Il Colosseo e il foro romano

This weekend Loyola organized a tour of the Roman Forum and the Colosseum guided by Prof. Sander Evers, who in and of himself is quite an adventure. Carolyn, Alana, Joanna, and I took a cab down to the Colosseum because we weren't sure how to get there quickly by bus. The cab ride was by far NOT the worst I have had in Europe, but it scared the life out of me! At one point we went into a tunnel in which there were no lanes painted on the road, so everyone just swerves around each other because they are in such a hurry! Then, we turned a corner onto a big shopping street and there were people everywhere! Italians don't seem to understand the term "efficient." The worst part about this cab ride was that I being the most experienced Italian speaker had to sit in the front. Oh joy.






Anyway, we got to the Palatino entrance and only one other Loyola person was there! We are slowly coming to realize that Italians are late for everything. Eventually more Rome Center students and Prof. Sander Evers arrived and we were ready to take out tour (lead by Evers). We got to see some really amazing ruins and Evers did an awesome job of bringing it all to life. Of course, he talked to so much that we didn't make it to the Colosseum, but it was so worth it.

After the tour Evers needed a beer, so he took us all out for drinks! You know you're not in the States when your professor buys you a beer.


Since we didn't get to see the Colosseum and our tickets were valid for two days, my friend Bits and I decided to go back the next day. It was perfect. We got in there without having to wait in line, we got some great pictures, and right as it started to drizzle we headed back to the train station so we were back at school in time for lunch. I spent the rest of the day doing reading for all of my classes.



We now have a favorite pub near school. We've only been there once, but it was fantastic. The place is called Maes and they have Bulmers Cider which is a pretty good beer. It's not cheap, but it's a really cool place. I especially love it because they were playing the new Killers CD. Thank goodness because I'm really sick of hearing last decade's hits in the shopping mall.

Assisi Orientation

I am in love with Rome. The John Felice Rome Center is not a four star hotel, and it’s probably not even a three star hotel, but the people here are fantastic. I am meeting so many new people, but I still don’t know half of the students. My roommate, Courtney is from St. Louis University, as are a lot of my friends. I have been hanging out a lot with a bunch of LUC kids which I’m excited about because I’m looking forward to hanging out with them when we get back.

On Saturday we had some VISA stuff to fill out and we took a tour of the neighborhood. I’m still figuring out where everything is, but it’s nice to know where you’re going! I finally got to go out and explore downtown Rome. It was great fun getting lost!

On Sunday we all went to ASSISI, Italia for our orientation. ASSISI is gorgeous! It was really cold there but the way the fog blanketed the city reminded me of San Francisco. ASSISI is famous for St. Francis, patron saint of animals, and it is northeast of Rome, located in Umbria. The streets are all really small so our buses had to park outside the city walls, but of course there were a few locals who still owned SUVs.

A bunch of us took a hike on Tuesday up to a hermitage in ASSISI for some amazing views. I didn’t bring the best walking shoes so my feet were pretty sore after, but it was so worth it. My knee is also bugging me a bit because I tweaked it over the break in Tahoe. No worries, I’m in Rome!

Yesterday I had my first class of the semester – a political science class about contemporary Italian politics taught by a former Italian ambassador! It sounds really interesting, and he really knows his stuff, but he’s a little hard to understand because his accent is so thick. Today I had two history classes about Italy and one Italian film class. I didn’t actually get to do anything in the first two because I had to leave early to finish my VISA stuff, and I have yet to go to the Italian film class. Tonight I get a phone!

Please DO NOT send me packages. I don’t mean to sound like I’m flattering myself, but I could end up paying hefty customs fees or the package could get stuck in

customs for months. That being said, I love letters (they’ll take about 3 weeks to get here).

My address is:

Mackenzie Drosd

Loyola University –

John Felice Rome Center

Via Massimi 114 A

00136 Rome, Italy

ROMA

Ciao! I'm in Rome and it's fabulous, amazing, brilliant, exciting...it's Rome. We got off the plane at 8am on Friday, went through customs no problem, and then waited an hour or so for our bags...that's when I realized I was in Italy. Once everyone got their bags we got on the buses and headed over to the campus. I haven't really gotten a chance to explore the campus, but I have gotten lost twice so far.

This feels like the longest day ever. I didn't sleep at all on the plane so right now I have been up for...oh I don't know, more than 24 hrs! Actually, I think I'm pushing 28 right now. When we got to the campus we had to photocopy our entire passport for some Visa thing we have to deal with tomorrow. Just seems like a big waste of paper to me.

I'm off to a meet-and-greet dinner. Have fun in the past, the next nine hours will be fabulous.

Back in the Plains

I'm officially on my way to Rome! I woke up at 3:50 this morning to catch the first flight out of San Francisco to Chicago. My fabulous parents actually got up with me and my dad drove me to the airport! I owe them some serious souvenirs. (Of course, there was no need to leave SF so early because there were no weather delays and my flight was nearly empty, so we actually got in half an hour early! Go American Airlines!)

Tonight I'm staying at the Best Western right by O'Hare and I'm flying to Rome tomorrow at around 3:30 pm. I get to sleep in! I've been killing time here catching up on Glee and repacking a few things so my carry-on will actually fit under my seat. Right now I'm watching Ringo Starr on The Daily Show...is he trying to look like Bono?

So, I arrive in Rome on Friday at 8 am. See you there!