This morning at 9 am all the students met with me for our first class in Rome. To gain a further understand of the culture of Rome, students read Tobias Jones' great book on Italy The Dark Heart of Italy. In the text Jones explains the difference between the idyllic Italy that we know from poetry and history and contrasts it with the dark underbelly that is also a major part of the history of the country. We discussed the relatively young nation of Italy (not unified until the 1860s) and the relevance that this has on the culture of cities. Students practice a bit of Italian to help them get by and we packed up to head out on our first walking tour. Traveling to the Vatican Museum was the first real "AHA moment". The AHA moment is phrase that we use often while taking students abroad. It is that moment where students realize that there is more to the world than what they have always lived around. Today, not only did we get to see the world's largest church (St. Peter's Bascilica) but we also entered a new country on foot (Vatican City). The Swiss Guards were in full regalia at their posts and students were awestruck by the Sistine Chapel. Though many students had seen pictures of Michelangelo's work before, all agreed that they had never really "seen" it before.