Arrival in Trastevere

Hello from Rome! 

Well I've been here in Italy for four days and I feel like I've done SO MUCH already! My legs feel the same way, they've been aching from the 5-6 hour daily walks my roommates and I have been taking. 

The apartment I'm in is really huge, I have't gotten around to taking pictures of it yet (we've been out of the house quite a bit), but I'll get around to eventually I'm sure. The only issue we have with the place is that there's no wifi here yet. It was broken when we got here and hasn't been fixed yet (crossing our fingers it will be tomorrow) so we've been stealing the finicky wifi from our neighbors across the hall who are also AUR students. 

The first day was mostly unpacking until about 5 when we decided to walk to the school for a night walking tour of Rome. Before we left, we studied the map we had, confident that it would take about 30 minutes to get there. An hour and a half later, we arrived. Tired, hungry as hell, and not really in the mood for anything that involved walking. We were told to go to a pizza shop nearby for a quick bite before the tour--I got 2 slices of a margherita pizza for 3.50 euros--and we were ready for the tour. 

On Friday (day 2), One of my roommates and I went up to the school (it only took 20 minutes this time, HUH!) for some morning yoga which turned out to be a really good workout in itself. After, we met the rest of the roomies and most of the students of AUR in the school's courtyard for a BBQ lunch.  From there, we decided to venture out to the other side of the river (the side the school and our apartment are on is more residential Rome, where authentic Italians and their families live, work, buy groceries, and go to school) to visit some of Rome's attractions in broad daylight. The following are some of the highlights:

The Pantheon:

Some Beautiful Church That I Don't Know the Name of:

Building in the City Center that Mousselini Spoke Atop of:

Altare della Patria:

We took an elevator to the top of the Altare della Patria so see the beautiful panoramic views of Rome. It was one of the most beautiful views I've ever seen. We could see the Pantheon, the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, Vatican City and a ton of buildings and dome roofs of buildings we don't know the name of. The pictures DO NOT do it justice (sorry). 

The dome in the picture below is the Pantheon roof.

Another Beautiful Church I Don't Know the Name of:

The sky was beautiful around 5pm

The Roman Forum Ruins:

The Colosseum at Dusk:

So clearly it was a very good day. Along the way to all of these sights, we got some delicious gelato (I got tiramisu and espresso), there was well over 50 flavors that the shop we stopped in, it was extremely overwhelming. After all of this walking around, my roommates and I came back to our apartment, made pasta dinner and had our first Italian wine (which cost 2.50 euros). 

Today, we woke up early and walked along the river to Vatican City to visit the museum (it's free to the public the last Saturday of every month). There was a massive line and once we got in we felt like a herd of cattle walking through, but the views in the Sistine Chapel were absolutely breathtaking. Michelangelo was truly an amazing artist (with an odd sense of humor--a cardinal once told him that he didn't like his art and Michelangelo painted the cardinal naked in the Sistine Chapel being dragged by a snake into the inferno). 

After we left the museum, we walked out into the Vatican Square where there were a TON of people singing with flags of their home countries waiting to hear Pope Francis (Papa Francesco) come out and speak. We were completely unaware of any of this and were delighted to get to see the entirety of the Popes speech (which was completely in Italian, but we could understand the Hail Mary). It was an amazing experience. All of the people, actually seeing the Pope...it was bringing tears to my eyes. Here's some of the good pictures. If you look hard, you can see Pope Francis in the window behind the statue.

St. Peter's Basilica:

Pope Francis' Window:

Jumbo-Tron for Far Away Viewers:

Closer picture of the Pope:

SO Many People

Needless to say, it's been a pretty busy 4 days. I start my classes tomorrow (bright and early at 9am) and I'm excited to get a routine going. My roommates and I are planning on exploring more of Rome next weekend and perhaps traveling to Milan for the following weekend. 

I'll keep you all updated (hopefully weekly) of my adventures!

Thanks for reading,

Kasey Ann

The Road to Rome

T minus 19 days until takeoff.

My visa went through successfully (and surprisingly quick), I have new giant suitcases to tote all of my belongings and I have a sweet new wardrobe (complete with scarves).

I AM SO READY!

HOWEVER....I'm getting nervous. I am, after all, going to a different country without knowing anyone, how to get anywhere or how to even speak the language. The first week or two or three will definitely be an adjustment.

I'll be arriving in Rome around 1pm local time (that's 7am ET) on the 22nd of January and heading straight to the university from the airport. Upon my arrival to the school, I will be given my apartment address and key. The apartment is described as being within "traveling distance" from the university...so I'll be traveling somehow to get there, where I'll unpack a bit and try to stay awake as long as possible.

The next two days are all-day orientations for international students at the American University of Rome. That's basically all I know, but I can assume it includes some sort of welcoming party followed by hours of information and people asking too many questions. I'll be able to get through it as long as there's free snacks...

After that, I'm completely free for one whole day, and then classes begin (which hopefully won't keep me too busy).

As far as traveling goes, the first few weeks will probably be pretty low-key. I'm planning on getting to know the city of Rome before I jet off to different countries--partly so I can figure out where the nearest restaurants/train stations/markets are, and partly because I know I'm going to be pretty overwhelmed for a bit after I arrive.

For those of you who would like to keep in contact with me during my trip, you have several options:

• Those with a smartphone can download the app "What's App". It's a messaging app that will allow you to sent texts to me over wireless internet since I won't be able to use my phone network. I recommend trying this form of contact with me beforehand because the process of adding contacts can be finicky.
• Those that use Facebook can use the messenger to "text" me. Similarly, it will send the messages over wifi.
• Those with a Skype or FaceTime account can use either to contact me. Just let me know if you'd like to go that route and we can set up times to call and swap contact information.
• Those with none of the above can simply email me or just continue reading the blog as I'll be posting semi-regularly to share pictures and updates.

Additionally, if anyone would like my Rome address, let me know and I'll share it with you as soon as I find out what it is.

Let it be known that I am uncontrollably excited about this, and here's a few GIFs to demonstrate my excitement:

This is where I leave you, folks! Next time you hear from me, I'll be in Rome!

Thoughts for next time: Culture shock, taking classes abroad, living in Italy.