The trip started back home in Sussex, Wisconsin. I had been alternating between periods of nervousness and excitement.
By the time I got to O'hare, I just wanted to be in Rome. I wanted to know what it was like so I could quit imagining it in my head.
The plane ride to Zurich was dull. I sat in the back and read half of The Andromeda Strain and slept for maybe an hour.
The plane ride from Zurich to Rome was amazing! There was a thick fog that we flew up and out of, but the fog flooded the valleys of the alps and the view from the plane was spectacular.
We arrived in Rome pretty quickly and the fog was gone.
I met some dudes and we went to the hotel, checked in, and shuttled out to our apartments. I was with my roommate Joe, and we were the last dropped off. Driving in Rome is very unique. Very few streets are pedestrian only, even when it looks that way. Drivers do not pay attention to any rules or signs. Roads are narrow. Cars are parked all over the place and double-parked everywhere. It's a mess. Our driver only scratched one parked car and our student ambassador / translator informed us that this happens all the time.
We drove right by the Pantheon and stopped. Sure enough, our apartment is on the same block as the Pantheon! That's right!
And this is the view from our window. Right out onto Via Degli Orfani.
I crashed right after our housing orientation where I really only learned not to poop in the bidet and other don'ts.
Woke up this morning and it was pitch dark. I thought it was 2am, but it was 7am. Had a long day of orientation. In the free-time I bought my first bottle of wine and spoke only Italian to the worker. Now I need a nap.
I'll be posting a link to a photo album soon!
Ci vediamo!
