GL 350 Week 5!!

     Week 5 has come and gone and I can't believe we just started week 6. These past 5 weeks have been the best in my life thus far and I find myself thinking, "will anything ever come close to this experience?" I can't imagine anything yet...We have seen so much and been to so many places, I cannot imagine going home yet and I can't imagine what life would have been like without going on this trip. I have found myself thinking that I go home in less than 20 days and then it is back to real life America. Back to work, school, and everyday Ohio activities. Being on this trip, I feel as if time has stopped and I will go back to everything just as it was when I left, but I know it will not be like this. I know that things will be changed: the weather, the people, my house will be decorated for Christmas, and most of all I will be a totally different person. I will have been to Europe and many of the countries in the continent, I will be a world traveller. I don't mean this blog to be depressing to all my fellow Romers to talk about home like this, but it is weird to think about, isn't it?
     In 5 short weeks, we have seen a lot of Rome and for those of us that went on free weekend trips, we saw many different countries. This is crazy to me. I have learned so much and I have enjoyed every single minute of this experience. I know that when I get home, I will have to tell everyone about my experience many times but it will all be worth it to share my stories. I am so excited to go home and share my experience with everyone and mainly see all my loved ones and more importantly, it will be Christmas time!! My favorite time of the year!! But, before I head home for the ending of this experience, there are many more things I still want to see and 2 more weekend trips that I am stoked about!! Now, I got that off my chest, lets talk about week 5.
     In the Italians, the book we are reading for this class, Barzini states, "...when he realizes that things are seldom what they seem , words not always what they sound like, and most of what he learned in school, in the army or from his elders, and what he read in many grave books is complete nonsense." I feel like this quote sums up our whole trip. We are learning so many things about not only ourselves but the world around us through just seeing it and not in the classroom. I love this aspect of the trip since I am a very visual learner and I love learning. I think everyone should have to study abroad at some point in their lifetime since you learn so many things that you would not learn if they did not go on these trips.
     Week five was all about leisure time basically. We went to a museum of medical arts on Monday, it was very interesting to see all of the tools that people used back in the day and how they have evolved into what we have now. I already talked a lot about this in my last blog, so I am not going to touch on this as much. On Monday, I went to see the Vatican with a few students since we had some time to kill before we went to see Twilight!! Wahhhhh it was so good!! On Tuesday, we had a student-led tour of the Borghese Gardens by Gabby and Aubree. They did a fantastic job and it was very beautiful to see all the gardens. When their tour was over, we went to the Museum. That was very interesting and it was awesome to see very old pieces of art. It will never get old to see all the pieces of art from so long ago. On Wednesday, we had a free day and we took it for all it was worth and just relaxed since we are on the go all the time. So we got some food and watched movies on campus. On Thursday, you guessed it!! It was Thanksgiving!! We went to an English mass in Rome and it was wonderful!! I had never been to a mass on Thanksgiving, so it was very cool for me. Then we came back and ate dinner at about 5 pm. The food was delicious, as always on Thanksgiving. It was prepared by an American chef that now lives in Rome, we really loved it. But, I can say that nothing can ever compare to my Aunt's Thanksgiving dinner and I think she was very happy to hear that when I told her that haha.
      I got to facetime my family while they were at our traditional Thanksgiving dinner, I was so happy to see all their faces. The internet was pretty spotty but I at least got to talk to them for a bit and catch up on what was going on. I got to see my nephew and he is getting so big, he was grabbing at the computer trying to have me hold him, which as you can imagine was heart-wrenching. I get to see him in less than a month though!! I have to admit, I cried after I got off facetime because I missed my family so much last week since there was a lot going on at home with both my parents' birthdays and Thanksgiving. But, I am just excited now to keep sight-seeing and enjoy my last few weeks here! On Friday morning, a little group of us left for Dublin!! It was so exciting to get there, they drive on the left side of the road there!! Everyone was so nice and welcoming, it was awesome. We had the time of our lives and we definitely did not want to leave come Sunday. Emily and I went to the Guinness Factory, it was amazing! I took pictures of every nook and cranny of that place! We went to a few pubs and in case you were wondering, it was just like the movie P.S. I Love You! It was an amazing trip and I cannot wait to go back someday. And that is the end of week 5, I can't believe it but we just started week 6. I am going to make the best of these last few weeks and enjoy them to the fullest!!