The Hill

Word of the Post: Foto (Photograph)

The following are pictures taken from the Capitol Hill Museum. Enjoy

Turkey day in a country where there is no turkey day

Word of the Post: Grazie (Thank you)

It seems the word of the post is only necessary since yesterday was Thanksgiving. This is the second year that I have been away for Thanksgiving. The last time I was away for Thanksgiving was my senior year of high school (which seems so long ago now) when I was playing at the National Field Hockey Festival in Florida--where Thanksgiving is of course celebrated. This year spending Thanksgiving away from home was different, because I am in a country where they barely know what Thanksgiving is. Heck, they didn't even know who was going to cook our turkey for us, because no one here knows how, and last night at the dinner, they didn't know how to cut it either! Oh well--it still tasted wonderful. All the food tasted wonderful actually, and if I want to use the word wonderful one more time, I could say that the whole night was wonderful.
We were treated to dinner on the roof of the Mariot hotel on Via Veneto--one of the most prestigious hotels and roads in all of Rome. One girls parents said "That is the street I had my honey moon on." The roof overlooked all of Rome, and dinner was held in the banquet hall leading out to the roof so that we could take a peak.
And of course there was the wonderful food that I already mentioned. Think Italian meets American. There was a whole arrangement of appetizers that ranged from spinach puffs to pizza. And then there were three main courses: Stuffed turkey with cranberry (so at least we would feel a little bit at home), Pasta with red sauce and cheese (because what is an Italian meal without pasta), and a PHENOMENAL entree of pumpkin risotto (at least we had pumpkin!). But the meal didn't stop there--we were also treated to an open bar of red wine, white wine and champagne. And following the entree, the center table was filled with dessert cakes including a fruit one, a coffeeish cake that you could drizzle your own chocolate sauce on, and a cream puff cake. It was one heck of a meal. Sure, I missed the green bean casserol topped with onion chips, the neverending bowl of stuffing, and the pumpkin pie from home--but I can't complain about the food set on our table. If Thanksgiving were a Roman Holiday--this was surely what a traditional Thanksgiving dinner would be.

In honor of Thanksgiving, I'll share some things that I am thankful for, starting with the most important (leaving out the clear obvious of family and friends) leading to the least:

1. In less than 55 days, we will have a new president.
2. The exchange rate falling for the Euro and the Dollar
3. My flat soled shoes that never get stuck in the cobblestone like my apartmentmates.
4. Gypsies who sell umbrellas when its pouring rain on you.
5. Open bars of wine at Thanksgiving dinners.
6. The International Food Store (for peanutbutter of course)
7. 1.5 Liter bottles of water
8. My awesome apartment in Italy
9. Drying racks for clothes (there are no dryers here) because when it pours rain like today, you have plenty of dry space for your wet clothes.
10. Bartenders who turn the top of my cappucino into a heart design.

Happy Thanksgiving

The Pantheon and the Neverending Divinities

Word of the Post: Propoganda (Propoganda)

I refer to the Pantheon as the Cloverfield monster of Rome. It is huge. It is in the middle of an area that it almost seems to topple. The columns in the front look like the jaws of some destroyer and when you see it, you just have to stop--even if you have seen it a thousand times. The differences between the Pantheon and the Cloverfield monster is that the Pantheon doesn't move and it's put there for good not evil purposes.

The Pantheon is my favorite structure, place, and piazza in Rome. It is great during the day, and it is great at night. Put simply, it is just great. I learned about the Pantheon last year in my Rhetoric class, but I never imagined getting to see it. It was just a lesson to me at that point, but now it means so much more to me. A group had done their WikiSpace on the Pantheon, and while I picked up some of what they were saying, I realized during my tour that there is so much to this piece, this piece of Propoganda. (I think it's time I write a book on the "Rhetoric of Rome" through it's use of propoganda because the whole city was built by the use of rhetoric). When our class first arrived to the Pantheon we stood out front and talked about the history of it. It was first built by Agrippa, ordered by Augustus who was his best friend. Augustus didn't put his name on anything because he wanted to be modest so people wouldn't think he was getting too cocky with his position (propoganda). Later on Hadrian redid the Pantheon, because a fire destroyed the original one, but the enscription on the top of the Pantheon reads that it was originally done by Agrippa, because Hadrian also wanted to be modest (more propoganda). Hadrian is interesting because he is the only emperor who was also an architect. He thought out every part of the Pantheon very carefully.

