Hello my happy readers!

Well, the semester is coming to a close, sadly, and I have less than a week left here in Rome.  This past week I spent cramming for finals, eating way too much junk food, and becoming one with the night owls.  Oh joy.  But now I'm done, the grades are in, and I'm ready to enjoy my last week here.

The next three days are to be spent digging in the dirt and drawing walls for my archaeology practicum.  While it won't be an actual archaeological dig, due to the earthquake that Italy a month ago, it should still be a great experience.  Then, Thursday night we have one final celebratory dinner with the whole gang together for the last time.  After that, it's two days of final Rome explorations and last minute site-seeing before heading home on Sunday.

All in all, the past semester here in Rome has been quite a roller-coaster ride.  There have been ups and downs but overall it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  I will dearly miss Rome and will treasure all the memories of my time here.

So... I'm obviously not very good about updating my blog regularly. Oops. Well, I'll try to pick up where I last left off and give you the highlights of the past few weeks.

After Spring Break, life pretty much went back to normal. Or, as normal as a week in Rome could be. For class we continued to explore parts of Rome, including the Caelian Hill, Esquiline Hill, Janiculum Hill, Trastevere, and Vatican City, and learned about their importance to Rome in antiquity. On my own, I too explored to Rome, but simply to enjoy the city and to appreciate it for what it is today. All in all, I've done a lot of walking in the past few weeks, but it's been worth it. I've made some great discoveries and had a lot of fun.

The first Sunday after Spring Break was Palm Sunday, for which I (and a few of my friends) spent the first half of the day at Mass at the Vatican with the Pope. The service was long, and it was very crowded but overall, it was a great experience. How many people say they actual got to go to Mass at the Vatican, let alone the Palm Sunday. Unfortunately I still didn't understand enough Italian to know what was going on, but still... it was great to see.

The weekend after was, of course, Easter weekend. Unlike for the rest of my classmates, it wasn't that busy of a weekend. Chris, one of my friends here, had his Catholic confirmation at an English speaking church on Saturday, which I went to with a few other friends. Then, on Sunday, after spending an hour at the cafe, I simply grabbed a book and an apple and went wondering around the city. I eventually found myself in a secluded park near the Janiculum Hill. It was quiet and green, so I found an old stone bench and camped out there for a few hours. The weather was beautiful, perfect for sitting outside and reading for while.

The next week was our trip to Campania. We started out driving to Terracina and Sperlonga, on the way to the Bay of Naples. The next day, we spent most of our time in the area around Pozzouli, better known as the Burning Fields. We saw many well preserved villas from antiquity as well as many views of the sea. The day concluded with the Naples Museum, after which we headed for the hills to spend the night in Pompeii. The next day, we took a train to Herculaneum and spent the whole day exploring the archaeological site. Simply put: I was a kid in Willy Wonka's Candy Factory. Then, for the last day of the trip, we spent the whole day in the archaeological park of Pompeii. Again, kid in a... well, you get the idea. For the rest of the weekend, the group split up. Four of my classmates took a train back to Rome that night. The rest of us decided to take a train in the other direction and spend that night and the next day in Paestum, a very well preserved ancient Greek town... in southern Italy. The hotel we stayed at was right on the beach, but it was too wet and cold to do more than simply take pictures. Then, after a day spent in the museum and archaeological sight, we found lunch (Btw, best sandwich I've ever had... nothing but fresh mozzarella, olive oil, and tomatoes on bread.) and headed back to Rome.

The days since the Campania trip have been great. Two of my friends from home, Sarah M. and Rebecca, who are studying abroad this semester in Egham, England, came to visit me for a few days. It was nice to be able to show someone from home the city I know and love. It was also nice to simply spend time with someone other than my 8 classmates. Yes, they are all great people, but after spending 3 months with the same 8 people, it was nice to see someone different. Then this weekend, one of my roommates (Ashley) and I went to the beach in Sperlonga and then spend this morning at the Vatican Museums. In the past 48 hours I've done a lot of walking and my back is rather sunburned, but, again, it was well worth it. That seems to be a growing theme of my experiences here in Rome: "it was tiring but amazing."

Well, I should stop procrastinating doing homework. Alas, my stay here in Rome is beginning to come to an end. I only have one week of classes left, followed by one week of finals and one week of archaeological digs. Then (exactly 3 weeks from today, actually) I'll find myself on a flight back to Houston. This semester has sped by and although I miss English speakers and tacos, I'm don't think I'm ready to leave this wonderful city. And I plan to make the most of my last few weeks here.

