What I have been up to lately...
1. I am convinced that Stonehill 2015 has taken over Europe. Every weekend in October, I saw at least one person from Stonehill. It has been awesome! The weekend after my trip to London, I was visited by MaryCharlotte and Thomas from Florence. MC flew from the States to visit Thomas in Italy, so they decided to crash in my apartment for a night to see Rome. We took them around to all the sites, ate dinner, drank wine, and of course got gelato. It was a breath of fresh air to see more familiar faces from Stonehill. Although it was quick, I hope they enjoyed their stay in Rome.
2. An amazing visit from my boyfriend. Connor stayed with me in Rome for ten days in October. It was easily the best week I have spent in Rome so far. I had so much fun showing him all of Rome's monuments and sites-- Trevi Fountain, Colosseum, Vatican, Capitoline, Palatine, Roman Forum, Spanish Steps, Borghese Gardens... you name it we saw it all. It was such a fantastic trip, it felt like a dream. My time with Connor flew by. It was so hard to see him go back to the States, but I know I will see him again so soon. I can't thank him enough for coming to see me during my time abroad. It's been difficult being so far away from home, but being able to actually be with him was just what I needed.
3. A trip to Venice! I wanted to make sure Connor saw more than Rome during his trip to Italy, so we planned a visit to Venice. It could not have been more perfect (aside from people constantly trying to sell us roses). We got to Mestre Thursday night, and spent Friday and Saturday exploring San Marco and the canals of Venice.
4. Midterms...Unfortunately, the study part of Study Abroad still exists. Midterm week has ended and I am doing well in all my classes. That's about all I got on that topic.
5. Stonehill Londoners take Rome. My roommate and a few other Stonehill girls =in London visited me for a weekend. Although I was tired from having explored all of Rome the week before, Alex and I showed them around the city. It was so great to be able to see them and catch up on everything that has been going on while abroad. It has been especially nice to hear how others have been handling their time away from home. It seems as though it is that point in the semester when everyone is starting to feel more homesick than before.
6. A dramatic increase in our cooking skills, sort of. I have been gaining more and more confidence in my cooking than before, but they still aren't the best. Alex, Hayley and I have been making a lot of chicken, salad, pasta, and veggies/stir fries. Finally, I am no longer petrified of going to the farmers market down the street in the mornings. I've been able to get fresh vegetables and fruit for cheap instead of going to the grocery store. Last week, Alex and I made burgers and a vegetable medley of peppers, onions, broccoli, and cucumbers. It was delicious! We were so proud of ourselves.
7. I casually flew to Ireland last weekend. My second trip outside of Italy was to the Emerald Isle. We spent time in Dublin and Galway-- two amazing cities. Both had such a relaxed atmosphere to them compared to the hustle and bustle of Rome. Our first night in Dublin was on Halloween, SO COOL. The Irish do Halloween the way it is supposed to be: scary. We saw so many people dressed up with outstanding makeup, creepy contact lenses, and costumes that were unreal. I felt like I was in Disney Channel's Halloweentown or something. We didn't have much to dress up with ourselves, so we wore Venetian masks that we brought from Italy.
Overall, my trip to Ireland was amazing. I felt like I was at home! I ate beef and Guinness stew with mashed potatoes, drank beer in real Irish pubs, listened to great live music, and embraced each moment as much as I could. Ireland was beautiful and everything really was green. (I realized why my dad loves his lawn so much, dates back to his Irishman roots). On Saturday, we went to Galway where we happened to run into one of my good friends from Stonehill, Meghan, as we were walking out of a restaurant. We got to spend the day with her walking and shopping around the town. I would love to go back to Ireland one day with my family.
8. Cliffs of Moher deserves its own update. Saturday morning was spent at the Cliffs of Moher. I was stoked to visit the cliffs, but when we got there it was rainy and windy. Mind you, I don't mean breezy... I mean hurricane-force winds. That combined with the fact that we were standing on the side of a cliff made us a bit uneasy. I am not going to lie, at times we were afraid for our lives; but, it was just as beautiful as I imagined and will remain as one of my major highlights during my abroad experience.
9. I have trips booked for the next two weekends! Next weekend, I travel to Florence with API to see the David and Duomo! Florence was my favorite place in Italy during my first visit, so I am excited to finally return. Plus, I get to see even more Stonehill students who are studying in Firenze for the semester. The following weekend, I will be making my last big trip to France. We have booked our flights into Paris and scheduled a hostel for the weekend.
10. My family comes for Thanksgiving week. In about three weeks, I get to see my family. My mom, dad, sister, and her friend are coming for ten days and staying in Trastevere near me! I couldn't be more excited to see them. After Skyping them last night, I realize just how much I miss each of them. Although my brother cannot come on the trip, I have loved being able to stay in touch with him through Facebook.
My time abroad has moved quickly this past month. I've been able to experience so many great things so far and I have a lot to look forward to in the next month. Although day to day life in Rome is still a challenge, I get an incredible feeling when I step back and look at all of the extraordinary opportunities I have been given. Despite being homesick, peoplesick, and Stonehillsick, I know that I need to make the best of what is left of my experience as it begins to wind down.
I hope to update you soon!
Love,
A Barnicle Abroad
