Sono arrivata!

Greetings from Rome! I got in this morning, after several days of madness trying to get ready to leave and a very long flight. I'm so glad to finally be here! Am feeling much more relaxed now.

The Emmanuel School of Mission is simple and lovely - it's on the top two floors of a six story family-run hotel (I've been trying out my rusty Italian on the hotel staff!). The school has its own dining area, a little lounge area, one classroom, a chapel, and a kitchen with a spectacular view of the dome of St. Peter's, which is only a 15 minute walk from here.

After I arrived this morning, the director showed me around the school, and he started off by asking me if I'd had my first Italian cappuccino yet (I hadn't...the hotel owner made me up one right there at the little bar - it was so good). I was the very first of the 19 or so students to arrive - three others, all Americans, got here in the evening. We apparently have 7 Americans coming this year, as well as 2 Australians, 2 from Indonesia, 2 from France, and one each from Belgium, Slovakia, Italy, Germany and a couple other countries. They are all arriving within the next two days. School starts on Saturday the 1st. We leave that day for a retreat in Asissi for 5 days, which I'm really looking forward to.

Until school begins I have nothing but free time, so I'm trying to figure what I'll go see tomorrow. I had every intention of heading over to St. Peter's for the afternoon today, but I took a one hour nap beforehand which somehow turned into a six hour nap. So I went there tonight after dark and walked around the square, chatted with a Swiss Guard, tried out my digital camera, and got some gelato. I'm so happy to be back in Italy.