What a whirlwind of the past couple of days it has been. This has really been my first chance to blog since getting to Madrid. On Tuesday, September 3, I headed to O’Hare airport where I met up with all the USAC students studying in Madrid from the Chicagoland area, which consisted of 3 other Loyola students and 2 from University of Iowa. We then took a group flight out of Chicago to Newark, New Jersey, where we had a 3 hour layover and met up with all the other USAC students else going on the group flight to Madrid. After a rough 7.5 hours on the airplane, we all arrived in Madrid at 3am (10am Madrid time) the next morning, where we met up with the rest of the group. I made a couple new friends in the process of traveling, and we explored Madrid and found a really cute and delicious cafe where I had cafe con leche and a vegetable quiche with some hummus in a little cafe down a street in Madrid. The streets aren’t like Chicago’s at all- They are narrow and can only fit one car, in which their cars are typically a bit smaller than American cars. Later we had orientation and then a welcome dinner, and after some of the USAC students and I bonded over a couple pitchers of sangria. I knew going into this trip that sangria is a big deal, but in order to put things a little more into perspective, alcohol is typically cheaper than wine, so people are always drinking here. After being up for 30 hours straight and the sangria making me drowsy, I headed to bed.

 

Today we took a tour of the famous sites IN Madrid, including all of the famous plazas and the royal palace which was absolutely BEAUTIFUL- I plan on putting some pictures up within the next couple of days! There are well over 2,000 rooms in this palace, but all are currently uninhabited, and the royal family currently lives in a different part of Madrid. I learned that the king and queen are celebrities, but are not very liked due to the monarchy that still reigns. After the tour we broke off into groups for lunch and exploration of the city. The group that I was with split a pizza and some sangria on the plaza- It was the most relaxing and wonderful part of my day. Later in the day we (finally) moved into our apartments/homestays. I am living with two other girls whom I think I will get along with very well, we went to dinner, oriented ourselves around our neighborhood, relaxed, and unpacked. I am glad to finally be in a semi-permanent place of residence. These days are absolutely PACKED with things to do and go by quickly!

 

Things I have noticed about Madrid:

-Emphasis on the sangria love.

-Most Spaniards can speak basic English.

-Madrid is overwhelming- I cannot wait to slowly explore the city.

-You cannot typically ask for a glass of water at restaurants. You will be charged and given a bottle of water.

-Food/most items are relatively cheap

-There is no Netflix, Hulu, or Pandora here.

-Spaniards do not know what oatmeal is.

-There are Starbucks, KFC, Dunkin Donuts and McDonalds here, except their menus are extremely different.

 

Hasta Manana! 🙂

I haven’t had a chance to catch my breath let alone blog until now, as we have been insanely busy this last week. I don’t think it has truly set in that we are in Rome, the Eternal City, but I am slowly starting to believe it. Before I dive into the awesomeness that is Roma, I should probably tell you a little bit about myself.

I’m a second semester Junior at Loyola. I have transferred a few times, but the most recent school I attended before Loyola was Purdue and this is actually my first semester at Loyola. I couldn’t think of a better way to kick off my Loyola experience than spending the semester in Rome, and so far this has been one of the greatest decisions I have ever made.

I’m an English major with an emphasis on creative writing and and even more particular emphasis on poetry. Yes, I am well aware that is not going to pay my bills.

Besides a wonderful trip to Canada, this is my first time out of the country

Another early day here in Italy! The whole campus is off to Orvieto for a day in the Tuscan countryside.  Like I said before, never pass up a school organized trip! You have already payed for it and they are really fun and allow you to see places that you wouldn’t have thought to go see otherwise. Driving through Tuscany was so beautiful, it has fields and fields of sunflowers and is breathtaking. It was so early in the morning and I was so tired, but it was just oo beautiful to even sleep. I had never heard of Orvieto before this trip but I am so glad we went! This little Tuscan town is so beautiful with the typical Italian feel. It is only a mile long so we probably walked around the entire town about 4 times throughout the day.

When we first arrived, we got a tour of the town and the beautiful church. The tour guide was amazing and knew so much about the history of the town and even the church’s architecture. After our tour we got to walk around a bit and then we all met up for a cooking class and lunch at the restaurant, Zeppelin. I definitely took up the opportunity to volunteer to help cook, too. It was so much fun watching the chief cook, and we actually got to eat all of the food that we helped make.

