oh my pizza

I just ate a whole pizza.

the end

buona sera

It has been a few days since I have updated this – so here it is!

The past few days have been really laid back; that’s the way I like it. We’ve started class and have been drowned in Italian (in the nicest possible way). I have purchased a purse, two scarves, and the Sandlot in Italian! I am waiting until we come back from Florence to make any big purchases. Which reminds me – We are going to Florence tomorrow! Bridgid, Lizzy, Olivia and I are taking the train to Firenze tomorrow afternoon. There, we will explore and I will get to see Kelly O’Connor – a sweet friend from high school! She is studying abroad in Florence this year through Pepperdine University. I am so excited. And then hopefully on Sunday, my friend Elena and I will be going to church here. I really hope so!

Class has been great, but almost exhausted. Today was the craziest day by far. After 3 hours of grammar and vocabulary, we had a special guest lecturer, Fabio Caramasci, come and speak to us. Two days ago we watched his documentary on the Tuareg tribe immigrating to Italy and today we were able to ask him questions. HE SPOKE SO FAST. I cannot explain this in a better way. SO FAST. THE FASTEST. But it was really interesting trying to understand and keep up with what he was saying. Usually in class we don’t really get to speak as the ‘natives’ do, so it was extremely eye-opening.

One confession: Two nights ago I ate at Burger King. I know, I’m horrible but eating out at Italian restaurants every night is really getting to me. It has never been my favorite kind of food and it was so rich and carb-y that I broke and got some chicken fingers. Sorry, everyone. I had to.

Tonight we have a test to do and then I’m going to bed! And then Florence! And then Church! And then Boston! This is so awesome. I love everyone in the program and getting to know them more than just as classmates. People are so incredible. Everyone has such a cool life journey.

Ciao!

today's adventure

1. Trevi Fountain during the daytime

2. The Pantheon

3. Piazza Navona

4. The Vatican, Vatican City

5. Vatican Post Office

6. Stopped at a Cafe for a snack

7. Rode the Metro to Via Nazionale

-Bought food at the supermercado

-Had some down time

-AWESOME, cheap, delicious dinner

-Hangin' with friends

this experience has already been more than words

rome: day two

we found love in a roman place

Today our adventures were all about Ancient Rome.

We saw the Palentine Hill, the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, Roman Capitol, and many other wonderful sites! Lizzy, Elena, and I bought lunch at a panini stand and ate sitting in front of the Colosseum. How many times do you get to do that?

We have walked so much - my calves will be so buff by the end of these two weeks. I am actually excited for class to start so that we have some structure in our schedules. But site seeing is also a blast.

For dinner we stopped by a small ristorante and while we were eating they played quality musica americana ("Wrapped Around Your Finger - The Police and "School's Out For Summer") I laughed because we had been talking about that earlier.

A few things I have learned about Romans

1. Everyone wears one of those puffy winter coat with the little puffy squares

2. Sometimes speaking English gets you good things and sometimes it gets you bad things

3. One man was wearing a Yankees hat today

I bought a postcard from the Colosseum today! Time for bed

Ti voglio bene,

Grace

il primo giorno a Roma

Ciao!

Today was our first day in Roma - what an adventure!

First, our group took our first flight from Boston to Frankfurt, Germany. It was so interesting hearing German as the primary language on the flight. We had fun watching movies, sleeping and eating some quality airplane food. Next, our second flight was from Frankfurt to Rome. Upon landing in Rome and getting our bags, we waited for our Professor and then took a bus through the center of Rome to our hotel.

The hotel is this really small bed and breakfast kind of place where you turn in your key every time you leave and the staff is very friendly and willing to help you speak Italian. After taking a nap and having a group meeting, a majority of us headed off into the city for dinner and walking.

Walking around the city was such a cool experience right off the bat. You start walking and as soon as you turn the corner, there are ancient ruins to your right and museums to your left. For dinner we found a sit-down pizzeria and ate some great pizza. My body was exhausted after the 3 flights in 3 days and walking and not eating for two days. (yeaa...)

And we saw the Fontana di Trevi! It was gorgeous and humungous and so awesome to see in person. After dinner, we had to eat gelato - of course! That was the cherry on op for me. Such a cool first night in Rome. Tomorrow is Epiphany, a national holiday, so stores will be closed. But we can walk around and have a ball.

It is great being here with everyone. I am excited for class to start and becoming more comfortable with the surroundings. What an amazing opportunity this is!

Buona notte,

Grace

stop: checker time

After a wonderful night at Institute, Kendrick and I decided to continue our not-doing-homework streak and instead, we played a nice game of Checkers.

It was great!

Life has been so busy and wild lately - I loved taking some time out of the day to have a bit of fun