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Wait a minute...vacation's over? You guys won't believe it, get a load of THIS.
Okay, so last Sunday I go to mass with Meaghan and Kellie, and then afterward we go out to a restaurant in Trastevere, right near the apartments. THEN, I hear people talking about school. Yeah, you heard that right. school.
Can you believe it? People expect me to live out my dreams of living in Rome AND go to school? Ugh. Personally, I think it's preposterous. But on I went...
Week 1 of living in Rome AND Week 1 of school is in the books (and so am I, apparently. Ugh!) Every day seriously just keeps getting better. I'm in a cool place at this point now because I have a routine and a set schedule, which makes me feel just like a local. However, despite my local status, I still turn corners to find century-old monuments and churches, which is shocking every time.
All jokes aside, school here is more than I could have asked for. My class schedule is:
MW: Global Warming 1:30-2:45
Popes of Rome 4:30-5:45
TR: Business Ethics 11:30-12:45
Italian 4:30-5:45
That's right, no Venerdì (Friday) classes for this girl (or anyone)! And the best part is that I am only taking 13 credits. Yup, 13. Last semester I took 18 credits, with a job (Ministry Assistant), and ROTC. So...let's just say...this is a nice change of pace. And the school jokes? I was totally kidding. We all know I would rather stay in school forever than do anything else.
Camille, you are literally in the capital of the Catholic Church, and didn't tell us about Sunday! What's up with that? Sei impaziente! (you are impatient!) I was going to go out of chronological order and wrap up with Sunday because it was so special, but you know what they say. Ask and you shall receive. So! Before I get into my classes Lunedi-Giovedì (Monday-Thursday), let's talk about Domenica (Sunday) for a moment.
Is that...- Yes. It is. The Vatican. WHAAAT IS MY LIFE?! Casually *not casual at all, I was freaking out* walked to Vatican City where Chiesa di Sant'Anna (Church of Saint Anne) was located. I am on a mission while here to find a good church community, whether it be in English or Italian, I would love to know the parishioners and the priest and just have that strong community. Chiesa di Sant'Anna is beautiful. I'm starting to think there isn't a single beautiful part of Rome. I mean, even the graffiti is a work of art (and there is a lot of it!). The particular mass Meaghan, Kellie and I attended was an English mass, because we wanted to be able to understand the homily and other parts that are not Universal. So we attended the 3:30 pm mass (1530 actually, you're welcome). Ready to see it? Okay!!!
*cue the angels singing*
How INCREDIBLE! God was so present in this mass and is so present here in Rome. I cannot believe I get the opportunity to see so many beautiful churches, basilicas, and cathedrals- many of which are world-renowned. Life is so amazing.
So after the initial shock of going to Sunday mass in Vatican City wore off, the three of us went to dinner (as mentioned previously in the first part of this post). We decided to go to Nannarella, a restaurant in Trastevere, right around the corner from our apartments (how old did that make me sound?! eek!) Other than a ~slightly~ rude waiter correcting my pronunciation of "grazie," it was delicious. And yes, thank you sir. I said it correctly, CIAO!
I got lasagna and we split a bottle of Lambrusco, a sweet, sparkling wine, and focaccia bread.
**Disclaimer: I learned at a wine tasting this past weekend that I'm not supposed to hold my glass like that, so no judging!!! I'll talk about the tasting in my next post**
We finished up and got some gelato after dinner, where I successfully ordered completely in Italian! Then, I had to head home and the Sunday Scaries HIT. My brain was scattered and my thoughts sounded a little like this: "What if my professors hate me? What if I do something stupid or am too American? And oh my word, I have to have BOYS in my class? ick. No grazie! And what happens if I get lost? Is there a 911 equivalent in Italy?! I should probably know that." And on and on and on my brain went, all the way until around 4 am when I finally fell asleep. Have you ever been unable to sleep and you are just frustrated because you want to sleep so badly? That was me. For hours. Nothing a little melatonina can't fix! (I bought some the next day because turns out, jet lag can last up to a week and that was the source of my sleep issues. yay.)
Now onto the long-awaited first day of school! First up, FDF (first-day fit!)
In this, Camille is sporting her favorite sweater she bought 4 years ago for $5 off the clearance rack at H&M. Paired with the sweater are her steady, black Levi's, complimented with her TJ Maxx jacket. To complete the look, Camille rocks her low, messy bun to say to the citizens of Rome and her professors alike, "I just threw this on, am cute as heck, and ready to tackle the semester."
My classes are going well so far! My global warming class is a bit slow but interesting. Popes of Rome is THE class to be in. My professor is a Vatican tour guide on the side?! He is extremely funny and weird, but in a good way haha. Business Ethics is so cool so far! We spent a lot of time this week talking and debating the Trolley Switch and Trolley Footbridge problems (look them up if you don't know them!). Lastly, Italian. Oh boy, is Italian going to be an absolute struggle this semester. An absolute struggle in the best way possible, I hope. I know I am going to learn so much from this class (as it is all in Italian, literally NO English. EEK, help!) I know I have already learned so much just from being here the past two weeks, and I also translate everything I think into Italian like it's my job?! So long story short, it is going to be an uphill battle, but the view is GREAT (thanks, Miley).
Monday night, after my first day, I decided to do something kinda fun and cRaZy! Any guesses? You got it right! I tried out for the JCU 5v5 women's soccer team! It was COLD. Why was it so cold? You may be wondering. BECAUSE THE PRACTICE WAS FROM 9 PM - 10:30 PM. These Italians man, I can't keep up! Soccer was super fun and a good time, but my knee was not having it, so we wished that dream away. It is for the best though, because now I have more time for travelin' and LSAT studyin'! Speaking of...LSAT is going extremely well. It sounds silly, but I feel like this is the first time in my life that I am this motivated to do something.
But let's think about this: June 10 is my test date (YAY), and I am sitting down five days a week in January to study. I know I'm not walking on water or anything, but I'm really proud of myself so far. And a huge shoutout to Hayden for helping me get set up with my books and schedule and all of that (Hayden if you don't read this, you're fake<3)
Story behind the title: the first two days of school, everyone and their mother had an iced coffee with them. Enough people to make a girl wonder, "hey, what's up with these coffee's?" And so I wondered. Come to find out, outside of one of the academic buildings (the one I most frequent), they were handing out free coffee coupons to a local restaurant in the area! I'm telling you, I go in and out of the building at least four times a day and NEVER saw these imaginary coupons. Where is my free coffee!?!?
And that's about it! My week was pretty low-key, no run-ins with Sergei yet, and I haven't met the Pope. However, a weird thing about Italy...there are a LOT of Irish Pubs? Because of the ample amount of good ol' Pubs, a few of us decided to go to one. I present to you...Abbey Theatre Irish Pub.
Whoever is in charge of Abbey Theatre's marketing, I applaud you. They get it. They know their consumer. €1 mistery shots?? Yes, please. (and yes, the menu said "mistery," what's a girl to do?!) A round for the people. (It's a mystery no more, it was limoncello. So tasty!) Along with a niceeee pint of Guinness to feel real Irish. Guinness is...interesting? I don't love Guinness but I love the idea of Guinness. Does that make sense? This was a fun way to finish up the first week of classes!
Next post will be all about my travels over the weekend! Until then, as the Irish say, "May your troubles be less, and your blessings be more!" CIAO xo
You make my day, so much brighter 😎🥰
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Beautiful Church Camille! While you're there, you GOTTA go to Mass once at the Chiesa dei Santi Celso e Giuliano! I think it's by the Castle of St Michael near the Vatican. A friend told me their 8:30am is unbelievably beautiful.