A Moment of Silence

I would like to begin this post with a [virtual] moment of silence for the Egyptian Museum. During all the unrest in Cairo, vandals ransacked the place, tearing the heads off of two mummies and throwing artifacts to the floor. As a passionate lover of the ancient material culture, this news made me incredibly sad, though not as sad as the entire situation in Egypt does. Anyway, a moment of silence, please.....

So last Thursday we had a field trip to the forum! For those of you who don't know what that is and are too proud to google it, it's basically the heart of the ancient ancient city of Rome (like, before the emperors ancient). There were temples as well as a public assembly, and a senate house. This part of the forum is entirely ruins, and there isn't one intact building. It is still quite incredible to see these things...the granite columns of the Temple of Saturn are from around the 4th century BCE. Like whoa. Older than Jesus. We also got to see the 'sketchy' part of the forum, which was behind the Temple of Castor and Pollux (divine twins who appeared to help the Romans in battle and then appeared again in the forum). Apparently there were shops there where one could get their hair cut, their dentist appointment filled, and have a glass of wine-- all in one place. But they tell us that the prostitutes hung out there as well. Bumma. Guess every great place has it's shady spots, and I don't mean because of the trees.

Also in the forum is the "real" hut of Romulus, the mythological founder of Rome. Yes, he's the one who was found by the she-wolf (not Shakira) with his twin , Remus (of harry potter fame) and nursed by her until this random shepherd took them in. Then he founded Rome, or something like that. When he lived, people lived in these mud huts. Amazingly, the remains of some huts exist on the forum. Wanting to have a solid connection to Romulus, the Romans maintained that these huts were his, and took care of them until the 4th century CE (3 centuries AFTER Jesus). All you can see are the post holes in the tufa (volcanic rock that pretty much comprises everything here), but I was still pretty amazed. That shit is OLD.

I also have to mention (for Alex and Lisa), that I have popped my gelatto cherry. Last night (saturday) we went to THE MOST AMAZING GELATTERIA EVER. It's called Dell' Palma and is right by the Pantheon. You go in, go to the cashier, pay 2,50 euro for two scoops, and then take your ticket down to the counter where the magic happens. There's myriad flavors...every kind you could want, in different variations, all calling out to you from behind the glass. I listened to strawberry yogurt and melon. The melon tasted exactly like cantaloupe, and the strawberry yogurt was delicious and creamy, just the right amount of sweet and tart. After leaving the shop, we went and sat outside of the Pantheon, just enjoying the moment. One of the coolest things I've done here so far, and I'm totally heading back there in the near future.

I won't detail the Roman nightlife yet, alas, I feel I have yet to experience it entirely. I will say though, that campo de fiori is the place where the cool kids hang out, just watch out for vespa riders (I swear, they're nuts).

I should probably go and do the study part of study abroad. Damn. Two quizzes tomorrow! Wish me luck! And ciao!

first days of the semester...

1/26/11

SO. Today is officially the 3rd day of class! Hooray! Except the homework load is already a bit staggering. I can't imagine taking two language classes like most people here are doing (Advanced Latin and Intermediate Greek OR Advanced Greek)...I suppose I qualify as a slacker of sorts here. Fine with me, as long as the professors don't think that.

On Monday we had our orientation in which we met our advisors (one of the 4 profs) and had a tour of the neighborhood we're in. My advisor is Chris Gregg from George Mason University. He's more of an archaeology focused prof, so I'm every happy about that! There's a BEAUTIFUL park just up the street that's absolutely enormous, and extremely green. I've heard tales of soccer fields there, so I plan to go on a run this afternoon and find them. Wonder if they'll let a girl play soccer here? Haha. Hope so!

Yesterday was our first official field day, where we went out into the city for class. Instead of going as a large group for lectures, we were split into 11 teams of about three people and given the task of finding an assigned obelisk (look it up) and doing a short presentation on it to the class. The real point was to acquaint us with getting around the city, as we were also given a second obelisk to visit, though not to present on. My group got the obelisk in St Peter's Sqaure-- yes, the VATICAN St Peter's square. It's a short, simple walk from here to there, so we just walked along the Aurelian wall until we saw the dome of St Peter's Basilica (here are some shots from our journey).

The Aurelian Wall

St Peter's Basilica!

