Is This Real Life??

Finally in ROME! It’s Thursday afternoon and it has been a week since I arrived in Rome. It has been a dream of mine to study abroad and now that I am here I can’t believe it! (IS THIS REAL LIFE?)

Before coming to the John Felice Center I came to Rome with my grandparents, my two sisters and my three cousins. I had just graduated high school and my grandparents took us to Rome for a few days because my Papa wanted us to see and experience where my Nana grew up. It was an amazing experience and I was very fortunate to go with them, but now I have more time to experience the Italian culture.

So far I have loved everything Italy has to offer! I love how the culture focuses on being in the moment with friends and not worry about what’s going to happen next, which is a nice and much needed change for me. JFRC organized a neighborhood dinner near the school and our table sat there for 3 hours. We enjoyed some amazing food, talked about what we’ve done thus far and where we would like to travel. If you do come here (WHICH YOU BETTER) I highly recommend attending that meal.

Also, the SLAs (Student Life Assistants) and the full-year students give the best and craziest advice. They don’t tell you where to go or what to see first, but rather want you to figure it out. I did that on Saturday with a group of friends after the tour of the Colosseum and the Roman Forum (INCREDIBLE) and we had a great time! We didn’t plan ahead at all. We just walked down different alleys and streets and got familiar with this incredible city.

Experiencing the food, the monuments, and the Italian culture has been absolutely amazing. I love everything so far! This weekend we are going on an orientation trip to Campania, aregion in southern Italy, and then Brussels, Belgium next weekend!

Until next time…

Casey