The front columns of the Pantheon are made of granite, and were shipped in. When the ships arrived with the columns, he had the ships destroyed because the people wouldn't think that they were good for the economy (hm more propganda). The floor that the columns stand on are patterned with circles and squares, and the entire inside is designed with circles and squares as well. The circles stand for nevernding divinity, and the squares stand for reality. the inside of the Pantheon has a dome, and leading up to the dome is another pattern of squares. The middle of the dome is kept open and never closes. When it rains, it rains inside the Pantheon, but Hadrian was smart. He inserted drains all around the Pantheon and built the floor on a slant so that the water leaks outside. Therefore, the Pantheon never floods. Hadrian used materials from four different places in order to build his Pantheon--and by using the materials from the four different places he was represeing the unity of the Empire (more propoganda).

The Pantheon is now a church, but it was originally built to hold scripts, and books, and as a purpose for philosophy. Hadrian used materials from four different places in order to build his Pantheon--and by using the materials from the four different places he was represeing the unity of the Empire (more propoganda). Last, Hadrian built arches into the sides of the Pantheon. This was to prevent the earthquakes from taking down the beautiful structure. The arches work to stop the shock from going through. This is why the Pantheon is still standing so beautifully today.

Whether you care about the history of the Pantheon, or it's propoganda, it doesn't mater, this site is just astonishing even if it almost seems like a monster sitting in the middle of Rome. I wish I could just pick up the monster and put in my backyard--but I don't think the neighbors would be happy.

A week in the life of a Tourist - I should write a book titled this

Word of the Post: touristo/a (Tourist)

I want to write one of those silly tourist books after this week...

When you read about big cities, and tell people you are heading to a huge city they suggest many sites to go out and see. If you tell people that you are heading to New York City, they tell you that you should check out Times Square or the Empire State building. If you tell people that you are heading to Paris, they tell you to check Eiffel Tower. Boston, go check out Fenway Park. Prague, check out the castle. Dublin, make sure you kiss the blarney stone. Florence, go see the David. And Rome- Make sure that you go see everything, so one week I took the time to go out and see many things that I hadn't had the opportunity to see yet.

The first stop on the tourist train was the Colosseum. Some people may want to punch me for saying this, but the Colosseum is not all that cool. The Colosseum is more amazing to see from the outside, and at night, rather than the inside in my opinion, and if you are going to go inside make sure you have a knowledgeable tour guide. Our teacher took us, so it was nice to have a guide, but if you go inside without anyone, its just a lot of pieces of stone put together, but you can't really figure out the meaning of any of it without a guide. For a little background information: The Colosseum was built by Vespacion who was the emperor following Nero. Nero was hated by the Romans, because he built a bunch of palaces by the Roman Forum, and since the Forum is the place for the public, the public hated it. Vespacion knocked down these palaces and built the Colosseum as a place of entertainment for the people (propaganda). Here the people could go (for free) and watch the gladiator battles. The stadium held between 50,000-80,000 people and the best seats were given to the people in the top class, but as started shortly ago, no one had to pay. Also, after all voting moved to the Senate building and away from the public area near where the Pantheon is, people would come to the Colosseum to hold protests, because here the people had a voice. Facts courtesty of my Rome Through the Ages class.

