Homesick for Rome!

I've been home for about a week and a half, and in that time have talked to countless people about my time in Rome... I'm happy to talk about it, but how do you sum up eight weeks of such a rich, beautiful experience? When asked about Rome, I tell people it was absolutely amazing. I tell them it was exhausting, but in only good ways. The organized classes were pretty demanding and we learned so much on our many walking tours and sketching excursions, but that makes up only a fraction of the intense educational experience that is Rome. Just eight weeks of wandering around the city provided more architectural, cultural, and social lessons than a lifetime of reading could ever match. Looking back on our first days in Rome, I would never have imagined we'd all come so far... I'm pretty sure any of us could tell you where at least a handful of grocery stores are, where you can find the best gelato, where their favorite fruit stand is, or the greatest cappuccino can be found... where you can find a laundromat, catch the 40, get the perfect margherita pizza, or get all the art supplies an architecture student could ever need. We were only there for eight weeks, and though even a lifetime in Rome wouldn't be enough to know it thoroughly, we feel like we know Rome. It felt like home and that's really... weird. And wonderful. I'm proud of everyone and feel really blessed to have been there with this group. Time will tell how it fully impacts all of us in our lives, but I'm positive it made an impression on us all. Thank you for this opportunity!

Some of us stayed in Rome a few extra days and bombed around the city, sketching our favorite spots one more time... What a way to say goodbye!
Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza's lantern, Piazza Navona, and the Colosseum