Italy: Day #1
Ciao amici! It's been a long time since I've hopped on the blog...but now I've hopped across the pond. Crossing the bucket list off one country at a time and today I am in ROME, Italy!I am here as part of a 10-day study abroad program sponsored by the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources focused on perhaps my biggest passion in life - food insecurity. We are looking at the causes, measurement, consequences and potential remedies to food insecurity while visiting with thought leaders at various international agencies representing U.S. and foreign interests. I'm really excited to finally be visiting Europe and for the opportunity to learn about food insecurity on a deeper level with different context and perspective.While in Italy, I will be blogging each day about my trip and hope you'll follow along! Comment below or on my social media if you have any questions about any of the sites, speakers or activities and we can chat!....................................................................................................................................................We arrived around 8:30AM Italy-time and hopped on the train, then the Metro to arrive at the stop closest to our hotel, San Marco. From there I had my first Italian meal...a delicious lil calzone filled with ham and cheese from a small café around the corner from the hotel.My initial reaction to arriving in Italy is that the streets reminded me of what you see in movies depicting Rome! The streets are regal and tiny, lined with small cars and skinny tall buildings with beautiful architecture. I wasn't a fan of the lingering smoke smell everywhere...it seemed like everyone was smoking down every street we turned and I was definitely surprised about that! Otherwise, Rome is truly what dreams are made of. I could see myself living here and enjoying it every single day! There are so many little coffee shops and cafés, clothing boutiques andThe day continued with a trip to the Vatican and this was one sight that I was very excited to see! I've heard about the Vatican since Sunday school classes in elementary school and it was just as stunning as I have envisioned. It was even decked out in Christmas decorations! We caught a glimpse of the Pope (we think!) in a church service and got a tour through some of the historical landmarks and items within the Vatican. My grandma Venita would have absolutely adored it. Being in a place that is so reverent in my faith was extremely powerful and humbling and I hope that I can come back sometime!Ultimately, Rome has taught me that I really appreciate the smaller things in life. Rome has such an elegant simplicity and sophistication about it that I have grown to appreciate and will miss when I go back home. There is so much culture and historical relevance to the city, yet it is modern in many other ways. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the trip!