In exactly 8 days I will be leaving for Europe. Wow I can’t believe how strange that sounds!! No one in my family has ever even been out of the United States. I am trying so hard to not have any expectations because I know that nothing is ever what you expect but I can’t help but think that this is going to be a huge adventure. Possibly one of the biggest adventures of my life and I am nervous, excited, anxious, and all of these questions are going through my mind. I keep rechecking my list of what to pack to see if I’ve forgotten anything. My mom says I’m driving her crazy. She’s just sad to see me go for so long. I will be in Rome for almost 4 months and that is by far the longest that I have ever been away from my parents. I live in Florida. I am literally a two hour drive away and, so, I go home a lot (what can I say sometimes you just need a parental fix and some home cooked food). Well work calls, gotta go earn some green so that I don’t bug my parents for money (and so that I have enough for some really good souvenirs).

After a very long airplane ride (11 hours in total), I finally landed in Rome, Italy at 7:30 in the morning local time. I was met with a burst of emotions. I was excited to finally be here, scared to have to meet new people, and sad to leave my family and friends behind. However, I plan to make the most of every single one of my 110 days in a foreign country. I started by settling myself into my room and ventured with one of my new roommates down to a little supermarket where no one spoke even an ounce of English. It was cool to hear familiar songs in the store in English and Italian. I know very little Italian but what I do know earned the respect of the people that worked there simply because I tried. We took a walking tour of the place that we will call home for the next three months and found a Gelataria with the best Nutella (brown hazelnut chocolate goo) Gelato in Rome. Figuring that we would get a little dinner to go with our dessert we stopped at a small Pizzeria and experienced a true Italian meal of vino rosso (red wine) and pizza which gave me another chance to practice my Italian. I miss my family but I can’t wait to experience all of the treasures that Rome holds for me.

Today we walked to the University where we will be attending classes. It was a long walk but the scenery was well worth it. I found out that the easiest way to get to class is through Saint Peter’s Square. We got to the University and met the John Cabot University staff and learned all of the rules and policies for the residence halls. I made friends with some people from Michigan State University and ended up hanging out with them and grabbing some dinner with three of the roommates.

The JCU students call this "top terrace"

One of the many courtyards around JCU

Not a bad place to study!!!

View from the University

More orientation today!!! I took lots of pictures of John Cabot and figured out the bus systems. It was a proud day for a girl from a smaller Florida town. After this I could navigate the bus systems of New York City- piece of cake!!! A couple of friends and I also signed up for a few of the trips that are offered by JCU. We decided to go to Sicily in November and Switzerland for Thanksgiving. I can’t wait!!!

The University Entrance

My roommates and I decided to go exploring today. We left at about 9:30 in the morning and walked all day. We meandered through the streets of Rome, stumbling upon Trevi Fountain, The Spanish Steps, Castile San Angelo, Capital Hill, and the American Embassy in our travels. We tossed our coins and took lots of pictures. After all that walking (nearly 6 hours worth), it was nice to get back to the apartment and take a small siesta. Not a bad day all together!!!

I walk through St. Peter's Square on my way to Class.

The Spanish Steps...the original stairmaster!!

Trevi Fountain...I threw my three coins in!!

Castle San Angelo

The Pantheon...Pegan temple turned Catholic Church!!

In front of the Collosseum

Classes started on September 3 and it took a while to get used to the new professors (it always takes some time), but once classes got rolling everything started to get better and I started to realize the vast similarity between Leo and John Cabot (small classes, individual attention, approachable faculty and staff). I started to explore faster and better ways to get home by using the bus and walking. It is definitely a different world. I am a little less homesick than I was when I first arrived in Rome and I have realized that I am truly in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I have met people from all over the US and all over the world. I have seen things that I can’t even describe in words. It is humbling to think that the streets beneath you were once walked by Julius Caesar, the Medici family, Michelangelo, DaVinci, etc. Not a bad history!!!

So it really starts to hit you how far away from home you are when you receive bad news. I talk to my mom via webcam on my computer and she told me that my Dad has to have surgery because he did something to his rotator cuff. Now I am really bad at anatomy and science and stuff like that but it doesn’t sound like the most routine injury in the world. While I know that my Dad is a strong guy and can pretty much make it through anything I can’t help but worry (it’s my job as his daughter). To top it off I missed my brother getting ready for his first high school homecoming which was a little sad because I have been there for stuff like that and this is the first time I am missing it. On days like that it is hard to be here… so far away from everything. You realize that life goes on even though you are not there and all you can do is think about the fact that it won’t be long until you are there again and know that there will be plenty more things to look forward to. You also need to tell yourself that you are doing something not a lot of other people get to do… you are not only seeing the world but you are EXPERIENCING the world and that is something that is incomparable and can’t be traded for anything.

