It's been a rough few days for these poor little soles of mine. I came to Rome expecting to hit some iffy weather because it is a Mediterranean country surrounded by the sea, but never did I expect torrential shower storms that make the Tiber rise 12 meters (~40 feet) in 72 hours and rain droplets the size of bird poops. When I say it's raining, I mean that I can physically see curtains and curtains of liquid falling from the sky (not that drizzly minuscule stuff we call rain back in California) and hear the streets gushing with new-formed rivers before even opening my eyes in the morning. Regardless of the rain or shine most things are done on foot here so my 30 minute commute to class, tram ride included, leaves my down jacket soaked, feet close to frostbite, hair in a knotted mess, and umbrella in shambles by 9:30 am when it rains. In all seriousness without (much) exaggeration my umbrella has spent more time inverted than actually keeping me dry this week... I think I may have to succumb and call upon one of the many street vendors who shove fists full of umbrellas in my face and yell prices in my ear to replace that poor little spindly mess of a contraption. My boots have probably suffered the most damage, as they were brand new when I shuffled onto the plane ride here, and have now spent 3 days completely soaked through and through. At this rate I fear that they won't last me through the next few weeks, not to mention the semester! My valiant efforts to bite the bullet and purchase sturdy, waterproof alternatives have, however, gone awry as I have found myself stuck trudging through gray puddles covering the cobblestone with pruning toes and socks ready to be rung out in the shower stall for hours on end in search of affordable boots in size 38, which I now believe only exist in myth and dreams.

The good thing about coming home from a rough day battling natural forces is that I can hang my damp clothes up on the radiator and cuddle up in bed with my fuzzy blanket, some biscotti and hot water (since I haven't purchased tea bags yet) to take some quiet time for myself. With so much to explore out in the city of infinite sights it feels like a waste of time and opportunity to sit indoors for more than getting ready in the morning, cooking dinner, and falling asleep at night. I have capitalized on the excuse of bad weather (and soaked toes) to utilize my time spent indoors preparing for my internship and brushing up on the conditional tense and indirect object pronouns. One of our tasks as interns is to keep a private blog about our experience with the work we do and our internship mentors throughout the semester so the program directors can track our progress and effectiveness of each job. They asked that our blogs be kept private so we feel comfortable writing about the good and bad of the internship without risking the possibility of our mentors finding negative public opinions about the experience if they are to arise, but I hope I will only have good things to say and that it will become a comprehensive log of my entire experience that I can later make public and present as a valuable example of work experience. Though I know only two or three people will have access to my blog for the time being, the inner graphic designer in me has itched to perfect the layout and add some cool content such as a widget featuring a video montage following Alice putting art up around Spain and an automatically updating Instagram feed following a newfound favorite hashtag, #streetsofrome. It's also nice to be doing something familiar again since I really miss having the constant creative outlet of graphic design that was so integrated into my regular routine at school. As much as I love being outside and exploring all that the city has to offer, a well-deserved nap and a quiet, rainy night/weekend in after a whirlwind of all sorts of adjustment and midterm madness might just be what the doctor perscribed.