Nella terra di Caròte

In the Land of Carrots

Viterbo is a city in the Lazio region of Italy (the same region as Roma).  It’s the fifth largest city in the region and also was part of the papal states.  It has a very Tuscan feel, however, because is very close to the Tuscan border.  (Actually, part of the University of Tuscany is in the walls of Viterbo.)  Notice how I said “walls of Viterbo”.  Viterbo is a medieval town, but dates back even farther to the times of the Etruscans.

Viterbo has two patron saints: Santa Rossa and San Lorenzo (St. Lawrence).

It took about 1hr 45mins to get to Viterbo from Roma (but only cost 1euro!).  We passed through many cute towns that I hope to get the chance to explore.  The first thing I saw when I got off the train (outside the city walls) was a McDonalds.  I was a little bummed, because I had heard that this was such an old town and we were out of the city.  Good news: Once you walked through the city walls, the outside world was exactly that.  Being inside the walls was like being in a completely foreign place.  (I realize it is a foreign place to me, but I mean foreign from my new home in Rome.)

walls leading into the city

Having gotten up quite early to catch the train, everyone was feeling a bit drained and needed a burst of energy…..first stop was in a café for a cappuccino (something that you can only order in the morning, if you try to order a cappuccino after noon, you will be looked at like you are crazy).  I have yet to try a cappuccino.  Once the caffeine was running through people’s bodies we set out on a mission to conquer the city.  

Ironically, I entitled this blog, “In the Land of Carrots”, but I did not actually eat a carrot here, nor did I see anything indicating the production of them.  So where did that come from?  In my food and wine class, my teacher briefly mentioned that Viterbo is known for their carrots, so I thought, since I had been there, that this was a very interesting piece of information. 

Santa Rosa was a gorgeous church on top of a hill.  Her body was on display inside, and it is only slightly decayed.  Her body has been in the church since the 1200s.  An interesting fact about Saint Rose is that she wanted to join a convent, but with each attempt to enter one, she was turned away.

Viterbo was filled with fountains.  One was in the middle of a Piazza that we thought was very cute and looked like it was the typical Italian piazzas you see in movies.  Then we saw the name; it was called Piazza della morte, or place of the dead. 

My favorite place in Viterbo was the duomo, San Lorenzo.  I may be biased because St. Lawrence is my name saint, but stepping inside the church gave me the chills. Although it was very chilly inside,  so that can be attributed to either a feeling of awe or simply the weather, but maybe a combination of both.  San Lorenzo was an amazing saint.  His story is magnificent.  San Lorenzo is said to have had a great sense of humor, and always joking around.  (Maybe that’s why I’m so funny) When he was martyred, he died, in my opinion, the most brutal death.  He was grilled to death.  Legend has it that while being grilled, San Lorenzo said something along the lines of, “this side's done, turn me over and have a bite”. 

Anyway, back to the church.  The ceiling was made of wood, and the inside was very beautiful.  It wasn't like any of the other churches I've been in.  It didn't have as many elaborate details, but something about the simplicity made it even more beautiful. 

There was a really beautiful prayer that I’d like to share.  My translation of it might be a little rough, but I think I was able to get the idea of it.

“SIGNORE,Loes,

Ti chiedo che questo cero che ho acceso

SIA LUCE

Perchè Tu bruci in me

Ogni egoismo, orgoglio, impurita

SIA FIAMMA

Perche Tu riscldi il mio cuore

Ora non posso restare a lungo

Nella Tua Chiesa

Lasciando bruciare questo cero,

è un po’ di me che voglio lasciarTi,

Aiutmi aprolungaarela mia preghiera

Nelle attivitta di questa giornata,

Grazie!”

I ask you that this truth that I have lit

is light

Because you burn in me

Every selfishness, pride, impurity

is flame

Because you live in my heart
I am not able to remain in your churceh
leaving this candle burning

I am leaving to burn this certainly

And a little of me that wants to leave you

Help me to prolong my prayers

In the activities of this day

Thank you.

Like I said, I don't actually know if that's the correct translation.  I'll have to ask my teacher to help me with some of it, but you can get the idea of it

The city was very medieval, like I mentioned, and the cobblestone streets were very narrow and quaint.  Here’s an idea of some of the look of the town.

Italians have this great way of life.  They take siestas around 1 or 2 in the afternoon until 4ish.  Everything closes down, and they can have lunch with their families, take a nap, etc.  This was not a wonderful way of life during our day in Viterbo.  It's a bit frustrating when even the churches lock up for those few hours.

