Plan, Plan, Plan..

Inside the Colosseum  

Colosseum

Time is already flying! It's already been almost three weeks since my feet were still on American soil, but it seems as though I left just yesterday. I'm finally getting adjusted and can find my way around this huge, crazy city and I'm loving every minute of it. This past week has been insanity between classes, sightseeing, and going out during the nights. I am loving it! My roommate Kristen and I have been trying to hit up Saldi to find some new boots before all the sales are over, but we've been unsuccessful. It has helped us learn our way around the city though!

Roman Forum

Wednesday was our first real day of my Art History class, and I can already give a huge THANKS to David for suggesting I take it while I am here. I've been saving my Non-Lit requirement for Clemson (which you usually fill first semester freshman year) so I could take an art history class while here. It's an amazing class - each class is an on-site visit to a historical sight. Basically, I am getting class credit for taking tours of all the sights I would want to see anyway. For our first class, we hit up the Roman Forum and Colosseum. It kept hitting me while I was in class that everyone back home normally is studying this stuff out of an art history book and just looking at pictures, while I'm standing in front of these treasures listening to my teacher lecture. It's AMAZING being here and being able to have a class like this. We were able to bypass the line and go into both sights and explore everything. The main reason I came to Rome was for the history, so I was loving it! 

I've also started my job here, and spent a lot of this weekend working. They were short-staffed both Thursday and Friday night, so I ended up working both nights. I made 85 euro though! Working is difficult here because I do not know the language, but it's interesting learning the culture! It's funny because the place I work is catered toward American students, so I am meeting a lot of people from my school. This can also be funny because the students mistake me as an Italian (not sure how with my blond hair) and ask me for local places to go. The look on their faces when I tell them that I'm studying too and have only been here three short weeks is hilarious. I am only going to be working one shift a week from now on and will only be working until mid-March. I am trying to make sure that this job does not get in the way of my experience here, but rather enriches it with a way to launch myself further into Italian culture. Plus it's obviously nice to have a good amount of extra spending money! 

My travel plans so far

Christina and I have been working on our travel plans. We're determined to not have a single weekend where we don't travel somewhere new! In my plans so far I have Venice, Sicily, Prague, Florence, Cinque Terre, Brussels, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, and Munich! I'm also planning on using the money I make at my job to go to some more areas close to Rome for day trips, which most of them only cost about 10-15 euro. These first few weeks have been fun getting settled and planning what the rest of the semester is going to bring, but now I'm ready to start traveling!!!! I've also been trying to plan places to go to in Rome, so I can make sure to experience everything this amazing city has to offer. I know how easy it can be to stick to the same routine, so I'm trying to make sure my routine includes exploring new places around Rome.

Unfortunately, these plans have been put on hold for me because I've caught the sickness that has been spreading around CEA. Through my stubbornness of not wanting to waste a single day here, I have not let myself rest so I have come down with what may be strep. I'm going to go to the doctor on Monday, but now I have had to miss out on a day trip to Assisi that some friends went on as well as missing going to the Vatican tomorrow. It also doesn't help that I have no idea what kind of medicine I'm supposed to take here, which resulted in me taking three times as much cough medicine as I was supposed to take. Where's the Theraflu when you need it?!