Picking up speed...

The semester is really starting to take off. In the last week I feel as if everything has started to settle more and get more exciting. I feel like I'm learning my way around the city, even though I might not actually. I bought a Rome map and I spend so much time looking at, following my steps of where I've been and where I still want to go.

I'm really starting to fall in love with this city. Everyone has said that Rome is very dirty and parts of it definitely are. However, the neighborhood we live in on via massimi, is really nice. The city can be very dirty, but it doesn't bother me that much. There is a lot of graffiti in the city as well. At first when I saw it, it kind of bothered me. All of these beautiful buildings covered in graffiti, but some of the graffiti is really beautiful. Now I'm seeing it as telling a story of that building, of that history, of the city. Not only does the art and architecture and Rome tell a story but so does the graffiti and the hardships the city has encountered. I think it all makes it more beautiful.

Classes are beginning to really start as well. I'm not in school mode at all. I should be reading for history right now, but I thought blogging was a better idea. :) However, I do like my classes, I think all of them should be really interesting. I'm the most excited about the Italian film class, of course.

I've also signed up to play calcio (soccer) with a bunch of other students. We will have games every Wednesday night for the rest of the semester. Basketball has always been my sport, but calcio is the game here and I am really excited about playing.

There are so many exciting things going on. I've planned two trips so far. This coming weekend I'm traveling to Barcelona with a group of girls. I am so excited! It's going to be a fantastic trip. I wasn't planning on going, but last minute plans are always fun. I've never been to Spain and just love the idea of moving country to country. I'm in awe that this is my life right now, it seems so surreal. I've also planned a trip to go to Florence in a couple of weeks with a few friends. Florence is supposed to be amazing. I can't wait to see it and go to all of the museums.

People are traveling everywhere all the time. I know people who are going to Poland, Germany, Spain, and Paris all this coming weekend. Flying in Europe is pretty cheap, but we will see what kind of fees Ryan Air throws at me. If anyone has any tips about flying in Europe they would be greatly appreciated.

The other really big news is that I am officially going to Tunisia for Spring Break. I wasn't sure if I was actually going to get it, because they didn't have enough spots for everyone and it turned into a lottery system, but I got chosen. I can't even begin to express how thrilled I am. The idea of traveling to Africa for my Spring Break overwhelms me with excitement. I will get to sleep under the stars in the Sahara desert. It's moments like these when I know that I am truly getting an amazing experience, one that will never come again.

This evening on the campus, we had an Italian/English speaking party, where Italians who are learning English at the school come to meet us. I met the sweetest woman, Giusy (spoken like Jucy). She is 28 years old. It was so much fun to talk with her. A mix between Italian and English, more English than Italian, but I was still proud of myself for remembering how to say things and understanding things she said. I talked to her for awhile and then she said, "I want to introduce you to my husband." So then we met her husband who was also at the party. His name is Fiore. I was so tickled to be talking to them and then when they told me they wanted to keep in touch with me and we exchanged emails I felt even more special. It made my day.

I'm starting to not feel "gone" anymore. I know this is my big adventure. But it's also times like this, when I feel so lucky to be where I am and doing what I'm doing, that I feel so awful for what is happening in Haiti. I'm not trying to feel sorry for myself, but I do need to keep things in perspective. It's such a tragedy. Maybe I've been thinking about this more because I'm outside of America, I'm not sure what it is, but I've been quietly thinking about it in my head.

Then again, every day different thoughts roll through my head. But I guess being abroad and studying in a different country is supposed to make you think differently and see the world differently. I know I'm not doing a good job at putting this into words at the moment. Maybe they will come to me in time.

As far as my Roman sites go, seeing the Vatican, was in short, amazing. I didn't even go inside, but I plan on returning many more times. I'm not even Catholic, but that place is out of this world. It was when I walked into St. Peter's Square that it hit me I was actually in Rome, well technically then I was in Vatican City, (but you know what I mean.) I still have much to see and I'm very happy to have so much time left in this city, because I feel like it's a big maze to explore.

Hope you all are well. Much love from Roma,
Katherine