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Writer's pictureHallie Montgomery

Rome-ing Around


Trevi Fountain, 2023

If you’ve ever had the experience of seeing a place for the first time that you don’t know much about then you’ll know how I felt. It can feel quite overwhelming yet exciting.


At the London airport I got onto the airplane from the outside which I’ve never done so it felt like private access.


As soon as we arrived of course I had to get pizza even though it was 11:30pm. We ate at a cute place in front of the Santa Maria. At home when you ask for pizza you can ask for a small but there’s a one size fits all here. I can put down a lot of food so I loved having my own big pizza!


The next day I ordered coffee which came in a tiny shot glass. Coffee here is a way smaller portion than what American Starbucks lovers would expect.


After breakfast, my group and I set off for our scavenger hunt assignment. Instead of taking a bus we walked twelve miles this whole day exploring. Everywhere was packed with tourists from all around the world. Big sights we saw was the Santa Maria Maggiore, the Colosseum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, US Embassy, Spanish Steps, Vittoriano, the Vatican, and St. Peter’s Basilica.



The communication style here is pretty different than America. Italians use physical cues more, don’t say excuse me, don’t smile/wave at strangers, and are sensitive to non-verbals and your tone of pitch.


For me, it’s hard to understand some physical cues since at home American’s are direct and detailed when communicating. For example, one communication conflict I had was with a gelato worker. I knew he gave me the wrong money amount back so I confronted him. He said “that’s all.” I took it in a bad way because of his tone and him not knowing a lot of English. They approach conflict differently; me being an American I use direct communication, but since both of us misinterpreted the communication styles, I simply decided to walk away from the situation.


Rome Sights, 2023

Overall, if you love inspiring art, this is the place to go. I got goosebumps first arriving into the Colosseum, the largest amphitheater ever built. I only was there for five minutes since I snuck in but the view instantly gave me goosebumps. There are many gorgeous water fountains and multiple sight seeing areas everywhere you go.


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