View of the sunrise on the plane as we were landing in Rome!

Arriving in Rome was an experience like no other. This is the first time that I have been to Europe, so everything from the new language to different food was a shock. I flew in with my friend from school, Stefanie, and we got lost together a few times before finally realizing that we just had to walk directly to the hotel and check in.

Found an old run down school in Orvieto and we tried to sneak in, but failed.

At 8am all I wanted to do was sleep, but the bus ride to my new apartment was something I will never forgot. Seeing the different architecture and shops are a lot to take in for being half awake and lacking espresso. My key to the apartment door is comparable to a skeleton key and trying to figure out the lock took at least 5 minutes… but the second I was able to lay down I slept for 4 hours.

This was the main shopping street in Orvieto. Everything was homemade and sold by family owned storefronts

The next few days were filled with SAI orientation where I was able to meet everyone in the group and become accustom to the next four months. The trip to Ostia Antica we took with SAI was filled with amazing ruins from thousands of years ago. Even after being here two weeks, my favorite thing is the four-course meal we were cooked at the farm after the SAI day trip. For my first weekend, I took a day trip to Orvieto, a city in the mountains, with some SAI friends and only pictures will do it justice…

Not only were the views in Orvieto breathtaking, but also the streets and buildings were built so smoothly and made nice scenery

Orvieto as a city in on a hill has some amazing views of below, this was just one of the shots that I was able to get

So much has happened so fast, I’m really glad that I’m able to have this experience. Writing this now, I’m sitting on an 11-hour bus ride to the Swiss Alps where I’m going to be skiing and exploring Switzerland. I can’t wait to report back next time with everything I’ve done and share the amazing experiences!

4 out of the 5 of our roommates went on the Ostia Antica trip

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Nicholas is a current student at Pace University studying at John cabot University (JCU) in Italy during the Spring 2015 term.