Jet lag and then some

Well, the day finally arrived and I survived! My family dropped me off yesterday at LAX, taking with them a few of my less needed items from my slightly stuffed suitcases - who needs body wash anyway? - and my adventure began. The flight to DC wasn't too crowded or too long, but it was definitely too cold! Next time, keep your jacket with you at all times. Now, the flight to Roma was a different story. First off, I knew two other people on the plane and was able to meet most of our group that will be living here in Orvieto, so that was nice to have people to talk to. Then the fun began: only two (out of about ten) of the people coming from Gordon College had seat assignments. They had tickets, but no seat numbers, and when they went to get their seat numbers they were informed that the plane was overbooked and there were no seats available. Long story short, after numerous phone calls and about an hour of attempts, all but 2 students were able to board the plane in Dulles. The unlucky two were placed on a flight leaving three hours later and stopping in Frankfurt, so they will be arriving by train to Orvieto around 11:15 this evening. Other than those few hitches, our flight went smoothly (cold, again, but this time I came prepared) and we arrived an hour ahead of schedule. 

The Roma airport is kind of a strange place...or at least it seemed so in my slightly groggy state of mind. First off, there was nobody walking around the airport as we walked toward baggage claim except for those just exiting our plane. Then, suddenly, you turn a corner and half of Roma is waiting to get through customs, rescuing their luggage from the evil baggage claim carousel (my beautiful bag is now dirty, so I'm a little bitter), waiting to get through the second customs line, greeting friends and family outside the glass doors, searching for someone they don't know holding a small sign to tell them where to go, racing from sidewalk to sidewalk to avoid being hit by the taxis and other various motorized vehicles, and finally landing safely in their own vehicle to finish their trip to destinations elsewhere. Once securely inside our bus provided a very nice shield from the humidity outside, which had only seemed to make things harder. 

Driving up to Orvieto we bonded as a group over card games and laughter. Walking up to the monastery was an adventure with two bags that weigh over 50lbs each, attempting to dodge cars and not run into the wall, but we finally made it. We climbed the four flights of stairs up to our rooms on the "third floor", which is really the fourth, because the first floor is floor 0...maybe it's an Italian thing. Then we unpacked, walked to lunch, unpacked some more, had a group meeting, and connected with friends and family at home, so all we have left is cena and sleeping. Oh sleeping! What a wonderful idea...