The End of the Journey

I have been home for several weeks now. I am surprisingly content with being home, though my desire for traveling again grows stronger every day. While I love spending time with my family, in my hometown, and in my home, I miss jumping on a plane to another country every weekend. It’s nearly impossible to describe the disappointment of another weekend passing and having no incredible stories of journeys, new friends, or exciting adventures. However, there is something to be said about being home. There truly is no place like it – the familiarity of it alone is something I craved greatly during my time in Europe. I love having more than a handful of options when it comes to clothing, shoes, and hair products, and while the ridiculous amount of options when it comes to shopping and picking items in a store makes life increasingly more stressful, it’s nice to be back in the places I know and love.

My readjustment in America has not been as expected. I knew I’d be happy to be here, I guess I just underestimated how much joy I would experience in my daily activities. Seeing my Aunt’s familiar face as I walked out of the airport, drinking iced tea, eating American food, driving my car, spending time with my family, and simply sitting in my normal chair in my comfortable house are all things that filled my heart so much as I did them for the first time.

I don’t know if my experience is abnormal or something that others go through too, but I haven’t missed Rome as much as I anticipated. Sure, I had the time of my life – I learned so many things about myself, others, Italian culture, and traveling, but I think being away from America caused me to appreciate life my own country more. Someday I will return to Europe, I will revisit my favorite places, and I will continue to pursue a life of traveling, but for the time being (for today anyway) I’m happy to be where I am.

Italy has forever changed me. I grew so much during my three months abroad not only in learning things I like and dislike, but also the type of person I want to be and how I want to live my life with those around me. I’m far more independent than I was before my journey (thanks to my solo travels in Ireland – possibly my all time favorite!) and I have such a broader understanding of how life works and what’s important to me. I learned other cultures and their histories, I learned people, I learned life.

I am so blessed to have lived in Rome and explored the world. In three months I visited 14 cities in 9 countries; survived 16 flights, a couple nights in the airport; took 10 trains, and made hundreds of trips on the bus and metro; was body searched in 6 of 9 airports; made countless friends from countless countries on every trip I took; and ate more gelato, pizza, and pasta than I care to admit. Without evidence that those three months actually did happen, I’m not sure I would believe it. However, I have no doubt that I would do it all over again.

I desired to make memories all over the world, and I did.

A Long Trip Home and Tears in the Candy Aisle

Home sweet home has a new meaning in my mind – I can’t remember the last time I was filled with so much joy, and my home is the culprit behind this over-happiness crime! After the longest journey I could have imagined, I finally made it home this afternoon and I cannot express just how content I am here!

My trip home from Rome was a long, strenuous, exhausting one. By the time I was able to lay down and sleep I had been awake for over 50 hours and had reached the point where my body had forgotten how to do the whole “sleep” thing. The time difference hit me hard and I made it through several waves of exhaustion and energy boosts. Though I only slept 4 1/2 hours last night, it was more than enough to give me energy to be excited about arriving at my house!

My journey began with packing up the rest of my belongings, carrying my bags out of the convent and waiting for the shuttles to get there to take us to the airport. When they got there, we loaded our luggage and were on our way. Unfortunately, due to the fact that Italian drivers are crazy, we experienced some major motion sickness and an incident of one of us getting sick.. not the best way to start out the day. At the airport, we printed our tickets and checked our luggage – my checked bag was 2 kg overweight but I wasn’t charged for it because the woman at my desk was a saint! (Thank goodness for her!) Then when everyone had made it through, we prayed one last time as a group then said goodbye to Kristen and Dr. Cole to make our way through security. I prayed extra for my trip through security.. I was not willing to have an issues.. and I didn’t! We all passed through quickly and waited at our gate for about 2 hours before boarding the flight and taking off. I sat by Bryanna on the flight, but the plane was very empty! The woman in the middle aisle next to us was the only one in the row so she had four seats to lay across to sleep on the way (lucky woman!)

We each had a tv in front of us with lots of movie options, so that’s what I did – I watched four movies! Bryanna and I simultaneously watched “If I stay..” (so strange), then I watched “the Maze Runner”, “Frozen”, and “the Little Mermaid” – I was very pleased! I attempted to sleep and failed several times.. I am physically unable to sleep on planes. Finally, after getting a little motion sick within the last 45 minutes in the air, we landed in Pennsylvania!

