"Bang" was the sound of the sharp pain as a result of Enita elbowing me in the head. I went back to sleep and no more than 10 minutes later Richard put his alarm clock in front of our door to wake us up. "This must be a sign," I thought, judging from the start of this day it was not going to be a good one.

Even though the night before was mad fun, you know, the usual nightly pillow fights with the guys and watching them beat each other up. Then me falling asleep within the crack of their beds, but I ended up with one leg on one side and my head in some arkward position. I think I kicked Enita in the head by a mistake in my sleep but knowing his hard head I happy my foot is okay!

"If you guys want breakfast you better get up now," said Richard as he banged on the door like he was raised in a mental institution. Me being the greedy person that I am jumped up and ran to my room to get dressed. Once getting to my door I realized it was locked so ask the maid to open the door. Keep in mind she speaks little or no English. In any event, she opened the door and I took a shower. Please keep in mind the showers in our hotel in Rome (Hotel Porta Magiore) are confined to an area of 2 X 2 which was a poor excuse for a shower by American standards. I had to decide whether to stay within my limited range like the Romans do, or should I step out of my boundaries and be venturesome like the Americans. Well, water was every where because I basically used the whole bathroom as a shower, which I know pissed off one of my roommates. LIKE I CARE. I noticed that at such an early hour Elaine was gone without a trace. I think she was mad at Nicole and I but I could never catch up with her to figure exactly why, from her point of view.

Well, I stepped out the shower and noticed how clean the room was. I thought to myself, "Damn, the maid did a good job." Then within a spilt second the cold air hit my wet and undressed body and it shocked the mess out of I me. "Imma kill that maid as soon as I see her." She left all of the windows open and I was greeted with the chill off death. My teeth chattered and I dashed across the room to where I had left my towel, which was right in front of the freezing window. I got dressed and so did Nicole, who was my partner in crime for the trip. We went off to get some American Breakfast from McDonalds, which was almost a mile away but it seemed like forever since we were so hungry.

I know that I am a tourist so I do expect to be bamboozeled sometimes but not to an extreme extent. But for some reason, the cab driver who took us back to our hotel thought I had a red light flashing across my head that read "SUCKER" because he tried to over charge us. He did not even turn on his meter and when we arrived at the hotel he threw a number at us that was three times what we normally pay. Well, anyone who knows me, knows that I wasn't having it. Not today, not tomorrow, not in America and damn sure not in Rome! So we gave him what we think he deserved, even though he threatened us in what I think were four languages.

Well, for the most part I slept the rest of the day and I felt a little sick. I was hungry again, and come to think of it I probably ate up half of the money that I brought to Rome. I resisted temptation and Nicole and I began to pack our bags. At this point I came to the realization that my bag was too small for what I had already brought with me and forget about what I bought in Rome. But, when there is a will there is a way. I packed my bag like I was in the military, the way my dad taught me how. After that I read some of my book entitled "True to the Game" and then sat up and talked to Nicole.

A little while later Ms. Elaine came back and began to bitch about the trip. Again I ignored her because that is a whole issue within itself. The funniest thing was when Richard ran back upstairs he was running for his life and then by the look on Elaine's face, I saw she was ready to take it. Something about confirming the flight but I am not sure.

Later Elaine, Nicole and I had a talk. There was some serious mis-communicating going on and I felt abandoned. When Elaine explained why she was mad, I was not surprised because my room does tend to get a little messy, well more like a hurricane ran through it. I was not respecting her space and at some points I acted out in frustration. Her method of anger was to shut people out and it very difficult for me to deal with, I look up to very few Black women and it hurts me to be ignored by someone who's opinion I value so much. "Now I know how the guys felt" I exclaimed. Throughout the whole trip, every little stupid thing they did, I would shut them out big time. This conflict with Elaine taught me that life is one big lesson and that the rules do not change when the shoe is on the other foot, but being that I "know everything" I thought rules changed for me.

NOT. All in All, this trip helped me to recognize not only my flaws, but also my strengths. I love myself and Elaine more for being the strong woman that she is and the strong mature woman that I will be. I can't wait to return to my family, my people, and my community.

"CIAO"