when in rome...

(This post was meant for last night, but the internet here has a major attitude...so here yah go.  Today.  My deepest apologies.)

Just hangin.  No responsibility but seeing the world.  I could get used to it.

Since being in Italy, my life seems to have taken a turn…to simplicity…as strange as it may seem.  I think I am beginning to adopt the slow, easy, life loving lifestyle of the Italians.  My life needed some of that.  When I first arrived here, I think I was still spinning 100 mph from the close of school, moving, graduation, good-byes…and the fact that I was preparing to be living internationally for the next 3 months of my life.   A lot was dumped on me at once, and I am finally beginning to see through the fog.  I think my emotions are settling and I am able to really stand in awe of where I am.  Like really stand in awe and take in the wonderfulness that is surrounding me every moment.  Isn’t that a cool feeling to have wonderfulness surrounding you at all times?  I’m not sure that my emotions knew how to react to everything I was seeing for about the first week.  But my body and mind are settling in and I am officially falling in love with Italy.  When I finally put down my camera, I was able to see the beauty without the lense.  (Sometimes I do put down my camera people.)

You know all those cute things you hear about Rome?  The pizza, the dogs, the cafes, the cute restaurants around every corner, gelato, accordions playing in the streets amidst the Roman solders who wonder around protecting the people…quintessential Italian things.  Come to find out, they are all very true.  Well, all except the Roman soldier thing.  I had to pay 3 euros after I took a picture with one.  Poser.

Like, how cute is she?

One of my favorite pictures thus far.
I would literally have to roll the window down and stick a leg out.

He made me place my hand there.  I promise.

Sunday was my first day into Rome.  It started early, 7:00 am to be exact, with a brisk walk to catch the train from Albano.  “Why were you catching a train so early?”, you may be asking.  CHURCH!  Duh people.  (parents you should be very proud of your very religiously devout daughters.)   We found an English speaking church in the middle of Rome called Rome Baptist so we thought we would try it out.  Funny…The pastor of the church is Jason Smith.  I’m acting like I know him.  I don’t. But he is with campus crusade.  So hey, there yah go.

We follow Captain Anna Davidson through the train station and Metro.  She had her map in hand and was a lady on a mission.  I just took a backseat and followed.  We could not have navigated through all of it without her.  It is about a 40-minute train ride to Rome from Acriccia/Albano.  The train stops at Termini and from there you can purchase a Metro ticket for only 1 euro.  Anna had it all figured out from which line we needed to get on to get to the church to which stare case was the closest to use.  So we hopped on line A and before we knew it, we popped out right by the Spanish Steps.  There we were.  In Rome.  Complete with horse drown carriages near the bottom of the steps and Fendi straight ahead.  It was like one of those dreams where you kinda know it’s fake and you just pray you can keep sleeping because it is just so dreamy.  But this was no dream, and yes…I just said ‘dreamy’.

At the Spanish Steps

The church was just around the corner from the steps so we went ahead and made our way over there.  I did my typical one hand grasping the person’s purse strap in front of me as not to get lost while I stare at the amazing things all around me.  (Mom, Dad…you know the drill).   We had time to spare so we went next door once we found the church and got a quick cappuccino because we were all a wee bit tired.  Then off to church we went.

So I am not really the emotional type.  But for some reason the service just moved me (please read as if you are a big African American woman who wears a hat to church and fans herself the entire time).  As we sang the first song, I looked around at the people in the room.  The ‘band’ was Indian, the choir was Asian, the 2 deacons who prayed were black, and the pastor was white.  As we sang "Oh Ancient of Days" tears began to well up in my eyes.  I am in Rome, worshiping with people from all around the world.  Worshiping the same God who I have worshiped my entire life, but for some reason it was different on Sunday.  It put the body of Christ in an entirely new perspective for me.  He is the God of the nations!  Do we really know what that means?  He is the God to every tongue and every tribe.  One day, all the saints, black, white, Asian, Indian, Roman, and American will be worshiping our king together.  There is so much power in that.

Revelations 7:9…”After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nations, from all the tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

He is talking about us, and about all the people who were worshiping in that same room with me from Singapore, Hungry, and Ireland, and Arizona.  It gave me straight up chills, y’all!  Gosh, our God is so big!