My flight from Rome to Philadelphia left at 11:35am Rome time / 5:35am home time. It was a ten hour flight so I arrived in Philly a little after 3:30pm. Then we had to go through customs (I made it through with no issues! I’m so thankful for that!) and wait at baggage claim for a few minutes to get our bags. Then we walked to the baggage re-check, dropped off our bags, and went through another security check-point to enter the departure gates. Again, I had no problems with security and everyone was so kind! Then I separated from the rest of my group – I headed straight to my gate, B15. I had a 5 hour layover before my flight to Indy, it was supposed to leave at 8:45pm. However, by the end of the night, it had been delayed three hours and estimated to leave at 11:30pm instead. I had to sit in the airport for 8 hours.. by myself.. and boy was I exhausted! I tried to sleep, and failed. So instead I facetime chatted with some of my friends at Geneva! I miss them so much! I kept updating Aunt Cheryl about my arrival in Indy, and it finally settled on 1:00am..

I boarded the tiny plane at 11:15pm and there were only two seats in each aisle, I had a window seat, and no one was sitting by me – perfect! The flight was awful. Turbulent, hot, and the landing was terrible.. instead of a steady incline to land in Indy, we made a series of steep nosedives where I was quite literally leaning forward in my seat.. thank goodness I had a seatbelt. We landed 20 minutes early, so I found my bag and took my time getting to where Aunt Cheryl and Jake were going to pick me up. They arrived shortly after and we made our way to Jake’s apartment in Indy (after making a McDonald’s pitstop for iced tea). We spent the night there so we wouldn’t have to make the late night drive home. I spent several hours showing Aunt Cheryl my photos, things I bought, and telling her stories of my trip, and even though I was tired, I was more excited to share my experiences! We ended up going to sleep at 4:30am – I had been awake for 50 hours straight.

We slept for a few hours, then at 9:00am we got up, got ready, and headed out the door soon after to make the drive to Huntington. We stopped at chik-fil-a to get breakfast (and more iced tea!!) then we drove to my house. I was able to talk more about my trip and I was told all kinds of stories about family events I had missed while I was away. Always a fun time! At approximately 12pm, I WAS HOME! I didn’t stay home too long though; I hopped in my car and went to see Dad at the shop – I couldn’t wait until he got off work to see him! I spent a couple hours with him taking about my trip and my journey home, then I made a quick trip to Walmart to pick up some things I used up in Rome.

Holy cow, Walmart was stressful! Why are there so many options?! All I wanted to do was pick out some candy to feed my sugar (gelato) addiction, but I gave up after standing in the candy aisle for 5 minutes.. I had a mini-meltdown, and moved on! I grabbed everything I needed and booked it out of there – never in my life would I have guessed that Walmart would make me feel this way! It was terrible and I needed to go home!

At home, I unpacked my bags, organized my belongings, and started doing laundry – I did several loads this afternoon.. and then I DRIED them! I washed and dried every article of clothing I had brought with me and it was fantastic! My clothes missed the dryer a lot! A top 5 moment of the day was pulling my freshly washed jeans out of the warm dryer!

The rest of my night has been spent relaxing at home. I’ve been able to catch up with some friends I haven’t chatted with in a while, and I got to just exist in my home! I’m so perfectly content here! I watched an Italian cooking show on tv and reminisced on the last three months – I don’t quite miss Rome yet, but I know I’ll get there soon! Tonight I am eating Arby’s, watching tv, and spending time catching up with my family whom I’ve missed so greatly! Home is where the heart is, and my heart is happy to be home.

Xoxo,
Breanna

Overstimulated and Overwhelmed

I’m in America! This phrase brings me an unnatural amount of joy. As I sat in the Philadelphia Airport and called my Dad to let him know I made it safely, tears filled my eyes as I giddily chuckled that phrase – “I’m in America!” In all honesty, were it not for the fact that everyone speaks English, I understand every posted sign, and the outlets are back to normal, I don’t think I would even recognize that I’m here. I have to keep reminding myself that I’m going home and not just on another weekend trip from Rome to another European country. I’m going home and I’m thrilled!

I absolutely adored my time in Rome, I grew so much and I know for a fact that I’m going to miss it so dearly, but right now I’m in that in-between stage.. Homesick or Romesick? I’m a little of both, but my longing for home has been three months in the making and I’m ready to spend some quality time with my family at my home. Romesickness is inevitable, but I’ve also had my fill of three months spent there, so that may be a later emotion in my timeline.

I severely underestimated the emotions and situations I would experience upon arrival in my home country. I am undeniably overwhelmed most of all by the English! How ridiculous is that?! English, my primary language, is causing my head to spin! I had gotten so used to tuning out the Italian conversations I heard daily, but this was a much easier thing in Italy because I didn’t understand the language. I can hear and comprehend every word that every person I’m surrounded by is speaking and it is stressing me out. I certainly had to work hard to process what people said to me in Italian, but it has been more of a struggle to do this here because I understand every conversation happening all at once. For the first time in a few months, the “noise” I hear when crowds of people talk is no longer just a noise – this is going to take some getting used to!

