clothing factories up North. We're then going to hop a bus to Phnom Penh, Cambodia to see the killing fields, the genocide museum and to ride ATVs... Yeah, I know it's a bizarre combination. Finally, I will fly to Phuket to see the love of my life!!!

While things are really hard right now considering the roommate situation and the abundance of culture coupled with my dearth of class, I am really looking forward to my travel plans. Can't wait to get some pics!!

Rome 6.20

I'm going home!!! (Eventually)

Good news!!! No, GREAT NEWS!!! I contacted Continental kind of on a whim on Sunday to give securing my airfare one last stab. It worked!!!! I have a flight home that only cost a change fee. I am sssssooooo relieved... I feel like I can live my life again!!!!

You may notice that I posted some pics of Rome. I went on a bus tour around the city on Sunday and saw lots and lots of ruins. Like, lots. And FYI, in case you didn't already know, Circus Maximus is a field of grass. And also, most of the ruins are ruins because the Romans ruined them. They built the Coliseum and then a few years later were like, "Yeah, we don't use this anymore. Let's take the marble and trabartine and build something else." It was a fairly common theme for most ruins. They were recycled.

I've been working a lot on my research -- both the obesity research that was assigned to me by my research mentor here and my practicum research on orthopedic injuries in firefighters. They're both moving along well. I sent an email to the Athletic Training program director and the clinical coordinator about the prospect of receiving a grant through the NATA since getting the data I need costs money that I don't have. I will begin the grant application ASAP. What's the point in going through all the trouble of doing the research if you aren't going to get it published?

Looks like a may write two separate articles on obesity -- one for the International Nursing Review and another for the Italian Journal of Public Health (in Italian). I will aim for the Journal of Athletic Training with my firefirghter study, but I'm afraid it may be better suited for a journal in occupational health/safety. I guess we'll wait and see.

Ugh. Enough about research. So, I've been talking with Robin and we're going to move forward on a trip to Vietnam (Saigon and some dunes a bit North of there) and Cambodia (Phnom Phen, the killing fields and genocide museum). From there I will depart for Phuket to meet Joe. I will have a free week before I meet up with Robin, so I'm debating flying into Mumbai and taking a train to depart out of Kerala... Gotta love budget travel. Additionally, the awesome customer service rep at Continental got me a sweet layover in Hong Kong, so I will have approx. 20 hours to show myself around the city!!!

While being in Rome is tough (considering I'm not a very classy person who's into museums, history or shopping), I'm trying ti make the best of it. The museum a few blocks down from the apartment has a photography exhibit currently on the top floor so I can't wait to check that out. I'm really feeling good about getting published with all of my works and I am super excited to startmy grant application. Wow, I'm such a dork. But I think I'm most excited about discovering more of Asia after this is done.

This summer is shaping up to be one of lifetime. :)

P.S. Even though I'm on my laptop, spell check is still in Italian. Sorry!!!

Rome 5.13

The bus was moving pretty fast. I got some Vatican, some Coliseum, some Circus Maximus, some basilicas and some ruins... not really sure what I took pics of.

P.S. Apparently, Christian slaughtering was a big Roman passtime. Need something to do on a Saturday afternoon? Go watch some Christians get eaten by lions. How about a Wednesday morning? Go watch Christians lose a race and get eaten by lions. Need a fire to celebrate? Burn 250 Christians in the courtyard.

Can't make this stuff up, people.

Cieti

Tioman Day 4

Tioman Day 3

Tioman Day 2

Tioman Day 1

Last day 5.21

Downtown Khon Kaen 5.20

Pakhon 5.19

I'm finally posting pics!!! They are in chronoligical order starting with Thailand. I just uploaded everything, so there may be what appear to be doubles throughout the albums -- that's me playing with light or speed.

Enjoy!

Russian Roulette. Not.

Today's post was requested by Joe. Apparently, the guy doesn't text with me or talk with me enough per day; he also needs to read about the same things I talk with him over text and on the phone. Once again, I apologize for grammatical and spelling errors because this is an Italian computer.

Since I haven't really talked about what I have been doing here, I will start with some background information. I am currently living in the center of Rome in a popular shopping district with the classmate who requested my presence here. I have come to learn that it's not actually that she wanted me here so much as she didn't want another student, who was also in Thailand, to be here. She has bad-mouthed this person quite a bit and so I put 2 and 2 together.

Speaking of my roommate, she does quite possibly the strangest thing I have ever witnessed. She will actually sit around in the apartment, fully dressed and ready to go, reading books about Rome... But she never actually leaves. She just reads the books. Why doesn't she go to experience instead of stay to read? I mean, the coliseum is like right down the street and we can see the Vatican from the terrace. So strange.

Anyway, the apartment is spacious and located on the 7th/top floor of an old building. The terrace is amazing and offers 180 degree views. The place is quite dilapidated and needs some work, though. We have learned that we cannot run the A/c and cook at the same time because it trips the breakers. It's kind of exciting because before you flip a light switch you don't know what effect it will have of the circuit board. It's like an annoying, low-stakes game of Russian Roulette.

As for my research, I am doing a literature review on food habits in Italian adults and children as they relate to obesity. I told my research mentor about my undergraduate experience in public health, though I wish I had just told her about my current studies. She introduces me to her colleagues as a student of public health, which is radically inaccurate. My attempts to correct her fall on deaf ears. I'm not sure if that's because her English isn't the best or because she's always doing a million things at once. She is awesome, though. Very smart lady and very kind, too. I have a lot of faith in her guidance and am looking forward to being published.