The next place on my tourist stop was the Callista Catacombs. In order to get here our group of people who decided to go had to walk along the Appian Way, which is pretty neat, but also feels like it is almost out in the middle of nowhere. When we got to the Catacombs eventually, we bought our tickets and went on a tour. Our tourguide brought us into a little room, and gave us a short lesson on the Catacombs and who was kept there which was many different people, from kids to Popes. We walked down into the Catacombs which served/still serve as tombs. Basically the Catacombs are just a maze of corpses. However, the floor we were on didn't house any corpses anymore, but down on the lower floors where the public can't go there are still full tombs. In one of the rooms we entered, we saw a preserved skeleton of a boy. It was pretty interesting, but creepy at the same time. No pictures were allowed here, but our tourguide walked away and said "If I don't see it, then they won't know you took the pictures."

Several days later, I took an afternoon to go visit several churches. I visited three. The three that I saw were: The Santa Maria in Piazza Minerva, St. Ignazius, and the Basilica Dei SS Ambrogio E Carlo. My favorite by far was St. I, but I liked each of the three for different reasons. I loved one section of the S. Maria that was done completely by Michaelangelo. The artwork was just amazing. St. I was great because it was just this giant church that you almost don't know what to do with yourself when you walk in. The altars were also just beautiful to put it simply. And the last one I enjoyed because I stumbled upon it accidentally while I was walking along Via Del Corso. I thought that I was done with my church tour for the day after those first two churches, but when I found this one I decided to pop in. It reminded me more of a reserved church, and it's location is just in the middle of Via Del Corso--the famed shopping street in Rome.

On the same day that i saw these churches, I finally saw the inside of the Pantheon. I went inside with my class. It is free, so I could have gone in many times before this, but I waited so that I could understand the ideas of the Pantheon, even though the inside is different now, from when it was first built. The Pantheon is my favorite place in Rome, so it is actually deserving of its own post, but a brief is that: It is incredible.

The last stop during my tourist week was the Vatican. My class was not scheduled to go see the Vatican Museum or St. Peter's Basillica or the Sistine Chapel, but another class was so I made sure that I could hop on to their tour. Besides, you can't come to Rome and NOT go see the Vatican. Sure, I had been in St. Peter's Square many times, but I hadn't taken the time to go inside anything quite yet. The class met at 9:00 AM sharp, and the tour began at 9:30. As we were walking in, the teacher told us that in order to see every room and go through everything that they have in the Vatican it would take 14 days and 14 nights. That is how big the Vatican and the museum is. Our teacher also told us how hard it is to become a tour guide. In order to become one, you have to take a 500 question MC test as well as do an essay about any art piece in ROME that they ask you about. You really gotta be on your game.

We started to head through the museum and we saw art by many artists.. We saw a huge marble statue of Hercules, and then the sculpture of the body of a man that had the definition of every muscle in the body. We saw a view of the Vatican Gardens, and we checked out a gorgeous piece of art by Caravaggio. We saw Davinci's unfinished painting, and then we checked out the Sistine Chapel. The Sistine Chapel is astonishing when you first walk in. The most interesting thing that I learned while going through here was about a painting on the ceiling. Our teacher pointed out a certain woman. The woman in the painting was almost beastly looking. She was big, had huge muscles on her arms, and not really and breasts painted into her. This painting was done by Michaelangelo. Michaelangelo was so interested in painting and sculpting guys, that he had no idea what a female body looked like, so when he painted one for the Chapel he gave her a guy's body and a woman's face. Following our tour of the Sistine chapel, we headed out of the Vatican and into St. Peter's Basillica. I had thought that St. I, was huge, but this really took the cake. Your breath is almost taken away when you walk into it. It doesn't matter what religion you are, what faith you believe in, or if you don't believe in anything at all, the place is just astonishing. There is artwork, sculpture, and many many altars. We saw Bernini's angels, and we even saw a mass going on. It was awesome. The only thing that we didn't get to do was climb to the top of the duomo, but that can be saved for another day.

So what do you think...should I spend my next two years of college writing a tourist book--Libs in Rome?

