Greetings from the Eternal City
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.