Friday, May 29, 2009

Arrival in ROMA!

After a long and grueling (not really) plane ride [via Frankfurt] I have arrived in Roma, Italia.
The weather is perfect right now, but it's supposed to get a lot hotter. Surprisingly, before I left good old Texas wasn't as hot as it usually gets by early march.
Anyways, once I arrived in Rome and grabbed my bag from baggage claim I wandered out expecting to see a sign with my name and Plan II/AIRC on it. Alas, there was no such sign nor was there a person. After twenty minutes of desperation and walking back and forth in front of any driver that was holding a sign, my driver, Orlando, popped out of no where with my sign. (I think he was there the entire time, just not holding the sign up...sketchy, I know--but it gets even better!) On the way to my apartment he tells me this driver gig is just a part time job and that really he's an undercover cop...
Also on the way to the apartments, the Italian president needed to get somewhere so that was another 10 minute delay-and the traffic is awful. There are no lane divisions in the road, but at times there five cars (lanes worth of traffic) where back home there would be two lanes. Anyways, I finally arrived at the destination to be greeted by fellow bffs Ishanee and Eric. (they each had awful days and mine wasn't nearly as bad...)
We went out to eat at this nice little ristorante and then trekked to the Trevi Fountain and Piazza Navona (all within 10 to fifteen minutes from the apartment) There's just something special about Italy in the nighttime. There was a lot of the touristy bustle, but being in the presence of these architectural and sculptural wonders is almost otherworldly to me.
Today: the Vatican!

Pictures from Trevi and of our apartment coming soon!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Greetings!

Hey Everybody!
Welcome to my European Adventure Blog.
I'll be studying abroad with the Plan II Study Abroad in Rome Program and will be taking 2 classes: Rome and Her Many Cultures and Preserving a World City!
I'm really excited to be traveling (and you know, learning) with my band of 15 Plan II-ers and I can't wait to explore Rome.
Before classes actually start (June 1st) I'll be arriving early (May 28th) and hopefully getting accustomed to the time difference (7 hours) and doing some familiarizing. Also one of my best friends from college is coming down for a visit! I know he has a list of must-sees and to-do's in Rome, so I'm sure most of my time will be spent accompanying him around the city. On the 30th (a Saturday) we're having a welcome dinner from the program and on that Sunday the AIRC (American Institute for Roman Culture---our affiliated institution in Rome) will be taking us through Rome's historical center and temple structures beneath San Nicolain Carcere. On the 1st we have our official orientation and on the 2nd is Italian Independence Day!!!! I cannot wait to see the Italian style celebrations.

In the meantime, I'm busy planning out what I'm going to be doing in Europe after my program ends. I'm going to be going to Greece (Athens and San Tornini), followed by France (Versailles, Paris, ???), maybe even Monaco, and then Spain (Madrid, Barcelona, and Granada).

Also my parents are going to be visiting Italy during the first week of July so I'm bust planning out that adventure as well. Booking hotels, looking at train timetables, booking tickets for museum galleries, etc.

In the midst of all this I'm also in the process of applying to medical school--so things have been pretty crazy (yes, it is the week after finals too!). It's like a never ending to-do list. But I am so excited!

The next thing I need to do is book all my hostels for Spain and France and pack (this one I'm going to procrastinate on for the time being).

Well the next I'll be posting will be from Europe, so wish me luck!

PS what would be good to pack or bring along? Any suggestions?