A bit of mid-semester reflection.

Since returning to Rome after Fall Break, life has been something of a blur. After recovering from 9 days of pretty intense traveling, I had midterms to deal with in both Italian and my Theology classes, with a weekend in London thrown in the middle. I feel like it’s been awhile since I’ve really spent much time in Rome, even though I’m living here.

Things are always changing in Rome though, although they are subtle changes. The weather has cooled down slightly, and I’m finally beginning to feel a hint of fall in the air. I’ve finally stopped wearing shorts and have moved on to blue jeans and tights. Everyone at the JFRC seems to have gotten to that level of comfort with each other that can only come about with time and constantly living all on top of each other. Classes have become a comfortable (albeit somewhat annoying) routine. I know what foods I look forward to eating in our cafeteria and which ones I avoid. I think I’ve even mastered showering at the perfect time to get hot water!

And as my roommate just said, “It’s almost November. It’s crazy. When did that happen?” I think all of us at the JFRC feel similarly. It’s so difficult to comprehend the passing of time here; everything goes so quickly, yet it seems like we have been here for months and months instead of a day over two months.

Last night, I went downtown with a few friends to get gelato and then walk around St. Peter’s Square—just another Tuesday night in Rome. I had such a sense of déjà vu as I did this, however. My second night in Rome, some of our SLAs (Student Life Assistants) at the JRFC organized a gelato crawl for anyone that wanted to participate. That night, my group went to the same gelateria and made our way over to St. Peter’s. Repeating these same actions, even with different people, made it so clear to me how much has already changed over these last two months.

As we looked upon St. Peter’s in the moonlight (in my opinion, a much better experience than being there with all of the crowds during the day), I thought a lot about my time abroad thus far: where I’ve been, who I’ve met, what I’ve learn, and because of all that, how I’ve changed.

That first night at St. Peter’s, everything was new and exciting in Rome and I had no idea what this semester would hold, but I’ve grown into things a little bit now. Everything’s basically fallen into place. I have basically all of my weekends and trips planned out for the rest of the semester. It seems like we’re just starting to get really comfortable here, and before we know it, it will be time to leave.

Here’s to making the most of what time we do have left.

-megan

p.s. I wrote this on Wednesday and forgot to post it until now... oops. Better late than never though, right?