This past month has been one to remember.  October was filled with midterms, unforgettable adventures and my birthday.  At times I was really stressed out and homesick but I knew I still have so much more to see and experience.  Midterms week was horrible, just like back at home.  But to make matters worse, everyone was sick, including me!  It seemed as if everyone at John Cabot was passing on the flu or something.  At one point in time all the girls in my apartment were sick but we eventually all got better.

Thanks to SAI, I was able to attend the ballet of Romeo and Juliet at the Dell’Opera Di Roma Theater.  The ballet was amazing.  It gave us all the chance to dress up.  I enjoy going to ballets and operas because of the orchestra.  Romeo and Juliet was no exception.  The music was incredible.

About a week and a half later, SAI took us to a vineyard.  The morning of the trip I broke break my glasses!  I was so upset but that wasn’t going to ruin the rest of my day.  At the vineyard, we were able to taste wine at the different stages of its fermentation.  Afterward, we were given a tour of the cellar where the wine was keep to be aged.  Then we got to try different types of wine, white, red, and pink ones.  Even though I couldn’t see, it was so much fun.

For my birthday, my friend Maddy and I went to Madrid, Spain for two days.  I felt right at home.  I was so glad to be in a country where I understood everything and everyone and they understood me too.  We were only there for a very short amount of time, but we saw so much!  The first day we were there we went to the National Museum Art Center of Queen Sofia.  We were able to take pictures inside the museum, which was really cool.  Our next stop was the botanical gardens.  I was so excited to be around nature and so many plants.  My mother has a green thumb and thanks to her I know what most of the plants were.  Afterwards we went to the National Museum of Prado.  It was free to the general public from 6pm to 8pm so we decided to go.  All the paintings were unbelievable.  We were just in awe to see the faces of kings, queens, princes, and princesses of the past.

The next day we decided to ride on a double decker bus.  This was the first one I have ever been on.  We were able to see some much of Madrid in a couple of hours.  The bus took us to the Royal Palace of Madrid.  I could not believe how incredibly big the palace was.  Pictures could not do it justice.  This month has been amazing.  Never in a million years would I have thought that I would be traveling the world and see amazing things.

– Evelyn, Our Lady of the Lake University