Again, this experience has been so amazing and I am thankful and fully appreciative of all of this. The teachers and students have made this experience the best that it can be. After a long day of flying, the group got home. I already miss Italy but am glad to be home to see my family and friends. Thank you for everyone who gave me the opportunity to do this trip and creating memorable experiences.

What a relaxing day! We spent the day at the park and went to one of the tour guides hometown.

At the park, I had a great time rowing boats (obviously needing practice) and walking around the park. I also got to do some more shopping near the hotel, getting some nifty shirts and souvenirs.

Later, the group went to the hometown where we had a delicious dinner with gelato looking at a great view of the sunset over Rome.

Walking back to the hotel, with our last view on this trip of the Vatican, we took a few more photos. Then we gave our appreciation gifts to the teachers who loved them.

Thinking back on this whole trip, with the natural beauty and constructive phenomenon’s of Italy, I am appreciative and thankful for this trip.

I had a busy and tight-packed schedule today, but nonetheless, had a great time.

We went to Florence where we had a quick one-day tour around. We saw many churches, specifically the Santa Maria del Fiore church that was one of the best churches I have ever seen. It was gorgeous with its artistic patterns and substantial size.

Giotto’s door was exceptional and the overall design of the church looked great.

We also went to the oldest apothecary place that had little expensive but really good pharmaceutical products. Subsequently, we were able to shop at a leather occupied area with other small markets/stores. At that time, it was one of the times I really enjoyed shopping.

Soon, we also saw the “David” statue. I remember seeing it in a textbook and now actually being there is marvelous. The statue by Michelangelo was huge and had the “natural” look which shows how phenomenal this piece of art is.

Later, we headed to a museum that includes five prominent painters; Botticelli, Leonardo, Raphael, Fra Angelico, and Giotto. These paintings brought new techniques, including perspective, which made the paintings looked amazing. We then left to have dinner and brought it back to the hotel so the 2012 Euro Cup Finals tournament can be watched. Italy loss but I still had a pretty good evening, relaxing and having a good time. I am so surprised how fast this trip has gone and I want to stay longer. Thank you!

The days are zooming by! Each day it’s gotten better and more exciting.

Today we got to have our last day of class in Italy at the hotel and learned about Buddhism. This not only taught me about Siddhartha Gautama and his visions, but also Mr. Hamacher gave a comparison about this on the trip, which was to enjoy the experiences right now and to really take everywhere we go all in.

This opportunity is amazing and every moment in Italy should be taken in. I also learned about embassies and that one of the key parts in being a diplomat is to listen and understand. Every country has their point of view, they must be respected in diplomatic terms and communicate effectively too.

We also went and saw the Circus Maximus, although no preservation was made there. I learned that this area was mainly used for chariot events. We also went to a temple that was dedicated to Hercules and saw the Mouth of Truth. The days are still hot in Italy but do not matter as the educational experiences and gorgeous settings are incredible to be in.

Then we got to go back to the market and watch a fireworks show. The fireworks were exploding beauties that made the half an hour show zoom by. This show was for the Roman holiday celebrating St. Peters and occurs for this special occasion. These days always makes me excited for the next day.

The “town museum” was tiring, but exciting. Many corners we turned some sort of historical landmark was there. But first off, we went to Victor Emmanuel II Monument (Victoria) that was substantial in size and looked spectacular. This was built by Mussolini but was disliked by the people because he was a fascist dictator who united Italy, when people wanted a divided area.  We also visited several other areas, including the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, “The Four River Fountain”, the Spanish Steps, and churches too. The Pantheon was huge in size and the outside did not look like its inside. I thought the building was going to be square inside but was actually a dome shape and had beautiful infrastructure and elegant paintings, where I also got to see Raphael’s body, an eminent painter in Rome.

Next we went to the Trevi Fountain that had the God of the Ocean with the four ladies that represented the seasons. The fountain looked stunning, and was the best historically-designed fountains I saw.

The Four Rivers Fountain represented the four continents known at that time, which was Asia, Europe, Africa, and America, that also looked remarkable and had symbolic statures of art that represented each continent.

The Spanish Steps was another historical place we went to and had a great view from the top of it. Although when we had time to shop, almost every store was extremely expensive. We were able to go to some churches too, including the smallest church in Rome and an American church.

