Almost done with school! Today we received our certificates of completion. They look super official. I am very proud of working on learning a new language. I really did enjoy my time in the class. Very quickly after class we had to leave for Vatican City because the museums close early. I did not know what to expect with this. Jeremy joked that he and I had a time limit to how long, us Lutherans, were allowed in the Vatican. It was weird thinking that we were entering a new country. We all had to make sure we were all dressed appropriately - covered shoulders and knees. First we went to the Vatican Museums. There were a ton of different exhibits in the many museums. We first saw the Egyptian exhibits. I took lots of pictures of my classroom. There was even a mummy still in a coffin. Then we continued on to many other religious exhibits. I think those would have been more interesting, but we were all so hot and thirsty. We did see many people with heat stroke. There was even someone who had passed out and thrown up! Some of thee sights that we saw included lots of statues, huge tapestries, huge maps, and lots of artwork. The rooms with the tapestries were the coolest. They were very impressive and beautiful. We were getting close to the Sistine Chapel. But first we looked at some of the Pope's quarters that were painted by Raphael. I couldn't believe how fancy the paintings were. So beautiful. Finally on to the Chapel. It was a lot smaller than I had expected. The last judgment was huge and impressive, although it was a little sad to me. It didn't seem as triumphant as I would have imagined. You weren't supposed to take pictures, but it seemed like everyone was. The security in there was very relaxed as well. They would go up to the people taking pictures and say "Put the camera away." and then walk away. Also I think it was supposed to be quiet in there. There would be an announcement that said it should be quiet and no pictures taken. It would be silent during the announcement and then everyone would be talking again. The painting of the Creation was very nice, although I couldn't look up at the ceiling for too long. Soon we were ready to move on to Saint Peter's Basilica. I didn't know what to expect from this. It is the largest Basilica. When we first stepped inside, you could just see how large it was. So impressive. And the decorations were so well done. The over-all impression was "WOW!" But once I got past that initial response, I was quite sad. The entire church seemed to be dedicated to the Pope, not Christ. I tried to compare the amount of Pope vs. Christ, but it was a huge landslide in favor of the Pope. All along the columns were statue after statue of Popes. Back in the corner was one statue of Christ dead in the arms of Mary. Where was the central focus? I just couldn't get that out of my mind. I wish I could have separated it in my mind about the beautiful art, architecture, and history. But the overlying theme was so distracting to me. After some touched the feet of Peter we moved on outside. Outside we decided on our next stop. Jeremy and Jordan decided to climb up the tower to overlook the city. The rest of us left the city to sit in the shade. We found a nice spot among the columns to sit. Here we sat and chatted while some went exploring. I decided to quick get my homework done. While I was sitting there I felt a plop on my shoulder. I Got Pooped On! By a Pigeon! Supposedly it is good luck to get pooped on. But I was a Lutheran in the Vatican. I think it was the city telling me that I needed to leave, my time there was up! Thankfully Becky and Barb helped me. Barb had a shout wipe. Once I got cleaned up, everyone laughed really ********ce the boys came back we realized that we needed to get back to Piazza Bologna, as were meeting Laura and George and possibly other for supper. We ended up being late for them. The whole evening kinda broke apart. Some were tired, some wanted to stay, and some wanted to go shopping. When all was said and done it was Jeremy, Barb, and I, our flatmate Philine, George and his friend, and Laura were together. We went to the restaurant by school (the same we went to the previous night). There we shared a bunch of pizzas (and of course beer!) That was so much fun! It felt like such an eclectic group. Somehow we used our napkins to tour each of our countries: USA, England, Germany, and Austria. What a great experience. It felt like we had been friends for a long time, not people we barely knew for 2 weeks. We didn't want the night to end, so we went to get some more beer and sit in the square. We also me back up with Becky, Jordan, and Jacob. While we were sitting there a few other classmates from Germany came by. We sat around for a few hours just talking and having fun. It was the last night we were going to see George. Too soon we were all tired and ready to go. By this time the square just started getting busy with people. It is crazy how late these people stay up! But I was definitely ready for bed.