Let the countdown begin

Hi everyone! My name is Angie Johnson and I'm very excited to report that our group will be arriving in Rome on Saturday! As a senior English and communication major at St. Scholastica, I feel that this trip to Rome will be a great learning experience and a much-needed vacation! Many of my friends are also in Father Graham's Christian Faith in Art class, and we can't stop talking about how much fun we're going to have.

This trip is going to be a great opportunity for me. Unless you count Thunder Bay, Canada, I've never been out of the country. I've always wanted to travel to Europe but never thought it was possible, so going to Rome in a few days is amazing! I can't wait to immerse myself in the history, culture and faith of Italy; all of the studying we've done up to this point cannot replace the actual experience of being there and seeing it for ourselves. All the places and people we've talked about do not seem quite real yet. My only regret will be not being able to stay longer and see more of Italy and Europe. But some day I will. I can't wait to toss a coin in the Trevi Fountain -- legend has it that anyone who tosses a coin in this fountain will one day return to Rome, the "Eternal City."

Hello!

Happy Holidays everyone!! My name is Kelsey and I am fortunate enough to be traveling on this wonderful trip! I am a senior at CSS, and will be graduating in a year with a double major in Business Management and Organizational Behavior.

I am really looking forward to this trip!! My mom, Jan, will be traveling with us. I have already been to Europe once, spring break of my junior year of high school. We spent three days in Rome and then a week and a half seeing all of France. My mom has never been to Europe, so we are spending some extra time over there! We are flying out Christmas about 9 pm for Paris and then will meet the class in Rome. After the class is done, we will see a few more cities in Italy before we travel to Zürich, Switzerland.

I can't wait to see everything at the Vatican again!! It is all so beautiful! The symbolism is amazing and everything is done with such detail!! I look forward to experiencing new, interesting things and then sharing it with you!

Hello!

Hello All, My name is Mao Vang! Only one more week til Rome! I am a sophmore majoring in nursing. I have been waiting for this moment to come to get out of class and go on the trip. I am getting so nervous because I don't know what to pack and just how everything is going to be like over in Rome. After all the researches that we have been doing in class has really made me anxious to go. Man, is this cool or what, going to Rome for break! I have never been out of the country so going to Rome will have to be the best first time out of the country experience. As for the classmates that I am going with, I can't wait to hang out and chill with them. In one week we will be on our way so get ready Rome here we come!!!!

Almost there......

Hello! My name is Brynn Weikleenget! I just got done with my last final :), and now I am getting ready to start break! I just started making a list of things I need to bring and I registered my passport. I CANT WAIT to get on the plane and head on our way. This is the most exciting I've ever prepared for and I know it will be a very wonderful experience! Last semester I took a class in Baroque art history and a lot of the things I learned about I will get to see. I never thought while I was taking that class that I would have the oppurtunity to actually see some of it first hand! AWESOME! Taking this class also has taught me a lot more specific things and I just think it is great! I'm nervous, yet extremely excited. I hope I get a lot out of the trip, as I am sure I will!!!!

Only 11 more days!!

Hi Everyone!!
My name is Kayla York and I am a sophomore BioChemistry major and I am extremely excited to be going to Rome!!! This will be my second trip to Rome but this time I hope to explore more on my own (i.e. get lost) and have fun bringing in the New Year in another country. I am also very excited to see the Piazza Navona and people watch! I think this trip will be a wonderful experience since we have already done some research on where we are going so we are more informed than the average tourist. I can't believe there is only 11 more days til take-off!

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!

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.)