Spring Break Pictures

Big Ben and the London Eye.

Me at Westminster Abby.

Sarah M., Rebecca, and me on the London Bridge.

The Eiffel Tower.

Me at Versailles

The Basilique Sacré-Cœur in Paris, France.

Me in Austrian's museum district.

Me at St. Stephens in Vienna

The Belvedere in Vienna, Austria.

Tunisia Pictures

Me on the Tunisian coast.

Me at El Djem

At another archaeological site.

Josh, Ashley, and I at yet another archaeological site.

An ancient Roman marble quarry.

A Tunisian sunset.

Josh and Sarah's Magical European Adventure

I've decided to give everyone a day by day account of my Spring Break adventures, partly for myself (so I don't forget everything that happened) and so all of you have a better idea of what I was up to. So sit back, relax, and enjoy my account of "Josh and Sarah's Magical European Adventure."

The first Friday of Spring Break dawned and the day began early for Josh and me. We left our Roman apartments around 7:45am to catch the tram to the train station to catch the 8:15am train ride to the airport. We checked in at 8:55, grabbed a quick cup of coffee, and waited for our flight to leave at 10:55am. After a slight delay by the airline due to weather (a nasty cold-front arrived in Rome a hour or so before we left) we were off to cheery London, England and arrived slightly after 1:00pm (London time). Thankfully it was beautiful in London, with sunny skies and warm weather. Much of the rest of the day was spent looking for our hostel (as Sarah, being slightly scatter-brained, forgot to look up the location before leaving. oops.). Though the first thing Josh and I did upon seeing a Starbucks in the train station was buying the biggest cups of coffee we could, as Roman coffee, while good, is nothing like American coffee. Oh how it was good to drink real coffee again. So, from the airport we took a train to the center of the city, hoping to find someone who knew where Ilford was (the suburb where our cosy hostel was located). From there we took the tube (that's the underground for all of you who are unfamiliar with the London subway system) to a train station on the outskirts of the inner city. Then we hopped on a train, finally arriving in Ilford around 4:30pm and, after asking around and doing quite a bit of walking, found our hostel. After all the traveling done that day (a tram, three trains, a plane ride, one ride on the underground, and a lot of walking) we were exhausted and chose to explore the little town that night rather than go back into central London. Ilford turned out to be a nice place (close to the city without the hustle and bustle), with some good fish and chips, and Josh and I both instantly fell in love with the sleepy little British suburb. After a bit of exploring, we went to bed earlier so as to get a fresh and early start in the morning.

Day 2 started early, just like day one, except this one was particularly exciting as today we were to visit the British Museum. Yes, we are both huge nerds and after a semester of spending our days in one museum after another, we still hadn't had enough, and this was at the top of our list of things to see in London. We met up with our friend Kevin (who also attends the AIRC program with us) at 9:40am out front of the museum. As we had gotten there early, we were able to be one of the first to be let in and, therefore, headed straight for what we knew would be the busiest exhibits: the Rosetta Stone and the Parthenon marbles. So Kevin, Josh, and I spent the next few hours being nerdy, having a wonderful time exploring everything ancient and old in the museum (basically the whole museum). Then, after an hour in the gift shop (Josh had to physically tear me away from the bookstore) we headed out to explore the rest of London. It was just a quick ride on the tube before we arrived at the London eye (one of the largest Ferris wheel's in the world). As it was too expensive to ride (a whopping 25 pounds a person) and a two hour long wait, we decided our time (and money) was better spent elsewhere. We walked down the river to the Parliament building and Big Ben. After a stop in a pub to relax, eat, and get re-energized we walked to Westminster Abby. Sadly it was closed (odd b/c it was the middle of the afternoon but what can you do?) so we went to explore more the city. Following a stroll through the park (filled with blooming cherry blossoms), we headed to Buckingham Palace to try our hand at annoying the guards. We were slightly disappointed as there were no guards outside the palace gates but I took pictures anyway. Finally, we cruised on over to Piccadilly Circle (basically the Times Square of London) in search of tea for my Latin professor. (Long story short: My professor asked Kevin to find this store in Piccadilly Circle and buy him some Christmas tea if we had the time. As we were in the area, we though we might as well look.) However, as we were unable to find the story, we made a stop to at a souvenir shop to get a postcard for me and tea-set for Josh's sister. It was about 6:00pm by this time and Kevin left to go spend the rest of the night with another friend. Josh and I, unsure of what to do next, stopped by the Theater office to see if any musicals were playing that we would be interested. Avenue Q caught my eye but as the cheapest tickets were 60 pounds, that was off our list. Then Josh noticed that Spring Awakening was playing (a tony award winning play) with tickets starting at 18 pounds a person. After watching Josh jump up and down like a kid in a candy store for a few minutes, I agreed to go see the show that night with him. It really was a fabulous show (mind you, definitely not a G rated musical) but it had great music and a great story. It was a good way to end our second night in London.