After a delicious meal, we got to walk through the town to explore and shop. We climbed the towns clock tower and enjoyed beautiful views of the countryside because Orvieto is on the top of a hill. (We also got a little surprise when the bells on top of the clock tower started going off haha) We all bought a lot of cool souvenirs too. Orvieto has beautiful ceramics and I was able to buy a really cool butterfly for my room at home and also some wine corks with painted ceramic tops. I would say it was a pretty successful day! Back to Roma for more studying and sightseeing! Ciao!

 

 

(Exploring Rome: My Italian Friends)

Buonasera tutti!

It’s 7 p.m. here in Rome and I have loads of things to tell you! So bear with me, please, it was a day full of surprises.

Today was my first Wednesday off in the city. Yes, I was somehow able to take five classes and still have one day off (besides the three-day weekend) to do whatever I want in this marvelous place. Talk about being lucky!

Classes started this week and I’m in love with all the courses I decided to take. I have quite a variety of classes this semester and I am so sure all will help me learn and appreciate more about Rome in some way or another.

Today’s post is mostly about my time in the city, in particular, the visit to Santa Maria Maggiore and the people I met there. Remember I told you that I love talking to random people…? Well, let’s say I was ecstatic today.

I woke up early today and hit town at around 9 a.m. As we are in Rome, after all, I went to the Southwest side of the city to visit the papal basilicas of Santa Maria Maggiore and San Giovanni in Laterano (the latter one is the actual basilica of the popes). As the Rome Center is on the Northeast side, a friend and I had to take a bus and then the metro (a.k.a subway) to get to the basilicas, which are only a few blocks away from one another on Rome’s Via Merulana.

But, as you may have heard before, the States are the States and Rome is Rome and they are quite different. Everything in Rome is an adventure, including taking public transportation.Or should I say, specially taking public transportation?

Whereas in Chicago you just wait for the bus to arrive and stop on each and everyone of the clearly signalized bus stops; here in Rome, once you see the bus you want to take approaching the tree-covered bus stop sign you are waiting at, you have to run to the street and start hailing the bus for it to stop and pick you up. Yes, people, if you want to get on a bus in Rome you have to hail it or be around people who hail it, otherwise it WON’T STOP for the life of it.

As it is to be expected, my friend and I, natives to Chicago’s orderly (and apparently dull) bus system, could not figure out why none of the buses were stopping to pick us up. They literally drove pass us, almost speeding when getting to the stop, as if to make it even clearer that we were not getting in. After the second bus and a few levels of frustration, we decided to hail for the next bus and see if it stopped. IT DID!

We took the bus to the Vatican wall and then walked to the Ottaviano Metro station, not far from the Vatican Museums. From that point on our encounter with italian public transportation took a dramatic turn, and for the best. Seriously, those trains?! They make you question that this country is in deep financial trouble. If the buses are a no no for the unexperienced, the metro system is a yes yes hands down. The stations and wagons are clean, they don’t have the sketchy, shady look many Chicago stations have…Seriously people, those trains…!

We got off the metro at Termini station, which is a hub for trains, buses and metro lines here in Rome. You can go everywhere from there and I’m not even kidding. We walked through the crowd and got to the street, took Via Cavour, and walked straight to Santa Maria Maggiore.

As Via Cavour is the street behind the basilica, we walked around the building and, by mistake, entered though a small door on the right side. A young man stopped us and told us that we were walking into the post office, not the main basilica. He was not angry or bossy, au contraire, he was one of the nicest people I’ve met in Rome since I got here a few weeks ago. Claudio–although Im pretty sure his name is Claude–was very eager to meet us. He is a congolese economics student in the city who works distributing mail to the offices at Santa Maria. He spoke broken English with a strong mix of french and italian accents, but he made sure we understood our way around the place.

He not only pointed out the right entrance to the basilica, but, as he kept complimenting us for our “italian looks,” he narrated the history of the basilica and the most beautiful sites to visit. He was beyond passionate, friendly and excited for us not having to pay for  a tour guide inside the basilica. His smile was so contagious that I just couldn’t get it off my mind. I could tell he really loves the place, and wanted us to love it too.