People here are helpful and kind! The staff at the airport immediately greeted me with “Welcome home!” and a smile – so much happiness when this greeting met my ears. Standing in line for our quick security check in the Philly Airport, I was able to have a brief conversation with the woman in line in front of me without the attached anxiety of attempting to speak coherently in a foreign language! What a relief! Everyone was so good about giving directions and helping get through security checks, customs, and baggage drop-off which is quite the shift from airport life in Italy where as a non-native, it’s up to you to read the signs and figure it out for yourself! Thank you Americans for being friendly and helpful!

Today has been a horribly long day already. I never managed to grow accustomed to the time difference of 6 hours between Rome and home, so going back to Eastern Standard Time has been an interesting change. My 10 hour flight left Rome a little after 11:30am, and arrived in Philly at 3:30pm.. my brain and my body are so confused by this because technically, my internal clock says that it’s after midnight when it’s only 6pm.. I should be sleeping, but I’m not and I can’t. I gained six hours of life back which should be so great, but when I’m stuck spending all six of those hours in the airport before my flight.. it’s not such a wonderful moment. The major positive of my day of travels though is that I am going to sleep so well tonight! I have been awake now for a little over 28 hours and I have approximately 6 hours more until I can sleep, so I think it goes without saying that exhaustion will play a large role in my life for the next few days! Traveling itself is exhausting, and I’ve done more than my share of that already today! Because my flight has been delayed several hours, I now get to spend the night in Indy with my aunt and cousin instead of driving home at a ridiculous time of night, and I’ll be heading home tomorrow morning.

I still have several hours in the airport and another flight before I reach my final destination, so I am going to hold off on the travel stories for today. I have so many interesting ones to share, but I have an awful feeling that there are more still to come! “Welcome home!”

Xoxo,
Breanna

Arrivederci Roma!

Our “we’re going to America!” faces!

Bryanna and I watched “If I stay..” on the flight, and we synced them so we could watch at the same time!

This is my view for the next few hours – currently listening to a woman argue with the airport employee because she “made her miss her flight” oh boy!

My final day in Rome – a bittersweet moment

Today was my last day in Rome… I’m still unsure how I feel about this, in all honesty. In some ways I’m more than ready to be home. For example, if I could skip the 10 hour flight back to America, I would! However, I’ve grown to love it here. It’s taken a full three months to fully appreciate all I’ve got in this beautiful city, but Rome is amazing and I’m very sad to be leaving it behind for a long while. I experienced such a broad range of emotions today, and though I can’t fully process them all myself, I’m happy that today worked out the way that it did, it was nearly perfect.

This morning was my final day of classes! Hallelujah, praise the Lord! All we had to finish was our presentations for the group blog projects we’ve been working on all semester. Once those were out of the way, we were nearly home-free.. all that was left was a brief discussion about airport things, how our trip home would look, and the do’s and dont’s of flying back to America. Then, as that was completed, we finally had free time to do as we pleased! I spent a good hour on campus after that to eat lunch (the remainder of food items I had in my possession), then Bryanna and I were out the door to visit the single place I could not leave Rome without seeing today.. I knew even before going I would’ve regretted not seeing it as soon as I left, and after actually being there, I was 100% correct.. today, I went to a cat sanctuary!

Yes, that’s right – cat sanctuary – as in an area of Rome completely sectioned off and designated for the sole purpose of housing and taking care of the thousands and thousands of stray cats in the city. The location of this sanctuary is in the center of the city in a small area of ancient ruins; the cats run this tiny “town”! As we stood outside the gates looking down at the various cats but not being able to reach them I kept thinking “how can I get my hands on these cats?” And then we saw it.. the shelter part of the sanctuary that is open to the public – perfect! We walked right down and there they were.. probably close to 40 feline friends just hanging out, sleeping, and eating up all the attention they were getting from strangers coming to see them! Most of them have had some type of bodily damage or disability, and there is a room in the shelter distinctly for the disabled cats that need some special care. This shelter/sanctuary is used to sterilize, medicate, and feed the cats of Rome in order to prevent further stray population growth. The people working were so kind and so loving and I enjoyed spending time there just because of the people I got to interact with. (I did really love the cats though of course!) One man, who was working, in particular, picked up a cat, called by name, kissed it, then played with it and rubbed its belly for a good few minutes, and my heart melted! So special! I fell in love quickly with two special cats in particular – one always had its tongue sticking out and its eyes closed (hilarious), and the other didn’t have ears and had some extreme facial damage but was so sweet and adorable no matter how bizarre looking it was! I spent a solid 1 1/2 hours there and I loved every second of it!