As we had gotten back to the hostel late on Day 2, much of the morning on Day 3 was spent relaxing in the hostel and checking out Ilford in the daylight hours (Kevin joined back up with us that morning and spent the rest of his stay in London with us). Then, at around midday, we hopped on the tube and head to central London to meet up with my two friends from Trinity studying in England for the semester, Sarah M. and Rebecca! We met at St. James park, had a happy reunion, and walked back up to Piccadilly Circle to find the obscure tea store. After much searching, we finally found it but alas, no Christmas tea (it was the middle of March after all). We then took the tube to the London Bridge, and, after a quick chorus of "London Bridge is Falling Down," we went on a long walk, simply enjoying the city. We passed by St. Paul's Cathedral (famous for being in the wonderful motion picture classic: Mary Poppins) and ending up in Trafalgar Square. After eating in a traditional English pub for dinner and a stop at a Leicester Square for dessert, Kevin, Josh, and I said our goodbyes and headed back to Ilford for the night (we had an early wake up call the next morning).

Day 4 was an early morning (beginning at 3:30am for me) as we had an early flight to Paris. Kevin was going to spend the next few days with us in Paris before parting ways as we headed to Vienna and he to Copenhagen. After another long morning in the airport (and a quick stop at Krispy Kreme... sorry... I couldn't help myself) and on a plane, we finally arrived in Paris, France. The weather was much colder and wetter My first site of Paris was literally Notre Dame (besides the airport). I got off the subway from the airport, walked outside, and there it was. Awesome. :) Thankfully, finding our hostel was much easier (it was more centrally located and I looked up the location BEFORE arriving this time). It was a nice little place and the lady who ran it, though she was completely bonkers (literally, she was nuts), she ended up being very helpful in showing us a where all the sites and good places to eat were. We decided to hit the ground running and, after a quick lunch, headed out to explore the city. After a walk to the Pantheon (I didn't even know Paris had one), we went to visit Notre Dame and other sites. We quickly found out that Paris was definitely not a walkable city (at least compared to Rome) but we walked anyway b/c it was cheaper. So it was a long walk from Notre Dame to the Triumphal Arch and then back down to the Eiffel Tower. As it was cheaper to climb the tower rather than take the elevator (and it had a much shorter line) we opted to climb. Lets just say I got my exercise that day. It was very windy and cold but worth it. Then, after a long walk back the hostel (partly b/c of the distance, partly b/c I took a wrong turn and had to back track) we stopped for a quick dinner and crashed. It had been a long day.

Day 5 began early (just like every other day). We met up with four friends of Josh who were also visiting Paris and headed to Versailles for the day. It was beautiful (I'm very glad we took a day to go visit) despite being a very cold and wet day. The palace is huge and gold was literally every where. And if I though the palace was huge, the grounds were 10 times bigger. We didn't have time to walk through all of it (even though we got there just as the place opened) but tried our best. In the end, the gilding was getting to be too much (as Marie Antoinette's palace was just as big and gilded) and I went and sat in the gardens with Kevin and Josh to simply enjoy the quiet and green surroundings. After a long train ride back, we decided to cook dinner for ourselves that night (french baguettes and brie included) and do laundry (packing 9 days worth of clothes in a backpack simply wasn't possible so I opted to do laundry half-way through the week). Finally it was off to bed as it was to be another early morning the next day.

