Salve!

Hey everyone,

I got into Rome last night. My mentor plus a post-doc at my lab picked me up from Fiumicino and drove me to my apartment. My roommate is super nice and has been really helpful. My room is a good size and the apartment is very cute. The only complaint I would have is that there is no 24 hr internet except for the ADSL my roommate subscribes to. However there is only one modem and it is in her room. I really took it for granted how ubiquitous internet access is at Emory. All I want to do at night is surf the net on my computer, which is pretty much impossible now.

My apartment is only about 5-7 minutes walk to the Farmacologia building, so it's not bad. There are little shops and markets located everywhere, which is going to be very convenient. There are a good number of people in my lab, and they are all very nice (so far). The older students speak better English, and oversee the other students. Two girls named Frederika and Valentina don't speak English very well, but they are very friendly and said they are taking me around Rome this weekend. I have picked up some Italian as well through the audio programs I downloaded before I came, so we can get by.

The weather is very similar to Atlanta's. It was raining last night, so it is a bit cooler, but still very hot this morning when I walked to campus. Yet people are still wearing pants and close-toed shoes and jackets.

I got to see the experiment chambers this morning for the project I will be working on, but I won't get to touch anything until I am cleared with the University's insurance tomorrow or Friday. The post-docs are like to play with the rats.

Warning to people who do not have direct flights: I booked my flight to London Heathrow, and then a separate flight to Rome. I have two suitcases, about 40 lb each, which I almost had to pay a 200 GBP fine to get to Rome from LHR. The lady who checked me in let me go, but almost didn't. Anyhow, if anyone else did the same, do not pack more than 20 kg (at most 23 kg) total in all the items you want to check.

Anyway, things are going pretty well. I may be going to take a nap or to walk around Rome some now. Ciao!