After waking up at 6 a.m, taking a 2 hour flight to Chicago followed by a 9 hour flight to Italy.. I have arrived!
I am so tired right now that every time I blink I get worried my eyes aren’t going to open up again. Today has been a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts! I think it didn’t really sink in that I had arrived in an entirely foreign country until I was left waiting at the baggage claim for 20 minutes, wondering if I had really lost all my clothes for the next 2 months. Luckily my bag arrived in an ungraceful fashion and I found 3 other girls from my program at the airport.
For a few minutes we just kind of stood around.. discussing exactly how we planned on getting to our university. I, in typical Rachel fashion, had no idea where in the heck I was, geographically speaking, and at that point was just ready to splurge on a cab. However the others were amped and ready for a trip on the shuttle bus. So after walking back and forth (literally. We kept missing signs.) we navigated our way to the bus stop, where I was greeted with the most fashionable men I have ever seen. They made me feel like I was underdressed and sloppy in what I had previously considered a cute maxi dress and a scarf! Once on the shuttle I was tasked with the challenge of thrusting my 50 lb suitcase on a tiny rack.. I’m pretty sure a fair share of Italians got a sneak peek of what was under my maxi dress with that little move. Oops.
At that point some of the Italians were laughing and/or shaking their heads in disappointment at our group of 4 when one of my friends had tried to just hold onto her suitcase because it was just too gosh darn hard to move anywhere else. After holding up the ENTIRE shuttle we finally were off.. and I promptly passed out on the shuttle and missed all the scenery. Cool.
Anyways – My eyes are really starting to fight back now, so I will keep it brief. I was initially terrified. I was reminded of how much of a foreigner I am, how silly my “American” behaviors are, and even how loud I can be in a public setting. I have never been more aware of how quickly I am prone to laugh because I have never had such an audience before when I flashed my front teeth. Seriously, I went through a phase of guilt for being a relatively upbeat person.
Despite the exhaustion, blisters from hiking from the bus stop to our university, and the embarrassment of all my faux pas, I’M SO GLAD TO BE HERE. The group I’m with is an amazing mix of smart, sassy, and easy going girls and guys. We immediately hit it off and stopped by the market, gelato shop, and fruit stand. I unpacked, went to dinner, and just toured the place while I constantly had to remind myself that yes -ohmyactualgosh- I am in Rome. Holy cow.
Here are pictures from day 1. I know. I’m bad at picture taking. It’s a work in progress.
Running in Rome 