After an orientation that really didn't orient us to anything...

23 May 2011
4pm - St. Johns University, Rome, ITALY

We're finally here!

The rest of the plane ride was fairly uneventful, save for one thing. At some point, somebody fainted or something, so they announced over the PA asking if there was a doctor on board. Somebody jumped up to help. Jordan and I looked at each other, astounded. We thought that they only did that in the movies. Other than that, I watched Black Swan (great movie!), then fell asleep rather squished. I'm happy I slept though, even if it only was for 3 hours. The benedryl certainly helped me stay asleep. A few people didn't fall asleep at all. Hopefully they'll make it though the day. We're pretty much all ready to crash.

We were stuck inside the airport for two hours. Customs, security, and finding our luggage was surprisingly quick (I did miss my bag the first time it passed me on the belt though). What took the longest was waiting for our driver.

St. John's was supposed to have a shuttle bus for us (public bus, no more!), but when we finally got by the exit, where there were at least 50 drivers ready to pick up their customers, our driver was no where to be found. We sat around the food court for maybe an hour or so.

Italy greeted us with beautiful weather, but now that we're here and unpacking, it's starting to thunder and rain. We're getting ready to head out soon though. We hvae about an hour and a half to unpack, wash up, and get settled. Carolyn and I are sharing a room. It's pretty nice with all new furniture. We're lucky - we have two single (separate) beds. A lot of the rooms are stuck with bunkbeds. We seem to be the only room without a sink though. How strange, all the bedrooms have sinks but ours.

I absolutely love listening to the thunder, especially when I sleep, but we're about to go walk around and tour a bit of the city, so let's hope the rain stops for a few hours!