Hi everyone, my name is Brett McGaffigan and I have been looking forward to studying abroad in Rome ever since I first visited here 8 years ago. I am a sophomore from Texas and I plan on majoring in business, possibly international, with a minor in Italian. I first heard about the wonderful Rome program when I went to visit Saint Mary's my senior year of high school, and after deciding to attend Saint Mary's I knew that I had no choice but to study abroad in Rome the whole year. Before leaving for Rome, people would ask me if I thought I would get homesick, but how could I even dream of getting homesick when there are always places to see and gelato to constantly eat. On my flight from Dallas to Washington D.C., where I would meet up with more Saint Mary's girls before heading to Rome, my only concern was that I barely knew anyone going this semester (most of my Italian class is coming spring semester). After arriving at the airport, my concerns were laid to rest as the other girls were absolutely welcoming.
After finally arriving in Rome, we were taken to buses that took us to our orientation location in Assisi. Once in the beautiful town of Assisi, we had to carry our one bag we were allowed for the trip up numerous stairs and hills. By the time we actually got to our residence, everyone was sore and tired, but our professors had more in mind for us. After getting a small break, we were taken on a tour of Assisi’s main piazza and given a brief description of the town. Over the next four days we were taken on numerous tours, including The Basilica of Saint Francis and The Basilica of Saint Clare, while we also took care of orientation business, like picking classes and rooms and learning about life in Rome. Although Assisi is a small town, it will always hold a place in my heart not only because it was where I was able to meet girls that are now my good friends, but also because Saint Clare, who is my confirmation saint, lived there.
Everyone was so excited to get to Rome after spending our orientation in Assisi. On Sunday night, we arrived in Rome at the Hotel Tiziano where we would be staying for our time in Rome. We were shown the office, classrooms, library, and our cafe where we would take our meals when we were not eating at the hotel. I could not believe how close they are to the hotel, and all on one street! Although there were many places that I already wanted to go explore, I had class the next day at 8 am. So far my experiences with my classes are wonderful (although it is only the second week of class and we have not yet had any tests). My classes include Art History, Religion (Moral Theology), English (Mythology), Business (Marketing), Italian, and a lectures and tours class.
Last weekend, on Saturday, we went on a tour of the Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, and Colosseum. WOW! On first glance, the Forum looks like a bunch of columns which an occasional arch here and there, but with a good tour guide, we are transported back to ancient Roman times where the Forum was the center of everyday life. My favorite part of the Forum was seeing a seemingly insignificant gravestone which is now thought to be the resting place of Romulus! Another interesting aspect of the Forum is the sewers that first were built to drain water from the site that are still being used today. We all know from first hand experience that these are still working because half way through the tour, it started raining. Although it was hot and sunny while leaving the hotel, the sun was soon covered with menacing clouds that came out of nowhere. After getting back to the hotel, warming up, and eating lunch, we went out on our second tour which included the Colosseum. Once inside and out of the grasps of the “gladiators” who stand out front posing for pictures only after some money is "donated," we are told about the origin of the Colosseum. With other tourists trying to inconspicuously listen in to our tour, our guide, the archeology professor, tells us about some of the mistakes in the movie Gladiator, including wrong Latin inscriptions, actually calling the Colosseum by name (it was not called such at the time of the movie), and the much larger floor where the fighting took place.
On Sunday, most of us went to Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican for mass. Although most of it was in a foreign language, there was one reading in English, and who should be picked out of the audience to do it other than our Saint Mary's student, Liz Bajema. At the time, nobody I was sitting with knew it was her, but she did a fantastic job. We walked around Saint Peter's and saw The Pieta by Michelangelo and the statue of Saint Peter, of which it is said to be good luck to rub his feet. Once outside, we heard the Pope give his weekly blessing from his residence. It was amazing to receive his blessing and to hear him speak English with his thick German accent.
I am having such a good time! I still cannot believe that I am here-it is simply amazing. I cannot wait until next weekend when we will be going to Villa Giulia on Friday and then an all day excursion to Tarquinia and Cerveteri on Saturday. Ciao for now!
