I finally made it! The plane ride was long, but I slept most of the way, which helped to make the time pass faster. Just a couple of hours out of Rome we were treated to a magnificent view of the Alps as we flew over them.

When we finally arrived at the airport, we exited onto the tarmac and got onto a shuttle that took us to customs. They didn't even ask any questions, just stamped my passport and I was able to enter the country.

The baggage claim took a little longer than I had expected. It was a huge flight, but there were only about twenty people left waiting for their luggage and I still hadn't seen my suitcase. I was worried that it would be lost and I wouldn't know how to tell anyone. After a bit of a delay, another round of bags started to come through the carousel and after collecting mine, I made my way to the exit.

Fortunately, all of the signs at the airport were in Italian and English, so I had no trouble finding the way out. As I was walking out the door, someone stopped to ask if I need a taxi and I said yes. He led me over to the taxi stand and then three Italian men argued over who was going to get the fare. I could only understand part of the conversation and it was a little unnerving at first.

Then we walked out to the cab, which looked like a regular car, not a taxi. I kept thinking that I could be getting into anyone's car without knowing it and after Uncle John making me watching "Taken," all I could think was, "Oh no, it's already happening!" There was, however, a marker for the cab inside the car. The driver was friendly and the ride to the hotel was very pretty. It was a little strange because the roads look so much like home. It was almost as if I had never left the country. But as we got closer to the city, it started to take on the Romanesque characteristics that I had expected.

The hotel is beautiful and my roommate is really nice. We went out to find calling cards together (which was about the time I realized just how little Italian I remember) and then we made our way back to the hotel to prepare for our tour of the city. We sat out in the cafe courtyard with some of the other students from the program and enjoyed the breeze before we left.

Our tour consisted of local places, such as the Laundromat, the banks, some of the best restaurants and the supermarket, which is less than a block away from our hotel. I bought a couple of apples and two huge bottles of water, which were only 0,24 euros each.

Dinner was served at the hotel and it was a buffet style meal. They had a ton of food, but I was too tired to be hungry. I had a little bit of the salmon and what I think was eggplant Parmesan. Both were delicious!

At nine o'clock we had our orientation, most of which I can't remember because I was exhausted. We got our metro passes and our schedules for classes. I have been remiss in taking pictures with all of the chaos, but I did take a couple of the dining room and tomorrow I will be sure to keep my camera close at hand. Buonanotte!