After a quick early morning stop at an Internet cafe to check e-mail (I needed to check on the location of the Vienna hostel, etc...) and to grab a cup of coffee, the 7 of us headed to the Louvre. It was so big, we weren't able to see it all but that just gives me an excuse to go back someday. After several hours spent drooling over paintings upon paintings, we decided to find lunch. We ate at a little French restaurant, filling our stomachs with delicious crepes. We then spent of the day walking around the city. Kevin (a fan of the Davinci Code) wished to visit St. Sulpice Church, home of the Rose Line. Afterwards, we strolled up to the Bastille and then took the subway up to the Basilique Sacré-Cœur where we got a beautiful view of the city. Finally, we headed back towards the hostel and ate at a traditional French restaurant, where I literally had the best meal of my life. It consisted of real French Onion soup, grilled chicken in a pepper gravy with chips, and a cream-puff with vanilla ice-cream and chocolate sauce. Delicious! Then it was off to bed to get a few hours of sleep before our flight to Vienna in the morning.

On Day 7, Josh and I headed to the airport early, to head to Vienna, the last leg in our journey through Europe. The weather, like in Paris, was cold and wet. Still, we had high hopes for this part of our adventure. This was the hardest city to get around, mostly because neither one of us knew any German, let alone the Viennese dialect of German. As we got to our hostel around 2pm and were quite tired from the last few days, we decided to take the first day easy. After a walk around our area of town, we stopped to have schnitzel for dinner and went to bed early, grabbing our first full night of sleep in days.

We woke up on Day 8 around 8am, had a traditional Viennese breakfast, and headed to the museum district downtown. Josh and I decided to skip the Science Museum, etc... but instead went to the Papyrus Museum, the Ancient Musical Instruments Museum, and other such sights that could keep nerds like us occupied for the rest of the afternoon. Afterwards, we visited the Albertina art gallery and did a little souvenir shopping, stopping by St. Stephens on the way. Being a musical nerd, I wanted to see the houses of Mozart and Beethoven while in Vienna, so we headed there next. It was too expensive to go into the museums but I still took a picture of the outsides, proving that at least went there. As it had briefly stopped raining, Josh wanted to go visit Sigmund Freud Park where we planned our next course of action for the day. On a whim, mostly b/c we wanted to just do something different, we took a subway to the outskirts of the city, in search of the Chocolate museum that supposedly existed out there. After much searching, it was unfortunately closed for the day, but the store wasn't so we took a few souvenirs back for our friends in Rome. That night we headed back to our area of town where we met up with one of Josh's friends who is studying in Vienna for the semester to eat dinner. Then it was back to the hostel for bed.

On Saturday (Day 9) we met back up with Josh's friend in the morning near her university, where she took us to the local food and flea market. Bigger than any of the markets I had seen in Rome, it was nice to see and experience some of the local culture. Then, after a quick lunch (consisting of more schnitzel) and a stop in the international grocery store (to buy Goldfish...) she took us to the Belvedere, where she was able to get us in for free! Vienna, compared to London and Paris, doesn't seem to have much in the way of famous monuments, but it sure does have some great museums. After an afternoon of walking through the museum and the grounds, we ate dinner at a Austria pub and went back to our hostel to get some sleep. The next morning was interesting, mostly because I had forgotten that it was Daylights Savings Time. So instead of waking up at 6:30am, I woke up 7:30am. Panicking, I quickly woke Josh up, packed as fast as I could and sprinted to the subway. We made it to our bus (that was to take us to the airport) right as the driver was starting the engine. That was good timing if you ask me. We ended up making it to the airport in plenty of time and got back to Rome by midday.

And here ends my account of our Spring Break adventure. It was a wonderful week, tiring but probably one of the best in my life, and I'm so glad I had the chance to travel. I probably won't go anywhere else for the rest the semester (as my bank account took quite a hit and I would like to spend more time exploring Rome) but I'm satisfied with what I did get to see. And if I missed anything, well, that's just gives me a reason to come back some day.

Hello friends!

I apologize for such the long delay (I can't believe it's already been a whole month since my last post... time sure does fly) but I'm back to fill you in on my exciting life in Rome.  When last I left, I was frolicking in the Borghese Gardens enjoying the beautiful sunshine of Italy but so much has happened since then, it feels like a lifetime ago.  The best thing to do would be to start where I left off.

So after my frolicsome scene in the Gardens, the next week was week 5 of my archaeology  class.  Comparatively, it was a rather slow week.  We visited some very interesting sites, including the Stadium of Domition, the Pantheon and the Ara Pacis museum (Oh, so cool) but with Tunisia looming in the distance, it was hard to keep my mind on anything else.  That weekend I didn't do much besides preparing for the trip and studying for my ever-approaching midterms.  Eventually, the sun dawned on Monday morning.  Today was the day.  The next five days were spent crawling around in archaeological sites, tasting new foods, and experiencing the new culture of Tunisia.