Random Facts

1.       Italians start smoking at way too young of an age.

2.       I do not like nutella. 

3.       I have heard very little Italian music.  Everything they play here is American.  It is nice to hear Lady Gaga…..question though…would you listen to a bunch of music you don’t understand the words to?  Also, their music videos are terrible. 

4.  Dogs are EVERYWHERE.  trains. grocery stores. buses.  literally everywhere.

Questa Settimana

This Week

This week was filled mostly with classes, but I'd like to share some of the interesting things I've learned...

Monday I returned to the Vatican, this time for class.  How cool is that?  I got to have theology class in the Vatican!  I'll try not to bore you with too much info, but these were some of my favorite highlights:
~When they built the New St. Peter's, some of the old St Peter's made it into the architecture.  There is a fairly large circular red stone on the floor that was in Old St. Peter's.  This stone is where Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in the 800s.  You can still stand on it.
~There are only 2 original paintings left in the Vatican...all the others are mosaic replicas that have been made throughout the centuries to preserve the paintings.  Originals can be found in various museums throughout Europe.
~The letters that read "You are Peter, on this Rock I will build my  Church...I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven"  I believe this was taken from Matthew.  When you look up seem very small, but they are actually close to 7 feet high.
~Bernini created the shrine of St. Peter's tomb.  During his time working on this, his niece was pregnant.  On each column There is a face of a girl.  This woman represents his niece during different stages of her pregnancy.....Also on the shrine, Bernini used spiral columns because this is how in the bible describes temples.
~On Bernini's statue of Pope Gregory ...there is a large bronze skeleton and an hour glass. This represents that we do not know how long or little our time on earth will be.
~I was able to find out the answer to my question about the coins in front of the Nativity....they are simply an offering.

The rest of Monday was spent doing homework and chatting with friends from home.  There wasn't too much out of the ordinary going on on Tuesday. Wednesday....Well I woke up early to make it to the Roman Forum and Colosseum on time for my History of Art class.  I experienced my first bus strike.  Sadly, class was moved to a classroom.

I start my job next Tuesday.  I'm very excited.  At first I was suppose to be tutoring 4 year old twins and teaching them English, but they canceled so I got reassigned to a thirteen year old girl (also named Laura).  She's studying for an English test she has to take/pass in June.  I'm really excited because I'll be teaching her pronunciation, vocab, and tenses (present, past, future, etc).  I was suppose to start my clinicals for speech pathology this semester, had I stayed in Milwaukee, so I will sort of have a similar opportunity here!  I go to her house for 1-2 hours a week.

Random Facts:
watch this.  It's molto vero (true).  Italians showed us...so it's not offensive. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQWNGLv8w74

Quando piove...

When It Rains...
It Pours
(the translation in Italian of "when it rains" might be a bit off; I'm not good with pronouns...in English or in Italian)
Campania Region...Herculaneum, Salerno, Paestum, Sorrento

Thursday I had the same classes as Tuesday.  Biggest highlight: I understood way more in my Italian class, well at least enough to know I have a paper due this week and what it is about.  But really, I actually understood the discussions and was able to piece together what I didn't.  So, that is making my future in that class look ever so slightly brighter.  In the morning I was able to meet up with my good friend, Lauren, from McAuley in Piazza Navona.  She's studying at a different university in Rome.  It was nice to see a familiar and friendly face!

Herculaneum (Ercolano)
This weekend we had an orientation trip.  Every student at JFRC went (so about 200).  We left pretty early on Friday, and we drove to Herculaneum.  It was raining.  And cold. Things I forgot in Chicago: raincoat, rainboots, umbrella.  I did purchase an umbrella for a few euro, and seeing as each day it rained harder than the last, it was probably the best 4 euro I'll ever spend.  Herculaneum is a discovered town like Pompeii.  It was covered in the same eruption as Pompeii in 79 AD.  However, Herculaneum wasn't discovered until recently (some time in the 1900s).  It is also in much better shape than Pompeii.  Only 1/3 of the city is uncovered, because there are no funds left to escavate the rest of it.  Our tour guide explained that Herculaneum was where the wealthier would vacation...however, there were still poor and middle class houses (ususally above the shops they owned and worked at).  My favorite part were the baths.  Romans had elaborate public baths; although, they only showered once every nine days.  They would go from warm to hot to cold to warm again.  They believed it strengthened them and was good for their heart (which is actually true).  The baths looked like saunas, but the tiled floors with decorations were my favorite.  I also really like the wine shop and the "fast food" of their time shops. 



