Home alone

I am on my own for the week. Lynda left yesterday morning for a week in Wales. So, it's just me and a couple million other people here in Rome!

Last night, I cooked for myself and made a homemade marinara sauce. It was delicious and since I was the only one here to enjoy it...no one can say otherwise! I did, however, manage to burn my finger pretty badly because I seemed to have forgotten that when pan handles sit above an open flame they become almost like branding irons. That was fun.

I hung out here most of the day because the Sisters made an IKEA run yesterday to get the kitchen items we were still missing and brought back lots of goodies that needed to be washed and put away. Then, we did the inventory of the kitchen so I was finally able to put all of our kitchenwares away. Woo hoo! (Admit it, you're jealous...)

Thankfully, I did not spend the evening alone. A couple that I met in October, they're friends of my boss, invited me to dinner at their place. It would be my first outing by myself. Solo. Alone. Just me and the Roman bus system. The only thing standing in my way was where to get a bus ticket. Unlike at home, you can't really buy your bus tickets on the bus. Some of the newer buses have ticket machines, but not all of them. We used to be able to buy tickets at the corner store, but either they don't sell them anymore or they won't sell them to us....not quite sure which it is yet. So, I decided that what I would do is get on a bus that I knew had a ticket machine, buy a ticket, ride it to the next stop, get off, cross the street, get back on a bus, and then get off at the stop closest to where I needed to get the 310 bus to my friend's house. Sounds easy? Right.

Well, I got on the 60 and bought a ticket....got off at the next stop (which turned out to be a bit further than I'd anticipated) and once the bus pulled away and I'd crossed the street I realized...there wasn't a bus stop going in my direction. What to do? I began to walk. I hadn't anticipated having to walk very far and I was worried that I hadn't allowed myself enough time. (I know I could have done this at any time during the day, but where would the fun be in that? Nope...I waited until an hour before I had to leave to make it to my friend's house for dinner on time.) Anyways...I walked and sweated, walked and sweated, walked and...you guessed it, sweated. I ended up walking quite a ways when I realized that I'd forgotten the directions to where I was going in my room. Thank the Lord I was nearly in front of campus. I ran into the villa, up the three flights of stairs, grabbed the directions and a glass of water, and nearly passed out from heat exhaustion and over-sweating. I managed to drag myself back outside and got onto the 310.

I am proud to announce that I was able to navigate the way to my friend's home and enjoyed a lovely evening. The couple works for Campus Crusade for Christ and one of their staff members, Amy, joined us for dinner. Afterwards, she and I rode the bus back together until I had to get off. We swapped email addresses and it looks like I will have someone to do something with. Yay!!!

All in all, my first 2 days by myself have been pretty good....ones filled with adventure and solitude. I don't mind being on my own...then again, coming back to the floor at night alone in a big, dark, quiet villa is a bit creepy. I am sure I will appreciate Lynda a lot more when she gets back!