We walked to the entrance and were in awe at the beautifulness of the basilica. I cannot even begin to describe this place. Even though it was my second time in there, it truly felt like discovering a gem once again. It was quite, even despite of the tourists, and many of the side chapels were closed for prayer, adoration or Mass. Even more, there were Dominican Monks all over the Church taking confessions from pilgrims in pretty much every language you can think of. It was wonderful.

As Claude had pointer out earlier, Santa Maria is the only one of the four papal basilicas (San Giovanni in Laterano, San Paolo Fuori le Mura and San Pietro in Vaticano complete the list) that is solely dedicated to Mary. And you can really tell, there were images of the Madonna everywhere. Bernini, who worked on many of the churches in Rome, is also buried there. What is really surprising is that, as big and extraordinary as his works of art are, his tomb is so simple and little you can barely tell such an important artist is buried there.

Yes, Santa Maria was a place full of surprises.

As my friend and I exited one of the side chapels right before Mass started, one elderly man whose name I don’t know started talking to me (in perfect, subtle and very quiet Italian) about why he went to Mass there every day. I, of course, don’t speak Italian at all, but I could catch snippets of what he was saying. We did’t know what to do because we didn’t think he knew we weren’t completely understanding him, so we just smiled and looked at him, trying to catch some words and put together some phrases. He kept going and going, talking about Mass, and confession and the church, smiling and looking at us with such a deep gaze that I can still remember his light blue eyes, even if I didn’t understand much.

As you can tell, I know very very little about these people, but they were both such good examples of what I had heard of italian culture that I thought they were worth mentioning.

After Santa Maria we walked down the street to San Giovanni in Laterano. This basilica is even more colossal. Breathtaking, for real. My friend had to go to class, so I just took the metro to Piazza di Spagna, toward the center of the city, and walked around. I climbed the Spanish steps, was lost for two hours, and later found my way back to Via del Corso, one of Rome’s main streets in Rome.

Today marks my third week in Europe and, as I was walking around the river Tiber, map aside, sun setting, I suddenly felt like I am home. I guess I kind of am…

Thanks for reading my blog! I’m sorry if it was a long one today. Grazzie mille, amici! (Thank you very much, friends)

Baci (kisses),

Esther

Wow.  We’ve only been on campus at the John Felice Rome Center for one week but it already feels like home.  Having visited Italy previously with my family (we spent a couple weeks in Florence and Tuscany), and speaking fairly good Italian, I thought I knew what I was getting into.  But man oh man, was I wrong.  From the very moment you walk through the campus’ green gates and then onto their even greater and greener grasses, you know that this experience is going to be something special.

Move in date was one week ago, today (8/28).  As soon as you set your bags down you are more or less thrown into a long agenda of meetings, survival classes and orientation activities.  You may be thinking that sounds tiring, especially after having travelled for more than 10 hours and across an ocean.  And it is.  But the encouraging part is that this is a great opportunity to branch out and meet people.  I knew one person coming to the JFRC this year. And when I say one person, I literally mean one person in the whole city of Rome.  But within a couple of hours of settling in, I had already established what I now consider my crew.

And oh the places you’ll go with your crew.  The first three nights here, my friends and I walked all over the city, casually running into dozens of our other classmates in between beautiful and ancient sights, yelling out “Ciao Bella!” in our most convincing accents.  Downtown Rome is surprisingly accessible, at least in comparison to the vastly spread out arrangement of Chicago.  It is only about a 15 minute bus ride into downtown Rome.  You cross the bridge over the Tevere River and all of the sudden you are on Via del Corso, which is more or less the Michigan Ave of Rome.  Fabulous shops, street performers, cobblestone roads and beautiful Italians line this street and could easily occupy a whole afternoon (provided you have the euros to spend in these stores).  From the heart of Via del Corso, you can walk east for about 10 minutes, and you’ll find the Trevi Fountain.   A little farther north, and you’ll find yourself at the Spanish Steps.  10 minutes south of the main stretch lays the Pantheon.  (Not to mention the freaking Colosseum which is a mere 30 minute walk from the closest bus stop from campus).  The list goes on and on and it really takes walking around these beautiful winding roads to fully comprehend 1) how close everything is; 2) how old everything is; and 3) how absolutely lucky you are to be strolling through these magnificent streets.

