38 Days

While my family was visiting me this weekend for yet another inspiring loss by the Irish, my wonderful mother pointed out to me that there was nothing about my home/family in my previous post about things I will miss while I am abroad. So as to not offend my chief financial advisors, I present a stipulation to my list:

1. Coming home every couple months to find that each of my brothers has grown roughly another 6 inches. Needless to say, I now have zero competition for shortest person in the family.
2. Having my mum call me a few days before I return home to ask me what I would like her to prepare for dinner while I am home. This is easily on my list of greatest things ever.
3. When my father calls me at odd times of the day to ask me questions about random movie quotes, song lyrics, how to say things in foreign languages, and the names of side projects of indie hipster bands. These calls usually involve me being on speakerphone with his coworkers, some sort of bet, and my father being mocked for having the musical preferences of a 17-year-old girl.
4. Calling my sister at 2 in the morning on the brink of tears, begging for help on Medieval Literature papers, and having her be awake as well, also on the brink of tears over her own papers. Three cheers for college procrastination and sisterly love.
5. My dogs.


In other news, I was finally able to register for classes this past week. It was quite nice to not have to stay up with the rest of the SMC population until the bleak hours of the morning until registration opened, then make a mad dash for the classes I need, praying that they wouldn't fill up before I got to them. I simply went to my Rome advisor, told him what I wanted to take, and I was good to go. I'll be taking 16 credit hours (a nice break from the 19-hour courseload I'm currently tackling), all of which are general-education courses and classes for my Italian minor:

Art History (This is going to be fantastic.)
Lectures and Tours (This is a mandatory class in which we travel around Rome and look at the landmarks and such. Easiest credit I'll ever earn.)
Introduction to Philosophy
Italian Language and Literature
Italian Cinema
Religious Moral Life (Taught by the former head of the Dominican order. He's buddies with the Pope. No big deal.)

So needless, to say, my excitement is reaching unprecedented levels. Everything is falling into place: I've got my flight booked, my student visa authorized, my roommate situation figured out (Shout-out to Laura!), and my classes picked out. Now all that's left to do is wait. And pack.

50 Days

An impromptu list of random things that I will miss while I am in Rome:

1. Room 291's inability to get any work done unless it is between the hours of 1-5 am
2. Watching "Hercules" whenever possible
3. Cece's random urges to spoon people (unless they are directed at me)
4. Having Brett Favre watch over me as I sleep
5. Alexis' gingerness
6. Kim's awkwardness in general
7. Tortellini night at South Dining Hall
8. Texting a play-by-play commentary with Bailey during Packer games
9. Room-wide Facebook creeping sessions
10. Glee and The Office nights with the roommates
11. Mass Communications with Kelly
12. Listening to my roommates talk/sing/yell in their sleep, and then waking up in the morning and hearing them tell me how bad I snore
13. Sax Dinner (and all of the saxes in general)
14. Stealing obscene amounts of food out of the dining hall
15. Convincing Alexis that I contaminate her space with my "germs"
16. Having the mountain of stuff under my bed slowly spread across the aisle into Alexis' aforementioned space
17. Hockey band, the band dance, band soccer... pretty much everything related to band.
18. All of us settling down to do homework, and then ending up watching movies that make us cry
19. Talking politics with Cece
20. Alexis' and my terrifying encounters with the crazy girl who sings to herself
21. Discussing my emo-ness with the roommates
22. Sleeping until noon after gamedays
23. The Culigan water machine
24. Alexis' random and violent urges to rearrange the room
25. Striped polos
26. Wednesday Night Shenanigans
27. Kim constantly referring to me as "little guy"
28. Snow
29. "All-Nighters"
30. Cece being able to peer pressure me into nearly everything that is legal (except running)
31. Kim randomly quoting "Forrest Gump"
32. Having it be socially acceptable for me to go to class unshowered and in my pajamas
33. "Lost" date nights with Kelly
34. Being the only ones awake in our hall at midnight
35. Spring at Saint Mary's (aka the most beautiful thing in the world)

Benvenuto!

If you have found your way to my blog, then chances are you already know that in two short months, I will be beginning my spring semester abroad in Rome, Italy. Because being halfway across the world will make it slightly more difficult for me to keep in touch with all of my fans back home, I have created this little corner of the internet so I can share my thoughts, my experiences, my travels, and my shenanigans with you all. (Sidenote: Don't worry, Mom - shenanigans will be kept to a minimum, and only taken part in when I'm done with all my homework.)

For those of you keeping track at home, here are some important numbers:

- 59: As of today, days until I leave for Rome. My (yet-to-be-scheduled) flight leaves January 2nd and lands January 3rd. My classes start the next day. Bring it on.

- 3: Months I will be abroad. That's right, kids. My last day of finals is March 31st. Don't pretend you aren't jealous.

- 4750: Miles between South Bend, Indiana and Rome. Needless to say, I won't be in the Midwest anymore.

- 55: Average temperature in Rome during the months of January-April.

- 15: Average temperature in South Bend during the months of January-April.

And now for some backstory: I was accepted into the Rome Program last spring and began preparing for it almost immediately. First thing on my to-do list: Learn how to speak Italian. I am currently in my 3rd semester of Italian, and have somehow managed to keep hold of my sanity while actually learning how to communicate with some level of proficiency. The language itself is beautiful, but a far cry from the German that I studied throughout high school. (Frau, if you're reading this, I'm sorry.) I am currently toying with the idea of minoring in Italian, mostly because I have spent to much time and energy on it in the past year in a half that it only seems right. And where better to study Italian than in Rome?

And then there's room and board. Unlike the other study abroad programs offered at Saint Mary's, students studying in Rome don't live with a host family or in a sketchy flat with a bunch of strangers (Sorry, Kim and Kelly). For three months, I will be calling the Hotel Tiziano home. A four-star hotel located in the heart of downtown Rome, the Hotel was actually once a private residence of a rich Italian family in the late 1800s, then converted to a hotel in the 1970s. Nearly anything worth seeing in Rome is only a short walk out my front door - everything from my class building to the Spanish Steps to the Colosseum to the Vatican. I get one meal a day in the hotel, and another meal at the fabulous gelateria (ice cream store) next door. The only downside? No laundry, and no free continental breakfast. I'll let you know which one I end up missing more.

That's all I have for now. If anyone has any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I want you all to be as much a part of this incredible madness as I am. More updates will follow as I learn more about my class schedule and my travel plans. Ciao!