Hello All!! I hope everyone is doing just dandy! I know I am, hehe. Well this past weekend was quite eventful. On Friday we went to Subiaco which is where St. Benedict came up with the whole foundation of Benedictian ways, by living in a cave for 3 years! It was hard to imagine a 15yr old boy wanting to live in a cave for three years and coming up with values to support his faith. There was a monastery built over the cave, enclosing it inside. It was really beautiful there. The view was spectacular and the monastery was beautiful. It was amazing to see how it was built into the side of the mountain, so that one wall in the monastery will always by the mountain. It was a very uplifting experience and reminded me of home at CSBSJU. The frescos are amazing and the cave it self is beyond words.

On Saturday a group of us went to Assisi, which is just as gorgeous as Subiaco. The picture is of me in Assisi with the view behind me. It is sooo beautiful there, just amazing. I would love to live there, everything was so peaceful and relaxing. We hiked up a huge hill to the castle there RoccaMaggiore. Which is huge and had spectacular views at the top of the towers. I really enjoyed it. We did make it to the Basilica of St. Francis where we saw the tomb of St. Francis. It was a wonderful place. We went back to Rome that evening and I was really tired from all the walking anc fresh air that I stayed in that night and did mostly homework on Sunday.

This week is going alright. Bennie day was on Monday and some of us went to get gelato at Old Bridge which is the best gelato. Yesterday was a busy walking day learning about the architecture of the Colosseum, Palazzo Venezia, and Michealangelo's Piazza del Campidoglio. And then in History we learned about the Triumphal Procession which was in the Field of Mars and we started in Largo Argentina, then Circus Flaminius, and to Circus Maximus. All in all it was a great day with new knowledge of the city of Rome. Later that night I did go to a bar, Scholars, which is an Irish pub. And it was Kareoki Night!!(spelling needed) I didn't sing on stage but sang with the crowd. It was a lot of fun!! I will be sure to keep up with the pictures and posts as much as I can. Hope you all have a fantastic day/night. Miss you and love you all!!

Weekend Trip to Venezia!

Hello all! I hope everyone is doing well, apparently H1N1 has made its way to CSB/SJU, and I hope everyone there in Minnesota are doing well and avoiding the flu. Going back to my first day of school I had Senior Sem. and then Language class which were good. Then Tuesday I have Art history and history which are on site. (They will probably be my hell days b/c they walk and talk sooo fast). Wednesday I have Senior Sem. and Thursday I have Language. All in all the week went pretty well.
This weekend we decided to go to Venice and leave Thursday night on a night train. It sounded like fun, but I didn't get that much sleep at all. We arrived outside of the island around 5:30 am on Friday. We eventually found the bus to our hostel/campground which suprisingly better than I thought. We decided to head towards Venice and go to St. Marks square. Once we arrived, it was amazing. All the cannals, gondolas, boats, bridges, appartments, it all was just a site! After wandering around for like 2 hours trying to find either the Realto bridge or St. Marks square we finally stumbled across the Realto and then found St. Marks a few minutes after. We went inside the Basilica which was decorated which mosaics and paintings. It was beautiful to see all the gold mosaic tiles they used to make the picture scenes. Unfortunately I couldn't take any pictures. After St. Marks we found the Bridge of Sighs which is going under renovation or construction of some sort. Then I followed another group of classmates and we decided to call it a day by 5:oopm and went back to the hostel.
On Saturday we checked out early and made our way to Venice with all of our stuff. This time we went to the Dodge's Palace, which is huge! If I were a kid that lived there it would be an awesome place to play tag or hide and seek in. There was a golden staircase that lead to all the different rooms, which I snuck a picture of, hehe. And in each room, had these gorgeous and huge paintings that were spectacular to see. And most rooms had the original fireplaces. The armory room was so cool to see with the different swords and guns used. The court room where most of the voting goes on, is considered one of the largest rooms in Europe. (just a little fun fact for you all). We made our way to the prisons and walked across the Bridge of Sighs. After the palace we quick made our way to the Museum of Mark which connects with the Correr Museum, but we couldn't spend that much time in there b/c they were closing. But we saw a lot of statues, figurines, and different coins. Once we ate dinner we made our way to the train station to catch the night train back to Rome. This time it was a little better, or at least I got more sleep. Now I am doing homework for the day and organizing things for next week. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and a great week. Love you!!

First day of School!!!

Ok I just want to apologize for my mis-spells on the las post. It was 2am in the morning and I can't really spell to begin with.

