350 Blog

I come from a small town just southwest of Canton, Ohio called Navarre. In Navarre, there is no bus stop, no subway, and no monuments of any kind to go see. In Rome, all of these things are very relevant and very different to me because of what I am used to and how I am used to living. In Navarre, you have almost no worries about people stealing your things when you are walking down the street. This is one of many things that I see changing about me. This being the better knowledge of how life in Rome is compared to life in a town with less than 5,000 people occupying it.

In the book, Barzini states that, "Many foreigners come back the next year. Some come back more and more often. Some stay a little longer, every time, and decide to live in Italy for a spell. A few eventually discover to their dismay they can no longer leave." (Barzini, pg. 8). This is one thing I fear may happen to me as well. I keep thinking that when it comes time to finally go home from this experience I will find myself not wanting to go back even though I know I have to. It is only the fourth day of our trip and already everything we have done as a group and on our own has been an incredible experience. Already we have been to the Coliseum (myself along with a couple others have been there almost everyday) inside and out, San Giovanni, the Roman Forum, Santa Maria, Aventine Hill, many different restaurants, Albano, and many other places. 

On the other hand, I feel that this experience has helped me to gain many amazing friends. The people I have the privilege of spending each and every day with are some of the best people I have ever met. I come from a very big family (8 siblings) so having this many people with me every day helps me feel right at home. I think we all get along very well as a group and that helps every day to be even better. Because of this, I see many of us keeping in touch in the future and sharing the memories we make here over the next 8 weeks. Being able to have engaging conversations with everyone and wanting to spend time with each other makes the trip even more enjoyable than it most certainly would have been without any of them just because the trip was to Rome. 

I also see myself being more knowledgable about the ancient Roman architecture with the help of the walking tours that we are to give to the rest of the class and the tours that we take of other places like the Coliseum. We also took the guided tour through the Roman Forum with our guide, Antonio. He told us the history of the Forum and all of the most important buildings and monuments in it. However, we later read through a story in The Smiles of Rome the day after, which helped to get a better understanding of which was which because we had so much in that single day. It was almost too much to take in at one time.Aside from gaining a very good understanding of the Roman Forum, I also see myself being more knowledgable of culture and everyday life of people who live here in Rome. I am also hoping to see myself being able to speak Italian at least a little better with the help of Professor Mori and the other instructors. 

Overall, I am thoroughly looking forward to the next 8 weeks here in Rome. I think I will change in many ways, like many of us here on this trip, undoubtedly. I see myself being able to communicate more easily with the Italian people in Castel Gandolfo, Albano, and Rome. I can confidently say that I will have gained a stronger sense of appreciation for the architecture and historical significance of the monuments like the Coliseum. Also I feel that the friends I have made here already will be long lasting, they act like my family away from my family which, to me, is very important. I just hope that I do not have too much trouble leaving to go home.