My First Days
Today marks the very first day of my Roman adventure. The overwhelming beauty of the place I will spend the next four months has been something that I have only been able to imagine, have been imagining for what seems like an eternity. To be able to see, smell, and taste the original artifact is, quite literally, many dreams come true. I have been hesitant to really bask in the excitement of studying abroad because the preparation to get here was brutal at times. During the preceding months, I was working through a much different experience. I wasn’t focused on what would be, I was focused on what wouldn’t be. I watched as my friends made plans I would love to be a part of, and knew that I wouldn’t be there. I knew I’d be missing a semester of a team that has taken so much of my time and energy, willingly given because Mock Trial was something I loved to do. They prepared for half a season, of which I was incapable of participating. The month long series of goodbyes was easily the worst part of preparing, though trying to get one checked bag under 50 pounds was a challenge in itself and comes in a close second.
But now I am smack in the middle of the “Would Be” (and obviously over the angsty part of studying abroad.) I almost almost succumbed to the temptation of a night in filled with The Princess Bride and sleep after endless hours of travel. At the last minute, the recruiter for the Rome campus (she’s lovely and her name is Jess) came and ate dinner with my table. She was extraordinarily excited about being back in one of her favorite cities and coaxed me out into downtown Rome with the promise of gelato and great views. I assure you, the gelato is as delightful as they say. We saw the Pantheon, Bernini’s Fountain of Four Rivers, and bought the promised gelato before my need to be back in my new bed decided it could no longer be ignored. A small group of us went to take the bus back to the John Felice Rome Center, and immediately got lost. One wrong bus, two patient Romans who generously gave the lost American students directions, and quite some time later, I finally made it back to campus.
8/30/12
Today, a couple of friends and I went back downtown. Pizza, wine and gelato were all involved, then, consulting one of two of our handy-dandy maps, we made it to Fontana de Trevi (Trevi Fountain). It was stunning, especially at night. We took pictures, sat down and marveled at it, and promised to come back during the day. Fontana de Trevi is the highlight of my trip so far. It was such a special moment for me, because it finally hit me in full force that I am actually in Rome. The weight of leaving home, the weight of how influential this place and experience will be for me, everything came crashing down and it made me positively giddy. I already love it here.
What I don’t love? Getting lost for a second night, despite three maps (we were given another), and another several less enthusiastic Italians showing us the way. We did, however, make it home that night, which is all that really counts.
Attached are some of my favorite pictures from our trip so far. We have, for your viewing pleasure, me at Trevi Fountain, and the view of the Vatican from a bridge crossing the Tiber River at Piazza Cavour, which is how we eventually find our way back to school because it has our most used buses. (A little fun fact for future Romans.)