My First Week in Rome!

Hey Guys!!! A week ago today I was boarding my first flight and on my way to Italy!!! Since then, classes have begun and I've been having a lot of fun! So far, I've been to my architecture in Rome class, a religion class, and Italian 101, which will hopefully help me while here in Rome haha! The Rome Center is nice, minus the community bathrooms and the freezing cold showers in the morning... The food at the Rome Center is a little bland, but I guess that will make all the authentic Italian food we eat in Rome even better! Living with Anna is fun and having more friends right down the hall is also nice!

So far, I have actually seen a lot! The second night we were here, we headed to downtown Rome and we went to Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps (Sara, I thought of you while there because you have always talked about them!) At the Trevi Fountain I threw a .05 euro in and made a wish, just like in the movie "When in Rome" haha! The next day, Loyola took us to Assisi, Italy for orientation. Assisi is a small town about three hours north of Rome. It was absolutely beautiful! The town was filled with hills and steps, so I at least know I worked off all of the great Italian cuisine I had while I was there! Our first day in Assisi, we were given a guided tour of St. Francis Cathedral and St. Clara's, which both were amazing. In St. Francis I lit two candles for my Papa and my Grandma Brokamp. Assisi is known for being the place of St. Francis cathedral and while there, we saw many animals including dogs, cats, and ducks (I was in heaven)! Then our second day, we went an hour north of Assisi to a town called Gubbio. While there it was siesta, so the town was pretty dead, but it gave us a chance to "roam" around (haha) and soak in our surroundings. The next day, our last day, we climbed up to a castle in Assisi and once up there, was able to see the entire town, it was a great way to end the trip!

Since being back from Assisi, I have started classes, all of which are lead by Italian professors (which I love)! Yesterday we walked around the area by campus and went looking for school supplies, which was a little difficult, but we managed! Now it is Thursday and here in Rome that means the weekend has begun! We plan on spending most of it around Rome and on Saturday Loyola is sponsoring a trip to Hadrian's Villa which should be interesting! I'll keep you all updated! Have fun in Chicago and a Happy 25th Birthday shout out to my mom!!!! Love you!!!!

We made it to Roma!!!

Hey everyone!!! We made it to Roma safe and sound yesterday morning! My flight went very smoothly and I wasn't too scared at all, except for take off, which was a little scary. All is going well and it is absolutely beautiful here! Once we landed and got our luggage together, we took a taxi to Loyola's Rome Center (where we are living) and settled in. After sleeping for a few hours, we went out for our first night in Roma! We went to a pizzeria called "La Dama" and had authentic magherita pizza and my first legal glass of vino de roso haha! Today we have had some meetings for paper work that is allowing us to stay in the country and later today we are all going on a tour of our neighborhood. Tonight we plan on going out downtown and seeing what the nightlife is like here as well! I hope all is going well in Chicago and I do miss home, but I do love it here and am very glad to have some of my closest friends with me! I gotta go, we're having lunch soon (it's almost 1pm here) but I will talk to you all soon! Love you all!
-Dana-