On board - Oh Yeah!

And the day I've been waiting for is finally here. We are going to board the ship. Praying so hard everything will go smoothly, and we will not have to go elsewhere to board the World Odyssey. (The ship's name)

The ship docked in the port already, and we were all excited to see our dream coming true. People on the last deck welcomed us. We had to go through security checks and boarded the ship one by one. Once the ship door was opened, the crew was happily screaming for our arrival. We then had to get our IDs, and I didn't even have time to go see my cabin, because I had a field trip on the same day with my International Relations class.

Reception

Haimeng, my Chinese friend, Evilyn, my Vietnamese roommate, and I were escorted to our classroom and met our Professor. We received some instructions about the trip and took the bus to Rome. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about Rome. She told us that the Romans didn't really invent anything but how to control nations in their empire. For example, the Roman Gods were a copy of the Greek Gods. She entertained us with some funny stories that happened to her with other tourists. A guy once asked about the Pope's religion and when he was told that the Pope is Jewish, he actually believed. Another guy asked about what B.C. stands for and his wife told him, "Before Clinton!"

We had a session with a Political Sciences professor at John Cabot University and with a US department of State representative in Italy. We then had a tour in Rome after eating pizza and gelato. We saw the Tiber River, the Pantheon and other beautiful places. I enjoyed that day more than the previous day in Rome because we walked in more historic and peaceful areas where the tourists were not as many as those at the Colosseum. Our guide told us that Rome will even get more crowded because of the pilgrimage season when the Vatican opens its doors. Unfortunately, buses are not so many in Rome, and there are only two metro lines because they always find monuments when they dig. She said that Rome will be unbearable in the next couple of weeks. Well, glad we are done with Rome already :D

We got back to the ship, and I finally had the chance to see my room. Yahooooooo! The room is not so big but very elegant. We have two paintings in our room and the furniture is really fancy. We have a TV, a mini fridge and a private bathroom. I unpacked, took a shower and slept.

My room door

P.S. I feel a little bit homesick but excited for the voyage to FINALLY begin :D