Another day where school destroyed any notion of seeing the sights around the city. I had to be there at 9 a.m. for my first class, and my second class did not begin until 2:20 p.m. To make matters worse, we had to take care of our permisso (permission to stay in Rome) today and that meant I had to wait at the school from the time my last class ended (3:30) until they got to me (around 7 p.m.). But what really annoyed me was once again something Temple told us before we left wound up being totally wrong.

I should explain that part of the permisso is proving you have financial means in case there is a problem. We were told that if we were not staying in the school sponsored residence, we would have to provide an affidavit from our parents saying they would pay for us if there were issues. But if we were in the residence, Temple itself would be taking care of the financial backing proof. Well, guess again. I had to give the police a photocopy of my credit card, which did not make me feel good (I almost didn't bring it, so I guess it is good that I did). It was not surprising that while this was going on (many students had to run back to the residence to retrieve their cards from safes), no Temple people of authority were around to dispute this requirement or at least explain why they gave us yet another piece of incorrect information.

Anyway, here are some pictures of the school and some things around it. The classroom is not pictured, but I can tell you it is basically a large room with a bunch of plastic chairs with plastic flip up half desks attached to them. It is far inferior to the rooms we use at home, but it is in Rome... and no one can deny that this city is so much nicer to be studying in than north Philadelphia.

- Jay.