Wow! What an amazing week. We just got back from our Southern Italy trip, and it was so much fun. We left early on Tuesday morning at six. I will never again doubt that I may be left in Rome, as we have been warned. Just as my watch was showing 5:57, my roommate and I walked out of the elevator to see our two buses rolling away. Don’t worry, they saw us, but never again will I be less than 10 minutes early for anything.
The first place we went was Pompeii. I loved it! I have always heard and seen pictures from Pompeii, but you really cannot imagine it until you are actually there. I had a presentation on the Stabian Baths in Pompeii for Art History but they are closed. So while the rest of my classmates are sitting on a curb, I am standing up in front of a gate trying to describe different rooms to them while other people walking by try to figure out what I am doing. It was a really good time. After getting back to the hotel in Naples, we decided to go out to eat, but passed out from exhaustion.
On Wednesday, we started the day early again at 6:45 for breakfast. This was the day that we were scheduled to drive along the Amalfi Coast. It was so pretty, but sitting in the back of the bus with all the twists and turns of the drive did make me feel a little carsick. We stopped in the actual city of Amalfi for about an hour and a half, then went to Paestum, an ancient Greek city with well-preserved temples. Some other students gave their Art History or Archeology reports there. That night back in Naples we decided to go explore our area and look for a place to eat. We eventually got pizza and made friends with the waiters, trying to speak Italian. On Thursday, we went to the Archeological museum, as well as Cuma, the home of the Sibyl in the Aeneid which we just finished studying in Mythology. Friday we visited the Capodemonte museum, which originally was the palace for the kings and queens of Naples.
Saturday we went to Capri. The weather was really nice, although it had been windy so that the previous two days boats were not able to go to Capri. We were lucky that we were able to go though the water was still very choppy. At first this was fun, kind of like a rollercoaster ride...but then it seemed endless. I thought that the boat ride was going to be about 15 minutes at max, but it was actually more like an hour. A lot of us did not make it over without getting sick...I will admit, I was one of the unlucky ones. Once we got there, and had some Sprite to settle our stomachs, we had the best time. There are several excellent shops. We also took a bus to Anacapri and then took a chairlift to the top of the mountain for one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen.
The way back to Naples was a lot better than the ride there. We met a soccer team that had just won a game against Capri. It was so much fun trying to speak Italian with them. As long as I kept talking, and did not think about the rocking of the boat, I was fine. Right after we arrived in Naples, we headed back to Rome. It was an amazing week, but I was really glad to be back in Rome.
This past weekend, I went to Ireland with some of my friends. Unlike in Rome, Dublin already had Christmas decorations up around the city. Although it did add to the Christmas spirit, I did not enjoy the cold weather. We have been spoiled this fall, since Rome has been the warmest it has ever been. Although I did check the temperature in Ireland, I was still not as prepared as I should have been. After arriving in Dublin, we took a bus directly to the Guinness Factory, where we took a tour of the seven levels. Two of my friends were actually picked to push the button to start one of the brews. On the very top floor is the Gravity Bar, where we were given a free Guinness. The Bar has a panoramic view of the city and it was so beautiful to watch the sunset.
After the factory, we decided to find a place to eat as we had not had anything but Guinness since before our flight earlier that morning. The food was amazing! No matter how much I love Italian food, a break from it is always welcome. We then made our way over to our hostel, the Shining Hostel, which we got a kick out of as it wasn't the nicest hostel we had stayed in. We met some other students staying in our hostel from Villanova who were studying in France and a couple others who attend an English university. They introduced us to a bar they frequent with reasonably priced drinks. We have discovered that drinks in Dublin are extremely expensive. My favorite drink was cider, popular in the UK. We also found out that, apart from the popular Temple Bar district, bars in Dublin close very early.
The next day we had planned on going to Galway, a four hour bus ride from Dublin, but unfortunately we slept through our alarms and wouldn't have had much time in visit. Instead, we went to Powerscourt, which was only an hour bus ride away. The ride alone was worth the trip. Fall was in full swing and the trees were amazing colors, but the grass was still so green. We spent most of the day at Powerscourt, where there were shops and cafes. We could have paid more to see the gardens and houses, but we did not think that it was necessary since it was already so beautiful outside. It did rain and we got caught in it walking back to the bus stop and we were freezing.