The days blur together in my mind (we visited more archaeological sites than I can remember) but highlights included El Djem, Dougga, Carthage, and the ancient marble quarry.  Because of the dryer climate, many of these sites were very well preserved and whole cities were still intact (one such site was Dougga).  I could continue to be nerdy and explain more about these sites, but again, I might bore you.  Besides the 10 hours a day we spent in class, we had a couple nights and one afternoon to explore.  Unfortunately, I was very obviously a tourist and not a native, so I had many merchants trying their best to sell me things.  However, I was able successfully avoid them (after buying one beautiful scarf for myself).  Overall, I enjoyed my trip to Tunisia.  It was very different, nothing like I'd ever experienced before, but it was great to see it.  And I was also surprised to realize that, despite still being homesick for Texas, I was also homesick for Rome.  I think I'm really starting to become attached to my simple life in Roma, Italy.

Onto week 6... MIDTERMS.  Gah!  I think I did relatively ok, and while I spent much of my time worrying about them, I had other priorities as well.  One of my roommates, Jen, unfortunately was admitted to the hospital the day after we returned from Tunisia with acute appendicitis.  So in the little free time I had, I was running back and forth between my apartment and the hospital, trying my best to both be there for Jen and do well on my exams.  I think I found a happy medium and though I lost some sleep because of this, such is the life of a college student.  That's nothing new.  And in the end, I was rewarded with the best Spring Break I've ever had.

Spring Break - so much to say and so little time to say it.  For the break, my fellow companion, Josh, and I (Jen was to make the duo a trio but alas, emergency surgery made that impossible) spent three days in London, England; three days in Paris, France; and three days in Vienna, Austria.  And what a trip it was.  Highlights include the British Museum and Westminster Abby in London; the Eiffel Tower, Versailles, and the Louvre in Paris; and the Imperial Palace and the Belvedere in Vienna.  We spent as much time doing as much as possible, trying our best to see, do, and eat it all.  My pocket book is considerably lighter than it was when I left and I am more tired that I thought I would be, but it was well worth it.  It was the experience of a lifetime, something that I might never have the chance to experience again.  Fabulous.

Well, now that I've caught you all up to speed, I can return to my life as a college student and do all the homework I should have done over Spring Break.  I promise to post pictures of all these experiences later in the week.  Ciao.

Well, I'm now entering into week 5 of my stay here in Rome and have had plenty of adventures the past couple weeks here in Italy.

To start, I'm absolutely loving my archaeology class. The days are long and I have yet to get use to all the walking but it's well worth it. During week 3, we spent our days exploring what was left of the Campus Martius, Forum Boarium, and the Forum Holitorium of ancient Rome. While not much remains of these once busy markets, it allowed us to wonder through some of the most cultured sites of modern Rome, including the Jewish Ghetto. And, as a last treat, our professor took us to Monte Testaccio - "The hill of sherds." This hill, which was gigantic I might add, was made up of nothing but ancient pottery sherds. Literally. It felt wrong to be walking around on top of ancient pottery fragments but there I was, and it was amazing. Talk about a nice surprise to the end of a long week.

That weekend, to escape homework and the hustle and bustle of Rome, a group of us decided to make a day trip up to Assisi, Italy - home to the Basilica of St. Francis. The church was beautiful and was spread across a good portion of the hill the city sat on. After a visit through the grounds, we hiked up to the top of the hill to spend the afternoon playing among the remains of a medieval castle and enjoying the beautiful weather. Assisi sits at the base of Apennine mountain range and, while the hike from the train station was murder, the weather was gorgeous. It was cool but warm in the sun, with a slight breeze and even some remnants of their last snow fall remained on the ground.

What I learned during week 4 of my archaeology class can be summed up with three words: "people gotta eat." We spend both field-trip days in Ostia Antica, the ancient port city of Rome. Some of the things I saw were incredible - including an ancient hotel with the vaulted ceiling perfectly preserved with the frescos still intact! The mosaics were beautiful, used both as decoration and advertisements back in antiquity. I would go into more details, but then I would just sound nerdy. And as much as I would like to share with all of you my knowledge of the ancient economy, it would probably bore you to tears. Just know I felt like a kid in a candy store. I kept wanting to go play hide-and-seek (which has been the favorite past-time of many children, and adults, who have visited the site). But alas, our time in Ostia was up before I knew it.

