Gearing up for Midterms and Special Visitor....

Sorry I haven't been updating lately, but the Internet has been out in our apartment since October 1st!  It makes it kind of hard to update my blog without Internet.  Luckily, I've been able to use the school's Internet.  This week has just been a blur.  Nothing too exciting has happened because a lot of us are bogged down getting ready for midterm exams next week. 

This past Sunday was an awesome day.  I started off my day by going to morning Mass at Santa Susanna.  There was a group of travelers there from the diocese of Cincinnati in Ohio.  They were on a trip to Rome with their Bishop and he concelebrated Mass that morning.  The church was packed and it was nice to see a big amount of people there.  As usual, Mass reminded me of home and I got a comforting feeling having my "me" time for the week.  After I fought the crowd on the overly packed and BO filled bus, I went back to the apartment for some breakfast.  I was sitting on my bed eating some yogurt when my roommate, Peter, storms in and yells, "To the beach!  It's my 21st!"  He had just returned from Paris that morning and was ready to celebrate his 21st birthday!  So, Peter, Cuyler, and I took the 30 minute train to Ostia on the coast of Italy and walked to the beach.  We had a guys afternoon and chilled in the sun on the beach.  The locals thought it was too cold to swim and were in jeans and light coats.  Then, we came along in out flip flops, swim trunks, and sunglasses with towels in hand ready to dominate the beach!  It was such an awesome time and Peter and I swam in the Mediterranean for a little while.  Cuyler jumped in for about two seconds then ran out....sissy!  We got a couple of beers and had a great afternoon together just chatting and living it up in Italy.  The beach was beautiful and I'm so happy we decided to go for Peter's birthday!  We arrived back at the apartment around 6:30 PM and I walked to Casey and Bliss's apartment to Skype with Mom and Dad.  What a great way to start the week! 

This whole week was just filled with classes.  Professors are starting to review for midterms and give us our study packets.  I definitely have my work cut out for me these next few days.  My life will consist of studying, studying, and an occasional food and potty break in there too.  I handed in my History of Modern Europe paper this week on Marie Antoinette.  I am anxious to see how my professor grades it.  I think I did well on it, but through the conversations I have had with my professor on the topic of Marie Antoinette, I believe she will disagree with the thesis of my paper that she was a "misunderstood" Queen.  We'll see....

I had an Italian test today, and I think it went very well.  We were tested on verbs, ordering food in a restaurant, asking someone to go and do something in town, and the days of the week.  It wasn't too bad at all.

I am starting to miss certain things from American culture that I have taken for granted.  I am really starting to miss:
1. Diet Coke - they have "Coca Cola Light" in the same color can, but it isn't the same.  I was fooled!
2. My car - although I love walking places, I could really use a drive in my car to clear my mind every now and then.
3. Walgreens - Nothing like your corner convenience store!
4. Peanut butter - They have it here, but it is SUPER expensive and my college budget cannot afford it!
5. Quiet of De Pere, Wisconsin - The loud sounds of Rome get to be too much for me sometimes.  Even though I live in Milwaukee at home, I love my quiet up at school too!

Even though I miss certain things from American culture, I am loving living in Roma.  It is one of the most amazing cities that I have ever been to.  The sounds, the people, everything in unique!  I love it here and love being a local and being able to say "Buona Sera" to some random person on the street!  I LOVE it here!

Tommorow morning, I'm off to Athens, Greece with Casey, Bliss, and Tynisha until Sunday.  My roommate Cuyler was going to come with us, but he couldn't end up affording it.  I am so excited to go and see Greece and try real Greek food!  I will be taking tons of pictures of the beautiful city!  And then after we return on Sunday afternoon, I'm getting ready for midterms and for my Dad to come and visit too!  He will be here in one week!!  I can't wait to see him!  It will be so much fun!   

Life is going great over here!  My time here is almost half way over which is so shocking!  Time is flying, but I am making the most of it - no regrets!  I've learned so much already!  This is amazing!  Miss you all!