In addition to the (somewhat boring) meetings, orientation week includes a class trip to the Colosseum and Roman Forum, as well as a beach excursion out to the Mediterranean Sea.  As a writer I feel obligated to go into detail, but as a traveller and appreciator of antiquity, there simply are no words to describe the awesomeness of the Colosseum and Roman Forum.  Despite the blazing 90 degree weather, I had chills the entire time while walking through these ancient grounds.

And the sea.  In my eyes, there is no better place to be than floating in the Mediterranean, feeling the sun on your chest and the water in your hair, listening to nothing but the sound of your breath and the pull of the current.  It is just truly a magical place.  This whole city is magical.  And with that,  I’ll leave you until my next entry, to be filled with more mystery and beauty and culture.

Wow! I can’t believe it’s only my second night here in Bilbao. It feel like in the last few days so much has happened. So let’s start at the beginning. Shall we?

My flight boarded the plane at O’Hare on time, but sure enough, as the plan was leaving towards the runway, we had to turn back. Apparently someone got left behind. Once the person boarded, the Pilot made an announcement, “We’re having difficulties adding on the extra 180 pounds of the new passenger. We need to get the system calibrated. But while we wait let’s watch the safety video again!” By the looks of it, no one around me looked eager after hearing the recent news. Plus the delay only took time away from my upcoming connection in Brussels, which added to my anxiety. At least my carry on luggage flew first class, after it didn’t fit in the compartment above me.

Once I arrived at the Brussels Airport I quickly headed over to make my connection. Unfortunately, I got stuck at security and realized I did not have a boarding pass for my upcoming flight. Despite trying very hard to remain calm, I was not only worried that I would miss my flight but that I wouldn’t be able to board the plane. Luckily I got to the gate right on time and had my boarding pass reprinted. Problem solved. Right?

It would have been if only my overpacked carry on would have squeezed into the compartment above me. At that point, I proceeded to tear my suitcase open to pull the biggest items out. Rain boots, boots, and sweaters all had to go in order for this thing to fit. But where to you may wonder? In my way too small purse of course. Once I got settled in, I enjoyed the flight with a cup of Ramen and scenic views over South France.

You may be noticing a trend here. I’m telling you the bad/unfortunate events, but thankfully they’re followed by something good. So it’s time to point out the worst thing that could have happened. As I was waiting for my bag, I realized  I was the only one left and there were no more bags. Yep, my suitcase never came. An airport associate noticed and helped me fill out a claim. We concluded that the bag must have never made it onto the plane to Bilbao, even though I did.

I finally headed over to catch a cab to my apartment. I found one immediately, but the driver did not know how to get to my address. Despite attempting to use two separate GPS’s, he still drove around circles. Finally he got me to the right place, and sure enough my landlord was waiting for me outside. She let me in to my cute and cozy apartment. My roommates helped me tell her that my luggage was lost. And she agreed that the airport can call her phone when the luggage can be delivered. Since I might be at school, she even said she would confirm the delivery.

With that, I realized I had no food to eat. After traveling for almost 24 hours I was exhausted and starving. The downside of living in an apartment as opposed to home stay is the lack of food. Once I got to school I heard all about the delicious breakfasts some of the other students had.

At school, we had orientation. We took a walking tour of the city and I’m in love. It’s incredibly beautiful and a prefect mix between modern and old. One of my favorite things that I saw is a sculpture in front of the Guggenheim museum. It’s a cute puppy and the locals here read that word literally. Hence they call the sculpture Poopy. They also joke that he needed a home so they built the 85 million Euro doghouse AKA the Guggenheim museum. < See picture below 😉 >

Overall I’m enjoying being curious and learning all about my new surroundings. I’m even enjoying getting lost in the winding streets, over and over.

Anyone traveling in Europe will quickly discover the beauty of train rides. Trains go pretty much anywhere and are fairly inexpensive. After learning this fun fact, my friends and I decided to take a day trip to Florence, Italy. We took an early train from Rome and came back late that same day (so we didn’t have to pay for a hotel or anything). And even though it was a quick trip, we were able to see a lot of the city and experience a lot of the famous attractions that Florence has to offer.

