The GoGlobal Blog

First Impressions

First Impressions

Upon arrival the first day at the John Felice Rome Center last week I felt a bit unsure of my surroundings, I have to be honest. What many people forget to mention is that it is slightly hard the first night and next day realizing you are in a foreign country for the long haul. Coming straight off of a winter break with friends and family some slightly homesick feelings arose, and I felt a bit out of place. Although, all those thoughts I may have had of home the first night have completely diminished! I have not been as happy as I am right now in many years. Everyone tells you that going abroad is the best time of your life, and although this may sound like a cliche, it is absolutely correct.

“Che bella citta” How beautiful this city is. Everyone and anyone can appreciate the beauty and history that make up Roman culture. In an ancient city that once ruled the world you can truly feel the culture and the dignity people feel in being Roman. This week of orientation has been event filled with non stop socialization and every minute has been planned out. Although we have been exhausted at times, and are trying to recover from jet lag a lot of adrenaline pumps through your veins as you make new discoveries and make new friendships with a whole group of new people.

This weekend we took a break from the all of the preliminary, tedious tasks upon arrival. We headed over to the Roman Forum and Colosseum on Saturday, and on Sunday we took a day trip to Tivoli. At the Forum you can feel the living history of a place where the ruins have been so well preserved. With an excellent history lesson prior to our departure, I felt so inspired to be immersed in the residual area of the Romans living about 2,000 years ago!

On Sunday we spent the day roaming through the gardens of the Villa D’Este and had a lovely lunch in a family run restaurant. This hill town has sweeping views of the city and lots of historical places to see including Hadrian’s Villa which I plan to return to visit.

Classes have begun and things are starting to really settle in. My teachers are so passionate about what they teach, and I am looking forward to learning about things so unlike my typical studies in past semesters. I could be happy here for quite a long time.

Ci veddiamo!

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