Wine Shop in Herculaneum

 Basically the fast food shops were shops where they had multiple stone jugs that kept food warm, and Romans would buy it while they were out. 

The little circles are stone jars where the food was kept nice and warm!

The Boathouse was also very cool.  When they found human remains, upon discovering Herculaneum, they were found in the boathouse.  Originally, they thought that the Herculanians had escaped the volcano, but they all hid in the boathouse.  There were about 300 sets of remains found.

This is the boathouse; the gross looking dirt use to be the beach.  For those of you, if any, from crew that are reading this doesn't this boathouse looks like a better facility than MRC?  no slippery ramp!

We arrived in Salerno in enough time to walk around a bit before dinner at the hotel we were staying at.  The town is very cute.  We didn't get to see too much, because we were only there in the evenings.  We went into a lot of cute shops (we were right off the shopping strip).  Everything was cheaper than in Rome, and Italy's country wide sale was still going on!  We had a lot of fun.  Salerno had these gorgeous lights up on all their little streets.  One street had the solar system done in lights, another some of the constellations, and yet another just these floral arrangements.
The next morning was another early one.  We headed (in the downpour) to another outside tour.  We went to Paestum.  Paestum was only discovered in the 1800s, yet it is the most preserved temple.  The temple is nearly 3000 years old, and still standing....much more so than the Parthenon in Greece. There was also a small amphitheater, and some other remains.  Paestum was originally a Greek city (hence the temple).  There is  also a museum that has amazing artifacts.  Our tour guide was hard to understand in her broken English, but she still was able to convey the important things to us.  Rather than explaining everything I saw, (which would take up too much of your time, and I don't want to overwrite on this) I'll just put some pictures and give you a brief description of some of the the personal highlights.  My favorite is the tomb of the diver...so please read that caption!

This is the temple.  It's amazing what great shape it is in. Once I figure out Picasa, I can show you more of the pictures I took, but it takes a long time to upload onto blogger, so I'm only picking a few to include.




Only my dad will get this picture, but when I see roosters I think of him.  This was on a tomb in the museum.



The tomb of the diver, is not of an actual diver.  There was no such thing as competive diving thousands of years ago (about 5th century BC); it was not a sport.  The diver represents the man's transition from living to death.  All of the artwork in tombs is on the interior, while the exterior is just plain cement.

Armor found in Paestum....thousands of years old! Look at how small it is...imagine fighting someone of that size!  Even the helmets are small. You can also see a weapon on the bottom.


We had a delicious lunch after that (the white wine was very good), and I was glad to have Turkey.  I was still a vegetarian on Thanksgiving, so I missed out on that, but I had my fill of it on Saturday.
After Paestum, we went back to the hotel in Salerno, and again walked around the town. Our hotel over looked the Bay of Naples, (the Tyrrhenian Sea) and we went and stood in it! (picture to come, but I have to steal it from a friend's camera)  I'm so thankful for that turkey lunch, because for dinner they gave us these fried mashed potato balls with fried dry chicken.  No one ate any of it, as I can only imagine that any gross food chain back home would have tasted better.
Sunday we left for  Sorrento.  Sorrento, although we saw it in the pouring rain, was a very quaint town.  I absolutely loved it.  We walked around a bit, and stumbled upon the prettiest church I've seen so far.  It was called Santa Maria delle Grazie.  I don't know how else to describe it, but maybe a picture will give you an idea of it's beauty.

Santa Maria delle Grazie in Sorrento

Another Interesting fact about Sorrento is that there are multiple statues of St. Anthony around the town. St. Anthony was born in Solerno, but moved to and died in Sorrento. 

St. Anthony in Sorrento.

Also, Limoncella was created and perfected in Sorrento, and there were many little limoncella stores.  One of the owners offered us samples.  I preferred the cream one to the regular, because it wasn't as strong.

me in sorrento.  Please disregard the bloated cheeks, the multiple layers that make me look like Mrs. Clause, and the dirty look...it was the end of a rough weekend. 

