American Joy!

Ciao!

Wow, what a great week it has been so far!
Despite coming down with the cold that I was bound to get (the whole floor has had it, so it was just a matter of when I would have the great pleasure...), this week has been blessed beyond measure, always leaving me smiling and joyful. No sickness can get in the way of having a great time in Roma!
We had a class visit to 2 churches planned on Wednesday morning, but we did not know how this was going to happen, as there was a "planned Metro/bus strike" supposed to happen! I know....you are probably wondering, "whats the point of a strike if it's planned?".... Yeah, we don't get it either. Weird! BUT! The good news is that it ended up not really happening, which was a relief, because we would have had to walk 1 hr back to campus from the churches... which I was not up for as I was feeling pretty crummy due to the sickness.
Later, I went to an optional talk from our Director of the CUA Rome Program on the importance and significance of the Synod of Bishops on Marriage and Family which will take place here in Rome from this Sunday through Oct. 19, the Beatification of Pope Paul VI. This is a very busy, but nonetheless blessed time here in Rome for the Church!
After this great talk, we went to Aperitivo, which in Rome, is the practically the equivalent of Happy Hour in the US, but all you can eat + drinks at around 6-9pm for a fixed price of 9 Euros, then dinner late in the evening. Now, that was fun! I did not get any alcohol, instead I had a classic Shirley Temple, which was nothing but delicious! :)

Now onto today, Thursday! The best day of the week! I was blessed to be able to attend a Diaconate Ordination this morning at St. Peter's Basilica of 43 men of God from the North American College (NAC).  Afterwards, we went up to the NAC for a reception, which was full of free amazing food, ICE WATER (no such thing as having ice in your drinks here... so when I saw it I was quite happy) and so many Seminarians that my head was spinning! It was great!! :)
The not so fun part of the day was that I had an Italian Midterm at 3:30...So I hung out with the awesome Seminarians who are taking care of us this semester for a good 2 hours. They are the kind of people make your day so much better by just being in their presence! :)

I took my Midterm and I think and really hope that I did well. As long as I pass, thats really all that matters. Now, the weather said it would be thunder-storming all day, but it has been nothing but beauty. Until of course, 5 minutes before out professor lets us out, that the clouds start looking bad... We get outside, thinking we would be fine, and NOPE! We got torrentially down-poured on.  We were already wet, so we thought, "why not just walk all the walk home"? Yeah, now this was an adventure! We walked through Piazza Navona, and it was raining like crazy, and everyone but us ran out of the rain. Now, what did us Americans who were brain dead from our Midterm, tired from a long week and already soaking wet, do? We kept walking in a line, with our umbrellas opened, and casually walked through the Piazza. We were having the best time, laughing and getting soaked, as our umbrellas decided not to do their job very well. We look over and there are about 30 people taking photos of us! I would pay to see this photo!! Too great! Now that's how you have a good time in a thunderstorm! :)
At this moment, my nose has also decided to stop doing its job, so I can barely breath through my nose. Oh I just LOVE being sick! Compared to what I have had over the course of my lifetime, this sickness is not too bad, but still sucks! :)
Time to have a home cooked, Italian FREE dinner with the RA's with a friend of mine. After this: BEDTIME! It's been quite the adventurous yet exhausting day!

Please pray for me!

Peace and Blessings!