New Adventures!

Hi again everyone!! Hopefully you are still checking here because I have decided to keep posting blog updates.

This time I am back in America, but it might as well be a foreign county here in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. And this blog will remain "as the romans do" even though I am no longer technically living like a Roman because in ways I am. (I'm continuing to eat pasta at every chance I get, at least.)

For those of you who don't know, I am spending the summer here in NMB, SC on something called a Summer Project. It is through Cru, and interdenominational group on tons of campuses across the United States & in other countries. For ten weeks, us 94 students and about 30 staff members will live here & get jobs within the community (fast food, mini golf, coffee places, grocery stores, etc.) while we learn about ourselves, each other, & our personal spiritual growth.

The days are reserved for our jobs (I have not found one yet, but I'm working on it...Italian tutoring, anyone? Personal chef?) and nights are reserved for group activities.

Mondays are Bible Study nights with our housemates (I have five). Tuesdays are spent exploring the community and meeting tourists. Wednesdays are called "Date Night w/ Jesus"--pretty much we get 2.5 hours of quiet time (and for me lots of journaling). Thursdays are group meetings--worship music, speakers, etc. Fridays are our nights off. Saturdays are social activities with our group. Sundays are Impact Group nights (Women's bible study + Men's bible study = Impact (or family) group).

The other night my staff mentor and I got to talk to two women from Russia who are also living here for the summer. We talked about each of our spiritual beliefs and found out what they thought of America so far (it's loud). It was really great to talk to some of the international population here (NMB is a lot similar to the Dells or Door County in the summer) and I felt a connection to them, out on their own in a foreign country.

Besides job hunting and general orientation, I have been meeting SO MANY PEOPLE! With 94 of us, it feels like I am meeting my high school class all over again. By the end of these ten weeks I should have all the names down.

It is getting a little late so I am going to close up now just with another thank you and miss you and love you to everyone!

HOME!

We finally made it back. Our flight from Rome to Munich left late, and we thought we were going to miss our connecting flight to Chicago but when we finally got into Munich, we learned that that flight was delayed. So we hurried up to wait another two hours before our transatlantic flight left. The flight from Munich to Chicago was nice--I watched Slumdog Millionaire, part of Inkheart, and fell asleep to Radio Italia. Unfortunately because that flight was delayed, we did miss our connecting flight from Chicago to Central Wisconsin. We were so close to home but had to spend the night in Chicago and catch an early morning flight the next day.

And then after a very turbulent but brief flight, we were home. All I could think when we were flying in was how far apart everything was. So much space between the houses, huge roads, giant vehicles. The weather is a little chillier here than what I am used to in Rome but my bed is just as comfortable as I imagined. :)

I am slowly getting over my jet lag--though I am pretty sure I will be waking up early in the morning for a bit. Right now it is 2 in the afternoon but my body feels like it is 8 PM.

Yesterday I made the family come with me to see Angels and Demons, the new Ron Howard film based on the novel by Dan Brown. It is set in Rome so Dad (who chose to sit next to me) was entertained the entire time with me poking him to say, "I was just there three days ago!"

American Invasion

Visitors are here! We have no wi-fi in our apartment, but we did find this cafe with an internet connection. The week has gone well with the only catastrophe being my and Grandma's time spent stuck in an elevator. With two Italian women who decided the best way to solve our problem would be to pound on the door and shout "Aiuto!" (Help!). We did get out though (obviously!).

I took them around my neighborhood and today we spent the day at the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica. Before the end of the week I have been told we need to find a Hard Rock Cafe and a Harley-Davidson store so that's what's coming up!

Our apartment is nice and the beds are comfortable...plus there is a gelateria and a bar/cafe not far!

Hugs and kisses from everyone!

Finals week overview

Three finals down...two to go.

Art History was probably the hardest since it had the most memorization--all of those statues and monuments and temples and tombs. I was happy with the B+ I got on my Appian Way paper, though.

My next final was not until Tuesday at 6 so Monday and most of Tuesday I spent walking around Rome, around the apartment, trying to find something to occupy myself. This week has been the longest of my life! I am waiting for these finals to be over and for my visitors to finally arrive...it's like waiting for 10 Christmas mornings, I swear.

My stats final was kind of a joke, sad to say. I got pretty angry when I saw two of my classmates blatantly sharing answers in front of me as our professor twiddled his thumbs at the front of the room. I'm already getting over 100% in that class from extra credit questions on our tests so I'm not worried about my grade. Funny considering I avoid math at all costs.

