We're Moving to Rome!

Even though we've known since last March that we'd be moving to Rome for a year, it still feels rather crazy and surreal that it's happening THIS Sunday!  It's also rather fitting that we're moving in early fall, because I'm dealing with that strange combination of nervousness and excitement that I've only really ever experienced right before starting at a new school.  Will I like the other kids?  Will they like me?  Do I have the right clothes?  Will my teachers like me?  (Inevitably, the answers were always, yes, yes, you would if it were two years ago, and, of course, you suck up!  But hopefully there at least won't be any teachers to please this time around.)   

I could spend hours ruminating on my thoughts on moving abroad, but, for now, I thought I'd address the top five (well, really six, but that doesn't sound as catchy) questions we get asked about our upcoming adventure:  

Q:  Why are you moving to Rome?
A:  In short, because my husband is awesome!  The longer answer is that Tom is the recipient of a Rome Prize in Ancient Studies, sponsored by the American Academy in Rome.  This means that he gets to spend the year working on (and hopefully finishing!) his dissertation, and becoming better acquainted with the historical sites, artifacts, books, etc. in Rome and the surrounding areas.  He'll also have an opportunity to share ideas and experiences with the other Rome Prize winners, who come from a wide variety of academic and professional backgrounds.  If you are interested, you can read more about Tom's project, and the other fellows, here.

Q:  Will YOU be working?  Won't you get bored?
A:  I was lucky enough to get a leave of absence from my job (I work as a labor/employment attorney at a large federal agency), and actually can't seek employment in Rome under the terms of my visa, so I will not be formally working in any way.  As far as getting bored, are you kidding me?  I plan to take an Italian class, train for the Rome marathon, read some good books, explore the city with my (hopefully) new friends, take a couple trips in Europe to visit old friends, and really just enjoy being immersed in Italian culture for a whole year without any obligations.  I feel so incredibly lucky to have this opportunity and plan to enjoy every second of the experience (was that last sentence too yearbook-y?  I told you I'm in a back to school mindset!).  

Q:  Where will you live?
A:  Fortunately, the American Academy provides housing for us.  Our private space will be limited (essentially we'll have a bedroom with an attached bath), but there is a lot of common space for all the fellows and their families to share, which will helpfully hope to establish a strong sense of community (almost like going back to college, I imagine).  We will also be eating most of our meals at the Academy with the other fellows and their families. 

As far as our location within the city, here's a map of Rome for your reference.  If you look in the lower left quadrant, you'll see two green spaces, Villa Doria Pamphilj and Villa Orto Botanico.  We will be living approximately on the southwest border of Villa Orto Botanico, just west of Trastevere.

Q:  Do you speak Italian?
A:  Si, I wanta pizza pie-a!  That's Italian, right?!  Seriously, though, Tom and I have been working on our Italian (him mostly through textbooks, and me through audio programs) for the past few months.  We also practiced writing endless lists of verb tenses on a white-board in our apartment, which left a giant hole in the wall when we took it down (here's hoping we still get all of our security deposit back!)  At this point, we can talk about simple every day stuff, but only if the other speaker talks very slowly and doesn't speak in a regional dialect we're not used to! However, we'll continue to learn and study throughout the year and hope that by the time we return we can definitively say that we speak Italian!

Q:  Ooooh... You should use this year to have a baby (don't you think?)
A:  Ooooh... Don't take this the wrong way, but are you completely nuts?!  (You'd be surprised how often we get asked this- especially by random people we hardly know!)  Although I do think my nieces and nephew and my friends' babies are awfully cute, there are about ten million reasons why it makes absolutely no sense to get on the baby train at this station.  These include the fact that I plan to drink lots of wine with my pizza (and perhaps with my gelato, too), we plan to do a lot of traveling- possibly to some areas lacking in amazing medical care- and there is no way I'm going to chance spending my one year abroad hunched over a toilet (unless maybe it's some cool ancient toilet that Tom makes me go see...) But don't worry, if we need some baby time, there will be 22 kids running around the Academy (a record number this year), and I'm sure their parents will appreciate all the help they can get!

Q:  Are you going to start a blog?
A:  I think the answer is obvious, but I'm excited to share our thoughts and experiences and keep in touch with everyone while we're abroad.  If you notice that this blog has a decidedly girly air to it, that's because I have had/will have far more time to design and update the blog than Tom will.  However, I hope that he will guest blog from time to time too!  Please feel free to comment away or ask us any burning questions you have about life in Rome!  Ciao!