I Miei Amici

Today was our first full day in Rome and I'm already dreading leaving. Something I was not expecting was to make so many friends so quickly. As soon as we met up with the group in the airport, everyone was so friendly and I got to talk to so many amazing people. We went back to the hotel and got to hangout and within hours I already had a wonderful friend group. We all sat together, in the same seats, at the same table, for lunch and for dinner. We even made a group chat containing all 7 of us. We hung out the rest of the day and all night, where we finished our night by sitting on a balcony at our hotel for hours, talking and laughing. 

Today was our first full day. Immediatly at breakfast we all sat together at our same table in our same seats that we assigned ourselves on day one. The rest of the day was filled with lots of orientation, presentations, and sitting in the classroom followed by lunch out and a couple hours of free time. I didnt expect the CIEE Center to be so close to so many things. We went shopping, got gelato, and visited a cat sanctuary where Julius Cesar was killed. We returned to the hotel and ate dinner and went back to the balcony to play cards and hangout. We also ordered pizza to be delivered on an Italian delivery app like DoorDash. 

It's been 38 hours since I've met this amazing group of people and I already feel as close to them as I do to my friends that I've known for years. I feel like I've known them forever and I can be myself around them and we have fun no matter what we're doing or the circumstances. I don't even want to think about having to leave them all in a couple weeks. I 'm so beyond excited for these four weeks and what will come and all the memories we'll make.