And then I had my history final this morning, another hard one with a lot to remember. This time it was most of the emperors from Augustus down to Romulus Augustus plus all the extra events--the third century crisis, Roman entertainment, Roman funerals, Mithraism. (Would you like me to elaborate? I just finished the final so it's all still fresh in my head. No, I won't bore you... :) )

Now I'm waiting around until 3, when I have my social research methods final. I already have 25% of it finished by bringing in an abstract of my thesis project and the rest won't be bad. The professor already told me he grades mine differently since I am an English major, not political science like the rest of the class.

And Italian is tomorrow morning at 9. Again, nothing to worry about since it's Italian 101 and our professor loves us. Seriously, she has tried her hardest to make Italian a breeze for us. It's sad that Italian is basically a dead language - only Italians speak it, it's not like they have any colonies like the British or French to spread their language around. I would enjoy continuing with Italian if I could find it at home, even just to speak it for myself. Sure, Spanish and Japanese and Mandarin are all useful languages to know...but they aren't beautiful like Italian!

But that's my finals week...plus it's just about time for me to start packing up! It so feels like I just got here and unpacked. The time flew. Luckily I will have a week to say goodbye to all of my favorite places while I play tour guide for Mom, Donna, Grandma, and Ruth!

Finito!

I'm done with classes, as of last night at 8. All I have left is five finals--starting with Art History on Sunday. Don't ask why they started finals so early--there are ones on Saturday as well--and they go until Friday. There are only maybe 700 students here so it should be easy to fit all the finals within one week, sans weekend. I'm pretty sure most schools in America manage that. But leave it to John Cabot to stretch things out.

John Cabot isn't a bad school in itself, it's just the administration is so Italian, ie, nothing ever gets done. There is an extreme lack of organization that unfortunately hurts the students the most. It's hard to believe there are actually degree-seeking students there, people who have decided to go there all four years. I know I couldn't do it. As much as I love Rome and know I am going to miss it when I come home, I really miss SNC and having a good, solid school.

Oh yes. But I only have finals to get through, and I'm not too worried about any of them. These grades only transfer as pass or fail, meaning I need to get a "C" and then I get credit for the courses. The actual grade doesn't factor into my GPA.

But yes, John Cabot has decided to fill our last weekend with finals. Not any today since today is Labor Day in Italy--everything is closed. It's kind of funny since they close shop every Sunday anyways and now they get Friday off as well.

What to do with these Italians?

Rain & Rainbows

Capri pictures are up! Check them out here.

Today was my last Art History class and Rome decided to grace us with more rain. The weather has been so weird here--rain since January!

I also got my stats test back--110%, which is funny considering that is the class I spend the least time on.

And when I got out of class I saw a rainbow in the sky...it was so beautiful, ending somewhere near the Synagogue.

Vatican, Carpi, Appian Way

What a busy weekend!

Friday:

First I had an on-site visit for one of my classes at the Basilica di San Clemente. We got to go down to the lower levels of the church to see the ruins of an ancient worship temple devoted to a lesser god Mithras.

After that Marina and I tried to go to the Corsini Gallery but found it closed due to short staff. So what do you do on a Friday when your plans don't work out? Go to St. Peter's Basilica of course! Marina had never been to the top of the dome so I took her up there--all 551 steps--so she could get the amazing view from the top.

Saturday:

Shannon, Marina and I were up and ready to go early Saturday morning--our bus to Capri left at 4:30. We got to the port at around 8 but our tour guide was late. So we waited...and waited. Finally the leaders of our group decided we would just leave without her and she could meet us later. So we got to the island and waited some more.

At least the views as we were waiting were absolutely stunning. We hung out in some gardens as we waited and could look out over the ocean, at the bright blue water. Finally the tour guide arrived and we got on tiny buses that took us to the top of the island. Those drivers were crazy on the roads and hairpin turns, but we made it! At the top we found a place that hand-made leather sandals and most of the girls went nuts over that. I myself was more interested in the other side of the shop, the side that handed out free limoncello shots and chocolate samples.

After lunch and some more shopping by the other ladies in the group we headed back down to the coast and relaxed some more on the beach. On our boat ride back we circled the island and got to see Capri not only on land but from the water as well. When we got back to Sorrento, though, we were an hour late and our bus driver was not a happy camper.

