"I wish...."

GELATO!!!

Trevi Fountain WISH
Yesterday we went to Trevi Fountain! This was my first time seeing the fountain! It was GORGEOUS!!! I made my wish and the first time I threw my coin in, I MISSED!! OOPS!!! But I made it on my second try! We walked around near the Spanish Steps and did some shopping. I bought 2 scarves at a street venders which I love! They were only 5 Euros each! I opted out of shopping at Dolce and Gabbana and Versace. I thought they might be out of my price range. What do you think MOM?? :) School has been pretty overwhelming. I have been keeping up and getting ahead of my course schedule, but the reading is extremely tedious. I have probably read more in the last two weeks than I have in my existence!!! We have read Oedipus the King by Sophocles, Phaedo by Plato, Letters of Ignatius, Art and Architechure readings, and a TON of Ancient Roman History in some of Livy's works; as you can see, very very time consuming and tedious.

Well, we are off to Assisi tomorrow, for the weekend. It should be a great trip. The weather is looking very very chilly, a possibility to snow!!! I am really looking forward to this trip, and I am sure I will come back with TONS of pictures!!

Mariana and I on the Metro.

Rosy's and Scavenger Hunt

Last night and the night before we walked a little over a mile to a nearby town to a bar called Rosy's. The first night we interacted with some Italian men while watching the European soccer games. Our soccer boys from UD challenged them to a game of fuz ball, which the Italians dominated. They were extremely friendly, but there was such a language barrier. It was very tough, considering we only knew English, and they, only Italian. We went again last night, just for a drink and some of the same men were there. It was very enjoyable getting to know some of the locals. We hope to continue to become "one of the locals" as well!

TODAY was SCAVENGER HUNT DAY! The staff at our school broke our class into groups of 12 and gave us a list of probably 90 items. We had to take a picture in front of something on the list and the picture had to contain atleast half of the group members, and a sign given to us saying scavenger hunt. The list consisted of pictures ranging from in front of Old Bridge Gelato, to an Italian couple locking lips. It was really challenging asking an Italian couple in English to kiss for an extended period of time, especially considering they did not understand us. It was very fun. We concluded the hunt by eating pizza and sitting at the Colloseum. It was really neat and we were able to get to know kids that we hadn't really communicated with.

Tonight we had the annual wine tasting night. Our campus priest led the tasting and we tried 2 whites and 2 reds. They were great, but my favorite was a red wine called SantaCastino, made in Sicily. The food was absolutely delicious. We started with appetizers of cheese, sausage, salami, grilled zucchini, peppers, bread, and a HUGE ROASTED PIG. The main course consisted of homemade LASAGNA and Eggplant Parmesan. We concluded with an array of desserts like torts, an interesting pound cake, and a lemony cheesecake type dessert. The evening was overall a lovely experience.

First

Day

Of

The

Sites

"This is an academic program"

"Back to school, back to school, to prove to dad I'm not a fool"

-Billy Madison

Today was our first day of school. Although today was not terribly challenging, this semester is going to be ROUGH. The courses are neat because they all relate to European history and the culture here in Rome, so the academics are very "hands on" and visual, which will be wonderful. The teachers have high expectations and the curriculum is very reading intensive. I believe our "book count" is somewhere between 40 and 50. The faculty and staff are really great and passionate about their profession, which makes learning very intriguing. Today I had Western Civilization I and Western Theological Tradition today (and I already have homework in both, but I've already finished all the reading...and I am probably the only person on campus to have done so already!). Tomorrow I have Literary Traditions III, Philosophy of Man, and Art and Architecture. I hope tomorrow is as lovely as today.

Until then, Danielle

Rome Day 1

Today was a wonderful day, after all of our orientation meetings of course. We took a bus into Rome as a class today and did a tiny tour just to get to know some major things in the city. What a beautiful city!! Pictures do NO justice! The sights are magnificant. We saw the Colosseum, the Pantheon, Vatican City and St Peter's Basilica (and attended a mass said in Latin with 1000 of Rome's citizens, where they announced our presense!), and ate GELATO!!! Well, classes start tomorrow and I need to get some sleep.

Love, D

FINALLY MADE IT!!!

HELLO from ROMA!!!

Its absolutely BEAUTIFUL here!!! The flight went well. I only slept for 30 minutes, so I'm seriously lacking sleep at this moment. It is gorgeous out; the weather is fabulous. It is sunny and in the 50s. Our campus is stunning. I never would have thought that it could be so perfect, after living in Irving! Well, we are finally getting settled into our TINY room, and I MEAN TINY! We are opening some wine now. Better get to the drinks :)

Love, D

Well Hello..

I've created this blog to keep my family and friends updated with my trip to Rome, Italy. I will be studying there from January 18 to May 6th. I am very excited to embark on this new adventure. I know this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I feel very blessed to have such an opportunity. Thanks to everyone for support and I'll be sure to share PLENTY of pictures when I return.

Love, Danielle