Wow! I really have not written in a while. It has been so hectic here between classes and seeing everything in Rome and going to so many different places. Two weekends ago, a couple friends and I went to Tuscany and spent the weekend traveling from Rome to Siena to Pisa and, finally, back to Rome. The train ride wasn’t too bad… a little over three hours. We went to Siena first and it was beautiful there were hills and mountains all around the city (there are no mountains in Florida). The churches there are the most ornately decorated churches that I have ever seen!!! We went to the house of Saint Catherine of Siena and saw where she is buried and then we went to the huge piazza in the middle of town where two of my friends decided to be adventurous and climb the 550 steps to the top of a tower that over looks the entire city. I stayed in the square and watched our stuff and wrote postcards to my family. And of course, the girls that we are we had to shop. When we left Siena, we went to Florence and got settled into our hostel for the night (for those that don’t know hostels are like a cross between a hotel and a dorm room) and then went exploring. We found Piazza Repubblica where the city had set up a movie screen on the side of the building. Nothing was playing at the time but we ate at a little caffe in that piazza despite the lack of cinematic entertainment. The next day we went to the Accademia to see the David and ended up seeing a lot of really cool musical instruments, paintings, and sculptures. We also went to the Uffizi where the Birth of Venus is, but ended up waiting in line for twenty minutes without moving and then gave up. We then saw the Duomo and ate really good marzipan (I would not recommend eating it the next day though!!). On Sunday, we went to see the leaning tower and proceeded to take cheesy tourist pictures holding up the tower. Riding back the Italian people on the train were amused with our attempt to amuse ourselves by playing Hangman.

I love trains!!!

The view of Siena in the morningfrom my window at the hostel

The hostel in Siena

House of Saint Catherine of Siena

Torre del Mangia

Santa Maria Della Scala

Inside the Duomo in Siena

The Baptistry in Pisa

The leaning tower of Pisa

...it's fate rests in my hands!!!

The Ocean view from the train

Visiting the statue of David

Gold doors of the Baptistry at the Duomo in Florence

This weekend was very exciting for any sweet tooth in Italy. I went to the Eurochocolate festival in Perugia. There were literally streets filled with tents all selling their smooth creamy confections or giving out free samples to passersby. Despite the frigid conditions throughout the day (at one point it snowed) I had a very good time. I saw a show about the history of chocolate and its production and sampled many different innovative products (ie cake on a stick, chocolate rum balls, chocolate liquor, and hot chocolate European style). It was like Willy Wonka ...only better. I would say it was a very productive and delicious day!!!

This weekend was a long weekend for celebrating All Saints Day which is apparently a huge holiday in Italy as well as a holy day of obligation. I took this amazing opportunity to visit the land of my forefathers- Sicilia (my great-grandparents on my father’s side where originally from Palermo and Messina in Sicily)!!! It was possibly the best experience of my life and not for any of the obvious reasons. All of our planes were delayed, the weather was horrible, and everything we wanted to see was really spread apart and, therefore, required hours on a bus. In spite of all of this, I had the time of my life!!! I saw an active volcano and a house that was buried in its lava flow. I saw the ruins of temples to the various Roman gods (Hercules, Jupiter, etc.). I visited the most beautiful beach I have ever seen and I visited a quaint seaside fishing village. The best part of the weekend, though, was meeting the people that went on the trip with me. It was a little uncomfortable at first because I really didn’t know any of them before hand but we really formed some very good friendships by the end of the trip. I realized that to really enjoy myself on any trip, whether it is in the States or in a different country, it is better not to expect anything and it is necessary that you “roll with the punches� as my mom so sagely advises. That is when you are yourself and that is when you are going to have the most fun. I guess the same can be said of any new experience. It is better to stay true to who you are but sometimes just a little bit of flexibility and understanding make that experience ten times better. I had a great time in Sicily and I can’t wait to visit again with my Mom and Dad someday- it will happen!!!

So I'm really hoping these people had insurance...this happened in the last eruption which was about 5 years ago!!!

A Caldera which is another word for crater found about 7,000 meters up...I played in a volcano crater!!!

The powerful yet beautiful Mount Etna located just outside the city of Catania

Sara, Amy, and I inside the massive crater

Me inside the Grecian Theater in a beach town called Taormina

One of the Temples at Agrugiento

A fisherman's boat in Syracusa

All of us gathered for four course dinners every night and buffet breakfasts every morning.

Waiting for a plane... so goes the life of the jetset!!!

