The Small Things in Roma

Walking to the small grocery store that is a few hundred feet from my apartment, I realized that there are a few small things that I am going to miss about living at Santa Maria in Cappella and going to school at the Sede di Roma. One of the things that I am going to miss about the school is the small bar where we get paninis right down V. Piè di Marmo from the school. At this bar, the owner is always behind the counter, almost seeming like he's waiting for us to come in and get our daily lunch of paninis. Speaking the only Italian we know, we all offer a friendly "Ciao!" as soon as we walk in the door. This white-haired, slightly overweight man gruffly responds in his throaty deep voice "Ciao," drawing out the "ow" part of the Italian greeting. I will also miss the other bar that is right around the corner in between V. Piè di Marmo and Pza. della Pigna. At this bar, the two young guys that are always working in the morning are happy to put a heart on the foam of your cappuccino. Closer to the apartment, I will miss the tiny grocery store I talked about earlier and the owner, although a friendly man, refuses to speak any English to any of the students who frequent his place. He sits behind the counter on his stool and will say the prices of things aloud (in Italian) as he slowly punches them into a cash register. Sometimes, (if you're lucky) a younger Italian woman will be working and will speak some English to you. If not, you are completely immersed in the Italian culture and completely lost in the Italian language. The thing that I will miss the most, however, is the doorman at Santa Maria in Cappella. Our doorman does not speak a lick of English (like the grocery store owner.) However, when a line of six or seven of us march through the main door, he always waves and offers a friendly "Ciao," to all of us. In response, without fail, each of the six of seven of us will respond with a "Ciao," of our own, not at once, but rather in the row that we process in with. As the time passes I realize that I really am going to miss the little things about Italy.