My roommate went to Interlocken for the weekend, so I hope to use the time alone to get moving on this lit review, the lit review on firefighting injuries I have totally been sitting on and to go on at least one tour. It's been difficult the muster the motivation to get out and see some ruins.

Let's see... Oh, I joined a gym near the Spanish steps. It costs 95 Euros/month and fits about 4 people in the weight area at once. One of the personal trainers there noticed I was pretty serious and I think he felt bad for me. He spoke Spanish and so we had a nice conversation where he told me about a better gym that is located closer to the apartment that costs about the same. I will definitely look into that place for next month.

Also, I received a terrible slap in the face the other day when I tried to reinstate my canceled ticket to fly home from Bangkok. The woman told me it would cost $1300 in fare difference plus a $250 change fee. Ummm, yeah... That's not in the budget. So, I'm pretty much freaking out about that and completely stressed out. My Dad thinks the scholarship program is responsible for that fare, or any fare, home because, well, I don't even have a way to get home from Rome let alone Bangkok.

This has really thrown a wrench into my plans. I was in the midst of planning a mini-tour through Vietnam and Cambodia with Robin the week before Joe arrives and a backwater tour in Kerala, India the week before that. Now I don't know what's going to happen... If I will have to fly back home or what. AHHHH!! I don't even want to think about it!!!

On a lighter note, I am working with my clinical coordinator at school on a grant proposal to expand the ethnic/cultural reach of the Athletic Training profession. I've been sending her a bunch of my ideas and I hope that she selects one. I am really excited about the prospect of helping write the proposal and set up an outreach program in the community. I love working with underprivileged children... Well, underprivileged people in general. We'll see what happens with that.

Okay, I need to stop procrastinating now.

No, we can't.

I know, I know!! I am so bad about updating this thing! Since it has been about a week and a half, I will simply select a few excerpts from the events that have occurred in this time.

Sorry for spelling and punctuation errors ahead of time. The spell check on this computer is in Italian so apparently this whole thing is spelled incorrectly. Also, this keyboard has the punctuation placed differently from a US QWERTY, so navigating that has been loads of fun.

The last entry I submitted was written before I had the pleasure of landing in Qatar -- my first venture to the Middle East. And though it was just a layover, I have to say that I will not be going back any time soon. On one hand, I understand that there are different cultures around the world and they all function differently. On the other hand, I found out the hard way that I am indeed a a feminist.

Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim country and I think I had mentioned previously that I had problems with the way men were treating me there. particularly outside of the resort. They were just rude and disrespectful, but not to the extent they were in Qatar. I mean, I got off the plane and there were dudes shoving me out of the way and cutting me in lines. It was crazy. I felt sick to my stomach being there and wanted nothing more than to be out of there. It made me realize how lucky I am to live in a country where women have equal rights and (some) men are chivalrous.

On a side note, I saw Sex and the City 2 this weekend and it further confirmed my beliefs about the Middle East, fiction or not. The society is simply more conservative and oppressive than I can handle. Even thinking about being there makes my stomach turn.

I have been in Rome now for about a week and a half. In that time I have learned that this place is about 50 years behind the US. There is no WiFi available anywhere. In order to connect to the internet from home I had to purchase a wireless SIM card. It has 100 hours/30 days on it. Let me tell you, you don't realize how much you use the internet each month until you're limited to 100 hours.

The university here, Sapienza Universita di Roma, is very large and has upwards of 100,000 students in attendance. It has every type of faculty you could imagine, much like Khon Kaen University in Thailand. The particular building I am in was probably built circa 1960 and hasn't had much renovation since. It's really shocking... I thought Italy would be much more Westernized than it actually is, but it is totally behind the times.

My roomate and I were fortunate enough to be able to spend some time with students our age who are just now getting their Master's in something like foreign diplomacy. They were all very well informed individuals in terms of world events as it was part of the curriculum to be well informed. When I mentioned my thoughts about Italy being behind the times they totally agreed with me and offered me the following explanation: Italy is an old country. It is run by old men who are funded by old men. The agenda never includes change.

At this time, I pulled out my Blackberry and one of the students looked at it in amazement. He said, "Wow! Just like Obama!" For realz, he had never seen a Blackberry in person. I was shocked! And I was further shocked by their general obsession with Obama and the phrase, "Yes, we can!" Which leads me to my next thought...

These students are all very dissatisfied with the political situation in Italy. They don't like that they are all unable to find work and that coming across a good job - especially as an ambassador - is nearly impossible. All of the students had plans to either go home over the summer or leave the country to find work. I said to them, "If you guys are so upset about the political condition in your country, why don't you do something about it?"

They looked at me like I had 3 heads and gave me a lesson in why it could never work. I said, "You guys are so obsessed with Obama... How do you think he got elected? Grassroots movements! It starts with you!"

Again, 3 heads.

What I came to realize through this conversastion was that while I, as an American youth, was brought up being told you can, they, as Italian youths, were brought up being told you can't. I feel sad that the youth apparently feel defeated. Until someone gets the courage to be progressive enough to stand up and say that things need to change, I am afraid that this country will stay perpetually behind.

God, when did I become so ethnocentric?