Ciao

The striking continues, Alitalia lowers my chances of ever coming home...ha

Word of the post: Pauro (Scared)

Every time that I turn a corner in Italy, I am faced with a thirty-six inch rifle. Every week, I arrive to school and at least one day out of my week I am faced with a blockade of police officers questioning who I am and where I am going.

No there aren't bomb threats all around Italy, and no there aren't cerial killers who have escaped from the jails. With how the police officers are dressed--in helmets with plastic covering their eyes, bullet proof vests, and their fingers on the triggers, you would think that there was a school shooting occuring. However, it is just a protest.

Just two weeks ago, there was over 200,000 person protest walking from Piazza Republica to Piazza Popolo. In the days prior to that protest, there were at least three days where our classes were disturbed by other protests walking down the street. These protests were all for the same reason--students being upset that the schools of Italy are cutting extra-curricular activities. There will be no more extra activities, and the students are very angry. Two weeks ago the hugeprotest was a combination of students and teachers from all parts of Italy. 1000's of buses came into Italy filled with the students and teachers, and the trains and metro system were filled as well.

These aren't the only protests and strikes that go on in Italy/are going on in Italy. Just this past Monday there was a public transportation strike. Less buses ran, the metro was off, and the tram service was non-existent for the day. This happens a lot. Our Rome Through the Ages teacher explained that it mostly happens on a Friday or Monday, because the Romans enjoy long weekends.

The strike that most worries me, however, is the Alitalia strike. On Monday, November 10, Alitalia declared a two hour strike that canceled at least a hundred flights. Over the last few days they have striked more, and they have canceled more flights. Parents of a friend visited this past weekend, and they were supposed to fly home on Monday through Alitalia. Their flight was canceled and they had to wait in a line at the airport for six hours for a new flight. The only good thing about that situation was that Alitalia refunded them their money. Alitalia has also announced a day long strike for November 25--A day before the most busy travel day of the year. The boyfriend of a friend in our group was supposed to travel that day by Alitalia, but he no longer is. Another boyfriend, of a friend in our group, was supposed to travel that week by Alitalia, but he has changed his flight. My apartmentmates were supposed to go to France this weekend through Alitalia, but have canceled their flight because they worry that even if their plane flew to France, that they wouldn't be able to catch a flight back, like other friends in our AIFS group who were stuck in Paris for a few extra days.

Several students, and myself are supposed to travel via Alitalia home on December 13. All those going back to the Boston area have an Alitalia flight, while five of us are flying Delta operated by Alitalia. December 13 hasn't been declared a day for a strike yet, however, Alitalia plans to have 15 random walkouts after their full day strike in November 25. Hopefully, unlucky number 13, December 13, won't be so unlucky for all of us trying to get back to America.

Only in Italy is There a Pizza Place in the Middle of Nowhere

Word of the post: Albero (tree)

My mom once told me the story of how she and my dad met. Simply put: She hitchiked. So when the opportunity came for me to hitchike on Saturday, I didn't think twice- hey maybe I could have met my future husband too?

Several weeks ago, Nino mentioned going to the shopping outlets outside of Rome. I thought that this would be a simple process, but it turned out to be an adventure of a day ending back in my apartment.

The outlets are 33 miles from my apartment, so we looked up the bus routes and hopped on the number 30 at 12:45 PM on Saturday. When the number 30 dropped us off 45 minutes later at the busstop for the 706, we ended up having to wait 20 minutes for the next bus. When the 706 dropped us off at our next stop, we waited an hour for the 704. When the 704 picked us up to bring us to our final stop ,where we expected to call a taxi, we realized we were going to be in trouble. When the 704 picked us up on the side of a 4 lane highway and headed off onto a dirt road with trees, we knew this was bad news. Ten minutes later we arrived at the final bus stop in Rome--which was surrounded by trees, grass, wood, and only in Italy--a pizza place. Fifty yards up we could see the expressway again--the four lane expressway. OUr directions had told us to get off at the last stop, and walk three miles. We walked in the pizza place, and the lady told us that the three mile walk was uncomfortable because it was either through woods, or on the expressway. We called several taxi services but their response was, "We are closed today," or "We don't come out there today," or "We can get you a taxi tonight." The last bus in the city drove away--and we were now stuck in the middle of no where. We had come so far, yet the final three miles were impossible to make. I then stuck out my thumb, and waited. We continued to wait. And then a man stopped. Nino ran up and talked to him in Italian, and he told us to get in. I thought about it for a moment, but when I realized the backseat had a baby seat--I made the executive decision that the guy wasn't some Texas Chainsaw murderer. Within 15 minutes we were at the nearest bus stop, which we then took to the nearest metro and hopped on to come home--emptyhanded.

