I LIVE IN ROME!

These past few days have really drilled it home that I live in Rome. For some reason, I've woken up each morning just thinking "Holy crap, I live in the eternal city." This could possibly be because I've done some very Roman things these past two days....
Yesterday morning, I went to the papal audience. It was extremely interesting, but also a bit of a bust(sorry Grammy). It was supposed to be outside, but his holiness was cold, so everyone had to pack into the conference center. You couldn't get close and the room was full of very loud Texans. There were blessings in 20 different languages and the Pope talked for a bit in German. The highlight of the audience was probably the very good looking swiss guards that talked with our group of girls :-)
After the audience, my art class took a walk around the perimeter of the Vatican, learning about the history and architecture of the area. Next, for mythology class, we went to the Galleria Borghese. The Gallery holds many sculptures by Bernini, and paintings by Caravaggio, Titian, and Raphael. That was my second time to the Borghese and it's even better the second time around.
Today, I went with my archaeology class to the Catacombs of Priscilla. These catacombs are further away from the center of the city than the ones on the Appian Way, so they are vistied less often. They are also better preserved and larger and are soooooo cool. The catacombs began as a mining system, then were transformed into the cemetery for the Romans. The Catacombs of Priscilla create a labryinth spreading for 8 miles. It is forbidden to enter the tunnels without a guide, as people become quickly lost. It brought out the Indiana Jones in all of us....everyone daring the other to go down a dark deserted tunnel. Of course, we never did, because our guide kept telling us firmly that it was too dangerous, yet smiled at our willingness. I would never ever go down there alone.....but it was amazing to see this network 100 feet underground.
I've been here for two and a half months, but it still feels unreal. This is such an incredible city and I'm so glad that I get to be a part of it, however short.
Ti voglio bene.