After visiting the cats we began our journey back to campus. We stopped in at a few tourist-y shops to look for last minute things, then waited at the bus stop for 20 minutes for our bus to come. Because today is a Christmas holiday (Italians decorate today and the Pope places the wreath at the Spanish steps) pubic transportation was weird. We were tired of waiting, so we jumped on an “H” bus to termini (directly after saying “Who even takes the “H” bus?! No one, because it’s weird!” Hmm… irony…) We arrived at termini, Bryanna found some shopping items that she liked, and then we were back on campus before we knew it! The 82 bus booked it through all the stops no one was at and the driver didn’t even flinch as he passed by! We got back in record time – 8ish minutes!

The early evening was filled with final packing and preparation for the flight home tomorrow. We all had our rooms checked, then we went to San Marino for our last community dinner together. I had a delicious pizza, and some great conversations with those around me. We all shared who our prayer partner from the beginning of the semester was and we had an “award ceremony” for our small things collection (I won  the smallest small thing award). Then after a record breaking short dinner, we all went our separate ways to enjoy our last night in the city in our own different ways. I decided with Bryanna and Brooke to go into the center for one last sentimental moment – gelato at the Pantheon.

We went to Giolitti’s (my favorite gelato place!) and I got my last gelato to match the first I had here – caramel e more (caramel and blackberry)! Then we walked to the Pantheon like we always did to sit and enjoy the massive monument and our yummy gelato! Words cannot describe how greatly I love that place.. it was very empty tonight and I was able to sit on the steps of the fountain and just enjoy my time there. We ran into most of the rest of our group and hung out with them a bit, then they all left. Jeffrey came waltzing by a few minutes later, so he came and sat with us for another 30 minutes. At that point, our estimated arrival time back on campus was just before curfew, so we headed to the bus stop.

Again, at the same stop as earlier in the day, we waited forever for a bus to come and the one we needed never came, so we jumped on another “H” to termini then took a 90 back to campus. However, while waiting at the bus stop, a van pulled up to the curb, some people (who we later discovered were with a “Red Cross” type organization) jumped out and delivered hot food to the homeless people sleeping nearby. My heart aches for the people I see struggling on the street and for the fact that the language barrier prevents me from doing much to help them, but I’m so happy that there are people out there that are trying to make the city a better place for all people.

When we arrived back on campus, everyone was already back. I’ve spent most of my night socializing with friends and preparing for my trip home. I spent some time in the kitchen around PB&J sandwiches and hot tea with Bryanna and Quentin and I greatly appreciated that time with them.

It doesn’t feel real that in a little over 24 hours I will be home in Indiana… In less than 12 hours I’ll be on a plane to America… where has the semester gone? I’m very ready to be home, but because Rome is now like a home of sorts that I’m not exactly ready to leave yet. There are so many more things I could say about my excitements and fears about leaving tomorrow, but I’ll leave that for tomorrow’s post. Tomorrow morning begins the longest traveling day of my life!

Xoxo,
Breanna

My tongue protruding cat friend of the day!

The poor sweet kitty with no ears.. By far the nicest cat in the whole place!

Melissa and I were raincoat matching buddies all semester!

Bryanna and I all dressed up after dinner out at San Marino

PB&J night with Quentin!

An Authentic Italian Sunday Lunch

My afternoon spent at the Colosseum was perfect. Because these were my last moments spent at the massive monument, I tried to soak it in as much as possible. It is a very bizarre feeling that I won’t be able to hop on the metro and go see the Colosseum and the men posing as gladiators outside its huge walls any time I want. This giant stadium quickly became my favorite place to go in Rome, partly because it was one of the first things I saw and experienced on our scavenger hunt during the first week here, and also because its just so magnificent!

Because on the first Sunday of each month entrance to all museums and monuments is free, there were hundreds of people at the Colosseum. Bryanna and I originally wanted to try to get inside one more time, but the line was ridiculous and we didn’t have the time to wait. So instead, we walked around it, took photos, and simply sat by it to absorb all of the beauty and wonder! (Did I mention I love this place?) We spent a little over an hour doing these things, then we found Beth at the Colosseo metro stop to go to lunch. We then met up with another group of people at one of the EUR metro stops to make our way to lunch at Carolina’s!

Carolina and Paolo are two adults who attended our level one English class. They were so much fun to get to know throughout our time here, and Carolina invited the helpers in our class to lunch this afternoon. Of course we accepted, because how often does one get invited to share an authentic Italian meal with such amazing people? After waiting at the bus stop outside the metro station for over an hour, they came in two cars to pick us up and take us to their house. 15 minutes later, we were exploring the most beautiful home! It was on the top floor of the apartment building, and the apartment was three floors – with two separate levels of terraces.. the view was spectacular and their home was beautiful! It was so nice being in a home again instead of our campus.. it was also nice riding in a car instead of on the metro or bus! Then came lunch! It was a little later in the afternoon, so we were all very hungry – which was good because Carolina made SO much food! We had some appetizers (bread, prosciutto, and cheese) then lasagna, salad, and frittata. For dessert, we had a mix of sweet treats and Italian cafe! Everything was delicious and it was great to have a home cooked meal!