Election Buzz with The Libs part Due

taken from: politicalhumor.about.com
http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/bushcartoons/ig/Bush-Cartoons/Bush-Years-Tribute.-UrK.htm

Word of the Post: Vincere (To Win)


Inside: A look at the historic election from Rome; Memorable moments of Obama's speech; Outstanding quote from McCain's speech

Today smiles were on Romans faces everywhere. Last night brought with it two victories.
1. Roma defeated Chelsea in a soccer match--one in which Roma was a complete underdog.
2. Obama won the election.

I didn't have an Obama shirt to represent my home country, but I however had a Roma shirt and that was good enough to get by with people saying hello to me all day long. People shouted "ROMA" at me all day long followed by "Ti piace Obama"--oh it was a day of smiles in Roma.

But instead of going off on how great it is that we now know who our vice president won't be in two months....I would like to point out how incredible this election was as a whole. I actually wish I had been at home for this. We all sat at our computers connected to terrible internet connections hitting refresh with each poll closing. I felt like people must have felt before televisions, when they had to hold the antennae up on their radio to hear the results through the static--that is kind of like what our internet connections are here.

And for the first time the McCain fans and the Obama fans here in Roma were joined together in one thing last night: The fight for a better America in this next term. Clearly, both candidates met politically on that ideal as well. I was lucky enough to read their speeches today, and I cannot even explain how I felt when I read both of their speeches.

Obama's speech not only drove me to tears, but rekindled my belief that things would go back on the fasttrack--if not today, or tomorrow, but someday for our country. The economy is low now, but it was low before, so it can bounce back. We are at war now, and though we can't pull out immediately, we can support. Not all people voted for Obama, but he isn't going to be president just for those who did, he is for all of us. I haven't had the opportunity to watch him say this, but I can imagine it was absolutely outsanding, with his confident bold voice, his ability to capture an audience with his eyes, and his powerful words. He is an astonishing speaker--and I look up to him for that.


Excerpt that I think best captures the essence of his speech:
"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term... I promise you, we as people will get there....There will be setbacks and false starts...we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers...Our union can be perfected. What we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow...This is our moment"


Last, the respect that McCain showed in his speech was just phenomenal as he states that before being a Republican or a Democrat, he is an American, and he supports the future of the country.

"Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that."

The Election Buzz With The Libs

Word of The Post: Stupido (Stupid)

"The last thing I ever wanted was to be alive when the three most powerful people on the whole planet would be named Bush, Dick and Colon."-Kurt Vonnegut

I thought that in dedication to my American roots I would write an entry that is relative to America today. Because it is election day, I have decided to write an entry about the election. I know many things about the election, but the most important thing that I know as of now is that after today we can be sure that the hands of America will no longer be in the hands of a Bush.

Instead of taking a serious look at the candidates, I have decided to take the time to write what I have heard, what I know, and what I really care about.

What I know:
1. You can't talk about politics with anyone in a serious manner without feeling like they are going to throw a dart through your forehead if you don't agree.
2. You can't talk to people who are not intelligent about politics or else you may feel the need to throw a dart through their heads.

