I'm in Rome! It's absolutely unbelievable and still sometimes completely takes me by surprise. I'll be brushing my teeth and suddenly think "Oh hey I'm brushing my teeth in Rome!" or "Hey, I just bought Roman body wash!" (so what if it's still Dove). To start the basic information-I am studying at the Trinity College in Rome Program located in a very quiet residential district of Rome a short walk from the Colosseum! Getting here was an adventure. I had three flights in all and while the first two went fine the last and longest flight, crossing the Atlantic, had a "hydraulic malfunction" about 200 miles out to sea and had to TURN BACK, jettison tons of our fuel to make us light enough to land, then land a midst fire engines and emergency crews, be inspected by mechanics, and then after 4 hours, ignoring all the warning messages, refuels and takes off as planned. UMM WHAT!! But, in the end I did make it to Rome in one piece. They managed not to lose my luggage, which with three flights is a near miracle. Taking a taxi was a bit of a challenge because the driver didn't speech any English, but he was very friendly so all was good. When they say Romans drive the crazy people, they really mean it. The cars got like two inches apart, mopeds and bikes were squeezing between cars at lights and there was just a lot of general zooming forward and slamming on the brakes. And a lot of honking. It was terrifying and completely hilarious at the same time.
The students in my program are housed in two locations, half at the convent where most classes are held and half at a "Hotel" nearby. I'm living in the convent on the third floor (am I doomed to always live on third floors?) I'm really glad that I ended up in the convent, not only are most of the classes here, but it's just so beautiful and authentic. Not to mention that fact that it's pretty freaking cool to pass a nun in the hallways! I do have a single, which is awesome! I even have my own bathroom, European style, where the shower is just on the wall, no shower curtain or separate area for the shower space. Its a wet room so it's ok that water goes EVERYWHERE. It turns out that I am a huge fan of this European style of bathing. I like the freedom to move around it gives you, oh hey is there soap on my face? I can just walk over to the mirror and see. Oh I left my shampoo bottle over there, ok I'll just walk over there and get it. But you do have to remember to take the toilet paper out of the room, or at least cover it with a plastic bag first...I forgot that the first time...oops...
There's so much more to say but that's all for now!
Ciao!
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