I left my house at 4.30 am to catch my flight. By some grace of god, my Mom managed to accompany my dad, Makenna, and I to the airport. Needless to say, there was lots of tea and half-closed eyes involved. It was awesome to have all of them there though, we got to say goodbye the right way. I had a cinnamon role for breakfast (tradition for my Mom and I) and passed out as soon as I got on the plane. After a short connection in Chicago, I met all my classmates in Frankfurt. It was amazing to see them all again since we haven't even spoken since May. There are 36 of us and we have been in all the same classes since freshman year. Our group is really fun and pretty down to earth. As well as that, we all share the same crazy obsession with architecture. Its comforting to walk down the street and have someone else yell out "look at the gorgeous trusses on that building!" before I do.
When we got to Rome, we hit the ground running. Our apartment is in the Trastevere neighborhood and my room overlooks the Tiber. The accommodations are sparse to say the least. The rooms are tiny, there are two people in each, and there is just enough room for two twin beds and a tiny wardrobe. The common areas are huge though and its really fun to hang out in them with my ten other roommates. Our entire class lives in the same building and its turning into a free circulation between floors.
The last three days has been a whirlwind of lectures on the history of Rome, trying to complete my visa application, and Italian lessons. I took night classes for Italian in San Diego and apparently I am now qualified (along with 8 other students) for the second level class. We'll see how that goes. The lectures are really interesting but its difficult to stay awake considering our level of activity for the rest of the day.
We went out last night for the first time and the nightlife here is NUTS. I can't give too many details but I will say that we didn't get home until 3 am and I wasn't feeling very good today.
We had out first tour of the city today. We have one every day for the rest of the week and our one today was 4 hours long. Despite the cold weather and long walks, the tours are absolutely incredible. Our guides are archeologists that tell the story of Rome so well that it makes me wish I lived back then. Palatine Hill was the most interesting area today because we got to learn about all the lavish living of the Emperor. After Palatine Hill we went to the Forum and the Colloseum. Every once in a while it would hit me how privileged we are to have the opportunity to do this. Private tours around all the most amazing sites in Rome.
Now I'm sitting in the common room with 14 of my classmates. Some are doing homework, some are drinking copious amounts of alcohol, some are eating dinner and everyone else is just talking and hanging out. Its an amazing atmosphere and is doing well to distract me from my homesickness. On our tour, it was odd to go to all the same places I went this summer with my family. Walking around the Forum gardens made me extremely homesickness. Luckily my hangover converted some of the emotional stuff into bodily pain.
Next week we officially start classes and we're all dreading the imminent increase in work load. And I am about to go to bed and catch up on all the sleep I lost last night.
Hope everyone is happy and healthy.
Ash
ps. I've decided that it takes WAY too much effort to try and write these things well. Consequently, I'm going to stick with the lazy, crappy writing.
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