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.