First hours.....

The flight was rather long to say the least. I met one of my roommates in Washington and ended up sitting by her on the plane. Our flight was delayed an hour and a half (something wrong with the weight distribution), so I had the opportunity to chat with the lady next to me before take-off. She lived in America for the first 16 years of her life, and then moved to Italy. Her mother is Italian and her father is American. Now she lives in the southern part of Italy, and she compared it to the Midwest because it is more low-key and the people there are very pleasant. She also said that that is where the majority of the grain is grown because the land is perfect for growing wheat in order to provide the country with enough pasta. I also learned that the colors from the Italian flag represent tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and basil because all are very common in Italian dishes.

Seven and a half hours later with very little sleep, we landed in Rome. Maybe I’m crazy, but once we were out of the airport, the landscape looked like what I had imagined Africa would look like; I think it’s because of the trees… Our program provided us with a huge charter bus to take us to our hotel in the very center of Rome. Looking through the large windows, I found it surreal that I could read very few of the signs. I’m hoping that when I leave Italy, I will be able to recognize many more words.