Coming home

We've now been home from Italy for over a week. We're back at school, and life is so busy already that it's sometimes easy to forget that it wasn't so long ago that I was in Rome, walking along The Tiber with my friends or staring at the gorgeous mosaic on the dome of St. Paul's Basilica. But--despite the hustle and bustle of college life at St. Scholastica, my last semester before graduation--I will never forget my trip to Rome over winter break.

For the first time in my life, I was immersed in a foreign culture. And I saw works of art that I never expected to have the opportunity to see, certainly not this early in my life, and maybe not ever. I will never forget seeing Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel at the Vatican Museum in Rome, or his statue of David in Florence. I stood for the longest time staring at Leonardo da Vinci's "Gift of the Magi." I could have looked at these works of art all day without getting tired of them.

All of the churches we visited were rich in history. Almost every inch told a story. It is difficult to imagine all the people who have walked before us on our journey, but I know that many will follow us to Rome, in many ways the center of Christianity.

Our trip to Rome was about much more than simply exploring and studying art and architecture. As great as that part of it was, it was a chance for me to build memories that will last a lifetime. It was a chance for me to see a part of the world beyond my little niche in Duluth, Minnesota.

While in Rome, I hope I did as the Romans do. I ate four course meals at supper at 7:30 p.m. I got used there not being a Target just down the road. And I saw some amazing things: boaters on The Tiber, worshippers on the Holy Steps, and the unforgettable Assisi landscape in the morning. These are experiences that will stick with me as I continue my "regular" life in Duluth. These are the memories I will take with me. And I know that one day I will feel compelled to go back. I already do.

Angie