E-mail Option

There's something new in the sidebar - an option to subscribe and have links to new blog items sent to you by e-mail.

How it works: Subscribers will get one e-mail per day, with links for any new postings on the site.

CSS Rome-ers: This may help your family and friends stay up to date with our travels and reflections in Italy.

Hello!

My name is Emily Machones. I am a sophomore nursing major from Duluth, Minnesota. I am very excited for our trip to Italy! The thought of packing seems to be the most stressful piece of this whole trip. Hopefully it will remain to be the most stressful even after we arrive. I am glad we've been given good sources to research the places we'll be going. I'm excited to see things up close that most people only see in pictures. I think the historical aspect is also amazing. To think about who was there and what was happening at any certain place hundreds of years ago is awesome. I am looking forward to walking around and doing exploring during our free time to really get a different cultural experience and some use out of my passport!

Hello All!

Hi I'm Kelsey Olson. I'm a sophomore this year, nursing major, and it seems like the wait to get to Rome has been forever! Fr. Graham originally tried to get people to go at the end of last year, so my anticipation has definately built up. I don't think that there is a cooler way to meet your Religion requirement for St. Scholastica than this! This will be my first time to Europe. My mom is also tagging along (just like she did when my sister went to Germany...) so everyone will get to know her too. The most exciting part of all of this is probably just how old everything is there compared to here; I thought my 100-year-old house was ancient!! I also look forward to getting to know my fellow travelers and to getting to the tropical Italian weather - it's going to be above freezing!

Way Too Excited...

I'm Donna Ceglar, a senior Biology major/Psychology and Chemistry minor, and I can't even describe how excited I am to be traveling to Italy! Like Sandi, I've been attempting to take this course since my freshman year, so I am just ecstatic that it has finally all worked out. It's my first time going to a foreign country (because Canada just doesn't count when you grew up only an hour away). I really can't pick just one thing that I'm looking forward to, because it's all so intriguing. I think just the fact that we'll be visiting such an ancient place is neat! I've had friends travel in Europe and they have all said that imagining how incredibly OLD and full of history all these places are (i.e. the Colosseum) is absolutely mind-blowing while you're standing right inside of them. I'm also looking forward to ringing in the New Year in Rome! Seriously, who could think of a better place to celebrate? It will be one last hurrah before I have to hit the books hard in med school next year. I look forward to regaling you all with stories of our adventures!

Anticipating Rome

My name is Sandra Riggs and I am a senior majoring in biology pre-medicine and minoring in chemistry and psychology. I have always wanted to travel to Italy and when I heard about this opportunity I jumped at the chance. Actually, I was originally going to go on this trip as a freshmen, then a sophomore, then a junior......but I'm finally taking it now. Next fall I will begin medical school and really want to do some traveling before then. I am excited to see/do everything on the agenda in Italy and then some! I love the fact that about half of the main Cable staff is going since we travel in packs because we cannot function independently. I will do my best to stay hydrated and to be ok with the fact I will not be wearing my usual heels for two weeks. Hopefully I will not order cow intestines for dinner or get pick-pocketed or lost. I have a feeling New Year's will be a little more exciting in Rome than watching the big ball drop in New York on T.V. in my parent's basement in the middle of no-where-land, MN. I can't wait!

Another introduction . . .

Hello all,

My name is Ada and I am a senior English and Communication major. This will be my fourth journey across "the big pond": I have been to London specifically twice and studied abroad in Ireland during my sophomore year, which included excursions to England, Paris and Germany. I have always wanted to travel to Italy and am very excited for our impending journey. Although I tried to learn Italian during my elementary school years -- probably because my mom is a piano teacher and most of the terminology for music is in Italian -- but I ended up with a crude understanding of French, so I'm a little nervous about the language issues. Hopefully, I'll pick up a few Italian phrases before departure and while I'm over there, the Italian people will be sympathetic. I'm especially excited to see Florence, but think all of the trip should interesting and enjoyable. Ciao!

Breaking News - Tomb of Saint Paul

News reports say that a group of archeologists who have been excavating a crypt - long hidden by an altar - at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls have concluded that the sarcophagus they found does indeed contain the remains of Saint Paul.

For the past three years, archaeologists have been excavating underneath the altar to remove two huge slabs of marble and now, for the first time in almost 1,700 years, the sarcophagus of St Paul is on public view.

