Roma and Pompeii and an unexpected turn of events...

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Rome, Italy is a one-of-a-kind city.

This week has had some interesting elements to it.

1. The president of Saint John's, Dan Whalen, flew over to treat us to dinner and answer questions concerning our visa crisis. I think I explained it a little, but overall we were not issued student visas. Therefore, after 90 days we are illegal over here in Europe. Because many people on my trip traveled before, their 90 days is coming up this week. People were given the chance to risk it, or go home. Two people on my trip have decided to leave early, which is so, so unfortunate. I have decided, along with my fellow traveler in the same situation, to come home early as well. There are huge consequences, and no way of of knowing if we will get caught or not. I will finish out my program here in Rome. Amy is flying to Rome on December 13th, and then we will go to London for two days, and fly home on the December 15th. At that point I will be at amost 100 days or so days, so wish me luck!!! It is a huge, huge bummer, but our school is being fairly reasonable with what they are willing to reimburse us for (as they are blatantly at fault for this mistake).

2. This week all of the little things that I miss about America are all adding up. A lot of people on my trip are feeling the same way. One way we helped our homesickness was by going to the Hard Rock Cafe tonight! It has never felt so good to eat American food.

Things i miss about America:
-free tap water in restaurants
-personal space (here, you are packed into the metro, buses, even walking down the street)
-how clean it is (Rome is a very dirty city)
-Minnesota niceness (people here do not address each other)
-guys being more respectful (just tonight, a creepy guy on the metro took a picture of my roommate and I)
-driving!!!! i havent been in a car, besides a taxi, in months!
-how convenient everything is
-constant internet (my roommates and I freeze our butts off to use the internet on our balcony at night)
-not having to pay to use a restroom
-just the overall fact that people don't make anti-America comments in America (My teacher Paolo today..."Bush is a terrorist..." Really, Paolo? You are talking to 30 Americans right now.

Another fun thing we did this week was have a dinner picnic on our living room floor in our apartment. My roommates and I cleared out the couches, made hamburgers, and pretended like we were in America. It was quite the little fiesta.


Of course i love Rome, but some days I just miss things about America. This week it has been especially strong. My roommates and I have talked about this a lot, and just feel that after traveling for this amount of time, we are just sick of traveling every weekend, and have felt a lack of motivation these past few weeks to do a lot outside of what we already do (which is a lot). We really don't have too much down time.

I know that when I will go home, I will miss it here. However, I will especially miss the 30 people who have grown to be like family here, and all of the experiences we have had together.




This week my parents also came and visited, and we had a blast. I think they really enjoyed Rome, and we saw all the sights, did shopping, saw the Roman Opera on Saturday, and had some fabulous dinners!

We also went on a day trip to Pompeii, which was awesome to see! It is a town near Naples, which was destroyed in 79 AD after Mount Vesuvius erupted. There were awesome frescoes and parts of buildings preserved, and it was huge!


Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving early everyone! This weekend I am taking a day trip to Assisi, and doing other fun things such as a soccer game, and going to the Vatican Museum.

Next weekend we are spending a 4 day school sponsored weekend in Florence for Thanksgiving!

Hope everyone is well! xoxo

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Photos

Pompeii
Mom, Dad, and I at Pompeii

Mount Vesuvius
Pompeii ruins with Mount Vesuvius in the background

Pope
My parents and I saw the Pope in St. Peter's Square on Sunday!!!!