Hello! These next series of posts will cover my arrival on Saturday, January 22nd to Sunday, January 31st. For starters, I made it through the flight which is a small victory for me. There was a lot of turbulence and I was literally gripping the arms of my chair until my knuckles turned white. But the view was breathtaking.
Although I am very happy to be back on the ground. Once I landed I met up with several students who happened to be on my same flight so we could share a taxi. We were actually warned beforehand about these professional looking cabbies who charge more. I expected to bump into one or two but I didn’t realize how aggressive they’d be. One followed us outside to the more reliable cabs ranting about his great deals. It was quite the experience.
The convent where I’m studying is located at the top of Aventine Hill and not what I was expecting at all. My mind imagined up some grand, baroque building because this is Rome. But it’s a humble little facility with a courtyard and small garden connecting the boarding house with the cafeteria. It’s very cute and tranquil and the nuns are so sweet. I also met the director and professors for the program who are an amazing group of people but I’ll go into more detail in a later post.
To help us get a feel for the neighborhood, two walking tours were scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. Unfortunately, the only directions I can give are “we went downhill.” That’s how bad my sense of direction is and Rome is like a maze to me. But I’ve got me a map and am ready to brave the city. From just those two days I saw so much art and architecture: Circo Massimo, the Temple of Portunas, the Colosseum, Castel Saint Angelo, Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, Piramide Cestia, Bocca Della Verita, Trajan’s Column and honestly I can just keep going. I was in awe at the sites and like a bum forgot to take any pictures…sorry. I do have some pictures but my camera is being difficult so when it feels like cooperating I’ll be sure to share!
Being here is so incredible and I still can’t believe it. As an art history major I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. I plan on travelling a lot because this study abroad trip has opened up so many new experiences for me. These past tours went by so fast that I didn’t even have a chance to take in my surroundings but I plan on looking at them for hours on end the moment I get the chance. This was just a quick run down of how overwhelming my first two days went. My next posts will cover my classes and the amazing things I have the privilege of doing. Ciao!