Ashley’s (my roommate this year and last) parents came to visit from New York and she wanted to show them the sites so they invited Megan (my other roommate and sorority sister) and I to tag along to visit the Vatican museums and Saint Peter’s with them. So at 9 in the morning in the pouring rain we waited in line for 2 hours only to have a couple from Spain cut in front of us and make up this vast story about how they were with the man in front of them who proceeded to prove them wrong, saying he was backpacking through Europe alone and was from Canada. Once inside, I was definitely caught off guard by what is held in the Vatican Museums. I thought it was going to be a lot of religious relics and information on the Popes and the Swiss Guard and actually it was none of that. You don’t realize how much the Catholic Church has had throughout history until you visit these museums. There is and entire section devoted solely to carvings of animals!! There were courtyards and even a tennis court and playground that we were told was there for the enjoyment of the Swiss Guard (I didn’t even know they lived at the Vatican). We stopped in the Sistine Chapel and looked up in awe at the ceiling which is considered one of the greatest masterpieces in the world!! Then we went to Saint Peter’s Basilica and the fact that I was inside the Vatican really hit me. I was standing in front of the very place where Saint Peter, the founder of the Catholic Church, is buried. This was something I will never be able to fathom or replace. It was a solemn place of prayer, a place of so much devotion to God and to that religion which so many hold dear, a place of enormous history!!! The feeling you get when you are inside is absolutely indescribeable. The only thing I truly regret about the whole experience is that we toured on our own and now looking back at it, it would have been interesting to have a tour guide to tell us all about the things we were seeing and experiencing.

Il Vaticano e La Basilica di San Pietro

The Sphere with Sphere in the Courtyard of the Pigna

An ornately decorated gallery of the Vatican museums

I wouldn't mind taking a bath in that!!!

A mural of Italia Nuova

Spiral Staircase which gradually turns from a ramp to steps

Strapping Swiss Guard

The altar over the place where St. Peter is buried inside La Basilica di San Pietro

Marble engraved with ALL of Popes recorded back to Saint Peter

Ashley and I decided to take a trip this weekend to get our minds off our schoolwork. We decided that everyone must see Venice at least once in their lives so that is where we went. It was definitely an adventure as our trips usually are. The funny travel stories begin on the train where some Italian guy decided that, even though there were four empty seats on the other side of the aisle, he wanted to sit on top of Ashley (Euro Trip moment???). He sat there for almost three hours holding his newspaper in front of him but actually peering over Ashley’s shoulder and reading the book that she was reading. He then proceeded to engage us in a conversation about proper business marketing techniques (thrilling…riveting…really)!!! We finally got to Venice and even though it was late in the day we went exploring and found all of the wonderful things that make Venice such a great place to visit. It is truly a city you could be content getting lost in. When we got lost we did a lot of shopping. We bought some typical Venetian treats and Venetian masks for family and friends back home. There are no cars allowed in Venice so all transportation is by boat which made getting from one place to another a very interesting experience however, they have water taxis and buses, which made life a little easier. We passed by a theater while trying to find our way back to Piazza San Marco (where we had to catch the bus back to the hostel). We went inside and discovered that it was a dinner theater and was relatively inexpensive because of the student discount we received. We bought our tickets, went back to the hostel to put our bags down (lots of shopping= I am so broke!!!) and change for the show. The dinner was seven courses and they had actors that went around socializing with the people. The show was awesome and we learned a lot about Carnivale which is a Venetian festival used to get rid of all the meat in the town before the beginning of Lent. The next day we had to leave really early in order to get back to Rome and get some work done for that week’s classes but despite the fact that it was a short visit to Venice it was a very good experience and I would love to go back someday.

The bridge of Sighs...Lots of canals mean lots of foot bridges and every one of them is artistic and beautiful...even the ones leading to prisons.

The Campanile

Gondola that had just dropped off its passengers who were taking a romantic Gondola ride by moonlight

Gondolas are "moored" in the Bacino Orseolo

Best Western Venice style...every room overlooks a canal!!

Gondola with its passengers going under one of the many bridges of Venice

Basilica and Piazza di San Marco

Waiting for the water bus in the floating bus stop... that's right even the bus stops are on water

and there's the water bus

A Venetian snack for the train home

This weekend was Thanksgiving and although they don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in Italy, our school is American so they gave us a long weekend. I went on a trip to the Alps right near the spot where Italy meets Switzerland and France. Around 40 students representing 3 study abroad schools went on this trip so I met a lot of really cool people from all over the world!! I had a nice, relaxing weekend which reenergized me to get through the last two weeks of classes. We went sledding, ice skating, built a snow fort and a snow man, and I made my first real snow angel ever (I decided not to go skiing because I didn’t really want to humiliate myself by face-planting on the mountain). Oh did I mention that it snowed all weekend so that by the time I left the snow was up to my knees!!! Since I am from Florida everyone got a kick out of my reaction to that much snow and all of the mountains. The village we stayed in was a quaint little Alpine village that could have been packed up and put right into a Disney movie (it helped that at the ice rink they were playing Disney soundtracks). We had a Thanksgiving Dinner on Thursday that was very good despite the fact that we were all freezing and the food for the rest of the weekend (which was provided by the hostel and the company that sponsored the trip) was really good. I had so much fun and met so many new people that I really hope to stay in contact with even after this whole adventure is over (Oh my gosh… that is only 16 days away!!!). Right now I can’t wait to get home and see my family and friends (and earn a little extra cash!!!) but I know that I want to return someday with my family so that I can show them all of the amazing things that I saw and experienced while I studied here. I really missed not having Thanksgiving dinner with my family and watching the Macy’s parade and the endless football games that follow but since I had to give those things up, this weekend was a very good substitute.