We ended up stuck in traffic for most of the way home and didn't get back to Rome until after midnight so we were all quite tired. I was happy though--finally a day where it was warm and I even got a little pink! We haven't been having the best of luck with the Roman weather so Capri was like heaven!

Sunday:

Marina and I somehow made it out of bed and down to the beginning of the Via Appia antica where we were outfitted with some bikes and a map for an ancient bike ride. We rode down a street over 2,000 years old (and it showed in some places) and got to see all of the ruins along the way. The Appian Way is close to traffic (besides those who live on it) so it is filled with bikers, runners, and families spending the day in the country. The scenery was gorgeous and the weather even cooperated for the most part. It was pretty warm and only started raining near the end of our trip.

After our bike ride we headed back to the Corsini Gallery, which was at last open, and enjoyed all the paintings and sculptures for free since it was still Culture Week.

And then it was time to start that 10-page research paper due today. I'd been mulling it over in my head for a bit but never actually got down to writing it...and surprisingly, once I started, it came out pretty easy. I wrote nearly the entire thing late last night/early this morning and now I just have to reread it and add the finishing touches!

...final weekends...

Okay, last post about the Ben Harper concert. I forgot to post a link to my own pictures. Check them out here!

This weekend is our last hurrah before the end of classes and finals...I had an on-site visit for one of my classes this morning and Marina and I are headed to the Corsini art gallery this afternoon. Tomorrow Marina, Shannon and I will be off to Capri for the day with a group from school and Sunday Marina and I are taking a bike ride down Via Appia Antica, one of the oldest and most important roads in Rome. (I actually wrote a 10-page research paper on the Via Appia just last week!)

We're coming to the home stretch!!

Under Pressure - Ben Harper & Relentless7

I found the link to Ben Harper & Relentless7 singing Under Pressure. I'm somewhere in all of those people!!

Happy Earth Day!

Yesterday was Earth Day and in Rome that meant a free Earth Day Concert featuring Ben Harper and Relentless7 plus Subsonica, Nnekka, and Bibi Tanga and the Selenites.

The concert was held in Piazza del Popolo--which is huge, but barely held all of us. And since Italians don't believe in personal space we were CRAMMED in. A guy in front of me had dreadlocks and would not stop swaying to the music so I kept getting hit in the face by them.

The concert was sponsored by National Geographic Music and they even planted trees in Rome to offset the carbon footprint the concert would make.

Here are some links to each group so you can get a sample of what they sound like:

Bibi Tanga and the Selenites

Nnekka


Subsonica

Ben Harper & Relentless7

The best part was when Ben Harper came back on stage for his encore and sang Under Pressure...finally a song that both Americans and Italians knew!!

Happy Birthday....Roma!

That's right, today is Rome's birthday. It turned 2,762 years old today and is celebrating with historical reenactments, concerts, fireworks and free museum entrances. The free museums are actually a part of Italy's Culture Week this week and we took advantage of it during my art history class today when we visited Trajan's Markets. I guess you could compare Rome's birthday to our Independence Day since they both celebrate the creation of a people.

It's funny to think, though, that Rome has been here (according to tradition) nearly 3,000 years and America just over 230 years. We're babies!

Update on the papers: one done, two to go.

Homework? In Rome?

It's been a while since I've been on here. I've been mentioning papers to work on and I finally stopped talking about them and actually wrote some. I nearly have my ten page paper done for Tuesday and I'm getting closer to having something substantial for a meeting with my professor on Wednesday about my 20-page thesis. I pretty much devoted my weekend to getting stuff done. The weather cooperated by raining, making sure I wouldn't be tempted to just give up and spend the day at the Spanish Steps.

I did get out to get the stink blown off me and so my eyeballs wouldn't dry up from staring at a computer screen all day. I took some pictures of my school since I won't be able to see it for much longer and I walked around the center, seeing how things have changed since we got here in January. Since it's tourist season they are finally finishing up some of the construction they had going on and cleaning things up, making everything look nice.

This coming week promises to be a full one with papers and tests continuing but I'll try to get on here for updates!

Getting Used to It

On Tuesday I gave a presentation on the statue of the Hellenistic Boxer for my art history class. The only thing was, the actual statue was on loan at another museum meaning I gave a presentation on a picture of the statue. It was a little disappointing, to say the least.