Almost there...

The Vatican!

For anyone who has read Angels and Demons, Dan Brown does get his facts on the location of the obelisk right. However, he does neglect to mention that there is a large nativity scene in front of the obelisk...not really to my taste either. But I digress. I won't get into the presentation, but a few fun facts about the St Peter's obelisk:

• It was made in Egypt and erected during the 5th dynasty at Helipolis
• It was moved to Alexandria by emperor Augustus, and then moved to Rome by Caligula
• Rumor has it that it was in the Circus (area-esque thing) where numerous Christians and ultimately St Peter were martyred. As such, it stands as the last witness to the martyrdom of Peter
• Pope Sixtus the fifth (yes, that was really his name, haha) had it moved a few hundred feet to where it now rests today

Today is a lecture day, with language classes (which means my first greek class here, yikes!), and tomorrow will be a field trip to Palantine Hill and the Roman forum. More to come, if I ever have time!

The semester looms...

1/22/11

Today Owen and I moved into the Centro, where we’ll be living for the next 4 months. It’s pretty close to where our hotel was…only a few minute drive and just a little longer of a walk. There were already a few people here, including my roommate, Megan. She’s extremely nice and I think we’ll get along just fine. I can’t help but be jealous of the people that got singles though! Oh well, it’ll be fine. I just have to get used to having a roommate again.

There are a lot of rules here. No alcohol or smoking in the building, and no overnight guests. So basically if anyone wants to visit, they have to find a hotel, haha. There are even fines for it. Alcohol is a 31 euro fine, smoking is 20, and guests are 86. We’re also not allowed to tape anything to the walls, and some doors are to always be closed unless there’s an emergency. Everything is in one building. The classrooms, library, and computer room are on the first floor (with a tv), and the rooms are on the 2^nd and 3^rd floors (I’m on the 3^rd floor). The fourth floor is a classroom with a small weight set (surprising, yes), and an old school foosball table (score!). There’s also a garden, but due to the rain and the fact that all I wanted today was a bed, I haven’t found it.

The people I’ve met so far are all very nice. I’m sure everyone will be like that at this point…after all, all of us barely know each other and we’re not trying to step on any toes. I think our group dynamic will be fun though. I don’t think there will be any trouble (knock on wood). A few of us have already talked about going to see some soccer. Inter Milan would be amazing, but Milan is like 5 hours away by train. I think we’ll make a weekend of it, but it’ll take some planning! At least the Roma team is nearby if we want to see them.

Though there is fast food here (I’ve seen signs for Burger King and McDonald’s), the real fast food consists of these little pizzerias that sell pizza by the weight, so you can really get as many varieties as you want, you don’t just have to buy one slice. They’ll usually give you two and then stack them so it’s like a sandwich. Then you leave and walk around with this amazingly delicious pizza sandwich for a while. It’s a great value, and a fantastic lunch. I haven’t tried gelato yet (sorry, Lisa!) but rumor has it the best places are right by the Trevi Fountain, so I have a great excuse to get over there!

Tonight we also went out to dinner. I think one of the most amazing things about Rome is how big of a deal dinner is here, and how, unlike the states, you have to look hard for a bad place to eat. Pretty much every place you go to here will serve 3 course meals…though we don’t pay for that and only get the first course, haha. They also expect to serve you wine at every meal. Anyway, this place was one of my favorites so far. I had rigatoni al ragu (so with meat sauce), and it was incredible. You really can tell the difference between true Italian pasta and American pasta!

Everyone moves in tomorrow, and I’m super anxious to meet everyone and really start the semester. Starting to feel more real!

Uh...

I sent this email out a while ago, but I figured blogging would be easier...so though you've already read this, keep checking for updates and pictures!

Can't promise this will be interesting or exciting :)

1/20/11

So today was my first day of my study abroad experience. It’s so surreal that it’s actually my turn after watching the older students go in previous years. It really has not hit me that I’m not just on vacation… I’ll be here for four months! I think once I move into the Centro and meet everyone else (and start class, ugh), it won’t be weird for me to think that I’ll be living here.

