Our night started off with dinner at L'Insalata Ricca. I ordered a Margarita pizza and a glass of red wine. After dinner, all seven of us went back to the hotel and got ready for the night. We bought four bottles of champagne and a few pre-mixed drinks at a local grocery store. After getting dressed, we met in my friend's room and drank and took photos. We set off for Scholars around 9:30 because after 10 they begin to charge people a 20 euro cover. Once we got there, there was a huge line and they refused to let us in before 10 because they wanted us to pay cover. So, we left and went to another bar called Drunkin' Ship. We took tequila shots there and left for another bar because it was sooooo empty. By now it was probably 10:30 and we finally found a bar called The Abbey where we stayed for a good portion of the night. I ordered a Smirnoff Ice and shared a Peach Bellini with my friend Stephanie.

It's day 3 and I am finally starting to settle in. I find myself endlessly wandering around Rome until class begins. Last night, we went to a new restaurant that was really modern; we think it turns into a nightclub after hours. They served us four cheese pasta, some weird turkey dish, and tiramisu AGAIN! I could eat tiramisu every day. After dinner, we decided we were going to go to Scholars which is a Irish pub. Each of us went with a glass of wine or champagne. The seven of us sat in a cute little booth for a few hours; just laughing and sipping on our drinks. By the time we got back to the dorms, we were exhausted and went straight to bed. Today, I started off my day with a coffee and a chocolate crescent- which I can order all by myself in Italian. Then I went to Italian class and I love my Italian professor. She is very sweet and adorable. After that, my friends and I walked around Campo de'Fiori and went into a few shops. We found this really cute boutique that sells hundreds of scarves, hats, jewelry and a lot of cute clothes as well. We plan to go back to that shop (I think it's called TABA) and actually buy stuff later this week. Alaina and I walked back to the hotel to meet with my roommate Kelsey and my friend Katie. We spent an hour or so in our dorm chatting about our days while starting some homework. At 3:55, I had my first Art History class and I absolutely loved it. We didn't go too far into details today, but I know I'm going to love learning about Italian art and then actually seeing it when we go on tours. After Art History, I went to Religion which should be interesting as well! By the end of Religion, it was 7:00 pm and we were starving. So, we headed over to our Tuesday dinner spot which is conveniently next to our dorms. We had pasta al dente with creamy tomato sauce, followed by a well-needed salad, and then a fruit bowl for dessert. All of the food I have eaten here has been absolutely amazing.

Throughout this first week, I have visited a ton of tourist sights in Rome. I have recently visited the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Pantheon, and the Trevi Fountain. All of these places are so rich in history and I love knowing that I can go back and visit these sights any day for the next three months.

The Colosseum is a lot bigger than I thought it would be. My friends Hallie, Stephanie, and I walked around the entire building. Certain parts of it are remodeled and there are support bands in the arches because the building is slowly crumbling. The Roman Forum was right by the Colosseum. I was surprised with the Roman Forum and I definitely need to go back to read about the history of this area. I'm pretty sure this is what is left from ancient Rome. The Trevi Fountain is one of the most surreal things I've seen here. There is so much detail in each individual sculpture and all together it is truly beautiful. The first time I saw it was at night, I reenacted the scene from Lizzie McGuire and tossed a coin in the water. The next day, we went back to the fountain because we loved it so much. All of these places are minutes away from my hotel. My friends and I feel guilty staying inside for more than an hour, so we've been getting plenty of steps in our walking apps. I will be back soon with updates of my upcoming adventures featuring New Years Eve and a day trip to Pompeii.

Pictures from this week-------------------

Roman Forum

Lunch at Pascucci

The Pantheon at night

The Colosseum

Trevi Fountain

I have finally made it to Rome! I arrived yesterday around 11 am and I've been tired ever since. It all started out with a 15 hour journey from O'Hare airport in Chicago. After a tearful goodbye to our parents, we were off to Roma! Our first flight was to Montreal, Canada and it was surprisingly fast! I slept most of the way and I had two seats to myself. After that, we had a two hour layover in Montreal where we grabbed dinner. I had no idea how French Canada actually is. Turns out it's REALLY French. I was a hot mess when I tried to order a sandwich from the airport bar. Along with my freakout attack at the food stand, I also had no internet or cell service while in the airport. Before I knew it, we were boarding the final plane to Rome and I couldn't believe the time had come! I had been waiting for that day for over a year and a half. I was seated right by my friends, Alaina and Megan. Throughout the eight hour journey, we became more and more giddy with anticipation. The flight served a dinner containing surprisingly delicious chicken, bread, coleslaw, and a brownie! After that I dosed off for God knows how long. I woke up and it was "the morning" in Rome which meant we were served breakfast. In my head, it was still 2 am and I had no intentions of eating whatever they were serving. But of course it was delicious banana bread and I had to eat it. Once we arrived to Rome, we went through customs where the Italian customs police told me to go to his favorite bar. After that, we went to the baggage claim and then we found one of our professors that helped us get a cab from the airport to our hotel.

