Lost in Translation

Personally, I hate flying. I'm not usually claustrophobic, but something about airplanes just irks me and seven hour flights seem never ending - luckily, I was not stuck in the middle seat. In any case, we have arrived to Rome! 

For some reason - which I still do not know - we didn't pass through customs and instead exited the airport quite easily. We didn't even have the opportunity to put our bags down before Professoressa Laviosa popped out of no where and began to greet us each individually. 

As we boarded the charter bus, Professoressa Laviosa welcomed us to Rome. 

On the way to Hotel Dorica, our home for the next three weeks, we passed by ruins, old basilicas, and the famous Colosseum. Honestly, I'm really excited; after taking Art History 100 this semester and learning all about Rome from Professor Cassibry I actually know the importance of all of the buildings our hotel is just walking distance away from. 

As we entered the hotel, the man in the lobby greeted us "Benvenuti a tutti - i belli e anche i brutti!" Which translated into: Welcome, everyone - the beautiful and the ugly too! Our names were called out and we were given our room assignments and the keys to our rooms. 

The rooms at Hotel Dorica are very small but after living in Pomeroy for three semesters, I don't have a problem with the smallest of rooms; I've found that if you have a good roommate, you're set (HOLLY SHRECKENGAST *wink wink*). We set down our things and a couple of us headed out into the city where we each ordered a panino and for dessert, gelato. 

Finally, in what seemed to be days, we took a much needed nap before orientation in the hotel lobby. Holly and I would have slept through the whole thing were it not for Emily who knocked on our door. 

"WHO IS IT? WE'RE SLEEPING", Holly answered.We soon realized it was 4:02pm and orientation started at 4. 

We stumbled into orientation just as soon as we stumbled out of it and started to make plans for the evening. 

Perhaps, we were a little too ambitious in thinking we would explore the city all night long.. Actually, we were. While a large portion of the group went out into the city, I waited in the lobby to meet up with a friend I had had since middle school. Once she arrived, we called Cynzia and decided to meet at the Trevi Fountain, or la Fontana di Trevi. 

Holly and Mathilde 

Having not a clue where to go we decide to ask what looked like a group of locals by the Repubblica Teatro dell'Opera subway stop . "Sapete dove la Fontana di Trevi è?" I should note, translating with locals has thus far proved.. challenging. Fortunately, these guys knew no English and didn't switch to English as soon as they realized we were American. After a couple of exaggerated hand gestures and some broken Italian and Spanish, we knew that we needed to go down Via Nazionale in sight for a tunnel on our right that would eventually lead us to our destination. 

We were really glad to find that we had actually understood the three lanky Italian men because fifteen minutes later we found the rest of the group at the Trevi Fountain. 

The rest of the night included delicious and authentic Italian food served by wonderful people who were willing to speak to us in and only in Italian. 

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Afterwards, on our way to find a good gelato place after dinner we strolled by the Pantheon, which seemed to glow in the darkness of the night. 

Honestly, I can't even explain how excited I am to be here. After posting a picture of the Pantheon on Facebook, my father commented "Que la belleza que te rodea inunde tu alma," which translate into "Let the beauty that surrounds you flood your soul". I couldn't have said it better myself.