Saint Paul, one of the earliest believers, is known to have traveled widely on missionary journeys both through his own letters - which make up the largest number of books in the New Testament - and through the story of his travels recorded in the book of Acts. His last letters were written from Rome, where he is said to have been beheaded in AD 65 by the Roman emperor Nero.

His sarcophagus will be on public view for the foreseeable future but the church is yet to rule out the possibility that one day the interior itself will be opened and examined.

And to continue the introductions

Hello all,
My name is Amanda Barras, but I've developed the nickname Rookie and probably won't answer to Amanda anymore. I'm a sophomore double majoring in Ojibwe Language and Culture and Elementary Education with an emphasis in mathematics. I transferred last semester from Minnesota State University Moorhead.
One thing I am looking forward to once I get to Rome is getting lost. I know its going to happen! I can't follow maps. I'll get seperated from the group because I get easily distracted. I will probably wonder off to look at something or listen to someone talking in Italian. I can't retrace my steps because I won't remember how I got where I am. But don't worry, I'm taking steps to prepare myself for this/these experience(s). I'll get a card from the hotel, take lots of pictures to help retrace my steps, and I've already got the phrase "Mi sono perso" down (that translates to "I'm lost"). This experience is one that I will never forget and I'm not going to let a few misguided adventures (getting lost) get in the way of enjoying Rome, Assissi, and Florence!

A little intro....

Hey! My name is Kristina Kelleher, but I've adopted "Nina" throughout my years. I am a sophomore at St. Scholastica studying Biology, emphasis in Forensic Science. I have only been to three of the States in my life (I know, pretty sad, huh?), and I have NEVER once been on a plane. So this will be a big leap for me as well.
One thing I am most looking forward to is seeing the Sistine Chapel. In all of my life, I never thought I would be actually seeing it up close. It will be extraordinary to be able to look up and see those famous images right in front of me! I have heard it is requested of all visitors to be silent; one of my high school teachers who has traveled to Rome many times told me about her experience there. She said there were people walking and talking in loud voices the whole time. I hope that doesn't happen to us!
One thing I am most looking forward to that isn't part of the itinerary is people watching. It's fun to do anywhere, but even more fun when you are learning a culture! I can wait to grab a small snack and just sit! Will write again soon! Nina K.

Introduction time......

Greetings! My name is Samarah Zimm and I am currently a sophmore at CSS. I am a native to the Duluth area and this will be my first time traveling overseas!!! I am very excited for what lies in store for all of us in Rome. We have been doing some research on the areas we will be going and it has made me even more enthusiastic about what we are doing! I hadnt realized what a huge help it will be to us to know exactly what we are looking for, which many travelers dont. This trip will, I am sure, prove to be a once in a life time experience that will teach me a lot and that I am sure to never forget. Ciao!

Team Members

CSS in Rome will be a team blog, with posts provided by all the students studying Christian Faith in Art this semester. In the next week or so, we will begin to introduce ourselves and describe something about our plans for this trip.

Blogmasters go first. I'm a Benedictine sister, a member of Saint Scholastica Monastery, who teaches sociology and statistics at our college. This will be my first trip to Rome, and my first trip to Europe in a very long time. (I spent a summer studying at the Sorbonne in Paris when I was in college, in the last millennium.)

I am most looking forward to our visit to Subiaco, where Saint Benedict, the founder of our order, lived in a cave in the first fervor of his religious journey. Other sisters who have been to Rome say that their visit to the Sacro Speco was the most memorable of their experiences. (See the link to Subiaco in the sidebar for pictures.)

Getting Ready for Rome

Here in Duluth, we are preparing for the crunch at the end of the semester. It's hard to believe that, less than 4 weeks from now, our flight will take off from Minneapolis for a 10-day study tour in Rome and environs. Our itinerary will take us to several locations in Rome; to Subiaco where St. Benedict began his life of prayer while living in a cave; to Assisi, where St. Francis renewed religious life with his emphasis on simplicity; and to the art-haven of Florence. (The Locations links in the sidebar are just a preview.)

All of our arrangements have been handled by the staff at Illume. They have arranged for us to stay in religious guesthouses. Along with Sharon LaTour here at CSS, they have handled most of the headaches - hats off!