The car ride to the hotel was one of the most surreal experiences I've ever had. I was shocked by the way our driver drove, the streets, the graffiti, the colors, the trees. Everything around me was everything I thought it would be and nothing I would've expected. After we settled into our dorms, we dropped everything and went exploring. One of the first things we did was eat. My first meal in Italy was a margarita pizza and I loved every second of it. A few of my friends got gelato and I had to stop myself from overeating on the first day. Once we filled our stomachs, we set off for Campo di Fiori, Piazza Navona, Castel Sant'Angelo and so much more. We had no map (don't tell my mom) and it was amazing to explore such a beautiful city without a care in the world. We took tons of pictures, said "Buongiorno!" to every smiling face, and got talked up by street vendors *cringe-worthy pick-up lines.* Last night, the entire abroad group went out to dinner together and it was delicious. The first plate was a lasagna with cheesy vodka cream sauce (instead of tomato sauce and parmesan), the second plate was pork and potatoes, and for dolce or dessert, we had tiramisu! After devouring our food, we headed back to the dorms where we showered and finally let our bodies rest. It was one of the best sleeps I've gotten in a very long time.

I feel so blessed to have this opportunity and I cannot thank my family and friends enough for supporting me as I go through this crazy adventure. The things that I have seen in the past two days will be forever memories. This is going to be the best three months of my life. I'm constantly pinching myself. Last night I woke up at 3 a.m. and couldn't fall back to sleep because I was so excited for today's adventures. We are always finding new things and each day I feel more and more at home. I can't wait to write more about my travels and school once it actually begins.

Here are some of the photos I took today and yesterday----











Thank you for reading!!

I have touched on this before in my previous blog posts, however I've never fully addressed the topic. I want to be comfortable sharing parts of my life in this space and I think it's time I tell you a bit about where I go to school. As you can tell by the title, I go to an all-girls college.

As a child, I was a massive tom-boy. If you told me I would be going to an all-girls school when I was ten, I would laugh in your face and tell you "never in a million years!" Obviously, things change. By no means am I saying that I am not a tom-boy now because that is not the case. All I wanted to do when I was younger was be like my brothers. I made my mom buy my clothes from the boys section and I loved sports. As I got older, I learned that being a girl didn't mean I had to wear pink and like Barbies. When I was about 12, I realized that being a girl could mean more than one thing. Whether I knew it or not, this was my first thought as a feminist.

Of course coming here I knew I would be surrounded with other feminists (and I love it!). I came to this school because I knew I would be pushed here more than anywhere else. This college incorporates what it means to be a woman in majority of it's classes. I had no idea I would be able to learn so much about myself in my mass media class. I feel myself growing into the woman with each course I take. The classes are comfortable, both mentally and physically; meaning everyone is friendly with one another and most of us wear our sweats to class. It is a judgement-free zone because everyone is going through similar things. We all stack our schedules up but we still enjoy every moment. The community here is unlike any other school and I would never change that.

In addition to going to class in our pjs, we all enjoy each others company. There is no set cliques or limits on who I can and cannot hang out with. The special people with whom I spend most of my time with are the kindest people I've ever met. I've never felt so comfortable with a group of people this quickly. We made so many memories and in the blink of an eye our freshmen year was over. When we came back after summer break, it was like nothing had even happened. We enjoy having movie nights which include cuddling on the couch whilst eating Ben & Jerry's. Even though we like staying in our beds in our pajamas, we like to have a good night out. There is a big university across the street from our little school, so we go over there on Friday's or Saturday's (or gasp!... both nights). Whether we are in our dorms or at a party, I know that these girls will always be there for me. We have a weird way of connecting and most of the time we know what each other are thinking, without even speaking. I cannot thank these girls enough for what they've done for me. I cannot imagine doing college without them. They are the sisters I never had and I know we will be friends for a very long time.

In my opinion, this was the only move for me. I had the hardest time choosing a school and I decided to come here because it was the most unique and scariest option. It is the best of both worlds. We have a small liberal arts all-girls school and there is a big university across the street that we go to for social events. Most fall weekends there is a football game or party across the street that we can go to. Coming to this school, I threw myself into living with only girls (which I've never done before) who were mostly Catholic (which I knew little about). I knew I would benefit from living in a place with people unknown to me. I have learnt so much in so many different ways and I can honestly say that an all-girls school is not how I thought it would be.

Although I was very independent before I came here, now I have become a massive supporter for  gender-equality. I have realized our society's mistakes and my aim is to change that. I hold everyone at the same standards (no matter what gender you are). I think it is important that everyone is treated equally and have the right to be themselves without feeling the need to fall under a specific category laid out by society. I hope that anyone reading this knows it is good to be strong, but its also good to be weak sometimes. Whether we like it or not, we all know that men are always supposed to be the big strong one and women are supposed to be the petite fragile one. I have never been able to take this stereotype seriously because I am big and strong. No one should have to be small. This is what my college is teaching me; there is no set way to do things.

I know you may still be thinking that an all-girls school is still awful, but once you step foot on campus you will understand what all the fuss is about. There's this weird sense of sisterhood we have here and it's a very unique community. I do not regret choosing this school. Sure, sometimes I wonder what 'normal' college is like, then I visit my friends at their school and realize how much drama they have with all of their friends and I thank God we don't have that here. All-girls school isn't for everyone, but you have to admit it sounds kinda fun. Every night is like a sleepover with your best friends and we say we are one big sorority.

Check out my weirdo friends and I below ---------