And speaking of things that are missing, I think my memory of what it is like to be American is lost. I've noticed that fewer of my blog posts have to do with the differences between Americans and Italians...and I think it's because I just don't notice them anymore. Either I can't remember what they are or I've become so used to Italians I've just grown numb to the differences.

I only have one month left here in Rome and this might be one of the hardest months. Sure, the first month had its trials, but now we've settled in and we have to try and figure out how we are going to re-adapt to life in America when we leave. Not to mention we have to say goodbye to this place that has become our home. This place where we learned so much about not just Europe or Italy or even Rome, but about each other and about ourselves.

I'm getting sappy now, but it's hard not to when I can hear the Italians in our courtyard singing songs slightly off key (it's someone's birthday) and the motorini zipping up our one-way out front. It's going to be weird not hearing the garbage truck every night, watching life happen from my balcony, smelling my neighbors cooking a floor below us.

I think what I'm trying to say is, this is not the study abroad experience I imagined. It's so much more.

Buona Pasqua!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter (Pasqua) yesterday! Today is Pasquetta in Italy (literally, "Little Easter") which is basically a day of eating leftovers and enjoying another little holiday. All of the stores were closed, even our grocery store, which meant we were forced to eat leftovers here!

That's okay, though, because we made an amazing meal for Easter which only got better after sitting in our fridge overnight. We roasted chicken and potatoes with olive oil, garlic, rosemary and lemon and then we made breaded artichoke hearts. We also had our now famous gelato sundaes with almonds, bananas and our homemade chocolate sauce.

Before we sat down for our Easter dinner, though, we had to of course check out the Easter service at the Vatican. Let me tell you, it was crazy!! There were so many people from so many different countries. It was pretty much standing room only in St. Peter's Square, except in the parts where they did set up a few chairs (unfortunately, not having tickets left us in the standing crowd). It was cool to see how many people were there, all dressed up for Easter.

Again, the earthquake was a major topic of prayer as was the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Here is a link to Pope Benedict's "Urbi et Orbi" (To the City and to the World) Message, which shows more of the things he talked about. He gave this address after the mass; it's a tradition every Easter.

With all of the happenings this week it's a wonder he had the energy for Easter Sunday--we're talking about a man who turns 82 this Thursday!!

I added in the few pictures I took in the Vatican album!

Good Friday

Today was Good Friday, and in Rome that's a big deal. Tourists have been flooding Rome ever since Holy Week started last Sunday and tonight I saw a good number of them at the annual Way of the Cross (Via Crucis) procession at the Colosseum.

The theme this year was prayer for the persecution of Christians in India, but there was also a lot of focus on the earthquake victims. Even though there is traditionally no mass held on Good Friday, they made an exception this year for the funeral of the victims.

The Way of the Cross started tonight at 9:15 and I got back to my apartment at 12:15--but it didn't seem like it took that long. When I got to the Colosseum I squeezed my way through the crowd trying to find a place that gave me a good view but wasn't too crowded. As I was doing this, I saw two people faint--the crowd was so dense and the air was stifling at times.

Most of the procession was in Italian, but when they announced each station they did it in Italian, French, English, German, Spanish and Portuguese. At the end of each station the crowd said an Our Father (in Italian). At the very end, Pope Benedict XVI gave an address to which the crowd responded with much applause.

The amount of people there was unbelievable--priests and nuns, families, old people, young people. And people speaking all sorts of languages. The atmosphere was somber, yet charged. As everyone was leaving I found myself in front of some girls with British accents. One of them was talking on the phone and I overheard her say, "Well, it was nearly two hours and there were no fireworks, but it was cool." I'm not sure exactly what she was expecting at a ceremony held on the day Jesus was nailed to the cross...

Ostia Antica part II

We went back to Ostia Antica today for class (pictures are uploaded, at the end of the Ancient Roma-Art History album like the others). We saw more baths, which is kind of funny because I'm starting to think ancient peoples must have smelled better than the Romans of today. We also saw the ancient world's equivalent of a laundromat and fire department. It was cool to see something that wasn't another temple, forum, theater, or marketplace (though we did see those too).

There were a few aftershocks from the earthquake again today, but nothing major has happened in Rome. It's strange because some people felt next to nothing (like me) while others said their beds shook or they could see the ceiling moving back and forth.

Happy Birthday Raphael!

Today marks another important date in Italian/Roman history as both the birth and death date of the painter Raphael. When I researched Raphael to see what works of his I could find in Rome, I was pleased to see I have already seen most of them.