Neither adult knows very much English, so communicating with them would have been challenging had Carolina’s daughter Donna not been there. Donna knows English very well, and was able to do some translating for us when we couldn’t understand what was being said, and it was equally nice to get to know her! It was a fun afternoon, and a necessary change of pace from our daily activities. We spent nearly 3 hours together, then it was time to head back to campus to get some work done for our last day of classes tomorrow.

Once back on campus, Brooke, Bryanna, and I worked on our blog presentation for class tomorrow. We sat in Brooke’s room for close to two hours and attempted to create a powerpoint when in reality all we did was eat cookies and Nutella and laugh. These are the moments I will miss the most about my time spent here.

I get to spend the rest of the night packing everything I own into a large suitcase, a carry-on, and my backpack for the trip home in two days. It’s quite the stressful and anxiety provoking process and I’m ready to be back home with my bags in hand. I still have some reorganizing to do, but it’s coming along quite nicely. Tomorrow is my last day of classes in Rome, and all we have is presentations and a re-entry discussion.. my, how the time flies!

Xoxo,
Breanna

The view when leaving the Colosseo metro stop!

Isn’t it beautiful!?

This was our view at the bus stop for over an hour…

I would live in Rome only if living in Rome meant living here!

Hide and seek and the Magnum store

My final weekend in Italy is now halfway over.. as far as Saturdays go, today was a good one, but not at all normal due to the fact that almost every other Saturday throughout my time here has been spent in a foreign country. It’s strange to not have to spend all day wandering around a new place without any sense of direction or what we’re aiming to do for the day. Spending the weekend in Rome has been fantastic – I’ve been able to do several things that I want during the day because I know what my options are and I know the best way to get there! Rome has become comfortable and I truly appreciate that!

Today began with a trip to the refugee market at the church that the Cole’s and our friend Maiga go to. Everything at this market was made by refugees in the area and all proceeds go to their benefit. There were all kinds of crafts and baked goods, and we got to see Maiga again before we leave, so it was a great time. Afterwards, Bryanna and I walked around the area and found another market, so we did some looking/shopping there too. Then we caught a bus back to our stop and had our last lunch at the corner bar. We sat and enjoyed being there for a while – there were very few people in today – and we got to chat with Sebastian a little before we headed out. As we were saying goodbye, he offered some words of wisdom.. “When I travel, I want to be home. Home will always be there.” And with that we said our final “stay safe, hope to see you again” and off we went. That was a goodbye I dreaded, and it was just as difficult as I imagined it would be..

After lunch, we hung around campus until 4pm when we left for the center to go to the Magnum bar store for a group activity! This store blows my mind! You walk in and create your own ice cream bar… choose your ice cream type, the type of chocolate coating it, three toppings to go on the melted chocolate, then a type of chocolate to drizzle on the top.. pure magic! I chose vanilla ice cream, milk chocolate, “popping krispies”/mixed wafers&crunchies/coconut balls, and white chocolate drizzle… yum! It was not only delicious, but so very beautiful!

When we had all enjoyed our Magnum bars, everyone went their separate ways – I stuck with Bryanna, Peyton, and Jeffrey. As we were walking around the area, in the piazza in front of Rome Baptist Church, there was a stage set up and live music happening in front of a Christmas tree. After a beauty shop quarter performed a few songs, the Carabinieri (state policemen) band performed. It was so cool to watch these men all dressed up and standing in the piazza playing marching band music as well as some Christmas songs! There was a pretty big crowd of people watching, and we all really enjoyed the 45 minutes we spent there – except for the obnoxious people around us that took pictures over our heads and in front of our faces..

Then it started raining. Up went the umbrellas and the band finished their last song before the people all scattered. Peyton and I got separated from Bryanna and Jeffrey, so we just went to the bus stop to meet up on campus. As the bus we needed was pulling away, we waved at the driver and thankfully he stopped to let us on! So unusual for Rome, but the driver was very kind to let us on. However, his unnatural kindness was followed by his shutting the doors and speeding away before we could grab onto anything.. that was exciting!

Back on campus I got comfortable and decided to stay in for the rest of the night. After making a quick dinner and meeting for our final Bible study/Christmas carol night, a group of us decided to play hide and seek on our floor. So we turned off all the lights, someone waited a minute, and the rest of us hid. All spaces were fair game except for our rooms, so there were plenty of options of places to hide. We played a total of four rounds tonight and I won or tied for first in 2 of them and was the next to last found in another. My hiding places were exceptional: 1) under the table in the dining hall laying across the seats of the chairs, 2) on top of the fridge (that one I definitely won! and I managed to scare a couple people walking through the kitchen too hahaha!), 3) behind a wood heater cover (I tied for the win on that one), 4) behind the cleaning cart in the closet. It was a fun activity for a Saturday night!

