Aug 30th
I’ve officially spent my first night at my apartment in Rome! I met my roommate, Priya, who is very nice. We went to dinner with a group and then hung out. After spending a couple days with no English speakers, it feels wonderful to have people understand me when I talk.
My apartment is not amazing, but not terrible. I got the smallest room because I showed up late. Honestly, I’m just lucky I don’t have to share a closet with Priya because the other room had an extra that we squeezed into ours. So far the wifi is not working, so it’s been difficult to contact people. Hopefully we will get a maintenance guy up here that can fix it, but I’ve found that Roma time is more relaxed than what we’re used to in the States.
As far as the city, there is not one bad thing I could say so far. It is spectacular. When on the bus from Roma Termini to our neighborhood, every direction and every turn had an amazing sight. Our neighborhood is Trastevere, which is centrally located and very beautiful.
Currently, I am waiting to start my first full day of Orientation. Yesterday, there were a couple information sessions and check ins but today is when things will really start cooking hopefully.
Sept 1st
It’s been a couple of days! Orientation is now over and classes start on Monday. It has been a complete whirlwind and I’ve met so many new people. I really feel that John Cabot is taking care of us. They’ve helped with all the immigration services and phone plans etc. As fun as changing countries is, there is a lot a lot of paperwork. I’m grateful that they’ve been making the process seamless.
This morning John and I took an optional tour around Rome to learn about the Ancient Times. It was amazing to put context to all of the buildings and statues around us. Everywhere we look is something old and amazing, but before the tour that’s all I saw it as. It was interesting to learn parts of the history and how that has affected the city. We walked along the Tiber River, saw Roman temples of worship, The Forum, the senate ruins where Julius Caesar was killed, and other sites as well. There are so many ruins here that the locals joke about not being able to get construction done. For example, there is a new metro line that they say has been in the works for 20 years and they ~hope~ in another 20 it’ll be finished. Every time they dig or try to start again, they find another amazing artifact or more ruins. What an interesting problem to have.
As far as adjusting, the weather is a struggle for me, as well as the mosquitos. While I am the first to admit that I have dramatic tendencies, the mosquitos here are insane and I genuinely have more bites than I can count.
Sept. 2nd
Good morning!! Classes start tomorrow which means another day of exploring for me! Today I want to see the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon, and just wander around in that area of Rome. For the first time so far, I’ve been able to sleep in till 9! It felt amazing to catch up. We’ve been doing so much walking here (averaging 10 miles a day) that my body is exhausted constantly.
Update: Today I got my first ever migraine. After walking to the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon, my head was in so much pain I had to call it a day and lay in the dark. I know I could have left out this detail, but I want to be honest about my abroad experience. It’s easy to think that every day is bliss and I’m taking amazing photos and only having fun. That’s just not true. Don’t get me wrong- I am constantly amazed by Rome. However, I’d be lying if I didn’t say that it’s been hard on me emotionally and physically to move here. I have never experienced a migraine in my life, but after all of the changes of the last week (environmental, sleep changes, food differences, stress) it’s understandable that my body was fed up with me. What was an adventure day turned into a self care day, but that’s okay. We’ve got tomorrow 🙂
Sept 3rd
Today was my first day of classes! Apparently I actually have to go to these while studying abroad?? So far, my professors seem good and the classes seem about the same level of difficulty as SDSU. The class sizes are much smaller than I’m used to because the school is smaller. Surprisingly, I don’t mind seeing familiar faces around campus as much as I thought I would. My migraine is gone and I woke up with a clear head. I got up early to grab a couple shots of espresso before class. Unfortunately, no exploring today. I have a feeling that the adventuring will begin again soon.
It’s been overwhelmingly awesome so far, so here’s to hoping the rest of the semester follows suit. As long as there are multiple gelaterias on every block- I know I’ll be okay.
