California born, Chicago educated and a heart as big as the globe. I am a Criminal Justice major with goals of bringing reform and kindness to to the world we live in through acts of service and community.
Last Wednesday we had our Mass of the Holy Spirit which concluded the orientation activities. Students traveled to Chiesa di Sant’Ignazio di Loyola or the church of St. Ignatius of Loyola for a mass where we were blessed and encouraged to continue our journey of education in the eternal city. There is an altar to St. Robert Bellarmine, one of the many people I have to thank for my introduction to the Jesuits and all that they stand for.
After mass we celebrated our survival and completion of orientation to Rome with one of the best meals I have ever had, at Osteria l’anima. The highlights of the meal included the famous pear pasta that was absolutely to die for and the amazing company I had that night.
This past weekend was our last bit of orientation to Italy with a trip to Umbria!
Friday morning started bright and early with a bus ride to Narni (the inspiration for Narnia) where we visited an underground monastery and torture room that dated back to the inquisition over 3000 years ago. As a new(ish) Catholic I have never learned about the inquisition and as my friend Christopher put it “Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam means something totally different now than it did then.” Visiting this site really shook my perspective of the Catholic Church.
The tour of Narni was concluded by a lovely glass of wine and some snacks and followed by a rather strange lunch on a beautiful island.
Drinks with Francie and Christopher!
Saturday we toured le Cimate vineyard and had a lovely wine tasting and lunch! The rolling hills, sweet grapes and massive barrels are all etched in my mind forever (PC: Melissa C.). Not to mention the yummy rosé that I bought two bottles of….
A nice nap on the bus lead us to il Museo delle Mummie e la Chiesetta di S. Stefano where we saw perfectly preserved human remains from the 13th century and a beautiful mass at the ’Abbazia di San Pietro in Valle lead by Father Al (PC: Duncan C.).
Sunday was a bit of a bummer as we were rained out of our planned visit to the Partenza per Carsulae di epoca Romana (Archaeological Site). Instead we visited the (rather small) museum about the site and then made our way to lunch at La Taverna dell’Arco. Finally, we piled on the busses one last time to make our way back to campus and after a weekend of amazing conversations, views, and laughs we all passed out.
The past 5 days have been a crazy hot mess but I never want to leave Rome! There has been so much information overload and at times it stresses me out and makes me really grumpy and not so fun to be around. But then I have moments like this one where I am sitting in the computer lounge with my friends and just jamming to Disney music and talking about life. There are so many places to explore, things to do, and food to eat that I’m getting worried I won’t have time for it all. Here is a photo montage of the highlights from my first week:
Guinness tasting during the layover in Dublin from the group flight
