The Beginning

I pretty much can't believe I'm in Rome right now. Twenty four hours ago I was just taking off at O'Hare, and now I'm here. In a hotel. In Rome. I think that will take a few weeks to set in. I didn't sleep much on the plane at all. A half hour at most I'd say. Was on the group flight, so met some nice people right away and saw some old friends. I spent the majority of the flight reading the second Hunger Games book, pausing only to attempt sleep and eat. Despite the lack of sleep, it seemed like no time at all before I was on the ground in Frankfurt. 3 hour delay, and I think the culture shock started to set in. No English, and switching to Euros. The flight from Frankfurt to Rome was basically take off and landing, and the next thing I knew it was a beautiful morning in Rome. Mid 60s and sunny. I missed the majority of the bus ride from the airport to campus because I was so tired I could barely hold my head up. When I got on the bus it was about noon Rome time, so roughly 5AM for all of you in the central. Didn't help that I stayed up late the night before with Jake. The last of many tough goodbyes. Really missing my friends and family right now. Rome is beautiful though. Campus is like a scene out of a movie. Pillars, statues, green grass, palm trees. Pictures to come!  I was so caught up in orientation and such today that I didn't even think to bring my camera from my room. We had registration and some info sessions, met the staff, ate dinner. Just the business side of things today. Tried some of my Italian on the kitchen staff, and it went decently well. Could communicate that I wanted the pizza and the potatoes (a hearty first meal, right?). After dinner, my good friend Jim DeLuca and I roamed the neighborhood, scoped out the 20 minute walk from the hotel to campus, and found a small deli where we purchased our first alcohol legally. Nothing too crazy, just a bottle of Perroni and some other random Italian beer for each of us. Jim played his left handed guitar while I sang in his room, and we made some more friends. I caught a nice second wind, and here I sit at midnight in the hotel, having trouble getting tired. Five months. Five months. Saying it doesn't make it any more real. It feels like the beginning of a vacation. Class starts Monday, but from what I hear, not too much studying happens. Today is just day one. It's going to be a wild ride. Buonanotte, i miei amici. One hell of a first day in Rome.