January 31

This was a very special day. On this day, I met Anna and Pepe, my host parents, and moved into the apartment that I will call my home until May. 

We all waited in the lobby of the school in anticipation for the moment that our host parents would arrive to pick us up and bring us to our new homes. I would be rooming with another girl from Loyola named Meg. I had heard very good things from multiple people about our host parents and their home. 

Anna arrived at the school and after saying hello, we loaded our suitcases into the car which Pepe would drive back. Being that Italian cars are as tiny as they are, there was no room for Meg and I. For this reason, us two and Anna took a 15 minute walk back to our new home. 

Our home is located in the Centro Storico, or Historical Center of Rome. The school, also known as the Catholic University of America in Rome (CUA Rome) is located in "Trastevere" (tras = across, Tevere = Tiber river), which is across the river from what used to be the confines of the city of Rome. Now, Trastevere is just another neighborhood in Rome located south of Vatican City. So, in order to get back home from Trastevere, we simply descended Gianiculum hill, on which CUA sits, and crossed one of the many bridges over the Tiber. 

Our walk with Anna was very pleasant despite a light drizzle. Anna speaks a good amount of English, but she was excited to hear that I speak a little bit of Italian (or at least understand some). 

We got settled into our home and at around 8:30 we ate dinner. It was nice to finally be moved in and have a home cooked meal. 

January 30

This was supposed to be the day of the scavenger hunt, in which we would ideally traverse the city in groups to see who could take a group picture at the most sites/landmarks. However, I had walked over 30,000 steps, the most I have ever recorded. To put that in perspective, the goal is always 10,000. I hadn't achieved that until the first day of my trip on my journey to (and throughout) the airport.

But today, many of us were tired. We managed to make our way to a couple of the sites, the most notable being the Trevi Fountain (where we tossed our coins in and made wishes of course) and Piazza Spagna, which is unfortunately under construction.



 

Photo: Panoramic of the Trevi fountain.



Photo: As the caption on the photo notes, I checked the Trevi Fountain off of my list of places to see. This definitely doesn't mean that I'm not going back.


Photo: (From left to right) Marco, me, Sydney, Sarah, Irene, and Meg sitting on the fountain. This was the only group photo in front of a monument we took all day.
Spoiler:
We didn't win the scavenger hunt.


Photo: Piazza Spagna/ the Spanish Steps, currently under construction.

January 29

Today we had the opportunity to meet an Australian priest who is associated with our program for 7 AM mass at St. Peter's Basilica. This meant waking up at about 5:30 so that we could have breakfast before taking the metro over and going through security. When entering the basilica, we were able to walk through the "holy doors" which are only open during Jubilee years.

Wikipedia tells us that, "..in Christianity, the tradition dates to 1300, when Pope Boniface VIII convoked a holy year, following which ordinary jubilees have generally been celebrated every 25 or 50 years; with extraordinary jubilees in addition depending on need. Christian Jubilees, particularly in the Catholic tradition, generally involve pilgrimage to a sacred site, normally the city of Rome. The Catholic Church has declared the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy for 2015–2016."

I don't quite understand how it's decided that we need a Jubilee year but it's pretty cool that I'm here to experience it. After entering the church, we were given a few minutes to look around before being escorted downstairs to a tiny room, very close to the tomb of St. Peter, where we would have our mass. I can't really explain how amazing it was to be able to celebrate mass in the most famous basilica in the world. (I didn't fact-check that but I give you all permission to attribute that quote to me)








Photo: This is what St. Peter's looks like from a distance before the sun rises. If we're being realistic this is probably the only pre-sunrise picture I'll take all semester.




Photo: Still St. Peter's although the dome isn't visible in this picture. By the time we got through security the sun had risen.

Photo: As close as I could get to the main altar of the basilica. The area was blocked off. Didn't take more pictures inside because there was too much to see. I'll be back again.

Photo: Proof that I was actually at St. Peter's since everyone knows I don't like waking up early. Mom and Dad-- maybe John can explain to you what a "geotag" is.

Extra proof that I woke up early: my scarf tag is sticking out and my eyeliner is smudged across my face.

Later on this same day, my friend Irene (pronounced ee-ren-ay, not eye-reen) and I decided to take steps towards acquiring our residence permits. We took the metro to Piazza Barberini, bought a stamp called a "marca di bollo" (I don't know what it is either) for 16 euro, as was required, and walked a bit to find the specific post office where we would purchase our "permesso di soggiorno" (residence permits-- are you keeping up?). After waiting for a bit and painfully handing over 140 euro in cash, we received receipts with our scheduled appointments for the fingerprinting portion of the process. What's VERY unfortunate is that mine is at 8:30 in the morning on Friday, March 11th. (Hint: the morning after my 21st birthday). I think we have to get our pictures taken too-- I'll be sure to make copies of that one.

January 28

Today, we said goodbye to Assisi and prepared to return to Rome, where we would be staying in another guest house for the weekend before moving in with our host families.

Photo: Edited version of a photo I took from Rocca Maggiore in Assisi. 

We were all more than ready to get settled in with our host families and not really looking forward to having to pack our things, carry our luggage for another temporary stay in a guest house, but at least we would be in Rome. 

The guest house was owned by nuns, who seemed strict and only spoke Italian. However, they did prepare a nice breakfast for us every morning and gave us a place to stay for a few days, so it wasn't that bad. Before long, we settled in and were on our way to a pizza dinner. The pizza was very good, but I think I also discovered my new favorite dessert, consisting of a waffle bowl, cream, strawberries, and chocolate syrup. Not sure what they call it here but I have to have it again.