First couple of days in Roma...

Hello Everyone!
I hope everything is going well back in America. Things are going wonderfully in Rome! Here is a brief overview of our past couple of days:
On Thursday we had a brief introduction to the city of Rome! After some opening comments and some important campus information given by Miss Crane, we had a quick pranzo (lunch)? And then headed into town after a break. We first headed to San Pietro (St. Peter's) and saw the beauty of the basilica at night. It was all lit up and had a large nativity scene and Christmas tree outside. The tree was almost as tall as the obelisk in the square! It was lovely. :) The lights in il Papa’s (Pope Benedict the XVI formally, but il Papa once you get to know him ;) bedroom and office were on, so we knew he was awake! It was so wonderful to be that close to the holy father again. Next we headed to the church of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, or "Giano" for short. There we attended Mass which was wonderful (though it was all in Italian), and got a chance to look around the church. St. Ignatius of Loyola is buried there…he is the founder of the Jesuit order. It was a powerful expereince. We were able to pray right in front of the place where he is buried! Next, we headed down to trestevere, a very quaint and domestic little part of Rome with winding streets and large crowds! We ate at a great pizzeria (a place where pizza is served, of course) and then headed back to campus. We learned so much about the bus and metro system, and I feel like I understand the layout of Rome much better. With a good map and a few minds working together, I think that a group of us should be able to get around the city alright. :)
Today was another exciting day with the start of classes. This week and next week we are going to focus on art history alone, learning from a lady named Pascaline who works at the Louvre in Paris. She is here for the week taking us around Rome and showing us the diifferent art and architecture. After an introductory class for a few hours this morning, we headed out into the city to see some of the sites. We started with the Colosseum and were able to see the inside and out. The archietecture and history of it was explained very well to us by Pascaline.  It seemed like we could have spent a whole day there- it was so interesting! I'm glad we had an explaniation of everything, as things seemed to be much more alive when I understood it better. After the Colosseum, we headed to a museum on top of the Capitoline hill. This is the hill where Rome was first begun by Romulus, as legend has it. The square on top of the hill was designed by Michelangelo, and the buildings there were wonderful to study. Two of them serve as a museum, and the third still serves as Rome's 'city hall' today. The museums were filled with magnificent roman sculpures and mosaics. We were able to study very famous works of art there with the guidance of Pascaline.  If you are ever bored, you can look up some of the works online. I don't know the official names, but I can give you subjects of some of my favorite pieces: Equestrian sculpture of Marcus Aurelius, "The dying Gaul," The she-wolf nursing Romulus and Raemus, and sculpture of a greek goddess Venus. There was much much more, but these are just some highlights. 
After dinner tonight I was given a couple of surprises for my birthday! We were all able to enjoy a platter of different pastires for dessert and I of course got to listen to everyone sing to me. Kathleen, the director of the campus, gave me some Jane Austen coasters  as a gift, which is super exciting! We both love Jane Austen, and I plan on reading some of her works while I'm here. Kathleen keeps a bunch of them in the library here of us to read. :) After dinner a few of us went out for some gelato and vino (wine), to celebrate.  
Everyone is still adjusting to the time change, and so is still a bit tired. I have been doing pretty well though, which I'm grateful for. Tomorrow is another big day, with a tour of the Pantheon, the Roman Forum, and a couple of other sights on the agenda. I'll keep you all posted! Have a great night!