I had a marvelous day, and the rest of my night was spent packing and doing more preparation to go home in just a few days. I have so many things on the list to do tomorrow and on Monday, so it only gets better from here!

Xoxo,
Breanna

My last lunch at the corner bar

Bryanna and I with Sebastian

My Magnum creation!

This Santa was chilling outside the Piazza… What a character!

The Carabinieri band!

My fully decorated wall..

And after I started packing my things.. So sad..

My perfect hiding place! They never knew what hit ’em!

Public transportation at its finest

Finally Friday! As the official first day of my last weekend in Rome, it was a good one! I didn’t do much today, but because it gets dark so early here it felt like I had been out so much longer than I actually had! I fully, whole-heartedly began the packing process this afternoon, and I’m not sure that every part of me is aware of what I’m packing for. I go home in 4 days.. How have three months passed this quickly?

This morning, I slept in a bit and got a late start to the day with a final trip to the grocery store to get some last minute goodies! Bryanna and I spent some time looking around and spending the last of our tickets, then we headed back to campus for lunch. We did a little packing first, then we took a lunch break. Trying to be creative with the few things we have left over from previous grocery trips is quite difficult, but in the end, it always works out! After lunch, I made some tea and we sat and talked for a while – I always enjoy a good life conversation! Then after we were finished, we decided to go to a park nearby.

We stopped in for a walk around Villa Torlonia – Mussolini’s home grounds turned museum/public park. It started getting dark much faster than I anticipated, but we were able to walk around and enjoy being outside. After a short stay in the park, we went back to campus for a pit stop before making our way into the center to stop in at a store to check the hours for an event tomorrow! We did quite a bit more walking than we planned due to the streets in Rome being very poorly labeled. It was busy in the center tonight, so it was a madhouse trying get from place to place, and we ended up walking in the street to avoid the huge crowds of people on the sidewalks! It’s always interesting to be in crowds of people in Rome – there are so many different kinds of people, stores, sights, and smells to take in! It’s awfully overwhelming, but incredibly entertaining! We eventually reached our destination, and after having a chat with the woman working, we were on our merry way back to campus.

However.. not only were the streets of Rome busy and crowded with people, but so were the buses. The first bus we got on wasn’t terrible – I’ve certainly been on worse! But the second bus.. let me just tell you.. the phrase “we can always fit more” should not apply in all circumstances. Especially when the people trying to squeeze onto a bus are large, smelly men who have no sense of personal boundaries! I become unbelievably frustrated with a man that kept breathing on my hand as I was holding onto the handrail, so I let go and struggled to stay balanced on my own for the rest of the bus ride.. HA! That was a fun experience!

Once back on campus we just relaxed for a bit, then we went to the corner bar for the last night time visit. The bar is usually open on the weekends, but due to a holiday on Monday, they’re closing for nearly the rest of the time we’re here and reopening early on Tuesday morning. So I went to get one last drink and see Sebastian again. After hanging out there for a while with a bunch of people from my group, I got a photo with Sebastian and headed back to campus with Ben for the night.

The rest of my night has been spent in the best way I know how – socializing with friends and organizing my belongings! My packing is almost complete, and I was able to sit and chat with some friends for a good while. Now the night is over and the weekend continues tomorrow with another day of freedom to do whatever we please! I’m not sure what tomorrow is going to hold for me, but I can’t wait to find out!

Xoxo,
Breanna

This is Sebastian, a friend I made at the corner bar! I’ll certainly miss my interesting conversations with this guy!

As I was trying to take this photo, a man on the street stood on his tippy toes in front of me and smiled really big. He wanted to be in my photo apparently, but I wasn’t able to capture the moment fast enough.. it gave me a good laugh!

Christmas lights in Rome

An Italian final, pizza, and gelato

As today’s classes came to an end, I very quickly remembered that I only have one more day of classes here in Rome, and technically, it’s only a day for presentations and prepping for the airports on the way home. I can barely wrap my head around the fact that I have so few days left in this country. Today was a good day to end the school week.

Unfortunately, because of my fantastic (un)luckiness, I’ve managed to get sick during my last week in Rome. I made it nearly three months without being sick even once so of course, now is my time! I woke up feeling awful, so I didn’t go to my first class, but after a little bit of time, and after taking some medications, I headed down to my second class, Italian.