The number one thing out our “To Do List” was to climb to the top of Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, otherwise known as the Duomo. This church is the main church in Florence and one of Italy’s largest churches with the largest brick dome ever constructed. It was beautiful inside and out and was unlike any church I have ever seen before. The design of the outside was so different and colorful and was nothing like any other church in Italy. Climbing the Duomo was definitely an experience, and after the bruise on my head that lasted a week I can say it was quite an journey to the top. The stairways were so steep and narrow that barely one person could get through them, but the climb was worth the claustrophobic breakdowns and head injury. Once we were at the top we could see the entire city and marvel over the sights. It was a beautiful day to just look out over the city and soak everything in.

After the Duomo we enjoyed walking the city and walking through all of the markets. Florence is known for its Italian leather so we spent over an hour bargaining over bags and wallets, which turned out to be quite worth it. We also walked to Piazza Michelangelo which over looked the entire city and also had a couple of gelato stands, which we couldn’t pass up 😉 At the end of the day we were exhausted and in much need of a meal, so on our way back to the train station we stopped at a restaurant and all ordered the most amazing pesto we have ever had. (We were running late so we had to scarf it down, but it was so amazing that we probably wouldn’t have eaten it any other way even if we had all the time in the world.) We headed back to the train and ventured back to Roma with our leather souvenirs and another hot, beautiful day in Italy behind us.

Is this really happening?
Am I seeing what I think I’m seeing?
Did I die and go to Heaven?
Is this real life?

 

This may only be my fifth day in Rome, but I have heard, and asked, those questions a countless number of times since I arrived here. Orientation has taken us all over Rome and its surrounding area, making us meet fellow students and native Italians, and exposing us to Italian culture. Yes, this is real life.

Orientation ends today (with the exception of two major events: a trip to Umbria from the 6th-8th and the closing of orientation on the 11th with the Mass of the Holy Spirit). I wanted to go over some of the best parts of orientation and what I expect to come when classes start.

Because we arrived in the afternoon of the 28th, there weren’t many activities planned for us. I was able to get together with some friends and head into the city, despite not speaking Italian. Fortunately for us, one of the people in the group had been to Rome previously and knew his way to the Vatican; there were also one or two people who could speak broken Italian. That was all we needed to get around. So, on my first night in Rome- and my first night out of the country ever– I saw the Vatican. From there we went to Piazza Navona, got a little lost (it’s better than it sounds!), and wound up getting drinks at a local pub. The jetlag eventually caught up with us and we headed home. That all occurred in a 12 hour time-span, and it only got better from there.

Over the next few days, I saw the Vatican twice, the Pantheon three times, the Trevi Fountain once, the Spanish Steps twice, the Colosseum once, the Forum once, and too many Piazzas to count. The sheer amount of history contained in this city, and in those places especially, is mind boggling. The Pantheon, for instance, is 2,000 years old and still standing. The Colosseum is in many places intact, and completely structurally sound, despite being 2,000 years old as well. The Forum isn’t in the best shape but it allows you to use your imagination to see ancient Romans (both Emperors and commoners) walking the same streets you are. Being from the other side of the world, and from a country whose life is still young, makes it difficult to comprehend the significance of what you’re seeing. Is this real life? Yes, it is. Better take it in.

History hasn’t been the sole focus of orientation though. Many of the activities planned for us were essential to attend. We learned about safety in Rome, healthcare in Rome, and basic Italian words and phrases so we don’t get completely lost. These activities took up almost the entire day, so we could only venture into the city at night. This gave us a great opportunity to see Roman nightlife and what Romans do for relaxation after a day a work. We also avoided siesta, or the several hour break in work after lunch (usually from 1-4), which was convenient. The orientation activities themselves were important but the real fun was venturing into the city to do your own thing with a group of friends. Food, wine, Piazzas, and exploring were all on the table. My feet were incredibly sore by the time I got home every night, but it was a good kind of sore: the soreness from exploring a foreign city with friends, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells.

Thus far, the JFRC has been a great experience. Classes begin tomorrow right on campus. I’m looking forward both to the subject material (like on-site Art in Rome!) and the structure that a regular schedule provides. And although I won’t have the complete freedom I had during orientation, I’ll nonetheless be in the Eternal City, always ready for an adventure with friends or a quiet evening alone. Inoltro!