Today was a leisurely day in Rome. Besides making a few trips across the hall, I didn't leave my room until evening. i have plenty of resources available to me online and on my computer. I read a number of articles and some ancient sources. I also spent a bit of time studying Arabic. I've hardly had any time in the last few weeks.

This evening (Sunday) we had a party at the residence of one of our directors. We had a wonderful time talking, laughing, eating, and drinking. It was a beautiful setting as well. This is on the grounds of the Villa Aurelia. According to news reports, Bush was here a few weeks ago. It was the location for Tom Cruise & his young bride to have some sort of event on the wedding day here.

I decided to try to get a book out of the library here. It's open to residents 24/7, so I ventured in. There was one person sitting at a desk with a lamp lit. Other than that, the library was completely dark. He seemed like he was packing up and turned a light on for me. I went down a level to where the book should have been, but i couldn't find it there. It's a fantastic library and I intend to spend much more time there in the future days. But it is not air conditioned. In the five minutes I spent looking on the shelf for the book I wanted, I began to sweat. Drops of sweat were falling on my glasses. I decided to come back another time. I had to actually turn the light off and make my way out in complete darkness. It's only the second time I've been in there. Now I know why I brought a flashlight with me to Rome. Back in my room I did some investigation online.  I actually found the book I needed as an electronic book. I love it. But it does seem a shame to be here in Rome and be able to do what I need to do so far by sitting in my room.

Today I did manage to purchase credit in Skype and make a call home. My wife, Suann, set up her cell phone with Verizon so she can call me. I think she's paying $4 extra a month and 7 cents a minute. I called her from my computer and paid about 2 cents a minute. I heard her just fine, and oOnce I managed to increase the volume to my microphone she could hear me well too. Now we can both call each other when we need too. I'm just concerned we'll both be waiting for the other one to call.