My first few days in Rome

Ciao tutti! I've been in Rome the past few days. I finished up the term about a week and a half ago, and spent a week doing some thesis research and preparing for my 5 week stay in Rome.

I'm in Rome primarily for an internship with an organization that does diplomatic work and research on international relations. But I have had plenty of time to do some sight seeing as well! Here I will describe my first few days, and I will update again soon when I can.

My first day here I got to my apartment and met up with my friend Victoria, who stayed with me my first few days. Our first day here we went to the Basilica di San Clemente al Laterano. It is a 12th century basilica, built on top of a 4th century basilica, built on top of the house of a Roman nobleman. We got to see all of the different levels and it was incredible. Sadly, I wasn't allowed to take pictures around the basilica.

Museo Nazionale

Rome's abandoned cat sanctuary

Me near the Roman Forum and the Colosseum

The Rome marathon happened my first weekend here

The arch of Constantine

The Colosseum

The next day Victoria and I visited the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. Although I went to the Colosseum when I was 16, it was still breathtaking. It was particularly interesting to see the area that would have been under the floor/stage (perhaps I have just seen the movie "Gladiator" too many times...)

Me inside the Colosseum

Colosseum

Under the floor of the Colosseum.

After the Colosseum we went to the Palatine Hill and Roman Forum.  The Palatine Hill is one of the most ancient parts of the city, with recent archaeological findings determining that people have lived there since around 1,000 BC. Emperors Augustus, Tiberius, and Domitian had palaces there. Palatine looks over the the Forum, which is essentially ruins of ancient government buildings. The various buildings in the Forum were built from around 497 BC to 312 AD.

A small part of Palatine Hill

What was a sort of garden with fountains at the Palatine Hill.

Arch of Titus at the Roman Forum

A temple at the Forum

Arch of Titus again

The Trevi fountain--not part of the Roman Forum but a very famous landmark in Rome!

Marathon training, honors thesis, and looking forward to internship

I've reached the point in my marathon training where I'm doing long runs in the double digits. This weekend I'm doing 14 miles, and the weekend after that I'm doing 16. Oxford is a fairly small town, so my training partner Adrea and I are having to get creative with our long runs. At least it is more interesting than just running the same streets over and over again, and we have actually gotten to see some gorgeous English countryside.

Obviously this is not my natural running pose. But isn't the countryside beautiful?!

Running with a water belt on a 13.5 mile run and not ashamed.

In other big news, I've decided to pursue an honors thesis. At Wellesley theses are optional, but anyone who meets a GPA minimum and gets department approval can write one. It is a yearlong process. If a student completes the thesis and passes an oral examination in the 2nd semester of her senior year, she is awarded departmental honors. So, I've decided to write a thesis in the religion department. I have a general idea of what I will write about, but still have to do some preliminary research before I can formulate a research question. I will keep you all updated as I make progress!

Finally, this term (the 2nd of 3 terms) is almost over, and then I have a 6 week break. For the first week I will be doing some thesis research at Oxford, but then for the 5 weeks after that I will be working an internship in Rome! I will be interning with a non-profit organization that works with the Italian government to train diplomats and compile research on international relations. I am so, so excited to return to Italy (I was last there when I was 16), improve my Italian (I have taken 2 years in college) and have a chance to work with what sounds like a great organization.

One last thing: because I don't have too many pictures to show you this week, here are some my parents have sent me of our dogs, Gioia and Argos, who I just think are so cute.