Hey everyone, sorry the updates have been so far and few recently. Ive been having a great time, last weekend we had a group excursion to Florence and Venice. It was really nice getting out of Rome for a few days and seeing more of this awesome country. On the ride out there we stopped at a Tuscan winery for a tour and some tasting, what a cool experience. Needless to say we tried some great wines.

After that it was on to Florence, which is a pretty cool town. I randomly ran into two friends from high school in the first few hours there so that was a really great surprise. I knew that they were studying there but I didn't plan on meeting up with them over the weekend, so it was a trip running into them. While in Florence we had group tours of the famous Uffizi art gallery and the Pitti Palace, which were both pretty cool places with a lot of really cool art.

After two nights in Florence we headed over to Venice. Venice is really cool because there aren't any cars in the whole city, just boats. It was the first weekend of Carnivale so everyone was out having a great time, wearing masks and crazy costumes and such. It was a really cool vibe throughout the town.

Other than all of that I've just been hangin out in Rome, going to class and all of that. Classes are going well, it's a pretty light load which is nice because it doesn't really get in the way of all the fun!

Hey everyone,

So a lot has happened since our last update. Classes have officially begun and we are getting into the swing of things here. I've been doing a lot of exploring around the city and thus have seen some really neat things. I've been having a lot of fun with all of the other students in the program, they are all really cool and all have different styles. Its been a lot of fun getting to know all of them.

But back to classes, as I said before I'm enrolled in two writing classes. Both of these classes have been really fun and interesting for me so far, and I've been writing for both of them, which has been great. I really enjoy writing, but rarely set aside time on my own to do it, so it's been nice to have a motivation to write. It's been mostly poetry so far, which I think is a good style for an experience like this because you can write so many poems about so many different things in not very much time. I really enjoy poetry, and have been using it to color my experience a little more. Here's one poem that I wrote for a writers workshop in the class. I got really good feedback from everyone in the class and the teacher, so that made me feel pretty good. It doesn't have a title, but its about my motorcycle.

I tuck low behind her shield,

Trying desperately to escape

the attacking wind above me.

There is noise, so much noise.

Earth’s air screams, in competition

with my machine.

I tuck ever lower, as man

and machine become one.

We rely on each other,

this cannot happen without

our unity.

As the numbers climb, the noise

gets louder. The road narrows,

everything blurs. I can feel

my machine, the roar of

her motor, the shake of her grips.

She reminds me to shift, as she knows

I have forgotten. We are now

one, moving through the world

as fast as we dare.

With a twist of the wrist

the excitement grows.

With a twist of the wrist,

                                               everything else is forgotten.

 I'm also gonna be writing some short stories for my fiction class, so I'm looking forward to getting into that process. 

Anyways, this weekend the group is traveling to Florence and Venice, we leave bright and early tomorrow morning. We're scheduled to stop at a Tuscan winery for some tasting on the way, so that should be really fun. I don't really know what to expect from these two cities, but I'm excited nonetheless. It should be a fun weekend. I'll be sure to update you guys on how it went next week. But until then, take care and have a good time with whatever it is you do.

Hello everyone,

It's been a while since the last update, and for that I apologize but would like to point out that instead of writing I've been out having the time of my life!

So since our last update I've been out exploring Rome and have done some really awesome things. Last weekend I attended my first ever rugby match. It was the second game in a tournament called the Six Nations Tournament, which pits the national teams from Ireland, England, France, Italy, Wales, and Scotland against each other throughout Europe. The game that I caught was Ireland vs. Italy right here in Rome. What an experience. My roommate and I paid 35 Euro for our tickets and to our surprise were seated 3 rows back from the field, so we had an up-close view.  It was really neat to be in the crowd when everyone was singing the anthem for each team, which everyone in the stadium did for both teams. Everyone except the two Americans that is.

The Rugby Match

I met a lot of Irish guys over the weekend too because all the fans came down for the whole weekend. They were all really friendly and they all knew how to have a good time, which was cool. It was nice being able to meet new people without the burden of the language barrier that exists between us and the Italians.

