Home Sweet Home

Well this is a bit overdue, but I am home, and may I add, with four less teeth. (I got my wisdom teeth out yesterday.) Being abroad was such an amazing experience, but you really don't realize how much you really miss home until you're snuggled up in bed and surrounded by all the people you love again. I can't wait to go back and visit Rome one day, but I have no intention of leaving American anytime soon. Well,  until I go to Spain and Portugal in March with my choir. 

Last Week in Rome

This is one of the journal entries I had to write for my English class. The last journal was supposed to be about saying goodbye to Rome. I thought I would share with you guys what I wrote. It's not my best writing by any means, but enjoy!

Wake up at 8. Eat yogurt with granola and a banana with peanut butter. Get dressed. Walk to school. Go to class. Eat lunch. Go for a run. Do homework. Eat dinner. Go to sleep.  Repeat Monday through Thursday.  But on the weekends, Rome comes alive. This is when I have the time to really experience the city. I can walk to Porta Portese or the Christmas markets in Piazza Navona. I can buy chocolate at the Trastevere chocolate festival or walk into a random church and admire the ornate architecture that is bound to decorate the walls.

            Or maybe I will get out of Rome and go somewhere I have never seen before. Two hours later I can be walking the streets of Monaco, enjoying a crepe in Paris, or climbing to the top of the Duomo in Florence. The weekends are when I can see the world. When I can really take advantage of this amazing opportunity that has presented itself to me. This amazing opportunity that is coming to an end in less than two weeks.

            I arrived in Rome on my birthday. I had no friends, no family and knew nothing about the city except for a few memories that had stuck with me from my trip that here I had taken with my Latin class in eighth grade. I really hated it. I hate change and this was definitely a change from the comfortable summer that I had spent at home. But with each walk I took on the cobblestone streets, with each pastry I tried, and with each person I talked to, Rome started to grow on me. A seed was planted within me and with each day it grew and grew into a love for a city that I had initially despised.

            But even with the love that grew within me for the city, I still found it necessary to leave and discover new places. Each weekend I ventured away from the comfort of my little apartment and saw a new city, embracing the fact that I was the type of traveler that Henry James and Edith Wharton detested. I was taking pictures of monuments that I really knew nothing about. But I loved every second of it. I was always happy to come back to Rome, though, because I had established a home here.

Rome really has become my home.  I have a greater understanding of the Italian culture, as it no longer frustrates me when the buses don’t come or the cashier refuses to break my 50-euro bill. I have accepted it and embraced it. And now I can’t imagine not being here. I can’t imagine not having the opportunities to travel all over Europe and see the some most famous monuments in the world on the way to get my gelato.  Rome has transformed me. It has made me more independent, more secure, and has increased my cultural knowledge. It is everything I could have wanted from this abroad experience. 

Colosseum

This past week I got to go inside of the Colosseum with my Ancient Rome class. It was so nice to finally be able to go inside and I didn't have to pay a dime! My friend, Charlotte, recently sent a picture to me of us from when we were inside the Colosseum back in eighth grade.

How cool is it to see me then and now! Wearing the backpacks on the front of our bodies was probably not necessary, but at least we didn't get pick-pocketed!

Thanksgiving in London

This past weekend I flew into London to visit my friends from Richmond. She goes to Queen Mary's College of London and stays in a dorm on campus which is in east London. I got to her campus around 3:30. We went right out to see the new mall that was just built because of the upcoming Olympics. I also spotted the stadium, which was cool to see. After that, we had to cook because my friend was going to a Thanksgiving potluck. She was in charge of green bean casserole and glazed carrots. We finished those and brought them over to her friend's kitchen. There was a feast waiting for us! It obviously wasn't the same as being at home, but it was nice having a turkey on Thanksgiving and being in the company of such good friends. It would have been miserable if I had stayed in Rome. They don't eat turkey here!

I was so stuffed after dinner, so I went straight to bed! The next morning we woke up and took the tube over to St. Paul's. It really does look a lot like St. Peter's on the inside, which I finally went into the other weekend. We walked over to get burritos after. It had been forever since I had Mexican! After lunch we ventured over to Covent Garden. It was decorated with lights and giant ornaments. It was so nice to see all of the Christmas decorations out! It made me feel like I was home. We met up with my friend's brother, who is doing a year of law school in London. He took us around to Piccadilly Circus, through St. James' Park, and to Parliament and Big Ben. He remembered there was an evensong at St. Paul's at 5, so we ran back over to the east end to catch that. It was so nice and peaceful to hear the choir sing. On the way, we walked through Christmas markets on the South Bank. They were so cute and festive!

After the evensong, we headed toward one of Thomas’ favorite pubs. He ordered us a scotch egg, which is a hard-boiled egg, wrapped in sausage, and deep-fried. It was surprisingly good, although, it certainly is not too good for my arteries.  We met up with another friend who had just landed for fish and chips. Oh my goodness, it was delicious! We walked around London a little more, enjoying the lights on the streets and Christmas trees here and there. Then we took the tube back to Patricia’s school and called it a night. 

The next day was a marathon of sightseeing. We went back to Big Ben, snapped a few pictures of Westminster, headed over to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guard, and walked through St. James’ Park to Fortnum and Mason.We were pretty hungry at this point and decided to go for Thai food. Pad thai has never tasted better!! After lunch, we took the tube to the Tower of London and saw the Tower Bridge (commonly called London Bridge). Patricia, Alyssa and I went back to Westminster to hear the evensong there. When we got there we found out the evensong had been at 3 and wasn't at 5. We were pretty bummed, but we walked over to the National Gallery and I got to see some Van Gogh. I was so impressed by his work! I want one!! If only I had millions of dollars...

I found a statue of Winston Churchill. I took a course on him my first year of school and couldn't help but show my love!

We met Alyssa’s brother again and we went to a pub that supposedly has the best meat pies in London. It really was quite good! I got a three-cheese pie. It was so good and perfect for a cold night! We rode a double-decker back to Covent Garden where we walked around and just absorbed the feelings of Christmas. We headed back to Patricia’s school and went to bed so we could get up for our early flights the next morning.

I had such a good time in London! It was one of my favorites probably because it reminded me so much of home, and did I mention they spoke ENGLISH!? That was a refreshing change from Italian 24/7.