"That's the Vatican!"

On my second night in Rome I decided that I needed to get out into the city. I went out with a group of students from the JFRC. We were trying to get to a neighbor hood on the side of the river opposite the Vatican so we all got on a bus which be believed would take us there. After a while we realized the bus was not going to take us where we thought it was and got off at the next available stop. We decided just to explore the area where we were. We found the river and a street festival/market on the river and walked around a bit. When we came out on the other side of the market we noticed a castle. Yes, a castle!

We walked all the way around the
Castle Sant Angelo and found a honking set of doors that was extremely impressive. After circling the building and realizing the entrance was were we started we went back to get inside, but stopped to get a view from the bridge leading into the castle. I saw a big dome and asked Matt (the most knowledgeable in Italian language and culture) what it was. "That's the Vatican!" was his reply. So of course we headed off to the Vatican.

As we drew closer to St. Peter's Square it hit me: I am in Rome! The square was blocked for the night but I stood at the edge in total awe of St. Peter's Basilica. It was even better than I imagined, glowing against the night sky in all its majesty. After taking our time to soak in the fact that we were at the Vatican we decided to walk around the wall to see if there was a place to get a drink (later we got some granitas which are kind of like snow cones only way better).

On the way we found a water fountain coming out of the Vatican wall. Since we were hot and thirsty we  decided to drink from the fountain that we figured must be holy water since it was pouring out of the side of the Vatican. It was cool and refreshing and from the Vatican Wall! I am so glad that we got on the wrong bus and happened to see the Vatican. It was absolutely amazing!

Mmmm - my taste buds like it here

My first night in here in Rome I was so tired I wanted to go to bed early so instead of going out with a big group to explore I decided to go out for a short walk with Oanh Ho (who works at the Office of International Programs in Chicago and is visiting Rome). The weather was a little cooler so it was nice to walk through the quite streets of my new neighborhood. We happened upon a small local gelateria and decided we had to go in. What better way could there be to end our first day in Rome than with a gelato?! The owner was so nice as he helped us pick from the many flavors. I decided to get peach and then upon the owners instistance got a second flavor - strawberry. For a generous cup of the two flavors it was only €1.50 and it was absolutely delicious. It was so creamy and refreshing, and the atmosphere was perfect sitting in the little gelateria. The owner was closing for the evening so we moved outside and were going to walk with our gelato but he insisted that we sit and enjoy for another five minutes. It made me think that part of being here is about savoring: savoring the flavors and the culture and taking my time.

My first gelato

In the basement of the JFRC there is a little cafe where you can buy breakfast. The adorable lady at the counter already knew before I said anything that I wanted one of the amazing looking crossaints. It was delicious with just the right amount of sweetness.The next day I went back for an iced cappuccino and it was really good too! Oh, and I am glad to say that my condition of being a juice-aholic is being satisfied with juice available everyday in the cafeteria.

On Friday night I went to a dinner organized my the JFRC at a local restaurant. There was a ton of students that went and it was so much fun. I really liked the white wine and the food was amazing. We had bruschetta and toasted bread with eggplant, little sandwiches, and pasta with the best tomato sauce I've ever tasted. It was so good and sitting at dinner laughing and talking with my fellow students was wonderful! So far Rome is delicious!

Phew - I made it and its hot!

View from my room

YAY! I made it to Rome! I made it past my nine hour flight which didn't have individual screens for movies but instead was old-school field trip bus style. However, the flight did include wine, which wasn't great but hey it was wine.The music from the cd mix-master Anna (and help from Emily too) got me through the plane ride. I then proceeded to make it past the stressful baggage claim and the waiting in the non-airconditioned bus and the bus ride and now I am finally here at the John Felice Rome Center (JFRC). It is sweltering. I had to change my shirt three times already because it is sooooooooooooo hot. There are only a select few rooms at the JFRC with air conditioning. After a crazy check-in we hand lunch. I know this may come as a shock but I had pasta. It was quite yummy, and the fruit and yogurt for dessert was very refreshing. After lunch I unpacked a little in my room which has a gorgeous view of the courtyard, and then headed off on a walking tour exposing myself to the unforgiving Roman sun. I still don't know if it has really sunk in that I am in Rome, but that my just be my utter exhaustion. I can't connect my laptop to the internet yet so no skype and my pictures may be limited. Hopefully I can get some gelato soon so I can cool off! Thanks everyone for all the prayers and well wishes (and secret notes in my luggage)! Now I'm going to go eat some dinner and probably go to sleep so I can start my adventure refreshed tomorrow.

Gearing up to go - TO ROME!

Packing, planning, packing… This will probably be my constant status till Wednesday (August 25^th) when I depart for Rome. Rome!!!! I can’t believe that in less than a week I will be leaving to go to Italy for a whole semester. I am so excited to start my year of travel and research.

For those of you who don’t know me I am a junior at Loyola University Chicago majoring in Religious Studies. This academic year I will be a part of the Ricci Scholars Program, which means I am spending the fall in Rome and the spring in Beijing. I will be working on a cross-cultural research project studying sacred spaces, looking at how sacred spaces function in different cultures (particularly Rome and Beijing).

So, even though I’m not packed I’m extremely excited to head off to Rome to start my adventure! The next time I write I will be in Roma!