With that being said:

What I have heard about Obama in the last week (All of these go with my number 2 of what I know about politics):
Obama is a muslim.
Obama is an Arab or an A-Rab
Obama wants to change the national language
Obama is the anti-christ
Obama was born in Kenya
Obama wants to take over the world
Obama will make the economy worst by long-term planning (But bush did a great job with his short-term plan)
Obama is gonna start the second holocaust and put all the Jews back into Concentration camps


What I KNOW about J Mcain
He is old.
He has bad taste in VP candidates
He should have picked my mom as his VP candidate (see article: "McCain Should Have Picked Me-by Carolyn Segal Morning Call http://mobile.mcall.com/news.jsp?key=168370&full=1&rc=null)

What I know about Biden
Not much

What I know about Palin
She doesn't know much.

Fat Kids Love Cake - Italians Love Looks - So Darn Magro

Words of the post: Stai facendo buono (You are doing well.)
Magro (Skinny)

The first word of the post is actually a phrase. The bike at the gym told me that I was doing well in Italian when I was riding it yesterday, and I thought it was funny…ha.

I would like to take the time to list why Italians are so darn skinny.

1. They walk everywhere. I don’t care that all they eat are carbs. They are simply just burning off every meal they eat ten minutes later when they walk home or to their next destination.
2. In the olden days, Italians had public bathrooms. When I say public bathrooms, I mean public bathrooms. They were out in the open, and people would use the bathroom right next to eachother without stalls or doors, just open space. I have hypothesized that Italians wanted to impress one another, and they never wanted to be the “fat kid” going to the bathroom, so instead they tried hard to remain skinny so not to be embarrassed using the bathroom.
3. The dancing that I experienced in Florence was quite the workout. If Italians do this a lot, it def contributes to their skinniness.
4. Public nudity still remains here. Unlike the ancient days, there are no public bathrooms, but the Italians still don’t mind being naked in public—like the gym bathrooms or changing rooms. They don’t mind just taking off their clothes, and why should they—they are ridiculously skinny.
5. Unlike the cheese at home, the cheese here isn’t processed, so it isn’t as bad for you. Therefore, even though they eat much more cheese than us—it doesn’t affect them the way it does us in the states.
6. Everyone here drinks coffee, which acts a metabolism stimulant; therefore everyone is speeding up their metabolism every day. Fast metabolism = smaller body.
7. It is hot here. But Italians don’t recognize heat because they still wear winter coats and scarves every day. I wear shorts and polos—and I still sweat. This means that when they are walking everywhere that they go, they must be swimming in pools under those layers that they are wearing unless they have cut air holes in all their clothes.
8. They eat three meals a day, not five, not 2, three, and they eat nothing else. There is no snacking for them throughout the day. A meal is a meal, and the hours between that are their hours to do other things. Snacks = an American thing, so inbetween lunch and dinner, places are clearly making all their money off of Americans and other tourists.
9. Their clothes, in the stores come in mini sizes. One store here only carries smalls. I haven’t figured out if all the clothes in the store are actually small or if they are just all labeled small, but still they care about their size clearly. Their larges are American mediums sometimes even American smalls, and their jeans are clearly made for tall slim Europeans. Their size 6 is an American size 2, so you know what that says their size 0 is—American Kid. Skinny jeans take on a new meaning here.
10. Fast food here doesn’t exist. If you get a panino, it’s bread, ham and mozz—or mozz and tomatos. It isn’t ham, mozz, tomato, lettuce, mayo, oil, pickle, ect. What you see is what you get. Oh—and it still tastes good.

An Apbieling experience

Word of the Post: Famoso (Famous)

There are dreams and then there are visions. A dream is a desire, but a vision is what you will become, a vision sees you where you belong and where you will be. In ten years, I see myself right back where I stood on the night of October 27, 2008—the red carpet. Bright lights. Loud music. Boys in tuxes. Big Names. My dream. When I arrived at the red carpet for the premiere of Easy Virtue, my breath was simply taken away.

