(I will probably end every sentence with an exclamation point because I am literally so excited about everything. Fair warning.) Wow! Two whole days of Italia have already passed! Time will not bend to my will, and it is this conditioned reality that has our expiration date coming so quickly. I have been using my Italian, … Continue reading Buon giorno, Italia! (To sum it all up, I love everything here.) by Sara-Kay West →

Wow! Talk about a whirlwind first 48 hours in Rome!  We practically went directly down the plane jetway and up the steps to the top of the Dome of St. Peters Basilica. But despite going for a solid 24hrs, everyone’s spirits were high on our first day and tour of the Vatican. The students got … Continue reading We practically went down the plane jetway and up the steps to the top of the Dome of St. Peters Basilica! by John Hesting →

Hello world. It is June 23, 2014 and currently it is bed time. We had an interesting day today as well as yesterday. Yesterday we arrived around 10ish. After stepping over the plane door threshold we were greeted with a long line to customs. It took about an hour just to have someone lady stamp … Continue reading The begining of our Italy Study Abroad journey! by Daniella Sanchez →

Well, so far I don’t want to come home and that’s it. Everything is interesting, and so different than I expected. One of the first things I noticed was the graffiti. Obviously, that’s not a good thing. But I thought it was cool considering that this is such an old, well-known, important, and historical city, … Continue reading Italy. Like, actually in Italy. by Sydney Merritt →

Yesterday we toured and got to climb to the top do St. Peter’s basilica. It was an amazing experience. The inside of the church is absolutely magnificent and the view from the top of the dome is unbelievable. We got to learn all about the Catholic religion and the Pope while touring and during the … Continue reading Our classroom for the day? St. Peter’s Basilica of course! by Tyler Gray →

Coliseum. The strangest thing that we learned is that most Christians were not martyred there. However, people WERE killed there. During the lunch break the intermission show was usually of a myth. If someone died in the myth, then someone died in the re-enactment of the myth. So, a slave was usually picked to play … Continue reading Walking on the same road as Caesar and Cleopatra! by Brandy Stark →

After a much needed sleep, we woke up and walked off to the college where we would be studying. Where we are studying, Pontifical Urbaniana University, is right by our hotel, and has a great view of the Vatican. When we got there, we went to where we thought our room was, only to find … Continue reading Day 2: Pontifical University, Arch of Titus, and Peter in Chains by William Moorhead →

On Day Two we began our day by going to classes at the Vatican university. It took a while to find our room but a friendly priest who spoke really good English helped us find it. After our classes we went to lunch at the café at the university and then went to meet our … Continue reading Roman Victory Arches, the Benefits of a Pantheon, and East-West Relations by Cole Walters →

Today, we had our class at the nearby Pontifica University. Then we took a tour of the Roman Forum, “Old Rome”, and the Coliseum. For lunch that day I had something that is rare in Italy as they view it as something like a crime against food, ham and pineapple pizza. Italians don’t have an … Continue reading Experiencing the food and culture while Studying Abroad in Italy! by Austin Hart →

On Monday we went and saw the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. We started the day with walking through the Roman Forum. It was really crazy to think about how old all the ruins are. The size of the building are absolutely ridiculous. The fact they could create buildings that size with no tools or … Continue reading Touring Mind Blowing Architectures of Rome by Tyler Gray →