Today was our scheduled day to take the final exam, but there have been rumors circulating all week that we weren’t actually taking a test.. those rumors were correct! When Lucy arrived this morning, she said “today is the final exam right?” (in Italian of course) and we said no. We wanted to go get pizza. After a short conversation, she said “andiamo!” and off we went to catch the bus to Pizza Rustica. Most of us got some pizza, I got mine to go since it was only 10:45am, and then from there Lucy asked what we were going to do then. So someone suggested that we go get gelato at La Romana so that’s what we did! We got gelato and sat to eat it for a while. Lucy is the greatest Italian teacher!

At about noon it was time for us to go back to campus, but first we took some photos with Lucy since it was our last time seeing her.. as everyone was leaving, Bryanna and I hung back to get one last hug in before we said goodbye, and as we thanked Lucy for all she had done for us, she thanked us – she said that we, and our program, have done so much for her, that she loves us all very dearly, and that if we ever need references or anything else that we should just let her know. As I hugged her and said ciao for the last time my heart ached.. this was a goodbye that I wasn’t prepared for.. seeing her walk away and knowing that I wouldn’t be seeing her again made my going home so much more real than it had been up to this point. It’s hard to believe that three months have passed already. The closer I get to going home, the less I actually want to leave..

When we arrived back at campus, Bryanna and I ate our pizza, then we all made our way down to the classroom for our last sociology class. Today we just talked. We had a semester long assignment of collecting small things, so we were able to present our small things and vote for awards – I received the “smallest small thing” award with a tiny peace sign charm from a bracelet or necklace that I found on a field trip in Rome! Others had very interesting small things and some really cool stories behind where they found them and why they were meaningful, so I really enjoyed that activity! Then we discussed how Rome changed us individually. The ways I personally have been changed by Rome are numerous, but those items are for another post on another day. Overall, classes were really good today and I’m happy to be ending on such a positive note!

This afternoon, I camped out in the chapel with Bryanna and Brooke as we worked on a final paper for our group blog. We spent several hours in that room but at about dinner time we had finished and thank goodness for that. Bryanna and I made a dinner trip out to Eataly, and spent a few hours there doing some shopping, eating, and looking around. Eataly is a massive building with grocery food items, wines, fresh pasta, meats, cheeses, and restaurants inside it! It’s quite overwhelming for the first time visiting! I ordered a cheese tray, and Bryanna had some fried fish. My food was delicious! Then we walked around the grocery store part of the place to do some shopping and wandering. After a little over an hour, we went back to the metro and took it to termini where we planned to take a bus back to campus.

As we were walking towards our bus, I heard a man saying “ragazze, ragazze” (which basically means girls, girls) so I turned around to see what was going on. Two young men walked over asking if I had any cigarettes and when I said no he asked if I spoke English. Somehow they always know! So he asked where we were from and when we told him America he smiled and began raving about the kind people from America, he shook our hands and asked our names. His name was Michele and he was from Paris. After a short conversation about how he didn’t know much English and we know very little Italian, we began to walk away and he shook my hand again looking at us saying “Bellisima, princepessa, bella! Ciao!” Oh my, Italian men have an uncanny way of giving unwanted praises and making them sound so beautiful.. we walked away laughing as we went to catch our bus. What a bizarre encounter!

Now we are back on campus and thankful for the down time to relax a bit. The weekend has officially begun and I’m very happy that it has. We have the entire weekend free to do whatever we please and see whatever we want! I get to go back to all of my favorite places and eat my favorite foods before going home in a few days! I’m so thankful for fun days in spite of a cold – today was a good one!

Xoxo,
Breanna

This is my Italian teacher, Lucy! I love her so dearly.

Our group with Lucy at La Romana

My small things collection!

My field trip days are done..

Today, being that it was Wednesday, was another field trip day! However, today was different than others we’ve had all semester. For one, instead of beginning the day at 8am or earlier, we met in the courtyard at 9AM! It’s amazing what that extra hour can do! Secondly, our day lasted a good hour and a half.. that’s all! We left campus at 9am and were finished at our last location at 10:30am! We had a lot of free time this afternoon which was a nice change, but we were still able to see some cool things in Rome and learn a little more about its history.

The first place we visited was the Esposizione Universale di Roma (E.U.R.) – the part of the city quite a ways outside of the center that Mussolini attempted to construct as a new fascist city. We first saw the wall that Mussolini wished to be the new center of Rome. This wall was covered in sculptures that demonstrated fascist ideas. Then we made our way to the square colosseum, (not sure what its technical name is, but it looks like a square colosseum so that’s what I remember Dr. Cole calling it!). After a short time standing on the steps of the building, braving the elements of rain and large gusts of wind, we walked to the Basilica Santi Pietro E Paolo – Saints Peter and Paul. Mussolini built this church as a location for his body to buried, however, the government decided to use the structure as a church instead. As far as churches go, I’ve seen much more magnificent churches in Rome, so it wasn’t anything too special, but there were still parts that I appreciated being able to see. (It was dead silent inside this church which is something I had never experienced before.. any noise that was made echoed throughout the interior for several seconds.. it was eerie and quite uncomfortable! Emma and I imagined singing inside a church like that, and in her words “I’d be afraid to sing a wrong note.. they’d be hearing it for minutes!”)