Back at the hostel we met up with my roommate Emily's friend Simon that lives in the city. Their parents are family friends and have known each other for a few years. He took us to a going-away-party for his friend, and we were able to see the real side of Ireland and its locals. We had the best time, and stayed up way too late, but were able to get up in the morning to catch our flight back to Rome. I feel that I did not have enough time in Ireland to see everything that I wanted, so I definitely plan on going back.
My winter break was amazing. I did not go home for the month that we were off, but instead spent the first half in Austria with the Saint Mary’s/Notre Dame Innsbruck program along with three other girls from the Rome program. We had the most amazing time skiing! I left early to meet my parents and brother in Rome for Christmas and the second half of my break; it was amazing to see my family after being away from them for over three months. We had a wonderful Christmas and ate dinner at a convent with many other families. During the time that my family was here, we went to Florence and Amalfi. It was sad to see them leave after being together for two weeks.
Meeting all of the new Rome study abroad students was fun. Although I miss all of my friends from last semester, I know that the new friends that I am making will also last a lifetime. I am currently living in one of the hotel’s quad rooms, with a lot more room than the double that I was in last semester, and loving it. My roommates are great and we are having a blast! Just last weekend we went to Stockholm together with one of our other friends for our first three-day weekend. The weather was not the greatest because it was extremely foggy and wet, but we bundled up and didn’t let the weather keep us down. We saw the changing of the guards at the royal palace, which was hilarious because the guards would all shuffle to get back into straight lines. My favorite experience was seeing the Vasa, a ship that was under water for 333 years but now is revived and in great shape. Around 90% of the Vasa is original, and it is huge with elaborate carvings.
This week and next week are packed with midterms, but I plan to take a break this weekend and head to Venice!
So this past weekend was crazy!! A group of us decided to go to Venice and experience the festival of Carnevale. We took an overnight train to Venice and arrived at our hostel around 5am. We met two guys, Ilia and Wyatt, who were also staying at our hostel, and we spent the entire day with them. I love the fact that we are able to make new friends everywhere we go! We took a bus to the actual island of Venice and the whole place was totally deserted. We were really lucky to experience the city before all of the crowds arrived. We watched the sunrise in Saint Mark’s Square where only a few (or late) Carnevale goers were still around. When we went back later that day, the transformation of the square was definitely noticeable. The whole square was packed with people enjoying Carnevale events and many goers were dressed in elaborate costumes and masks. We searched the whole day for the perfect mask and we were all able to find exactly what we were looking for. The rest of the day was spent enjoying the different sites of the island, visiting an art museum, and taking a traghetto ride, which is a 50 cent gondola ride from one side of the canal to the other, we did not want to pay the 60 euro for a real gondola ride. We really tried to have the best time that we could in Venice because we knew that we had a long day of studying ahead of us back in Rome for mid-terms. It was one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen and I definitely want to go back one day!!
So, I actually stayed in Rome this past weekend, which was such a relief! I have been traveling practically every weekend, so having a weekend to just chill was fantastic. My roommates and I woke up (way too late, although it was great to actually sleep in for once) and decided to go to the Borghese gardens, a big park in Rome surrounding the Borghese museum. My young cousin had actually sent me a “Flat Stanley” the day before, which we took around with us. He is doing a class mapping project and they send Stanley, which is so flat that he is able to mail himself to friends and family to see where people live on the map. I took pictures with him everywhere that we went, like the Spanish Steps, the gardens, and Piazza de Popolo. It was a beautiful day on Saturday and we had a great time just walking around. We planned to go to the zoo, but unfortunately they stopped letting people in 5 minutes before we arrived. We made plans to return to the park with a picnic and then go to the zoo, but it was raining on Sunday and every day after that : (
Yesterday, we took a day trip to Siena. (This semester has been different than last; it seems that we went on several class excursions first semester, while this semester we have a lot of lectures and only one class trip plus our week-long trip to northern Italy.) Siena was beautiful! My favorite aspect of the city was the Duomo. We had tours for about 4 hours and then we explored the city by ourselves. It was great! A couple of my friends and I ate right on the main piazza and had fun people-watching. I am so excited about going on our Northern Italy trip this coming week!