This weekend was a pretty laid back weekend. I spent a majority of my time catching up on homework and enjoying the beautiful weather. However, on Saturday, a couple of us decided to make a visit to the Villa Borghese Gardens and to the museum there. After goggling at some of Bernini's best works for a couple hours, I (very happily) laid down in the grass under a tree to enjoy the relative quiet that the gardens offered. Then, with my tummy grumbling, I went in search of an afternoon snack and returned home to once more, dive into my mountain of accumulating work.

That's about it for now. My next update may not be for a while as our trip to Tunisia (Yippie!) and midterms (Ugh.) are right around the corner. Just know that more wondrous new tales are on their way. Ciao!

Daily life in Rome and Trip to Florence

I must first apologize for the lack of entries during the last two weeks; I’ve been quite busy. But, a lot of exciting things have happened since those first few days that I wish to share with all of you.

So, after two and a half weeks, I have become well adjusted to my life in Rome. A normal day begins with a cup of coffee from the local bar and a 25 minute walk to the Institute. After attending classes, I head to lunch at l' Insalata Ricca with my friends from the institute. I order my usual, grilled chicken and roasted potatoes. (Yum. This is probably the only meal that I don't eat some form of pasta.) Over lunch we dicuss our plans for the weekend after which we head back to the institute to work on homework. The day ends with a walk home, a trip to the local supermarket for dinner, and, yes, more homework. This may seem like a boring daily routine, but it is the unexpected surprises that occur in between that make my time here worth while.

For instance, about a week ago, a couple of us decided to make a trip over to the Vatican City. And while the weather wasn't the best, it was great to see. St. Peter's square is massive (Picture above). I'd never seen a place like it. And inside, it was even more grand. There was literally gold on every square inch. And of course, the art was amazing. Sometime soon, when Pope Benedict is in town, I plan to go back to here him speak.

Also, I must say that I love my archaeology class. The homework for it is long and tedious but in return, the actual time spent in class is amazing. We go on two fieldtrips every week and listen to lectures literally in front of the momument the professor is talking about. Our first fieldtrip (a week from last Thursday) was to Tarquinia, a city north of Rome. This was a major site of Etruscan power (before the rise of the Romans) and now is an Etruscan burial site. We spent the day exploring tomb after tomb, learning about Etruscan culture and burial rituals from hands on material. It was incredible. Then last Tuesday, our class made a trip to the Capitoline Hill and visited the Capitoline Museums. Again, amazing. And b/c the Institute gets special priviledges, we got to see some behind the scenes stuff. We had a guide lead us to the basement of the museum where we saw its foundation: an old Roman temple. :) Finally, this past Thursday we had a marathon event: The entire Roman Forum, the Palatine Hill, and the Colosseum (Picture above). And again, we got special priviledges. As well as getting early access to the site (we had the place to ourselves for almost an hour), we were allowed into the famous House of the Griffins. Absolutely beautiful (Picture on the Left). As for this week, I'm not sure yet what's on the agenda, but I'm sure I'll love it.

Although a lot has happened within the past couple weeks, I can't share it all. You would be reading a book. However, there is one last thing I'd like to share and that is my trip to Florence this past weekend. Despite being close to a last minute trip, it was a great experience. Friday morning I hopped onto a train with three other fellow students, ready to get out of Rome and explore new places. Florence, while small, has a lot to keep one busy. During the 48 hours I was there, I visited the Duomo, climbed the dome of the Duome, visited the Ponte Vecchio, saw Dante's house, climbed the hill up to Michaelangelo's Piazza, and spent several hours in the Uffizi Gallery. I slept very well after that marathon but it was well worth it; I had a wonderful Valentine weekend (Pictures Below). And now, it's off to more adventures in Rome until my next excursion within Italy and elsewhere. Ciao.

Arrival and first few days in Rome

Hello from Rome! So finally, after several weeks of waiting and preparations, I’m finally here. And so far, I’m having a blast. I have no complaints (besides very limited access to internet) and am looking forward to the next 16 weeks here. Before I get too excited and tell you all about Rome, I should probably start from the beginning of my travels. (Don’t worry; I’ll keep it brief.)

