Rome, Italy

As you may recall, I mentioned in my previous post that my next blog will be from Rome; well, here I am in Rome the city of Fountains, writing this blog. As of now, I have spent my first week in Rome studying with 12 other students in Castle Gandolfo.

Send off at Walsh

So far, this trip has left me speechless. In fact, I have traveled to many countries before including Germany, India, USA but this trip is completely different than others. I cannot believe one week has passed already.

Rome airport

Well, our studies started last Monday. Every day from 8:30 to 9:30 we are in the class studying one of the four courses already assigned. Then, the entire group will go to Rome see and experience what we were just studying in the morning. For example, on Monday we talked about the Roman Empire and imperator Nero, later on that day we went inside the Colosseum (Coliseum) and the Roman Forum and witnessed everything with our naked eyes. Seeing a picture in the book than witnessing it with bare eyes is absolutely different. As soon as I entered the Coliseum everything changed. All I was asking myself is how did they build such a thing 2000 years ago without any kind of sophisticated technology or machineries. Honestly, as I was walking around it, I felt like I am in the old times watching the gladiator fighting each other.

The Coliseum

Group Picture inside the Coliseum

Likewise, the next few days of last week, we went to other parts of the city and observed everything from near. For example, at the Spanish Steps or (Piazza di Spagna) we got to see some of the very beautiful fountains. At Piazza del Popolo, we saw paintings of Bernini and Caravaggio. Looking at them made me glare more and create my own story from the paintings. They are absolutely gorgeous.

crucifiction of peter by Caravaggio

So far, the trip has been magnificent. The weather is really nice. Food is delicious. Almost anything I ate so far has been tasty. One of my favorite things in Rome is gelato (Ice cream). Their ice cream is a lot different than in America. It is kind of expensive but it is worth it. Indeed, coffee is unforgettable here. Every morning, I start my day with a cup of coffee. Overall, I would like to say that Rome is just incredible. Not only the sceneries or historical remains of Roman Empire, but also the people, the food and the culture of Rome, Italy will stay with me as unforgettable memory.

I will soon upload the next blog from one of the weekend trips…

Eating gelato in Piazza del Popolo

Regards,