When In Rome

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Rome




What can I say about Rome? It was an interesting adventure for sure. We started out early in the morning on Saturday to start off this weekend in this ancient place that continues to keep the eyes of the world upon it. It was a cool and misty morning when we boarded the fast train in which I was seated in backwards seat next to the window for the two-hour ride. The sun was up so I could see out the window. However, every time a passing train would hit, the visual effects of it were about a split of a second after the BAMM from the force of it. Each time I had no warning of what was coming up behind me, and the force literally made me lose my breath and jump every time. Each time it reminded me of the horrifying time several years ago that I was broadsided in my driver’s door. Events like that may leave your everyday thoughts, but never leave your mind.

When we arrived in Rome, I was very disappointed. What I saw was a very dirty and unattractive place that left my mind wondering as to what people see in this place. We arrived at our hotel which was a very confusing ordeal. It didn’t help that the guest services greeted us in their very stiff and unpleasant manor. It was as if we had gotten off a bus at a prison. We were in a large group of course which meant that there was a lot of fundamental processing that needed to be done. We had our roommate assignments and our hotel assignments, but we also had much confusion when it came to where we needed to go. We were all at a loss when it came to this abstract concept that we were split up into different hotels, but were still in the same building. Did I mention that we were in different hotels? Never in my life could I have imagined that each floor was its own hotel. It was the most absurd thing that I had ever heard of in my life, and I personally would have never figured out the situation in my own without our teachers whom had done this before. The lady in the main area of the front gate would have not been much help with her mean mad look shaking her finger and head at us, and telling us to move on out of there now! I felt like it was my first day of school in kindergarten. as if we knew where to go or what to do. We were just waiting on our teachers who are there to protect and teach us to tell us what to do. I do appreciate the overall quietness and relaxation at the hotel in my need that evening of some deep rest.


After checking in and quickly throwing our stiff in our rooms, we were off on a Tran to see the Vatican. This was a amazing experience! I did not know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised to find it very interesting. To be honest, all that I knew about the Vatican was that the Pope lived there and protected all the Catholic important stuff. I was raised a very strict and protected Baptist and was not educated in any way of other religions including the Catholic faith. There was so much to see there, and so many people there to see it. At times it felt as if we were all cattle being herded through the hallways. The art work and amount of it was too much to process in a week, much less a few hours.

As we headed back to our so-called hotels, we walked our way back through the streets of Rome. It was dark, but we were able to see many of the buildings of importance and beautiful fountains that lit up the town with beauty. As we strolled along, taking it all in, unto our eyes would behold a miracle. Yes, simply a miracle! There dancing in front of us was none other than Michael Jackson. That's right, world! He and Elvis are alive and have relocated! This young man danced the night away with several of Michael’s songs and swift moves that included the moon walk and costumes displaying the mixture of his leather accessories and styles. This fellow was quite good, and it was evident that he had spent much time in practice to perfect every move he made. The eerie thing was this guy looked like Michael Jackson through the face. All of the attending Americans in the crowd gave him much deserved applause with some gifting spare change for his time, effort, and love for his hobby.

Getting back to the room was a much-needed task as we had walked endlessly the entire day. I can say that the beds in Rome are as small and hard as they are in our apartments in Florence. But to the worn-out body of a twice returned non-traditional student, it didn’t matter. This ol’ girl fell fast asleep. It was slow getting up and going in the morning. We were exited to hear that our hotel would provide a hot breakfast. As I headed down to the breakfast room, I quickly learned that hot meant ready to assemble. To be a little more explanatory, the brochette was cooked and ready to be put on a sandwich. With our luck though, there were plenty of cold items available that would more than suffice our morning hunger.

We were then on to ancient Rome for the day. The ruins of the coliseum and town were still so sound. The fact that it took only seven years to build this magnificent structure baffles me. To think that so much blood spill has occurred in that place, and like many other structures through out Italy. There has been a fight for ownership for it or use of it by the Catholic church. To me this simply demonstrated that my God has the power to overcome all evil. As we strolled through the rest of the town, we were blessed by the most wonderful weather and blue skies. Having the mixture of live foliage under this blue sky and bright shining sun provided the utmost beautiful sight to see. We were surrounded with seagulls and many stray cats. The scenery seemed to yell at us the fact that life still exists in the old and broken down. It was a beautiful experience that day, but I was ready to get back to the people of Florence. Nothing beats good hospitality and love for one another and that is for sure present in Florence.

Our weekend journey wasn’t over with out the experience of the fast train again. What would happen next made me feel as if I had jumped right onto the page in the children’s book I’m Lost!

A simple error in uploading the correct departure information on the information board sent thirty screaming girls into a mass panic. We ran down the boarding dock to all get on the train before the doors closed to find that we were in the wrong car. If you can imagine the anxiety that already existed in the mind and hearts of our leaders, of teachers from both EKU and Academic Firenze. What I have learned on this trip and the fun that I have had can not be measured. I could not have learned as much in ten separate fields of classes as I have learned in this past three weeks. It has truly been simply amazing.

Steps for

Friday=9670

Saturday=22632

Sunday=18685

Monday=18963



Tuesday=13905

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