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

Assisi and beyond

Ciao,

It seems like forever ago since I wrote and I don't even know where to begin on what to say about everything. Things are good. The trip to Assisi was a great time to bond with everybody more on the trip. It was such a small beautiful town and lots of fun to explore. People's names are starting to stick in my head more, but there are still a lot to learn.

It will be interesting how the next couple of weeks pan out with classes starting. My first day of classes is tomorrow. I have three, History, Italian, and Film. I'm also taking a Roman Art class, which I'm pretty excited about as well. I bought the majority of my books today. I also went to the Post Office to turn in all my paperwork to officially be legal in the country. And we might also have to go to the Police station in a couple of weeks to get fingerprinted. Lots to do.

I've been down in the neighborhood a bunch more now and slowly learning my way. I like going out in the city. It can become overwhelming at points, but it's fun to explore, get lost, and then realize where you are. I bought a map and have been looking at all the places I want to go and see. A few of us tried to find the Pantheon tonight, but were not successful. I'm thinking it will be good to go during the day though. I just need to dedicate a whole day to Rome.

The Rome Center is becoming a bit more like home. I like having Marriam as my roommate, I know I have a little place I can come back to at night and just breathe. Right now a ton of people are downstairs in one of the main hang out areas, Rinaldo's. It's where everyone gets WiFi. So I am successfully on my Mac, but I still haven't been able to upload any of my pictures to Facebook yet. I'm going to put a few in here as well, but I want them to go up so everyone can see them.

So I have officially almost been here a week and on the one hand it already feels like I have been here for a month, but on the other I can't believe it. I think there is still lots of adjusting going on for everyone, but Rome and Italy are so beautiful. I loved traveling from Rome to Assisi, listening to my music on the bus and looking at the countryside. Assisi was so beautiful! I would love to live there. We went on a 3 mile hike all uphill on Monday, it killed my legs, but the view from the top was spectacular.

At night, we found this great wine bar in one of the main piazza's, where a ton of students were. It was a lot of fun as well.

But going to start getting ready for my first day of classes tomorrow. Wish me luck! I will update and upload photos as soon as I can.

Love

Katherine

Piazza di Spagna

Ciao!
It's amazing the miracles sleep can do. Today was a lot of fun. We went and explored the neighborhood a lot more. There are so many cute places, I can't wait to go to all of them. When I woke up this morning I totally had forgotten I was in Rome. I was having some dream about being home and to wake up and see out the window that beautiful courtyard was awesome and really confusing all at the same time.

It doesn't feel like January here. I mean it gets cold in the evenings, but during the day when the sun is out you don't even need a jacket. I'm still amazed by how many kids are here and from other schools. There are a lot from SLU and Marquette, also a few from San Fransisco. I know I will eventually learn who everyone is, but it will take awhile.

So tonight we had a huge group of people go into the city. We found the bus stop and took it down. We weren't exactly sure where to get off, but we ended up getting off at the right spot. Then we kind of got lost, but there were so many of us, it was fun. Rome is strange with the fact that one minute you are walking down a really narrow street with nothing around you and the next thing you know you are standing in front of the Spanish steps! We also went to the Trevi fountain and other random places but I'm not sure exactly of the name. I can't wait to see more sites around Rome. Going to this famous places makes me believe I'm in Europe.

I got my first Italian gelato tonight too. Delicious. Nutella. The best thing ever! I'm using my Italian, I want to get better. I asked a random woman for directions and talked to the cab driver a little bit. It's all good practice. Everyone seems pretty friendly so far. Of course they know we are Americans, but I feel like as long as we are trying to speak the language they will talk to us.

Tomorrow morning we leave for Assisi. We will be there for 3ish days. I'm really excited to go. It's up in the mountains so it will be colder, but apparently there is a great hike we can go on and I think that will just be beautiful. So I won't be updating for a little while because I will be there.

It's also my plan to get my pictures up online as soon as possible. My mac is not online yet, so I've been using the computers in the lab. No one has figured out wireless it seems. Soon enough. But I do have photos!

Buona notte!

First Day

This has been without a doubt the longest 36 hours of my life. I haven't slept except for like 2 hours on the plane, or maybe it was longer, I'm not sure.

Since getting here, everything has been in some weird time warp. My biological clock is so off, it's gotten to the point where I feel constantly dizzy. I know sleep will eventually soon be in my future. I will definitely admit that I'm feeling extremely overwhelmed with everything going on. I know it's only the first day though, and that's just how this goes.

The weather is really nice here, it might only be 50 degrees, but it feels much warmer, especially with seeing palm trees everywhere. That is really nice. It doesn't quite feel like I'm in Rome yet though cause I haven't been down into the city. But a bunch of us are planning on doing that tomorrow, which should be a good time. There are so many students here, it feels like a lot more than 250. But 250 is a lot.

We went on a little walk of the neighborhood today, nothing too big though. We will be doing more tomorrow. I think each day will get a little bit better. Right now it is overwhelming just thinking of everything that needs to be done, unpacked, organized, bought, etc etc.

But it is nice to have my phone working, a connection to the outside world. To the real outside world. Because I really feel like I'm in another universe. I will post soon.

Love
Katherine

2 suitcases, 5 months

It's hard fitting your life in two suitcases. That's why I have to keep telling myself the next 5 months of my life are not going to be like any other months I have experienced, so it's ok to not take my Sion shorts or Loyola shirts. I have to live differently.

It's hard to believe this journey is about to begin. I've been planning this for so long, it's strange for it to finally be happening. Of course I can't even express how incredibly excited I am to be going. It will be life changing, wonderful, intense, crazy, and beautiful.

I feel very lucky to have some of my best friends going with me. As I'm sure you will be hearing about in many of my posts there are Adri, Marriam, and Josh. As the semester starts they will be my core, but I can't wait to meet so many new amazing people.

Tomorrow I will be leaving KC, going to Chicago, and probably picking up some Garrett's popcorn as I travel between Midway and O'hare. And then Rome Friday morning.

I think it will be good for me to have this blog, not only so people can keep up with me, but also for reflection. I do write in a journal, but this will be a different and important way of recording the trip and my thoughts.

I will be in touch soon!