Sunday, August 26, 2012

Hey there!

Needless to say I have not blogged in a LONG while.  (Sorry!)

I am back in Rome now after a wonderful summer in DC with my family.  I was there for all of June by myself and then Ryan joined me in July.  We fit in a trip to Texas and Michigan to see friends and more family.  As much as I love living abroad the thing I miss the most is being with friends and family.  This summer was just what I needed to boost my spirits.  The happy hours, bbq's, lunches, and just hanging out were the BEST.  We are super lucky to have such wonderful families and fantastic friends.  The summer ended with Ryan having to return to Rome and me having to have surgery.  Everything went well and again I was reminded of how blessed I am with an amazing mother-in-law and incredibly caring friends.

This first week back in Rome has been a shock for sure.  I returned to hit the ground running.  I got in last Sunday and the Fall 2012 students arrived the next day.  They seem like an awesome group, if first impressions are accurate.  No one complained about having to carry their luggage up two flights of stairs or about the lack of A/C despite the almost 100 degree weather.  I am really looking forward to getting to know them better and hopefully not having to write too many of them up:)  Yesterday, when I was taking a group of students into Rome on the Cotral, a fist fight broke out right next to us on the jam packed bus.  They handled it like champs, barely flinching while they avoided being hit.

In other news, I have been Timelined by Facebook.  I knew this day was coming but still...  Now that I have Timeline I have to start thinking about what my cover photo should be.  I went through all our old trip photos and pulled a few.  It is my goal to one day decorate out house with pictures of architecture or random things from all our trips.  Here is a sampling...

A wool shop in Riga, Latvia

Riga, Latvia

Riga, Latvia

Riga, Latvia

Riga, Latvia

Riga is known for its Art Nouveau architecture.  I loved it.

Riga, Latvia

Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, Sicily

Statue of Icarus, Valley of the Temples, Agrigento, Sicily

Sicily

Rock walls formed by the Fiume Freddo, Sicily

Taormina, Sicily.  Lots of people had these ceramic birds on their balconies.  They were so cool.

Duomo in Milan, Italy

Milan, Italy