SHARKS!!!!!

As finals approach, we have been spending some time in the good ol' fashon American Starbucks where we can jam out to Christmas Carols while reved up on caffeine. On Thursday we did just that and afterwards, our Moroccan friend Ghali had us over for tea, shesha, and good company...don't fret for a second...shesha is an all natural dried fruit herb. The next morning we took our time getting ready for our ultimo weekend viaje.

Dashing Through the Snow? not quite....to ROMA we go. 25 estudiantes from Joe's are studying in Rome this semester! We stayed with Lexi, Jenna, and Kerri, who couldn't have been better hostesses. Upon arrival, we got ready for an evening out, Italian style, and hopped on the tram, which unfortunately wasn't full of Little Drummer Boys like our Madrid metro. We met up with the other pack of St. Joe's friends to Rock Around the Christmas Tree.

The next morning, we bundled up for a day in the Winter Wonderland of Rome. Oh Baby, It Was Cold Outside! We had an authentic tour of one of the oldest cities in the world with the help of friend and Rome expert, Santa Baby, aka Charles Tribe. He took us around the entire city while providing us with some interesting tidbits, which he learned from his art/history class. We saw the Roman Forum, the Colosseum, Pantheon, Victor Emmanuel, Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain (yes, we nearly got handcuffed by the popo after a polar bear swim...thanks a lot, Sara)... and many other sights that we stumbled upon. How we had time for it all in The Little Town of Bethlehem... I mean, Rome? One never knows. After the full day, we went back to Lexi's to get ready for an authentic Italian meal with our fabulous hostesses. The meal consisted of focaccia bread (FJ...yours still dominates), vino, and delicious pasta dishes...we needed a break from the "pizza-only" diet that we had had thus far. Enlightening the chicas on MC stories proved for some serious entertainment.

Being the shesha extraordinaires that we now are, we met some more at a favorite huka place, then headed out to one of their favorite bars. At Scholars, we ran into a fellow SLU estudiante...bizarre!...and some other St. Joe's pals. T'was a phenom time... surely not a Silent Night.

After only a three hour sleep, we woke up to see the Vatican. To our dismay, the Sistine Chapel is closed on Sundays...what Catholic FREAK thought that was okay? Instead of being sour, we counted our blessings (and said some prayers for you CI!). We went to Mass (Hark! The Angels Did Sing!) and toured around St. Peter's Basilica before hanging out with Pope Ben. At noon, he came out to give a blessing and included a loud "YO DER!" for his babygirls (us) in English! Now that's The Meaning of Christmas.

On Sunday night we crashed the Roman SJU good-bye family dinner at another quaint Italian restaurant. We didn't feel bad though, as Jenna assured us it was O Come All Ye Faithful. Cannolis and all, it's safe to say, we won't be the best looking ladies for Christmas. The evening ended up with the Rome students completing one of the last things on their "to-do" checklist... jumping in fountains... after our extravaganza in the Trevi, we did not take part.

Singing the Christmas Blues, the weekend was brought to a sad close when we left on Monday morning. Rome was the perfect final trip, especially thanks to our gracious hostesses.

Our noses were stuck in books for the first half of exam week. Last night, we took a break from studying to enjoy a Moroccan meal with some friends. If you ask what our favorite ethnic food is we will enlighten you, describing our Moroccan entrees. According to Ghali, that's not even possible. Immediately upon returning home, Beth found the nearest Moroccan restaurant to St. Joes. Hope you guys can't wait to accompany us. Today, we did some last minute Christmas shopping and plan on a full evening, ESTUDIARING! Sooner rather than later, We'll Be Home for Christmas. But fret no further, we will be back on Tuesday for our FINAL BLOG ENTRY: SPECIAL EDITION. Already in the works...