Rome has been rainy, cold, and crowded for the last few days. I am feeling a little run down just at the time I need the most energy for finals and term papers. My study abroad is quickly coming to an end. I feel pressured to continue to try to get all I can out of Europe while making sure my GPA escapes unscathed.

Friday was the funeral of Pope John Paul II. We were warned to stay away from St. Peter’s because of the heightened security and gigantic crowd; but people wished to view the funeral in mass so large TVs were set up in numerous Piazzas. We walked to Santa Maria Maggiore first where people packed the square glued to the screen. We then boarded the metro to get to the Circus Maximus where the largest crowd besides that at St. Peter’s had developed. We were not surprised to see what resembled a colorful military encampment in the basin. Flags from all over the world were waved in representation of the global turn out. I wondered how many people in the US had woken up at 4 am eastern to see the funeral. We took a seat on one of the hills where we could see the screen. The service was moving. I had never seen anything like it before. The enormous crowd was fixed on the simple casket that sat in front of St. Peter’s as clergy performed the funerary rituals. A wind blew, flapping the flags in the wind. It eerily turned the pages of the gospels that had been placed on the casket. As the funeral came to an end clouds had covered the city. By 6pm rain had begun to fall and it has continued ever since.

Guests arrived this weekend too, my brother Anthony, his wife, and her parents and later two friends/fellow study abroad students who live in Sevilla in Spain. I was extremely excited to see my brother and other familiar faces. You never realize how much you love your family and being around them until they are far away. I was also enthusiastic about showing off Rome. Being a tour guide can be a lot of fun. Despite the storms, we visited some well-known sites and I helped them figure out the frustrating Roman public transportation. We had great dinners in Trastevere two of the evenings. By last night I was exhausted and now I have a full week ahead of me. All I really know is that Rome needs the sun to come out again.