One of the first things I saw in Rome, the Pantheon, houses the tomb of Raphael, who died in Rome in 1520.

The Villa Borghese houses a few portraits and the Palazzo Barberini houses "La Fornarina" (the bakers daughter), a portrait of Raphael's lover and a model for many of his portraits. Raphael was also the one to suggest the "Latin Cross" design for St. Peter's.

Still on my list of things to do in Rome is see the Vatican Museum, where one can walk through the Raphael Rooms and admire other paintings by Raphael. He also painted the frescoes in the Villa Farnesina.

It's just the beginning of an eventful week in Rome: yesterday was the start of Holy Week with Palm Sunday and the Pope's blessing in St. Peter's Square and today saw the biggest earthquake to hit Italy since 2002 plus the anniversary of Raphael's death and birth. Passover begins at sundown on Wednesday and continues on Thurdsday--and even though Rome is traditionally seen as Roman Catholic, there is an area called the Jewish ghetto and Jews are actually quite numerous in Rome. Holy Week festivities continue Thursday through Sunday, beginning with the Mass of the Chrism Thursday morning then the Mass of the Lord's Supper in the evening and going until the final event, mass on Easter Sunday.

It's all enough to keep me busy! Not to mention now I have to work my way through crowds of tourists just to get to school--and they will only become more and more numerous as the weather gets better and we find ourselves in the midst of high season.

Earthquake in Italy

Good Morning everyone! I don't know if you've seen/heard/read the news yet, but Italy was hit with an earthquake earlier this morning. The story is on msnbc.com but I first found out from my roommates, who have class earlier than I do on Mondays.

I was still in bed when I heard them talking about something that happened last night--something that scared Ro so much she couldn't sleep. Apparently she felt the earthquake, just little tremors. The rest of us slept right through it.

Anyways, just wanted to let you know everything is okay here--my study abroad advisor emailed this morning to check up on us so I figured I should let others know as well, in case you saw the news already!

Small Worlds, Close Friends

It's such a small world! Marina's mom has a friend in California who in turn has a friend who lives here in Rome, which is why Marina and I spent Friday walking all around the south part of Rome with a short Filipino nun named Rosalie.

When we met Rosalie she immediately greeted us with the traditional Italian baci (those cheek kisses you see), grabbed our hands, and said "Now we will walk."

Rosalie, who is in her 60s, has been living in Rome for about four years now and wanted to show us some of her favorite churches--and by some I mean about six. That woman took us up and down so many streets, in and out of churches and chapels...and she never got tired!

She always had something to show us in each of the churches. A painting in a small side chapel, the way certain candles were lit and others weren't, stained glass windows high above the doors, in one chapel she even showed us a chapel in one church holding relics from Jesus' passion.

At each church Rosalie made sure we took time to sit or kneel and pray quietly. She was so grateful for the opportunity to show us around and kept repeating how lucky we all were. "If you two did not come to Rome, you would not have met each other! You would not have met me! But look at us, we are all friends now because of this miracle," she would say, clasping our hands in hers.

Yes indeed, we are all friends now. And it's getting to that point where we realize our time in Rome is dwindling. Already Marina and I are planning a reunion because we don't like to think of a time when we won't be making dinner or exploring Rome together!

It really was a miracle that we met here and not in the United States--who knows if we would have become such close friends. And now we are like an old married couple with our routines. After we make dinner she washes the dishes and I dry them and put them away. Her boyfriend is here visiting this week and I've already been over for dinner at the apartment they are staying in. "I miss you already!" she said when she called to invite me. It had been all of five hours since we saw each other last (when we had breakfast together).

Ostia Antica

In my Ancient Rome & its Monuments course on Tuesday we traveled to the ancient harbor city of Ostia Antica. Ostia Antica literally means "old mouth" as it was located at the mouth of the Tiber River and was the first stop for goods headed to Rome. It's a cool site because all of the buildings and things are pretty well preserved and haven't been built over as they have in Rome.

We got to see some of the public and private baths and the market area, the main temple and other odd buildings. We also got to go inside a house with the best preserved frescoes in the city. Restoration is still going on in this house so it isn't open to the public yet, but our professor knows the woman in charge of the restoration so we got a sneak peek.

I posted more pictures in my ancient monuments course album so you can see some of the sites and the frescoes as well. Be sure to check back for more pictures after next Tuesday since we are going back for class again!