Catching You Up -- Part III!!!!!!!!!!!

I have almost got you all caught up to the present.

The "Academic Orientation" that the administration put us through was not worth relating here. Let's skip that, shall we, and move on straight to our first visit into the city of Rome itself.

Again, we all loaded onto buses and we shipped directly into the heart of the city where we were divided into groups. Each group was paired with a prof. or SA who would lead them through the city to St. Peters Basilica. The aim was not so much sightseeing (though you can't help but to sight see a little when in Rome, even if it is unintentional) as an opportunity for our group leaders to give us tips on how to get around in the city.

For example, when crossing the street, be fearless. Traffic will never slow down, so don't bother waiting for any breaks at any crosswalks. Stop lights don't mean squat over here either. The trick is to just go--traffic will slow for you....most of the time. If it doesn't look like it's slowing, walk faster.

The small groups each made their way to St. Peters, where the whole group would meet for mass at 5pm. The line to enter the church--to get through the metal detectors, I should say, is always pretty massive. To enter, one must also be dressed properly. Ladies must have their shoulders covered and may not wear shorts or skirts above the knee. They are very strict about this rule. I saw one lady tie an oversized sweatshirt around her waist, attempting to make it look like a long skirt, so that she could enter the Basilica. Surprisingly to me, it worked. She looked pretty ridiculous though.

St. Peters Basillica takes my breath away, and always will. Mass was in Latin and Italian.


Ahh!! Called away from the computer for awhile. Be right back.