Ikea in Rome?

Yesterday was quite a day.
After heading out to the bar "On the Rox" the night before, only to realize it was "college night", meaning a great deal for 3 liters of beer, and being a Badger....beer pong. Three of my friends and I split into two teams and played a rowdy game a beer pong, an american game in an italian setting. As we played, we attracted some of the natives' attention, and then gained support, and then gained a few extra team players. The four of us badgers decided it would be an excellent idea to teach them how to play flip cup, in a nut shell it was a hilarious night and extremely entertaining. I am very sorry to say that somehow they won over my team, and I was embarrassed.
The next morning was the first day of my on-site class, Ancient Rome: cities and villas. I grabbed a cappuccino from the vending machine on the second floor of the Tiber campus (yes there are coffee vending machines with endless drink choices, and they are delicious! and very convenient I might add) My teacher is German and can't pronounce his "v's" so they sound like "w's" its great and he is adorable. I am very excited to learn more from him as he tours our class around Rome and eventually Pompeii. He is so far my favorite teacher, very nice and understanding that most of us are American students studying abroad. And we had a very pleasant short conversation over the coffee vending machine. We had our first tour near campus, and I am looking forward to our next class at capitol line hill.
Afterwards, it was time to get our books...not such a simple task. The school told us how to get there via bus, this began a very interesting journey. After finding the bus stop and riding in a very small bus with an older italian couple, and having no idea which bus stop to get off at. The school told us to count 8 stops, but the bus never stopped, I guess this is Italy. The older couple helped us through broken english, and told us they were getting off at the stop we were probably looking for, so we followed hoping for the best. A few more bumps in the road, and we ended up at the feet of the Spanish Steps. It was so beautiful, and the day was gorgeous. New textbooks in hand, Jori and I walked around Via della Corso, the main street with all the top designers, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Jimmy Choo, etc. We walked in and out a few stores, very temped and teased by all of the incredible clothing, shoes and accessories. In Italy you are not to touch or photograph and any of the merchandise. There are men with ear pieces in suites stationed all around the store. Warning: do not try to take a picture of shoes you like with your phone, the store cops will stop you.
After a long jam packed morning, lunch was eaten and after some resting dinner was cooked. I am becoming more comfortable with making dinner in our kitchen, we are lacking some utensils and pans, but my roommates and I have managed to cook a few successful meals.
Today was another eventful day in Roma. Ikea. Yes, John Cabot set up a trip for students to Ikea, so why not go? A half an hour bus ride later, Grace, Jori, Rachael and I entered the doors of the humongous super store of Ikea to accumulate the few things lacking in our apartments. John Cabot thought we needed two hours to navigate through the entire store, which was more than enough time, or just more time to eat lunch in the Ikea cafeteria. So it was a day at Ikea. Very humorous to me. But the bus ride was very pretty, and I guess the store was located in somewhere equivalent to the 'burbs' in Minnesota.
Speaking of Minnesota, whenever some asks where I am from, I am tempted to immediately respond with "Minnesota", but no one knows where this humble state is. The great MN is not as recognized in Italians' eyes as Chicago, Los Angeles, or New York. So I need to respond first with, "the states", which makes me look foolish because of course I am American. But hey, I am first and foremost Minnesotan, and very proud of it.
After being here now for almost two weeks, I am finally gathering all of the things I need to start making a comfortable new home here. Tomorrow there are no Ikea trips planned, no classes, or orientations, so I get to finally sleep in and get a little more rest. I am not sure what is on the agenda, but the day is open!