There are times when I still hear their giggles. I suppose I’ll never know if they were sisters or friends, but they laughed with a harmony that suggested a bond, a lifetime of knowing each other. They laughed with a sort of purity too, which I think is why five years later I sometimes still hear their laughter, clear as can be, as if it were happening now.

This is my first posting from Rome! So much has happened in two short weeks, I can’t even begin to explain it all! The semester has started, which means we have to go to class every week. Even though we are studying abroad, we always seem to forget that we aren’t on a six-week vacation.