From Rome, Thanos Writes...

The beginning of a new semester is always exciting and vigorating and it gets even better when you get a group of students who are so anxious and excited to begin their adventures and spend four months in the Eternal City. It has been busy in the last couple of days as the new batch of Bernardians arrived and moved in to Bernardi. All 25 students this semester have arrived on time and as scheduled with no major delays, which allowed me and my staff to proceed as planned with Student Life Orientation. For the most part, all students have been attentive and participated during the Student Life Orientation asking several good questions as well as sharing their purpose and the reason why they chose to study in Rome. The first days or the honeymoon period as I like to call it is always the introduction of what the group will be like as the semester unfolds. And as I already began getting to know one by one our students, I have been very impressed and happy by what they shared and by what they want to learn while studying and living abroad. For this reason, I have asked each and everyone to think individually about what they want to accomplish during this semester and write it down on an idex card that I gave out to them on the first day, which I will be collecting on Sunday. Then, I'll be following up with what each student wrote on it so I help them to accomplish their goals or meet their needs, if not all, at least the majority of them. We talked a lot today about respect, responsibility, faith, growing as an individual and as a community, and the role and the significance of each one of the students being a part of the Catholic Studies program in the Eternal City. It is my hope that the rays of light i have seen today in our students soul and mind and the commitment they made when several of them shared what their purpose is while in Rome, continues shining and enlightening them throughout the whole semester and when time comes to go back home they take back an experience that they will cherish for many more years to come.
(Currently listening to "When You're Gone" by Avril Lavigne)