The flight was a debacle, to say the least. After being delayed two days because of the Italian consulate, my flight from Philly to Rome was delayed 3 hours! I spent about 5 hours in the airport. Looking back, I have NO IDEA how I was able to do that and stay sane. It really didn’t feel like 5 hours at the time. The original plane had some mechanical problems, so they had to finish maintenance on another plane, test it, and get it to the gate. We boarded, and I actually got a window seat WITH an empty seat next to me, which saved me, I can’t even tell you. The flight was absolutely packed with Italians, no exaggeration. It was funny to watch them board the plane—this group didn’t listen very well, haha. The flight attendants had to ask them 3 times to sit down so we could leave. I was looking forward to picking a movie to watch and falling asleep, but alas, the movies weren’t working on the plane. At this point, all the mishaps were almost comical. Luckily, I was able to fall asleep, though I do have a very sore neck at the moment (not viral meningitis).

I was very worried that my bags weren’t going to make it (after all, my luck had been horrible), but I was VERY thankful when they did. I managed to make it to the trains (a taxi would have been about 50 euro, yikes), but also managed to get on the wrong train. Luckily (I feel like I’m using that word too much), I asked a nice older man who barely spoke English and was able to dart (as quickly as one can dart with a 70 liter backpack and heavy duffle bag) off the train and caught the right one. Hooray! From the train station I was supposed to take a tram to the Piazza Mastai stop, but I couldn’t find the tram—because I thought I was supposed to take a bus—so I bit the bullet and hired a taxi, which I think was the best decision because there’s no way I would have made it on my own.

After checking in, Owen and I decided to go walk around a bit. Since he’s been here since Tuesday, he showed me to the Pantheon(!) and Piazza Novana. The Pantheon is enormous! It was kinda cool that it was raining, because you could see the rain falling through the opening in the roof. We didn’t spend much time there, but I have four months to get back!

Then we made our way over to Vatican City, just to briefly explore. It wasn’t crowded—more like deserted, because of the rain—so it looked different than how I had imagined it. It was still incredible! There was an elaborate nativity scene set up in front of the obelisk, which I think actually took away from the beauty of St Peter’s square, but what do I know? To get into the Basilica, you have to go through some lax security, though I think its main purpose is to make sure that everyone is modestly dressed. Exposing one’s knees and/or elbows is absolutely not allowed, and I think even your elbows have to be covered (though I’m not positive about that). Anyway, it’s hard to describe how I felt when I walked into the basilica. It’s incredibly overwhelming…it’s sheer size and complete lack of wood really astounds you. There are enormous marble statues everywhere, mostly of former popes, angels, and suspiciously what look like greek goddesses…The famous statue of Mary and Jesus after the crucifixion of Jesus is also there, and it is every bit as marvelous as it is in pictures. Tourists aren’t allowed near it though, as it’s kept behind glass behind a rail. I could go on forever about it, but since I know I’ll be going back there, I’ll leave the rest of it for another time. I have to mention quickly that I saw John Paul II’s grave! LOTS of people congregated around that…it was very cool.

As for the city of Rome itself, it is completely made of stone. The streets are cobblestone (of course), which makes walking for a long time hard on the feet, but the novelty of it is still there. Like Jerusalem, there’s an awesome juxtaposition of ancient buildings and new ones. Everything is also very close; the streets and sidewalks are incredibly narrow, and the streets are not parallel or perpendicular to each other (they curve and bend whenever they feel like it). Also, it seems that street names change every block, which can make things very confusing. The Tiber River is right in the middle of the city, and it proves a useful landmark. There are multiple bridges that run across, one that runs straight to Castle St Angelo. To say that drivers here are aggressive is a huge understatement. There really are no rules, besides stay on one side of the road, haha. I will absolutely not be driving here…everyone knows I am not an aggressive driver at all. I have to say though, that it’s kind of dirty. The lack of trashcans makes for more litter than in the U.S. It’s unfortunate, but it’s still incredibly beautiful here. The stone is just gorgeous.

I’ve discovered that nothing here is complimentary. If they give you bread at dinner without asking, if you touch it, they’ll charge you. If they give you water at lunch or dinner, you pay for it. It’s not terrible, but no way would we ever get away with that in the U.S.!

I miss you all and hope that I’ll be able to hear from you soon! Thinking of all of you!

Here are some pictures that I took in my first days...

Views from the Piazzale Aurelio (highest point in Rome!)