My adventures began on Wednesday in Houston, TX where I took a 9 hour flight to London. And despite my attempts to sleep, it didn’t really happen. So I arrived in London at 7am on Thursday considerably more tired than expected but happy to be on my way. I saw almost nothing of the airport (I spent most of my attention on getting through the massive line at security.) though I did take a shuttle that drove on the wrong side of the road and had a very interesting conversation with a woman who had a delightful British accent. I was happy. I then met up with one girl from my program and off to Rome we went. My arrival in Rome was accompanied with both surges of excitement and panic. Everything was in Italian with few English translations, but somehow we both managed to get through customs, find the train station, buy a ticket, get on the right train, and get off at the right stop. And after an hour of walking around in circles at the train station, we found the rest of the group and headed to the apartment, where I collapsed for an hour from exhaustion.

So far, the only way I can describe Rome is amazing. Although the initial shock has worn off some, I still find myself stopping to stare every now and then at the incredible views. Everywhere I turn there are 20th century buildings next to 18th century architecture next 13th century apartments next to 1st century monuments. Simply incredible. The apartment I’ll be living in is located in Trastevere next to the Tiber River and south of the Vatican. The following picture is the view outside my bedroom window. The Institute, where I will be going to school, is located in the heart of Rome, literally across the street from the ancient Roman Forum and Capitoline Hill.

My program through the American Institute of Roman Culture specializes in Classics and Archaeology and is consequently very small, with a grand total of only 9 students in the program. But so far, we all get along very well together and enjoy spending time with each other. As classes didn’t start until today, our group has spent our first few days exploring the city, getting to know our way around, seeing the sites, and learning some of the local language. (Only 2 of the 9 students in the program can moderately speak Italian. And I’m not one of them.) Italians are wonderful people (very helpful and forgiving) but contrary to popular belief, few of them speak English unless involved with tourism. But I’m learning, and so far I can say most of the basics (Hello, Goodbye, Thank you, Excuse Me, and How much?) plus a few other random phrases. (I can also successfully order a sandwich in Italian. Yippie!)

The food is great (though I miss my tex-mex) and includes lots of bread and tomatoes (as was expected). I also am convinced I’ll return to the States in 4 months at least 15 pounds lighter. I’ve always enjoyed walking but I have NEVER walked so much in my life as I have in the past few days. I’ve calculated it and I’m averaging about 8 to 10 miles of walking a day easily. (The walk to and from the Institute is 5 miles in itself. Then you have to add trips to the grocery store, pharmacy, and Laundromat, plus any site seeing we want to do.) That’s a lot of walking. (And something else to note, cobblestone streets are very unforgiving on one’s feet. Even with comfy shoes.)

During the semester I’ll be taking three classes: Introductory Italian, Advanced Latin, and the six hour credit course The Archaeology and Topography of Rome. Classes will be intense, with lots of reading and homework, but the program includes weekly fieldtrips to ancient sites in Rome (some with access to things no other university has access to). And during the semester, we also plan to visit Ostia, Pompeii, and Tunisia (The location of the ancient city of Carthage. Yes!)

There is little else to report (besides the fact that Italian soap operas are hilarious to watch). I miss home and American food and English speakers but I’m still very excited to be here. I’ll try and keep everyone as updated as possible on all my adventures while here in Rome (provided that I can find a way to access internet regularly). Best wishes to all, both those in the U.S. and abroad! Ciao.

P.S. I’m sending out my request again, but if anyone would like a postcard, let me know and send me an address. Otherwise, you might not get one…

Hello all! Due to popular demand, I have decided to appease the masses and post the first entry of my blog (despite not having gone anywhere yet). As you all know, instead of spending this semester at Trinity University, I'm off to Rome, Italy to study at the American Institute of Roman Culture. As well as taking classes focusing on classical studies and archaeology, I'll also have the chance to participate in several archaeological digs in rural Italy and perhaps even travel to the ancient city of Carthage *fingers crossed*. But why Italy? you ask. Good question. As of right now, I know little of modern Italian culture and my command of the Italian language is close to non-existent. But hey, that's the point of study abroad, right? And despite the growing number of butterflies in my stomach, I'm more excited than ever to start this once in a lifetime adventure. It will be here that I will regularly post stories and pictures of this "voyage of exploration" to share with all of you. So for now, it's a couple more weeks of preparations and then, it's off to Rome to, well... do as the Romans do. :)