The Alps for Thanksgiving

Funny part... that car was dug out of the snow the night before

Barricades to stop Avalanches

Playing in the snow

Look Mom... I'm a snow angel!!!

Our Huge Snow Man!!!

The snow fort

The Alpine mountains are so pretty when they are coved in snow!!

The beauty of a restaurant and bar attatched to a skating rink...eat and then skate!!!

We stayed in the little town of Cervinia, Italy.

So good news…I am finally finished with classes!!! Bad news…finals start Sunday…not fun. However, they only last until Monday and then I am free to explore Rome without worrying about deadlines and homework. It is really starting to hit home that I will be back in 7 days and it is a bittersweet realization. Bitter because I am leaving the most beautiful, wonderful place I have ever seen. Sweet because I am going back to my own home with my own bed and a family that I have truly missed over the past four months. I would not have traded any of it for anything in the world. I feel that I have changed for the better through this experience. It has made me more independent, more outgoing, and less apprehensive to try new things (food, activities, etc.). It has made me a well-rounded individual and has taught me the importance of being open-minded. I hope that these newly found characteristics will continue and that future experiences will have an affect on me because of what these characteristics.

So it is St. Patrick’s Day and I have a lot to celebrate. I just got back from Spring Break and had an awesome time just chilling at home with my family. I saw my cousins and my aunt, hung out with my mom and dad, played scrabble, and ate lots of really great meals (and they were free). Oh and I got my laundry done which is a definite plus (to clarify my mom got my laundry done). The entire break my cousin who was very pregnant felt like she was going to pop but she didn’t…oh no…the baby decided it wanted to be a leprechaun so today (about two hours ago) we added Elias Steven (Eli for short) to our family and he is sooooooooooo cute from what my mom has told me. That’s ok I’ll be back home in a week for Easter so I can hold him and make strange baby noises and such. It’s hard missing things while you are away because sometimes it makes you feel a little out of the loop at least I do, and I don’t like being out of the loop but it’s something my family and I have talked about so they try not to make me feel like I am missing so much while I’m at school and I try to come home whenever I can (which with a busy schedule isn’t easy).

One of the great things about Saint Leo is the fact that our professors give us the best opportunities to network with people in high positions in our fields of study because they are still so involved in what they teach. In the International Hospitality and Tourism Management Department we are lucky to have the Industry Liaison Council which meets regularly to be informed of what we are taught in the classroom and to make sure we see what is happening in the industry firsthand. A new way of doing this is every year they sponsor a trip to see a hub of the tourism market and what companies have to offer. This trip gives a chance to network and ask executives for advice about getting a job or how they got to where they are today. This year the trip was to Atlanta and I was given the chance to attend. There are no words to describe what we, the other three students and I, experienced being able to meet these people who have advanced so high in the Tourism industry. We met people from all sectors because we visited the headquarters of Intercontinental Hotel Groups, Coca Cola, CNN, and Delta Airlines. One of the conditions of this trip is that we create a presentation about our trip and present at Academic Excellence Day (a whole day devoted to students and their projects and showing what they have learned) and the ILC meeting on the 21st of April… wish me luck!!!

The Coca Cola Polar Bear!!! (I love those commercials)

This building was huge!!!!!!!

On our way to the 3D show and wanting to be Charlie's Angels

In front of CNN Headquarters

Checking out the weather maps for the Atlantic International flights at Delta

The Spirit of Delta

The engine is bigger than me!!!!

My classes are over, my finals are done, and my stuff from my room at school is all over my living room at home. I’m glad to be home though. I have started work at the pool and have the sunburn to prove it and I just got my grades yesterday. My GPA went up (which I am very excited about) but despite the fact that my mind gets a rest for the summer I know I am going to miss my friends, my sisters, and the fact that there is always something going on. However, I love being home and hanging out with my family and seeing my friends at home and it is awesome to be able to talk to my mom and just sit down and watch a movie or play scrabble without worrying about what is due tomorrow in class or what do I need to do for the meeting next week. Summer should be interesting and senior year has come so fast. I feel like I was just a freshman and now I’m a senior and getting ready to graduate in less than a year. I hope it turns out to be a great year.