Sunday was fun because we had no idea what we were doing.  At all.  We were literally roaming around Rome.  Luckily, Americans stick together.  We found some girls our same age who had been there since January studying who pointed us in the ‘general’ direction of some good stuff.  I say generally very lightly because the roads make zero sense.  It isn’t like a, ‘2 blocks this way then 3 blocks that way’ kind of a city.  It’s more like a, ‘go down this side street until you see this giant monument than follow those ruins until you get to that statue’, kind of a city.  No sense at all.  Like I said, we roamed.

Just Roaming around

As you just casually roam Rome, big historic things like the Pantheon for instance, will just sneak attack you sometimes.  You will be all like, “Oh my gosh, look at this cute little pasta restaurant with small dogs sitting outside and the coffee shop tucked inside this little cobblestone lane…BAM!  PANTHEON!  It reminds me of one of those dunking tanks at carnivals.  You never know when it’s going to come, but when it does, you are instantly soaked.  Rome is a little bit like a carnival…of history.  (Gosh, my analogies rock.)

The Pantheon in all its glory!

I could go into all the details of what we saw, but you would probably be better off just googling the info.  The whole day really was just spent feeling like I was on a really rockin’ movie set.  While we were looking at the ancient ruins of what was once an emperors palace, I just kept getting this feeling that Indiana Jones was going to come out and do a show or something.  It really is unreal the history that is packed in this city.  You could spend years here and never fully know all about it.

This week, class and field trips have been great!  We watch these videos from the History Channel about the rise and fall of Rome, learn about all the buildings, and explore the reigns of emperors.  I could seriously watch those videos all day.  Mmmm.  Just give me a bean-bag and some pop-corn and I’m good to go.  What is really cool about the program is Monday we learn, Tuesday we go.  Monday we studied about the Grand Tour.  The Grand Tour was when the aristocratic English men traveled around France, down through the Alps and then finished going all the way down Italy.  They said no education is complete with out experiencing Italy.  So yay me!  After this summer, according to 400-year-old hoity-toity English men, my education will be complete.

We finished up the Grand Tour and got to see one of the most beautiful views I have seen in my lifetime.  We went to the top to the Medici Palace and from the balcony, could see the entire span of Rome.  It was quite breath-taking actually.  I even posed for a selfie.  I am becoming quite fond of them.

I also got to experience my first pick pocket interaction.  It was rather thrilling, and made for a good laugh.  I know, most of you are thinking how twisted I must have become here.  No, you would laugh too if the pick-pocketer pocketed your friend’s McDonald’s chicken nugget box.  Funny story, she wasn’t going to take any of that pick-pocketing business.  This is how the story goes.  We were a bit smooshed in the metro, and before she knew it, she felt something move in her purse.  She looked down just in time to see a hand go back in a pocket.  So naturally, she reached back into this man’s pocket to get the stolen goods back out.  Hah oh but Mr. Pick- Pocket was no fan of that so he hit her.  She hit him back.  The metro begins to slow and it is about 24 to 1 at this point.  He knew he was the under-dog so he decided to make his exit, but not with out throwing the lovely F bomb at her before he made his escape.  Well my friend, who shall remain nameless due to this next point, decided she would return the favor by shouting it right back at him.  So, the little joust ended clearly in her favor, and yes, she did get her chicken nuggets back.  So crisis averted.

At the train station...about 5 minutes before the scene.

Tomorrow we go back to Rome to see the essential Rome spots.  They are the must-sees of Rome (apparently).  I dunno what all the hype is about the Coliseum, but I shall report to you tomorrow.

Just a little sneek peek of the fun times had

Selfie at the Colosseum!

In other news, I have booked flights to Barcelona as well as a flight to Switzerland.  Tomorrow we are booking Paris, and Mollie and I are booking London and Ireland as well.  I think I may frame the page in my calendar with all of these eventful weekends to remind myself of how cool my life was for like 2 months.  For real, the mid-term break portion on my calendar reads, and I quote, “Fly to London Monday, Fly to Ireland Wednesday, Fly to Rome Saturday”.  Is this real life?

Well, that’s all for now folks.  I am going to bed, which is weird because it is only about 4:00pm most of your times.  But never the less, buona notte!!!

Sunset over Ariccia.  Home sweet, sweet home.