So I want to say that I'm going to write this blog for two reasons. The first is almost an egotistical one but I am going to say it anyways: You want to read and follow what I am doing in Rome and abroad. Maybe I shouldn't feel like anybody cares about what I do over here, but, hey, you might, so I'm going to give you, the reader, every opportunity to live vicariously through me. The second is for myself. In such an exciting time, it's always helpful to write down what you've done over the last couple of days so that you can organize your thoughts, fully appreciate what you have done, and lastly, but most importantly, relive the experience once you come back home. It's a strange feeling knowing that in 3 short months this will all be over, but I'm going to try to make it the best trip I can. Now that this longwinded disclaimer is over, let's get going!
My travel day to Rome can only be expressed in one word: Long. It was thoroughly uneventful, which is definitely a positive when we are talking about airline travel. I read almost 300 pages of my book on my 6 hour flight to Philly, and watched 3 movies on my flight to Rome. My flight to Rome had probably 80 college students on it, the majority of them being from Temple. I arrived in Rome at around 9 o'clock local time, and by this point had been travelling for 16 hours straight. IES graciously provided us with a room in the airport to debrief and have a snack, and had organized a shuttle service straight to our apartments, saving us a train trip to Termini Station and then a taxi ride to the apartment.
Our apartment is quite big for Rome, with 7 people living in it. Our ISC (Italian Student Companion) is a really nice guy and will be a helpful resource in getting around the city and the rest of Italy in general. After getting unpacked and generally settled into our apartment, the guys that live in the neighborhood all went on a walk to get a feel of our surrounding environment. I'll let this picture do the talking:
Its really an incredible place, and I'm not sure that it's hit me that I will be living here for 3 months. I think Ill write about all of the things that I notice and deem interesting. But for now, I'll just post a few pictures from the first day. Ciao tutti!
