Dear mom, Orientation....

.....was today! We started off with a typical Italian breakfast, a small, sweet pastry and juice. Somehow I still have not had a cup of coffee, and I am not entirely sure why but I was definitely tired for the start of orientation. We went over the basic details, important dates and phone numbers, and ways to avoid getting kicked out, and then we were given a safety talk about Rome. Although it was informative I felt like they were trying to scare us, and I am pretty sure I am right. The program director demonstrated different ways pick-pockets manage to trick you, and the women were given a separate talk on ways to be careful and avoid men who think they have power over you.
We had a lunch break, talked more, and then registered for classes. On top of the required Kenyon Classes, ("Eternal Glories: Monuments, Museums, and Churches of Rome" and "Rome and Its Culture: Rome in the American Imagination") I am taking a 400 level independent study of Italian which I will design with a professor and a Italian political science course called "The Government and Politics of Contemporary Italy." I am excited for all of them although I don't know much about the courses yet. Tomorrow Danya and I will go on adventure to find the "Anglo-American bookstore" where we buy our course books and then I will probably be able to explain more about my courses.
This afternoon we were given a tour of our neighborhood. It just so happens that our dorms are in a building that is an old Monastery and an ex-convent. The building itself was built in 800 A.D. The front of the building is a church and it is connected to our building on the left. The church is called "Chiesa di Sant'Agnese" and it is the church in front of which St. Agnes was beheaded. Apparently her skull is still inside on display, although I don't think I will go see it. Our neighborhood includes quite a few old architectual glories and ruins. Our tour of the neighborhood took us to the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, The Spanish Steps, and Piazza Venezia. We are also close to the Coloseum and all the surrounding ruins however we didn't visit them on this tour as we will have many opportunities.
Then, Jae, Lucy, Dan, and I decided that we would cook ourselves dinner tonight and so around 9 we headed to il supermercato and picked up pasta, tomatoes, cheese, bread, and some zucchinis. We managed to make a pretty delicious meal. Afterwards Danya and I went out to have a glass of wine around Piazza Navona and figure out what we have to get done tomorrow. It was a great end to the day although when we were walking home we realized that not only was it 2 in the morning, but the Romans were out and about as though it was 8 in the evening. There are so many small differences in our two cultures like that which make such a HUGE difference in lifestyle. Oh well, I guess I will learn everything eventually. Anyway, it is time to get ready for bed and ready for errands tomorrow.

p.s. I wanted to include photos in this post but the internet is going slowly and I can't get them up. Hopefully I will figure that part out soon!