After a weekend of rain, as enjoyable as it was, I was ready to be back at JFRC, get into some warm, dry clothes, and wrap myself in a blanket.  Well, we all know the luck that I have.  Our bus got a flat tire on the way home.  Our 3 hour bus ride turned into a 6 hour ride.  I was sick, and it wasn't exactly my idea of fun.  Some of the faculty at Loyola tried to entertain us though, which I give them props for, and told us stories as we waited for the bus drivers to fix the tire.  That tire popping was the scariest sound of my life.  I thought we hit something.  We did eventually make it back to JFRC.

Random Facts
1.  There is way too much PDA in Italy.  I don't care how in love you are.  I don't need to watch anyone (and by anyone I mean people of ALL ages) making out in restaurants, in the middle of streets, etc.  It may seem romantic to you, but it sure isn't for the half of a million onlookers.
2. Potatoes are not just for the Irish.  They have served potatoes at every single meal.  As if Italians don't get enough carbs from their bread and pasta, they must add the potatoes.  (The potatoes are very good, though).
3.  I miss breakfast.  Every morning after crew, I would make myself a nice bowl of oatmeal or an omelet, and that would fill me up, and not make me stuff my face the rest of the day.  Breakfast doesn't exist here, unless, big surprise, you eat more carbs: croissants or breakfast cookies.  I've been stealing yogurt from the cafeteria to try and eliminate this problem

Lezione

Classes

This week is my first week of classes.  Classes here are so different than at Marquette.  Monday I had Theology of Pilgrimage with Fr. Bohr.  It was such a great class.  I was expecting to be a bit bored, because it is a 3 hour class, but he is so passionate about everything, and very kind, and just a genuinely intelligent man.  It turns out that besides the class on Monday, every class of his will be on site at different churches, cathedrals, or basilicas around Roma.  Classes here are very small.  My theo classes at Marquette usually are jam-packed with students, but here there are under 20.  There are 5 papers and 1 test, but the texts books don’t look too dull, so even if there is a lot of information, hopefully I’ll be so intrigued by the information, that I won’t find it too difficult.

Next was my Italian class.  I don’t know what to say about this one, except that it was overwhelming.  Probably the most difficult class I’ve been involved in.  I’ve already taken five semesters, so I’m in Italian Composition and Conversation 2.  There are four students including myself.  Two are full years here, and 1 is an SLA (sort of like an RA.  An SLA attended JFRC while a student, but has already graduated undergrad.  I think most are 24 or 25.  So basically, they are proficient in Italian.  I am not.  We are not allowed to speak English.  She will not speak English.  I’m beginning to wonder if she even knows English. Anyway, back to the overwhelming part….of course she called on me first to introduce myself and talk about myself.  That was the worst fifteen minutes of my life.  For the rest of class I barely understood anything.  I’m not exaggerating.  The SLA, Will, I think could tell how frustrated I was, and talked to me after  telling me not to drop it, and to stick it out.  I like to think I’m a pretty smart person 90 percent of the time, and I hate struggling.   I am always up for a challenge though, and this is putting me outside my comfort zone, which is what studying abroad is about—living life in a new culture.  I have Italian Tuesdays and Thursdays as well, and although yesterday I still didn’t understand too much, I understood more.  I just felt like an idiot at times because I’m not completely up to date on my Italian politics.  We talked about the Berlusconi scandal the whole class, well from what I understood, and Italians are not happy at all.  This is such a culture difference, because senators and congress people and all those government officials are always having affairs and you hear of prostitutes, but they get a little blurb in the paper (minus the Monica Lewinski episode).  However, here Italians feel he represents all Italians, and they are ashamed to have him representing them.  There was about 8 pages on the scandal in LeRepubblica, the newspaper. Anyway, from what I’m gathering in class, I should be ok if I read the paper and make sure I can state my opinion in Italian. Will, the SLA, told me to practice as much as I can…at the front desk, with the Mensa people, in stores, on the streets, etc. 

Tuesday, like I said, I had Italian again. I also had my literature class: Italian Food and Wine.  I know that most of you reading this are probably thinking that it is a blow off class that I’m taking while studying abroad.  It is another difficult class, apparently this study abroad program doesn’t like easy classes.  The first half is on the history of food. The second on wine… (we do get to go to a wine tasting).  The teacher’s English is good, but her accent is so strong, that she is a bit hard to understand.

Today, Wednesday, I had my Art in Rome class.  It is an upper level art history class, so again another tough one, and the professor seems nice, but very strict.   It is another on site class, so it will be nice to be standing in the spots I’m learning about!  Tomorrow’s classes are the same as Tuesdays.

