First week of fun in Rome!

Our month in Rome is off to a great start! As we wrap up the first week, students have expressed how happy they are to be here, although some were hesitant at first. Many have never traveled outside of the United States before, or this is the first time they have been away from their families. Although some expressed feelings of homesickness early on, the friendships they have made and the places they have visited have helped to ease these emotions.

In general, the beginning of the week had some students feeling culture shock, as they learned that despite the Italian heat wave, the water at restaurants is not served with ice. The students were happy to learn however, that there are several water fountains around the city that provide cold water and there’s even a website with a map of where to find them. We are making sure to stay very hydrated!

One of the highlights this week was a visit to the house of Keats & Shelley, which is a museum commemorating two Romantic poets that is located at the bottom of the famous Spanish Steps. Students were able to walk around the famous Piazza di Spagna as part of structured free time. Later that day, we spent some time walking through the beautiful Villa Borghese park.

Students were thrilled to learn that we would be spending Saturday at the Porta di Roma shopping mall, where many of them bought Lego replicas of Italian landmarks and we watched the new Mission Impossible movie. On Sunday, we took a day trip to Tivoli, a small town outside of Rome. We saw the majestic gardens of Villa D’Este, a 16th century villa which is famous for its Italian Renaissance garden with a beautiful terrace and many fountains.

We are looking forward to the next three weeks!