Before my first day of school I will tell briefly about my weekend.
Saturday: Some roommates and I started the day off the day going to a market with all the different stands and foods. It was amazing! The place was huge and I didn't know where to start or what to buy. But I got some food and came back pretty satisfied. By 2pm we headed out to the Spanish Steps which had the Trinita dei Monti church on top which was magnificent! We incidentaly met another group there and decided to go to the Trevi Fountain which was close by. I didn't throw my penny in yet, I want to see it at night when it is lit up. There was a church next to it, which I do not know the name, but was really beautiful inside as well. We split off into our little group and went to the Piazza Veneza. Along the way we found another church, Church of the Apostles, which held the tombs of two apostles. We made it to the Piazza and saw the Monument to Victor Emmanuel II which was extraordinary! Off to the side we saw the Colosseum, but as we were walking the clouds rolled in and it started raining so we ran for the metro instead. And then I called it a night after getting wet.

Sunday: We decided to go see the pope today when he gave his address. We met at the Vatican around 10:15am and there was a long line to get inside St. Peter's Basilica. We eventually got in and it was beyond words. The church was gorgeous, huge, and elaborate! After walking around, we needed to find where to go to see the pope. We asked and found out he wasn't at St. Peters, but we can still watch on the screens. As we went to find a spot, it started to rain. We did get to see him on the screen and it was pretty cool! Afterwards, we found the times for mass and decided to go at St. Peter's Basilica. Once it was over, we found food and went back to the apartment. We all took naps while it thunderstormed outside. While eating dinner, Harry Potter 5 was on in Italian which was pretty funny. And there were also fireworks going off, but we couldn't see them.

First Day of School: Senior Sem. was our first class, which went pretty well. It is a small room with the desks packed close together. After 3 hours we got lunch for two hours until our next class. The afternoon class was language and culture, and our proffessor was not going to speak english at all. I was scared, but it was actually better than I thought. He was really funny, and he looks like Albert Einstein, except his hair isn't all white, I understood most of it, but can't spell worth anything (go figure). Afterwards, my roommate and I had to meet our instructors for dinner which was amazing. Then once it was over, we had to stop for gelato at the best placce in Rome, Old Bridge, which was heaven. (Especially for my first gelato here; that's right I've been good) Now I'm just getting for another day. Hope everyone is doing well and having a great time wherever you are. Love you all!

Surviving ;)

Hello Everyone!!
I made it to Rome safe and sound with all my luggage. I arrivrd on Wednesday 9th around 10:30am Roman time (5:30am midwestern time). We met with the group and directors at Termini and ventured off to find our apartments. After asking three Italians, and going in one wrong direction we finally found it! The apartment is amazing and we get a tv in every room, a wonderful kitchen, and two bathrooms with showers, sinks, and a boudae! I'm living with five other girls who are fantastic. We basically called it a day after getting some pasta for dinner and then went to bed.
The next day, the 10th, we met with our directors and the whole group at the St. Agnus church where the Literature prof. , Camille, took us around and told us some stories and histroy of Rome. We went to the Pantheon and Campo de Furie, which is a market. After that the day was ours and we ventured around the area and then went to the Vatican. It was a gorgious place to see St. Peter's Square, it is alomost intimidating with the size and openess. We ended the night celebrating on of my roommate's 21st birthday and had everyone over at our apartment. It was quite interesting.
On Firday 11th, we got a tour of our school, Dilit International. There are three different buildings that are moderately close. Hopefully I can remember where they are at! Later in the afternoon we went to the American Embassy, where we met with the Embassador Miguel Diaz. (He was a SJU Theo. prof. before he was given this opportunity). He seems very happy where he is at and very humble. He was glad to see us Johnnies and Bennies. After that we got to do whatever for the day, so we decided to go back and veg. for a bit and then go meet up with people to go out on the town. Which didn't really happen, but a small group of us decided to go near the Vatican where there was a concert set up with a local band. It was actually great music, for not understanding Italian. We then saw the St. Peter's square again but this time it was lit up so it looked amazing! After that we decided to call it a night since it was 1:00am. I will hopefully get pics. up soon. Hope you all are doing well and are having a great September! Love you all!

Pre-Departure

Hey all!
I hope everyone had a wonderful summer! I've started this blog to let you know what is going on in Europe when I'm there. For those who don't know I am studying abroad in Rome, Italy and Athens, Greece. I will be studying Theology, Art History, History, Language, and Senior Sem. I will be in Italy until Oct. 24th and move to Greece and live there until Dec. 18th. I will try to keep this blog updated weekly, but I can't make any promises. If you have any suggestions, or places I should go, please let me know!! And please keep me updated with your life as well, by emailing or facebooking me. Hope you have a wonderful day and enjoy the future blogs!