Arrival and Exhaustion in Roma

Whew. I am in Rome and I am exhausted. I'm attempting to get over a nasty cold and did not get any sleep on the airplane last night. That plus jet lag means multo exhaustion. Or something. I think I'm just delirious at this point.

I know people want updates but they shall be brief because such is my attention span. Here's a rough sketch of the day:

• We arrived at the airport around 8:00 Rome time and stood in the super long and slow customs line before we lugged all our bags hither and yon and then piled into a bus. All I could think about was water because I was definitely dehydrated. I also was not enjoying trying to breathe with a stuffy nose and semi sore throat. Blah. 
• The grad students got dropped off at John Cabot University's building for the time being and we lowly undergraduates went on to our hotel. Upon arrival in our delirium we were met with Italian ladies trying to feed us. I bolted for the water. Food, no matter how delicious and Italian, did not interest me or my state of near nausea (but don't worry, I ate). The grapes were of note...twice the size of my thumb...and the Melabanana juice pretty much just had a really fun name. MELABANANA.
• Unloading the bags was not pleasant particularly because I think all the girls are on the third and fourth floors of the hotel. Luckily there's a tiny elevator that got put to use and at least one overly enthusiastic male friend wearing a black blazer and long sleeved shirt who ran (yes, ran) up the four flights of stairs with one of my suitcases.
• Next we went off to our studio for a tour and orientation of sorts. Blah blah blah none of that matters to anyone else. We mostly tried to stay awake and act coherent. 
• A small band of friends and myself set out for a tiny adventure just sort of wandering and taking in Rome. I've been to Rome before but that was nearly a decade ago so it was a little bit like coming for the first time. It's overwhelming to be here and know that you are going to spend a whole school year here. We walked to the Pantheon and through Piazza Navona and stopped to get a cappuccino near the latter location. It lived up to my expectations. I am going to be so spoiled. I tried ordering in Italian and the guy behind the counter just sassed me in return...they had a good sense of humour which made the whole experience even more enjoyable. When we first stepped in a woman gave us a free sample of dark chocolate gelato too. Mmmm.

So, in general my impression of Rome is the smell of leather bags and shoes, manure from horse carriages in the piazzas, tobacco, food, food, food, live accordion music, and incense from church shops. The buildings seem huge and almost set like for some reason except for the fact that they are very solid stone. We're all still in denial that we are here so some of us have compared it to Disney World (I've never been but I imagine it's a similarly surreal feeling but obviously not nearly as cool as Rome itself) or a stage set. But it's real and the many bells from the many churches assure us that we aren't dreaming. So do the European ambulances and the mopeds and the Fiats and...yeah, we'll have to accept sooner or later that we are actually in Rome...maybe when we've gotten some sleep.