My journey continues...

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Ciao everyone! Life in Rome is continuously going well! I went to visit Sperlonga beach with some of the group on Friday and it was by far one of the best days I've had in a long time! The Italian coast was beautiful and I got to dip my feet into the Mediterranean, take some fun photos and on top of that had an already paid for lunch atop a restaurant on a hill overlooking the Med. on a porch while sipping wine, eating pasta, salad AND steak--these Italians are crazy!! We also went to a museum where Emperor Tiberius lived and had numerous statues from his grotto broken by a man in the 1950s to use as foundation in his home. This museum was an attempt to put the pieces back together and/or recreate the status again.

A few days before this, we made another visit to the Colosseum--it was insane! The history behind this building is incredible. I got to see where the animals were caged before being brought out to fight, where the gladiators prepared themselves before entering the arena and even learned that people were executed on stage, all in the name of entertaining a crowd. Later that day we went to Palentine Hill, the place were Rome was originally founded by Romulus (who was born to a She-Wolf and killed his brother Remus) and saw some absolutely beautiful scenery overlooking Rome. Then, I attended my first discoteca!! This is basically the main form of Italian nightlife. It was full of loud music, and a little overwhelming, but a nice experience nonetheless..and of course I made yet another visit to the Trevi and took plenty of photos.

On another note--I booked a trip to Berlin!! I am now in the process of booking a trip to Poland to see Auschwitz. Depressing I know, but I also think it will be a life changing experience. Next week, the class and I are off to Venice to attend the Carneval Festival. This is one of the biggest celebrations of Europe, and I have to get a mask, dress up and go to the festival in the middle of the streets! The week after, I am going to Orvieto to see beautiful cathedrals, and then to Florence. It's so hard to believe I get to see all of these places. I feel blessed and so lucky that I am here. The classes haven't been too bad either, especially since my history class takes place entirely outside of the classroom, and in the Roman city. My Intercultural Communications class is also great because it is so relatable since I am living in another culture.

To finish up, today we went to the Catacombs of St. Sebastian! Basically, it was a cave full of the deceased for the Christian and Pagan community. The bodies were simply wrapped in cloth (no coffin) and put in little cubby holes in the wall of the caves. Those who had more money had their own decorated mausoleum for their families. It's sad though, there were a lot of little cubbies due to the number of deaths of children. Our professor told us many children in the 2nd centruy didn't make it into their adulthood. After that, we went to San Giovanni in Laterano, one of the most recognizable churches in Rome, and the most popular for mass. I was able to view mass, and saw people confessing their sins to pastors during Confession and even made way to another building about 1 min away from this church in which there are 23 steps that lead to a picture of Christ, and on each step up, one has to kneel and pray until they reach the top. Legend is that the blood of Christ has been found on these stairs. It was fascinating to see the stairs in use.

Well I am off to explore some more of the Italian nightlife and take in the new wines! Tomorrow a friend and I might go to see the Pope at the Vatican! Very exciting! I'll keep you posted and I hope all is well in the US!!

<3 Megs

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