My classes started this week, which reminded me that I actually have to do some work over here. I'm excited to start class though, as they're all really relevant to what I'm doing and what I want to do. I have Italian every day, which is great because the more I learn the easier it's going to be here. Then I'm taking two creative writing classes, which is great because I'm thinking that's what direction I'd like to head down in the future. One of the writing classes, Fiction, is just me and one other girl meeting with the teacher once a week in a cafe. And our teacher is the head of the creative writing program at Santa Barbara City College, so I'm hoping to get a lot from the one-on-one time with him. Hopefully you guys will notice some improvement! The last class I'm taking is called "The Grand Tour of Italy" and entails going to all the cool places with a teacher and learning all about them. The way I see it, if I have to take classes here those ones aren't too bad.


Anyways, it's time to go find some good Italian food to quench my hunger, so I hope everything is well with everyone back home and I hope that I'm at least providing some decent reading material for everybody. Thanks for reading. Until next time...

What a Day

What a day today was. I saw things today that are like nothing I have ever seen before. A group of us walked around the city today, and we walked into some old churches that literally took my breath away when I walked inside. The intricate beauty of these churches is incredible. The ceilings were all engraved with gold and all depicted biblical scenes, and just as the designers intended you can't help but look up. The feeling inside of all these churches is very serene and peaceful, everyone whispers and seems to move slower than usual. The high ceilings and huge statues made me feel small, which is how you should feel in a place like that I suppose. It's very difficult to properly explain the awe that I felt while inside of these places, I think you just have to go and see one.

The inside of the first church we stopped at. Its right on the way to school.

Another church. Notice the awesome ceiling.

Another place that crossed my path today was the famous Pantheon. The ancient Romans built the Pantheon as a temple to commemorate all of their Pagan gods. When the Catholics took control of the city they converted it into a church to commemorate their God. But history aside, the building is spectacular.The large dome has a circular opening at the top, which lets a ray of sunlight in that moves throughout the day. How the Romans built this dome with the neccessary prescision in order for it to support itself I will never understand. I would imagine it to be extremely difficult to build even today with the aid of our modern technology. The inside of the dome is truly spectacular.

Inside of the dome at the Pantheon

Below the dome

We also stopped at the Piazza Navona, which is where Bernini's famous "Four Rivers" sculpture is. Its a bustling scene there, with art vendors set up everywhere and cafes lining the Piazza. The statue in the center is amazing, I can't believe that a man carved it with nothing but his hands and his tools.

Bernini's Four Rivers. Like much of everything else here pictures don't do it justice.

The last stop of the day was the Piazza Venezia, which is where Benito Mussolini delivered his speeches to the people of Rome. On the side of the Piazza is a very, very large building that I don't really know anything about yet. But it seems to be the largest building in the city. It's quite incredible.

At the Piazza Venezia

Today is the first full day in Rome, and it's amazing. I've walked around the city quite a bit already, and it's gonna take a while to be able to skillfully navigate. Being so old, the streets aren't laid out in blocks like most cities back home, which makes it really easy to become turned around. The director called it "involuntary tourism" during the orientation we had today.

Walking around the city is fascinating, many of the streets are super narrow and paved with cobblestone. A relic from the Roman Empire I'm told. It's great walking down a lane-wide street with cars and scooters passing feet from you as you walk. The old buildings on either side jut straight up so that you can only see a sliver of the sky above. It's amazing knowing that those streets have been walked on by people from every generation since the ancient days, and the fact that I'm now one of them is pretty neat.


Earlier today a few of us from the group walked to an outdoor market that is a block from our school. It was an incredible scene, people selling everything from fresh fruit and vegetables to watches and tea kettles. Apparently, every Sunday there is another such market right on the same street as our residence that is the largest outdoor market in all of Europe. I'm so excited to buy some fresh fruits and other food there, it should be a really cool experience. And it happens every Sunday right downstairs which makes it even better.

A large pumpkin in the market

Anyways, it's officially been siesta time here in Rome for the last hour and a half and I could use a nap so I hope everything is well for everyone and expect to hear from me again soon. Ciao!

The Adventure Begins

Hello everyone. I'm a student from California and I'm going to be spending the next few months studying and exploring in the great city of Rome, on the other side of the world. I just arrived in the city, and for the next 3 months I'll be documenting my adventures as best I can with this blog. I am very excited to not only experience Italy but to have an outlet like this to share my experiences with everyone back home. I plan on writing a few times a week, so be sure to check in regularly to see whats been happening over here.

Before I sign off and go sleep for about a day, I'd like to thank my parents for facilitating this amazing experience. They are the reason that I am over here right now and I don't know if there is any way that I can ever properly thank them. Thanks Mom and Dad.