To my right people were lined up awaiting the stars. To my left I could see the entrance to the red carpet, and in front of me was the E! backdrop for the upcoming interviews for the night. As I walked onto the red carpet for a glimpse at the set, I stopped and took a deep breath. This is where I belonged. This is where my future as a journalist, critic, and TV star would begin. I had no clue that three hours later I would be walking down the red carpet with one huge American star and one huge star from the UK—Jessica Biel and Ben Barnes. Biel would become the nicest celebrity that I have met to date.

The night was just outstanding. I felt like this is where I had belonged all my life. Just one night prior I had stood inside awaiting the stars of High School Musical 3 to arrive. It had been the High School Musical 3 Italian premier, and my first movie premier ever, but it didn’t compare to the Easy Virtue premier one bit.

Jaimie and I arrived three hours ahead of the scheduled red carpet run because I wanted to be sure that I would get a clear picture of Biel. Biel is obviously no Pitt, Jolie, or Cruise, but she is an actress that many of my good friends and I grew up with as the hit drama 7^th Heaven was around for many years of our lives. She also starred in one of my favorite baseball movies, Summer Catch. Having the opportunity to just see her in person would have been good enough for me.

Jaimie and I realized that we would be allowed to walk down the red carpet when she and Ben Barnes (Prince Caspian) came out for their debut. We began to guess what kind of dress she would be wearing. And during our three hour wait, we took a short walk on the carpet to get a picture in front of the E! stage, where we see ourselves one day.

Three hours later—it was time. We timed it so that we could get pictures of them on the red carpet, but so that we could walk down it when they were past the fans. We stepped on the red carpet and everything fell into place. Suddenly we were walking along side Barnes and Jaimie was talking to his mom telling her how much she liked her necklace. His mom responded, “I got it in Piazza Venezia.” We then asked Barnes if we could get a picture with him, and so we did. The next feat was to meet Biel, which wasn’t so simple. She was taking her time coming down the red carpet, and Jaimie and I were being asked to move along. Things were not looking good for us, until we found a stairwell along the carpet to hang out in…until Biel came down to right next to us. Then we slowly made our way back onto the red carpet, and I went up to shake her hand. I said, “You are a great actress-You’re an idol—We grew up with you.” Jaimie threw in, “7^th Heaven,” and we all got a good laugh. We asked if we could get a pic with her, and she smiled genuinely and said “Sure!” Before we could get the picture, her security guard tried to push us out of the way and Jessica yelled at him “I said it was fine!” She proved in that moment to be exactly the opposite of what all the Perez Hilton fans say she is—and I gained more respect for her than any celebrity that I have met yet.

The night ended with a viewing of the movie, which had one of the best opening scenes that I have scene in years, going from black and white to color, with just this magical appeal to it. However, Jaimie and I had so much adrenaline rushing through our bodies that we couldn’t even focus for more than twenty minutes, and we got up to leave.

When I was younger I used to go to concerts, and I would be so star struck. I was so surprised by the ability that I had to go up to this star and talk to her. Sure, my knees were shaking, and my palms may have gotten a little moist, but the whole night was just a note of where I belong. Whether I am on the baselines of a baseball field broadcasting or on the red carpet of a big movie premier, I know where I am supposed to be, and I can’t wait to get there.

Grandmothers Can Be the Craziest of All

Word of the Post: Zac Efron Italiano (The Italian Zac Efron)

Children screaming. Mom’s creeping. And grandmother’s pushing. This was clearly the High School Music 3 Red Carpet walk for the Italian premier.

I arrived at the Rome Film festival at 11:00 AM on Sunday October 26 to watch the photo call for actor Corbin Bleu and actress Ashlee Tisdale. When the photo call ended at noon, we left the cinema and saw people lined up along the red carpet. We assumed that someone would be coming out to walk the red carpet soon, so we asked a little girl who was waiting. She responded in Italian that she was waiting for Bleu and Tisdale to walk the red carpet at 4:30 PM. These kids were waiting for four and a half hours for their childhood idols.

