So Far, So Good

Hey everyone. Well, the plane left on time and my luggage didn't get lost, so I safely cleared the first hurdle. Rome is incredible. You'll be walking and then suddenly bump into thousand year-old ruins without having the time to pull your hands out of your pockets. And the food, my God! It's much different than American-Italian, less sauce and more of an emphasis on the food itself. After dinner, the coffee is also good but much different. Even their "Americano" style tastes like Italian espresso. Communication-wise, it's not quite as hard as I imagined--I'm not starring in National Lampoon's European Vaction II: Lost in Rome--but there are some difficulties. For instance, receiving directions is confusing. There's no 1st, 2nd, 3rd avenue. All the streets have long Italian names that sound pretty similar. And all this has to be figured out, mostly through trial and error, under the baking hot streets of Roma. These are just minor adjustments, though. I'm still very, very happy I studied abroad. Last night my roomates and I went out to a nice local Italian restaurant. There was a man on the street playing jazz as the sun was setting and I thought to myself: for all the trival hassels, for all the lack of American convience, this is worth it. So far, so good. Until next time, chiào.