I am off! I managed to force the majority of my closet into two suitcases plus a carry on or two. With luggage in hand and a fanny pack strapped to my waist, I was off to Rome Italy. We flew through the night which made the plane ride seem fast, and when I woke up the next morning we were landing at the FCO airport. It was rather overwhelming at first. I am not overly familiar with airports for one, I had never checked a bag before, so my first ever experience with baggage claim was in Italian. We were not given any other instruction other than what flight to get on so I was not sure what to do after collecting my luggage but I followed the flow of people leading out. Luckily I spotted a group of people holding AUR signs and and decked out in AUR attire. I approached them and asked if AUR stood for the American University of Rome and if so where to go next. I was hurried into a large van with five other girls and a driver who spoke no english. We chatted amongst ourselves about all the places we plan to go. We were observing our surroundings and started to question if we were really in Italy as we drove by highway passes and Burger Kings. Had we actually arrived or was this all just one big facade? Then an even more horrific thought crossed my mind, anyone could stand in the airport with an AUR sign and throw a bunch of girls into a van, were any of us in the right place or are we all just living the plot of Taken and don't know it. Eventually the sketchy looking streets turned to quaint cobble stone roads, and tight corners of tall pastel building, the way I always pictured Italy and I began to relax a little more. Finally, the driver stopped at a little green door next to a bar, pulled all of our luggage out of the back and said, "Ciao". We stood in the street, hands full, between a bar and restaurant as masses of people swarmed by us in all directions. We looked at one another in confusion. Thankfully a woman popped her head out of the green door just left of the bar and waved us in. She handed us each a set of keys and showed us around our new little nine person apartment. It was neat and clean. The place was prefurnished and decorated which made it feel homie. I was placed in a three person room toward the back of the apartment. My roommates and I flung open the large shutter windows to our room and let the noise of the street in. There were people everywhere. The tables of the resturante across from us where full as well as the bar bellow. People flooded the streets going in every which direction, weaving in and out of the shops. We did not know it yet but we were in the heart of Trastevere. We unpacked our bags as a man played his accordian in the street below. We were home.
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