March was the busiest travel month for the Spring 2018 Rome class. March 1st was the traditional G(r)eek Olympics, an event celebrating the class’s imminent departure for Greece. Students made teams and donned brightly colored togas to participate in various games after an introductory running of the Olympic torch.
After the games, students changed for a formal dinner and attended later in the evening
a reception hosted by the campus chaplains. Despite the busy and festive day, students
also scrambled to finish packing and catch at least a few hours of sleep before the
early departure the next day for Greece.
Taking a bus to Bari, Italy, the class boarded a ferry for the overnight trip to Patras, Greece. For the next 10 days, the students toured the historic and cultural highlights of the country credited for the birth of Western Culture. Starting in the quiet town of Delphi, the program visited the famous oracle of Apollo and students saw many artworks and artifacts in the archaeological museum which they had already studied in their classes.
From tranquil Delphi, the class then made its way to Athens, the birthplace of democracy and the current capital of the country. Visiting sites such as the Parthenon, the Areopagus, and the Theater of Dionysius, students witnessed firsthand various locations of great importance to each and every one of their classes.
After the bustle of Athens, the trip tapered to a more relaxed ending, with the last
couple days spent in Napflio – a picturesque waterfront city -- and Olympia, the birthplace
of the Olympic games.
Once back on campus on March 11th, students had just a few days packed with classes, an excursion to the Basilica of San Clemente, and a philosophy exam before starting their much anticipated Spring Break, known as “Ten Day.” As campus closes for the week, students were soon departing for their longest non-academic trips on Thursday evening of Friday morning. Groups of students traveled all over Europe to destinations ranging from Iceland to Estonia; a few students returned to Bari, Italy to volunteer with the Missionaries of Charity.
Coming back between March 24 and 25, students had another truncated school week before celebrating Holy Week.
April will provide students with some much needed rest from traveling. Though classes are moving towards final exams, the month has separate Men’s and Women’s retreat weekends for students to rest, regroup, and have a strong finish to the semester.
The month of September had the Fall Rome class visiting numerous sites in Rome such as Santa Maria Maggiore, the Roman Forum and Colosseum as well as touring Southern Italy on their first class overnight trip.
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Fall 2018 Rome Scavenger hunt winners received a forno dinner cooked by the Rome Student Affairs staff, a very coveted prize for this fall Rome class.
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The Fall 2018 Rome class arrived in Italy on Saturday, August 25 to begin four months of traveling, studying, and reveling in all that Europe, Italy and Rome has to offer. They wasted no time jumping right in with site tours, mass at St. Peter's and loads of traditional Italian cenas.
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