LIM College

by Alyssa Smethers

The day has finally come...My time in Italy is at an end. After a day of finishing finals and packing, my roommates and I all went out for our last dinner together.

My roommates and I went to a traditional Italian restaurant in the city center. This restaurant was completely different than most of the other restaurants we went to. Here they actually hand-rolled the pasta right in front of you. It was really unique seeing this being done, and the pasta was amazing of course.

I ordered the pasta carbonara, which is a traditional dish from Rome. After dinner, we ended up walking to the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. Sadly, the Trevi Fountain was under construction the entire time we were there, so there was actually no water in it. We still threw a coin into it, to ensure that we will all one day return to Rome.

After the Trevi Fountain, we drank a glass of wine on the Spanish steps, which is a very common thing to do on the steps. We though this was all fitting for our last night here. We were all getting pretty tired, so we decided that we should head back to our apartment to get ready for all our travels the next day.

But then the strangest thing happened to us. While we were walking back and we saw a huge crowd of people. We decided to walk over to the crowd to see what was going on. We ended up walking onto the set of Zoolander Two.

Yes, we were on the set of Zoolander Two because they were filming in Rome. It was perfect! We were fashion students in Rome watching Zoolander Two being filmed outside the Valentino store.

It was really great because Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller actually came into the crowd where we were standing and took pictures with us! This was such a random experience, and it was a great way to spend our last night in Rome.

Although I was only in Rome for such a short time, it was truly one of the most amazing unforgettable experiences of my life. I made so many great friends, and got to see and do so much.

I am so happy that I got to be able to study abroad, and would recommend it to everyone. Living abroad helped me gain so many insightful experiences into a different culture.

Prior to my trip, I was extremely nervous flying across the world, to a place where English was not the native tongue. However, by the end of the trip, I didn’t want to leave!

It went by so quick, and I was having such a great time that I honestly did not even get homesick once. This was one of the best experiences of my life. As they say in Italy, “veni, vidi, vici,” which means, “I came, I saw, I conquered.” Thank you Italy for the great food, friends, wine, and a lifetime of memories. Until next time, ciao!