It reminded me of my 8^th grade year of middle school. When I was thirteen-years-old I too had an obsession like these Italian kids. Only my obsession didn’t make one random red carpet walk in my city, they made several concert stops and mall signing stops in my region of the states. My obsession was Dream Street. My friends and I would line up, up to six hours before the mall signings, and deck ourselves out in face paint proclaiming our love for one of the members of the group. I knew from my Dream Street experiences that kids lining up four-and-a-half hours in advance could only mean many more would join in the coming hours.

So when I got to the red carpet at 3:30 for the 4:30 walk, I wasn’t surprised at all. Stacks of children were waiting outside the red carpet in hopes of getting an autograph, a picture, or at least a glimpse of who could be their favorite person in the world at that very moment. I knew I wouldn’t see anything from the side of the red carpet unless I started throwing some elbows at these kids who were barely up to my waist (and I am only 5 foot 2), so I headed inside to wait by the entrance which they would come in through.

With a half-hour to show-time, pre-red carpet events began. A choir of singers walked out onto the carpet wearing graduation outfits appropriately for the movie that would be ending with a graduation scene. Following the choir, out came the Italian Zac Efron. When I say the Italian Zac Efron—I mean the Italian Zac Efron. He sings the Efron songs from the HSM movies in Italian, he was nearly the same height, was thin, and had the same shaggy hair going on, however the voices were no match. Even still the little girls surrounding me began screaming and shoving. As he finished singing a song, he made his way to walk into the auditorium. To my left stood a mom who seemed star-struck as she got her digital camera ready for Jacopo Sarno (Mr. Italian Zac Efron). Behind me, I had a pamphlet nearing my face and poking me, almost causing a paper cut to my eye. I looked back and I saw a grandma shoving and waving the pamphlet that was going to cause me to have to wear a patch over my eye for the rest of my life possibly—and this was just the Italian Zac Efron. I began to worry what would happen when Miss Tisdale and Mr. Bleu walked in.

In my head I proclaimed that soon “Shit was going to hit the fan.” Sure enough, when Tisdale and Bleu entered the red carpet, it did indeed hit the fan. The pushing became worse, the pamphlets to my face increased, and I suddenly felt like I was stuck in a movie about a 20 year old girl being killed by a raging grandmother at the premier of a Disney movie. Sure guns and knives are scary, but they are nothing like those grandmas.

Tisdale and Bleu made their way into the auditorium and rushed through without stopping. I was lucky enough to get a picture, but of course Miss Tisdale’s eyes were shut. She must have been blinded by the thousands of digital cameras going off deafened by the encores of yelling children (and grandmas). Mr. Bleu gave a wave. Then the flood gates were opened, and the crowd rushed to give their tickets to enter the movie theatre.

Tisdale and Bleu introduced the film which they did in English, but would follow their introduction in Italian with English subtitles—probably because it was a movie for kids and not adults. Sarno walked into the theatre and girls began screaming again. He sat down to watch the movie with the crowd.

An hour-and-a-half later I found myself jetting out as the closing credits were about to come on. I went for the nearest exit, and realized I had just exited through a fire exit. Oh well, no problem. If I just kept walking down I would get out somehow. Then I realized standing in front of me with a private car was none other than the Italian Zac Efron. He had security standing next to him and I had my camera out as I approached him. I realized this was one-on-one, and was my first real one-on-one experience with a star without hundreds of fans screaming in the background. I didn’t even know who the guy was until two hours prior. I said “Scusi,” and his security guard shook his head no at me. “Un complimento,” I said, and Sarno turned around. I tried to make words in Italian but all that came out was a bunch of jibberish that didn’t sound like any language let alone Italian or English. I finally completed my thought by saying, “Io parlo Inglese.” He responded slowly, “I speak English too,” and laughed at me. Sheepishly I ended the night by telling him he has a great voice (even if it is no match for the real Efron) and best luck.

Then I walked away basking in the glory of meeting at least one star for the night—even if I couldn’t make out a word to him.