So we are finally settled into Rome. It’s been hard not having a schedule and not understanding what’s going on. Our flat is really great and I am so happy with all the girls I live with. God is amazing in placing us all together. It’s been frustrating with a lack of communication. We have no telephone and no internet access except from our studio, which we haven’t been able to use, except now class has officially started today so I have access. yay!!!

Friday night Lindsey and I stayed in while the rest of our roommates went to the Trevi Fountain. It was really nice to relax, listen to some Regina Spektor, share a bottle of wine and do some arting. I like my roommates because they like to stretch. It makes me happy. And when they returned home we all did pilates together. Pretty funny.

Here's some pics of our place:
This is Lindsey dancing through our living room.


This is Andrea and I's bedroom.


Here Linds and I are arting the night away.


Saturday was orientation so we saw all of our classmates and took a mini tour of Rome. That was nice because I feel so lost in this city right now. It’s odd to think I will be here until December. I am used to being in a foreign place and being on the go, trying to see everything in a few days. Walking into town takes at least 35 minutes, so it’s a big trek if we want to go anywhere, and to come home takes longer because it is all up hill. We finally invested in a bus pass yesterday after walking an hour and a half to get to church. But it was a church in English and we made it right on time, so it was all worth it. I think we might know of a church that is a little closer to us, which is American.

Here are a few views we see as we walk to class:

First we see some beagles...


Then the city of Roma...


These are steps we have to go down on our way into town... and then back up, this pic doesn't show quite all of them either.


Yesterday was nice because we met up with Patritia, our director here, and some classmates and took a walking tour past Circus Maximus, Hercules temple, Santa Sabina Church, and we also saw the smallest country, Kinghts of Malta. This is a pic of it through a peep hole.


Last night we went out with two of our professors, Dorothy and Brenda, and Patritia. We had a traditional three course meal with bruscetta, pasta, veal and potatoes, and a dessert. It was amazing and so great to to get to know our faculty more.

The three of us trying to be super cool before dinner


I am falling in love with this city everyday as I see more and more. It's amazing how you walk by ruins and they seem so normal being here. There are ancient fountains everywhere. I am listening to one outside our studio right now. The water is fresh, the tomatos are the best I've ever had, and I am trying to capture everything I see into my mind. I wish I could express all the beauty I see here, but I think it shows how great our God is and how He created this world with so much splendor that we cannot even fathom it when we are living in it. It makes me excited for the grandeur of Heaven and how beautiful that will be.

i saw a shooting star as i glanced out my window the other night. it made me smile. my first one in rome.