Today after class, I went with my friend, Kaitlyn, to the Vatican again.  This time during the day.  It’s so amazing every time I go.  We sent some postcards (stamped at the Vatican’s post office!  So some of you may be getting one soon…everyone else will get one soon).  The basilica is free to the public, so we went in.  We had planned on going shopping or to a different Roman neighborhood, but we spend all afternoon inside.  There is another nativity scene inside that is absolutely gorgeous. It beats all other scenes, paintings, sculptures, etc of the Nativity. 

This is the Nativity inside St. Peter's.  There is a left side with a waterfall and with shepard, but I haven't figured out how to add both next to each other yet. 

You could go inside 400000000000000 times and not see everything.  It truly was something special.  I took a lot of pictures, but I’ll just describe them in the captions.  Also, I rubbed St. Peter’s foot.  Looks like I’ve got some holy luck coming my way!

We had to go through security to get into the Basilica.  There are signs that say no pocket knives, but Kaitlyn had one.  She put it inside her dictionary in her purse, and they didn’t stop us.  This can mean two things: 1 The guard was very unattentive (seeing as all he had to do was look at the screen, it was basically an airport scanner) or 2. He doesn't like our pope and doesn't care what happens to him.

This is a sculpture of 2 angels.  I really liked all the angels throughout the vatican.  This isn't zoomed in at all, we were literally this close!  Mom, Dad, Bern: don't read this next sentence cause you'll get mad.  I like how in those days they sculpted thick thighs and stomach rolls.  Maybe it's a sign of being angelic.  Therefore, my thighs mean I'm angelic.  I like this conclusion.

l

taken from center of St. Peter's

My favorite window in the Vatican.  The tomb of Pope Paul III is on the right with artistic works done by Michaelangelo, and Pope Urban the VIII with art by Botocelli (I'll fix the spelling later for you)

After we left we saw the Swiss guards.  Did you know that to be a Swiss Guard requires more training than the Marines or the Navy?  Also, you have to be a certain height, weight, and look like all the others.  Pretty intense. (picture to come)

I got a job tutoring a set of 4 year old twins once a week.  I’ll be teaching them English, so I am very excited for this to start!  It will also help me with my Italian, as I go to the family’s house for it.  I also signed up for calico (soccer).  I haven’t played since maybe 1^st or 2^nd grade, but it’s a once a week (Wednesdays) league with other JFRC students.  It’ll be a good way to get exercise (I’m already getting sick of treadmills, and it’s not always a good time to run outside) and meet new people.  Another perk: it’s about 1/20 the price that crew ever was.  Who knows, maybe I’ll return as a calico star and get a full ride for my last year at Marquette.  One can only wish. 

Sorry this is so very long, but I wanted to write about my classes, and get a post up before leaving for our orientation weekend. 

Missing you all!

Random Things:

1.        Someone asked me and Kaitlyn for directions today.  He was an Italian driving a supply truck.  They say Italians only ask people they think know where they are going (other Italians) for directions.  No one ever thinks I know where I’m going.

2.       Italians look at your shoes first.  If they approve, they check the rest of you out.  I wore my moccasins today.  I bet no one was looking me up and down.

3.       A tip for anyone traveling soon: if it’s a popular place (like the Vatican) and you are just wandering around like I was, and you happen to hear some people speaking your language (like I did) and they happen to be a tour guide….listen and follow them around….free tour!

Orvieto, Umbria

Orvieto, Umbria

Today was spent in Orvieto, a small town in the region of Umbria (pronounced ooombria as in boom, not um as in umbrella).  When we first got off the bus, we had a delicious lunch.  All the students went to a restaurant where we had a wonderful lasagna with zuchini.  It didn't have sauce on it, and had an eggy tasty to it.  Then they served beef and potatoes, a normal person sized portion, unlike those that you find in the United States.  (My first red meat since not being a vegetarian.  I forgot how delicious it was.)  The dessert was a strawberry rum cake.  Umbria is said to have the best wine in all of Italy...even better than Tuscany.  I can't say if this is true or not, only because I have not been to Tuscany, but the wine that we were given at the restaurant was the best wine I've had.  They served red, so we bought a bottle of white to split sometime in the future to try a different taste.  I don't mean to tell you everything I'm eating, but these big dinners have been part of orientation, so I feel that they are essential to describing the different regions.  Especially because each region in Italy holds strong to their own culture and tradition.