After a long, tiring, yet still exciting day, the places we saw today looked incredible. The meals were also good highlights of the day with some more gelato and delicious pasta at lunch and dinner. Tomorrow is another day of exciting adventure, going to Florence for most of the day and possibly to see the soccer game too.

What else can I say besides that Italy is getting better and better as the days progress! We had a more relaxing day with one tour to do. First we went to the University, taking in the views during our walks even more, and learned about Judaism. We also continued our United Nations Model, furthering learning how to negotiate alliances and agreements between countries.

Next we went to the Vatican Museum, which was massive in size and had sculptures/paintings that were awe-inspiring. Specifically, the Pieta (sculpture) and the Sistine Chapel (a collage of paintings) both by Michelangelo, had such in-depth historical backgrounds that experiencing it gave a whole different feel compared to just looking at the pictures in a textbook. Michelangelo’s work was extraordinary to view and surprised that he rejected to do the Sistine Chapel for two years; coming out as one of his greatest works. To be encompassed in the Sistine Chapel was remarkable, taking in as much detail as possible. I am slowly absorbing more of the Italian culture and adapting to the Italian setting.

Of course again, I ate a lot of gelato, trying seven new flavors today which were all delicious. I have become more comfortable using the basic phrases in Italian and acknowledging even more that I am in Rome, near some of the most well-known areas in Italy.

Today was another great day.

We had our last day at the University, learning about Hinduism, discussing international topics and continuing to work on the United Nations Model.

We said our farewells to the University and departed with a group picture.

Later on, we went to the Jewish Ghetto where we learned about the facts and history about the ghetto. The ghetto is the oldest Jewish Community and life was hard for the Jews. They had to pay fees with their minimal wealth, faced racial laws, and lived in a poor area. They were sent to the ghetto to keep them in that area as well as protect them too. The Holocaust was treacherous to the Jewish people in the ghetto and 2,091 of them were sent out.

We also went to two synagogues that looked spectacular where we learned about the religion and traditions. Every single synagogue had to have one scroll and the men had to cover their heads to represent the equality among them. Additionally, symbols were in the synagogues with the rainbow, a type of tree, and more.

Lastly, at night, I watched the “Italy vs. Germany” Semi-Final Euro Cup 2012 soccer game, Italy winning two to zero. The reaction by the people was exciting to experience because, even after an hour, the people honked their horns and yelled cheers. A relaxing day with a loud, upbeat soccer game continues to excite me and remind me that I am in Rome!

Waking up in the morning to a chocolate/nutella croissant is new, stimulating my taste buds. That was a great start to a spectacular day.

We first went to the University that has a view that could be put as a pictorial postcard to send to family and friends.

The Castel Sant’ Angelo was next where it looks like the ancient castles I imagine in my head, so at first glance, it was magnificent. I learned that the holes in the castle, as well as the Colosseum, were used for hanging decorations, and that the castle was used as a burial place, and then a developed in to a fortress to protect the people who took refuge there from all the battles.

I also saw St. Peters Vatican that was substantial in size and phenomenal inside. The meticulously detailed mosaics/paintings and structural integrity of the infrastructure was a memorable experience. Lastly, we went to the market at night and got some skills on how to negotiate with the clerks.

Today was a remarkable day and I looked forward to tomorrow.

Our group had a superb, although tiring second day. We first went to see the old Colosseum and learned that it could hold 50,000 to 70,000 people at a time and was made up of four levels.

The base had to hold a lot of weight and so as the Colosseum got higher, the weight became lighter with this “red brick” material.

We also went to the Palatine Hill Museum and the Roman Forum that looked spectacular with the mesmerizing landscaping and historical artifacts.

We also went to the St. Clemen’s Church that had amazing mosaics, pictures, and paintings with great symbolic meaning. Lastly, we had Gelato that tasted delicious and we one of the best ice cream I had ever ate. Again this was an arduous day but was marvelous as a first day in Italy.

We had a very rough day at the airport. The first flight to Atlanta was on time, but once we got to the next flight, it was the next day at 2:20pm. We spent a whole day at the airport and were not able to get a flight to Rome. Luckily, we got hotel and meal vouchers to get us through the night and next morning. We had high hopes to make it to Rome the next day and we finally did! Everyone is super excited but extremely weary because of the adventure to get to Italy and the fact we have to adjust to the new time zone. Nonetheless we are in Italy now!