Well, friends, it’s been awhile since I’ve posted. Travel, a broken computer (this is Italy, so it was in the shop for 15 days; there is no Geek Squad here), the flu, and a broken heart kept me from writing. I hope none of things ever happen again, except for travel.

Rome was really in the news a few weeks ago with the resignation of one pope and the election of another. I am not Catholic, so I didn’t have a lot personally invested in either event, but I got some great translation work out of the whole thing for various media outlets. Also, just being around was exciting. News trucks lined up and down my street, and the local businesses in my neighborhood made a ton of money from tourists (and Italians who don’t typically come to the Vatican area). I was happy for them. There was an electricity in the air for weeks. But nothing like the night Pope Francis was elected.

I was about to start my finance class with Prof. Pactwa at my university in Prati, the neighborhood bordering the Vatican, when she came in and announced that she had just heard a pope had been elected. We all looked at each other for a moment – should we go? One girl got up and said, “I’m going.” Then we all did, together, 5 American MBA students and our professor, huddling under shared umbrellas and almost jogging. Steps from St. Peter’s I veered off and sprinted down my little street to fetch my two cameras. The photos and videos I took (amateur!) are below and I think they speak for themselves.

I only want to add that I hope this pope inspires charity and giving amongst his faithful. This blog is not meant to stir up controversy, but I feel compelled to point out that in the last weeks I saw clergy being driven around in private luxury cars (and a few smoking), offering no more protection than a taxi would, by the way, meanwhile at night when Piazza San Pietro was quiet, the homeless people were still there, shivering on wet cardboard beds.

I understand this pope eschews most luxuries and I think that is wonderful!

Without further ado…