Week 2!!

      Ciao!!  I've officially been in Rome for 2 weeks and I am already completely in love with this city. Its incredible that every square inch has such a rich history and I get to live here for 4 months! We learned/did so much the first couple days here which was wonderful but it has been nice to get into a normal rhythm this past week or so. With classes starting we actually seem to have more down time and it gives us a chance to just explore every day life here. I am taking 4 classes here along with an internship (which we are still doing interviews for). The classes are Sustainable Foods in Italy, Italian, Italian Communications: Popes, Politics, and Pop Culture and a class that goes with my internship and analyzes the work place in Italy. So far they are AMAZING!! I love all of my professors and everything we have talked about has been so interesting such as learning about how the Mafia controls a lot of the work place and government.

         My favorite professor so far is Sir Sean who has been one of the communication liaisons for the Vatican for the last 36 years and was knighted last year for his service! That links to my favorite experience so far which was our tour of the Vatican that he led. He knows so many inside things that we were able to see the Vatican in a completely different way. He is also so passionate about everything that it gets you even more excited. He also told us that throughout the semester he will be taking us to places in the Vatican that are off limits to the public so I can't wait! 

         Although Rome is wonderful, there are definitely some things I miss about the US already. Even just being here 2 weeks makes you really appreciate the conveniences of home. I will never under-appreciate Target again. There isn't just one place you can go to get pretty much anything you need. For example, I opened up the coffee that I bought this morning but don't have a rubber band, plastic bag, or tupperware to store it in and I have NO IDEA where to find any of that. I am definitely going to get creative this semester. As I am unfortunately  already somewhat of a pack-rat (or fortunately depending on how you look at it!) it might make things a little easier. I looked crazy for saving the saran wrap that my cheese came in but now who has something to wrap left overs in?! That tinfoil my chocolate came in? using it for last nights pasta. 

         Speaking of food, I am slightly underwhelmed! I never thought I would miss preservatives but they actually do make feeding yourself a lot easier. The grocery stores here close at weird hours (2 on Sundays for example)  and you cant keep food very long here so it leads to eating out quite a bit. My wallet is not very happy with me right now. Pretty much the only things available are sandwiches, pizza and pasta and it is all very expensive. I would kill for a nice piece of chicken or a juicy burger right now. One thing I do love about the food here are the "bars" which are coffee shops to us. Their cappuccinos and pastries are amazing (AND CHEAP!!) and the perfect way to start the day! 

         Now I'm off to Italian and then Foods but here are a few pictures from my trip so far! 

First Day in Rome

      I just finished my first full day in Rome and although my feet are killing me, this experience has already been incredible. They really do throw you in head first. Yesterday (Wednesday) I arrived at the Rome airport around noon and was driven straight to my apartment. I am in a two bedroom apartment with 3 other girls, a kitchen without an oven or microwave, and a living room with a 2 person couch. We live in the Prati neighborhood along with almost everyone else in the program which is about a 25 minute walk to ACCENT, our program center. 

      After I arrived I spent a few hours unpacking and napping until my roommates got home later that night. We had some celebratory champagne before heading out for dinner at a local restaurant and then meeting up with some other people in the program. This morning we met at the ACCENT center for a basic orientation, lunch, and a walking tour. The walking tour ended up being a little over 3 hours and we saw a lot of the major attractions in the main part of Rome including the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Campo de Fiori, and Piazza Navona. I am heading to bed now as we are meeting in the morning for our academic orientation and then a tour of the Vatican!