RomeComing!

Buongiorno (good day) from Italy! This week was a slow week in Rome. It was Homecoming back in Bismarck and so we celebrated with our own “RomeComing”. Monday was a typical day with class, lunch at Pozzo, and dinner at Gusto. During our break between lunch and dinner I ran to the grocery store and finalized plans for fall break. Tuesday, we had history class in Tivoli where Emperor Hadrian’s Villa is located. We explored the villa and had lunch on site. We then headed to another villa in the town which had many different fountains. That night we headed to Abbey Theater, our Tuesday tradition, with some parents that where visiting. We got gelato afterwards with one of the university priests and headed home.

Wednesday was the Day of Service, where we do community service as part of Homecoming week. I was on video duty and headed into town with one of the groups to get footage. After and hour and a half long bus ride we arrived at our destination. Shortly after I headed back to campus to try and get more footage. After another long bus ride, I arrived back on campus to find that the other groups had already finished their service projects. We had convivium that night. Thursday was another day of classes with some extra homecoming fun. We had class in the morning and a game of pick-up football afterwards. My team won and I even scored a touchdown. We had a dinner of hot dogs afterwards followed by our RomeComing dance in the classroom.

Friday kicked off a free weekend but most of us stayed in Rome to study for midterms and get caught up on homework for fall break. I worked on some essays and did laundry before going out to dinner with some friends. Saturday was another study day with a quick grocery store run. On Sunday I headed to the NAC, North American Pontifical College, for mass with some friends and the university seminarians. Afterwards I finished up the homework for the week and then was invited back to the NAC with some friends for a pizza party on the roof. Stay tuned for the next two weeks editions as I will be on fall break and visiting four countries over 10 days!

Ciao, Ann