After we were officially done with the field trip, Bryanna and I took the metro to termini then took a bus back to campus (we hate walking the hill to campus from our metro stop!) and at termini, we discovered a new exit from the metro that took us straight to the buses instead of having to walk all the way through the train station and outside to the bus stops.. how did we just discover this the week before we go home?!

When we arrived back on campus, we chilled for the afternoon. I’m beginning to feel the effects of a cold, so I took a nap and drank some tea to try to feel a little better. We worked on some homework (well, listened to Christmas music and tried to do some homework anyway) until community dinner. Tonight we had Shepherd’s Pie, salad, and rolls. It tasted great as always. Then my cooking group, along with another group, was in charge of clean-up. We tag teamed the dishes and got everything done as quickly as possible, then it was back to work. I actually got my work done after dinner, then I spent the rest of my night socializing with my friends and listening to more Christmas tunes.. I’m ready for Christmas to be here!

Tomorrow we have a few classes, then we’re done for the week. We aren’t allowed to travel outside of Rome this weekend so we have plenty of time to pack our belongings and get ready to go home in just a few days! There are so many things left to do in the city and tomorrow begins the adventure in which we do them all!

Xoxo,
Breanna

The Square Colosseum

The Facism Wall

Happy memories and sorrowful goodbyes

It’s those days that are both joyful and sad that are the hardest to explain and especially to process myself. Today was one of those days for several reasons, but even the sad moments were happy ones. It was one full of new experiences, familiar places and faces, and a lot of fun times with some of the people I love!

In humanities this morning, bright and early, we talked about fascism, nazis, and Protestant Christians – quite the range! We ended class a little early in order to have time to practice our Italian skits that we wrote for part of our final exam in the class. My skit followed the story of a family that consisted of Brooke (as the father), Bryanna (as the mother), and Quentin (as the son) and their trip to a travel agency to visit a new city for the weekend. I was played the travel agent that helped them decide to visit Cinqua Terra! It went just swimmingly and we got to watch other skits performed by our classmates – hysterical and well put together! Well done class!

I made myself lunch on campus today to try to finish using up my groceries. After lunch, for sociology class, we met in the tv room to watch a film called “13 Conversations About One Thing” – a very bizarre “modern” film. I actually enjoyed it a lot even though it confused me greatly and I was never fully sure what was going on.

When the movie was finished, I edited my final paper one last time before turning it in! So happy to have that completed! I spent the afternoon relaxing (and doing a puzzle) then at 5:45pm Bryanna and I headed out to catch a bus to church for our English class.

Tonight was my last night of English and it was difficult to say goodbye when I realized that the chances of seeing any of them again are very slim. I met so many incredible people that I wish I could spend more time getting to know. It was a joyful goodbye though full of “Safe travels”, “Merry Christmas” “and “Very very very very good to meet, beautiful beautiful beautiful!” We sang ‘Oh, Come All Ye Faithful’ together one last time and got a group photo before we left. I also got some photos with the amazing women that were in my group every week! We exchanged email addresses so we can try to keep in touch (which was quite the strange concept due to the fact I was exchanging emails with women old enough to be my mother ha ha) I had a fantastic experience with volunteering in this English class and it made my time in Rome a hundred times better and much more memorable!

After saying several goodbyes to the women who just couldn’t leave without one more hug, Bryanna and I went to Pizzeria Basilico to get some food! The pizza there is one of my favorites I’ve had in the past three months and I hadn’t been there in over a month and a half, so it was a happy reunion! After pizza, we went to the corner bar to get some orange juice and hot chocolate – always the perfect way to end a great day!

With the rest of my night, I am choosing to be unproductive (and to listen to Christmas music), because there is not much left for me to do school-wise! All of my homework due tomorrow is nearly done, just some finishing touches on my journal left to complete! It’s a surreal feeling right now since we don’t have much homework other than our final projects. It’s crazy to think that at this time in one week I will be waiting at the Philly airport for a few more hours to board my final flight to Indianapolis before meeting my Aunt Cheryl to make the late night drive home!! I’m slightly stressed out about leaving – I still have SO much more to enjoy here! These next few days are going to be full of adventure, fun experiences, laughter, and re-seeing my favorite places in the city for the last time in a while (the Colosseum..)

Xoxo,
Breanna

My beautiful Italian friends – Silvia, Patrizia, Oxana, e Patricia!

Elisabeth (our teacher), Patrizia, and Christina

Our class photo

The Geneva helpers with Elisabeth!