Rome: Day Two

Again, as I'm sure you've been made aware of by now, we've been experiencing major internet problems throughout our trip.  Things should hopefully be back to normal now.  We are currently in London; however, I will still be posting on our trip to Rome for the next few posts.

After getting much needed sleep, we all awoke to a terrific breakfast prepared for us by the hotel.  The weather in Rome was absolutely perfect for what we had in store for the day.

The second day of our trip consisted of two different parts: company visits and touring the city.  The day began with our first two company visits.

U.S. Embassy

Our first stop (via bus) would be to the U.S. Embassy.  After waiting an extremely long time to get through security, we entered the palace (shown above) in which the Embassy is located.  For the visit, we met with representatives from the U.S. State and Commerce Departments and discussed a wide range of topics, including global partnerships, climate change and the work being done to combat it, the relationship between the private and public sector, and the global initiatives currently being worked on by America and Italy.

Enlabs

After our time at the Embassy, we returned to the bus and made our way over to Enlabs.  Enlabs is a business incubator (a company that serves as a tool for start-up businesses) that focuses on helping innovative ideas become realities in Italy.  At Enlabs, we met with the founder of the company, who discussed the importance of entrepreneurship in a society, small business in Italy, and how Enlabs works with a client to help create a business.  In short, Enlabs gives its clients the money, legal aid, and office space they need to see their dreams become real.

We also had the opportunity to meet the clients in which Enlabs was assisting (their office spaces were conveniently located within Enlabs' office), most of whom were our age.  They shared their ideas with us, ranging from bathroom advertising to mobile app generation.

After the "official" company visit was over, we made our way out to the outdoor patio of Enlabs, where we had lunch with the clients and founder of the company.  This gave us an excellent opportunity to get to know these people on a more in-depth level (we learned that one of the Enlab clients lived in Muncie when he was younger - small world).

After the company visits, we were given the remainder of the day to tour the city.  During this time, many students broke off into smaller groups and made their way throughout Rome, hitting up locations like the Trevi fountain, the Spanish Steps, the Parthenon, and the Coliseum.

Vlog taken while touring the city of Rome.

Students were on their own for dinner, so many of the groups stopped into small, quaint restaurants to sample some Italian cuisine.

 One group of students stopped at a small restaurant in a pedestrian alley by the Parthenon.

What a typical meal in an Italian restaurant looks like.  This is also the greatest pizza ever made.

Overall, day two of Rome was an excellent opportunity for students to learn about global partnerships and entrepreneurship in Italy, discover an ancient culture through historic landmarks and locations, and grow in and develop relationships within the honors program.

Day three promises to be just as exciting as the first two!