My first Saturday in Italy was spent doing a scavenger hunt throughout Rome. Because it was supposed to rain that day, my group and I decided to take the early train from Albano to Rome in order to get a head start. This was going to be my first time being in Rome so; I was extremely excited for this day trip. As we exited the train station and made our way into the city, the rain started as a sprinkle and eventually turned into a downpour. We all put on our rain jackets and opened our umbrellas and tried our best to continue on with the scavenger hunt. As the day went on, the rain grew heavier and the temperature only got colder. By 10:00 am, we had walked over 10,000 steps, and all of our tennis shoes were soaking wet. Each step we took, we could all feel the water squish between our toes beneath our drenched socks. At this point we were all cold, wet, and tired, but all I could think about was how we were all in this together. That was the point in time when I realized that by the end of this summer, I would have so many crazy but wonderful memories with these 21 people I had just met. It has only been one week and I already feel like I have made so many lasting friendships with the people I will eventually call my family. I cannot wait to find out how the rest of the summer will turn out, but I am almost positive it will be nothing short of amazing.
We ended up finishing the scavenger hunt that day, and although we were freezing, we, of course, had to end the day with some delicious Italian gelato!

We managed to get a group photo on Bernini’s Angel Bridge in front of Castel Sant’Angelo during the few minutes it was not raining!