our hearts are beating and our feet they got a long, long way to go

Ok, I promised you more about Rome, so let’s start from the beginning.

Upon our arrival, Grace and I lugged our ridiculously heavy suitcases up four flights of stairs to our room instead of using the elevator. We were separating the boys from the men, as my papa would say. Or maybe we were just too impatient to wait for the elevator. Either way, we made it and finally got settled in. We are staying in a lovely room with a bathtub! I am so stoked for bath time. Our bathroom also has a queer looking contraption called a bidet, which I am not as stoked about.

After we unpacked our lives and put everything in its proper place, we were shown the SMC Library, our classroom building, and Pascucci’s, which are all conveniently located on the same street. We then walked further down the street and bam, there was the Pantheon. Right in our backyard. After our tour, some of the girls and I went to the creatively named Super Pizza and bought a delicious slice of REAL Italian pizza. We sat by a fountain in front of the Pantheon and ate while live music was being played nearby. Afterwards, Grace and I walked back to the room and had some good bonding time. We are quite the pair. The other day someone told us that we win the cutest couple award. Fact.

Grace and I have had good and bad experiences with the Romans. The other day while we were searching for school supplies, a lady stopped us on the street and asked us for directions in Italian. Even though we were no help whatsoever, we still felt special because someone actually thought we were Italian! Ten points to Gryffindor for not looking like dumb tourists. But later that evening, we were walking down the street with Sophia and Kaitlyn, (who both happen to be tall blondes with blue eyes and the same sassy personality) and two Italian men said some inappropriate things to us in English. So much for looking authentic.

I do get a chance to practice my Italian whenever I visit Pascucci’s, which is a restaurant and bar that we have a meal plan at. There is a cute boy that works behind the counter named Salvatore. He is always happy to see us and converse with us in Italian. He also makes a mean frulatti.

Ok, let’s talk about the reason I am here: school. I have now had the pleasure of experiencing each of my classes. As previously stated, I love love love my Archaeology prof. I can’t not pay attention in her class. She is intelligent and sassy and just has a way about her that demands your attention whenever she walks into the room. The workload for the class will be heavy, but totally worth it. My Western Civ. prof is an older gentleman who wears sweater vests with a polo that sticks out at least a good six inches at the bottom. He is slightly deaf and very Italian. He knows his stuff, and everything about him says “history.” I think he will be a great professor. My Italian professor is a petite woman with super short, super curly hair. She will only speak to us in Italian for the entire two hour class. This is intimidating, but she is very sweet and she uses a lot of hand gestures and has a wonderful smile. My Theology professor is a little Irish priest with ear hair and the amazing ability to remember people’s names. He is quite adorable and wicked smart. I am really pumped to be further studying theology here in Rome.

Tonight after dinner, Grace, Sophia, and I walked to the Piazza Navona in order to explore another part of the city. The piazza has a beautiful fountain in the center and there were tons of art vendors selling paintings while different street musicians were playing their instruments. We checked out the window displays of a few shops on our walk back to the piazza of Minerva. We decided to check out the inside of the Pantheon, which is in fact a church. A few Roman kings’ coffins are located inside, as well as the famous painter Raphael.  There are so many cool dead people in Italy! Who knew?!

Grace and I also had an impromptu dance party in our room when we got back.

Tomorrow, I don’t have class until 2:20, so we have the whole morning to explore. Oh, the possibilities.

God is good. I am the luckiest of all the allie birds. And at this moment, I am the sleepiest of all the birds as well.  

The wineskin and my eyes are dry,

though the spirit and the truth abide,

when you stir throughout the wakeless night,

stir and sigh.

buonanotte.