Now onto Orvieto.  Orvieto means old town.  It was given this name in the 5th century AD when the people of Orvieto moved down the hill to what they called New Town.  Orvieto was originally an Etruscan town dating back to the 8th and 9th century BC.  One of the main attractions is an old church, the oldest actually, because the building was built by the Etruscans. Once Christianity came to Orvieto it was made into a church.  All of the Buildings are made of volcanic ash. 



A side view of the duomo.  You can see the gothic architecture and some of the murals.  the one on the high left is the one that depicts the baptism of Jesus.  All others tell stories of Mary.


The Duomo is one of the most beautiful I have seen.  It is Roman Gothic.  Because most people were illiterate, the church preached through the art.  There are murals outside, most of the Assumption of Mary.
There are frescos depicting each of the gospels.  They didn't turn out too well in the pictures, but Matthew and Mark are of the Old Testament.  This is unusual since they are both Gospels and obviously in the New Testament, but on their pillars describe stories of the creation, and of Exodus. Luke is mostly of the birth of Jesus, and John also depicts the New Testament, but the ending.

This is the fresco on the Luke column of the Nativity.

Inside, the stained glass windows are absolutely breathtaking.  Until you get near the altar, the decor is very plain, very much Etruscan.  However, towards the front of the church there are more portraits.  Michaelangelo stayed in Orvieto for two months to contribute to the protraits. 
One of the most interesting facts about the Duomo is that it was here that when breaking the Eucharist, blood fell onto the altar cloth.  The cloth is in the tabernacle. It is a famous  miracle, and it was unbelievable to stand in the same spot.
St Patrick's Well is another site, but we were unable to walk down to it.  The view from outside was absolutely gorgeous, though. 

View from Orvieto

Random things:

Traffic is just as bad in Italy
I never feel short around Italians
I saw Orien's constellation on the drive back to Rome, but it was reversed.

Su una sera a Roma

On an Evening in Roma

Friday and Saturday of first week

Friday, again, consisted of meetings. This time warning us about getting drunk and jumping off bridges into the Tiber River, meeting more faculty, and some culture issues.

Friday night I went with some friends to see the Vatican because the Nativity is still up.  It was absolutely gorgeous!  When I was in Rome with my family ten-ish years ago, we went to Mass and it was absolutely packed and overwhelming.  Last night it was completely empty, with the exception of some other wanderers.  It felt so different.  My night pictures aren’t turning out so well, but a lot of people are having this problem, and this picture doesn’t do the Nativity justice, but I’m so glad I was able to see it.  I’ll be back at the Vatican next Wednesday to attend a Papal Audience. 

Close up of part of the Nativity at the Vatican

From the Vatican we wandered to the Spanish steps.  The view from the top is marvelous at night.  We didn’t spend too much time here, and called it an early night.  I’m sure I’ll be going back many times.

On our way back we wandered around Castel San Angelo.  Again, breathtaking.  We also spent some time just looking at the River.  The current was so fast.  Going down would have been an awesome row, but back would have been, what I think I can safely assume, the worst rowing experience.  Good thing, I wasn’t rowing , I guess.

Castle S. Angelo at night

Today was busy.  We were constantly on the go until we got back about an hour ago.  We got up and ran a few errands (alarm clock, blow dryers, notebooks, camera chargers, etc).  We made it back just in time for a lecture on the Roman Forum, and then hopped right onto a bus down to the Forum.  Amazing.  I don’t know how else to describe it.  The Roman Forum was one of the sites in Roma, I have wanted to see for so long.  I thank my Latin roots for that.  Learning about it for 4 years in high school is one thing, but actually being there, side by side with ruins that have been there for over 2000 years was indescribable. 

View of parts of the Roman Forum: you can see one of the 6 arches of triumph in this picture.  This was taken looking down from right near the casa di augustine.

We were supposed to go to the Coliseum today as well, but they closed early for some reason, so hopefully I’ll be able to get in there again soon.   Instead we decided we were starving and went and got a great little dinner.  Then we headed to the outside of the Ministry of Culture.  (we decided to save the inside for a rainy day)  The church of Sant Ignazio is another gorgeous (I need to find some better words to use, but there are no words to describe anything)building.  This church had special meaning, because of the Jesuit education we are getting.  We have mass there tomorrow night, so I’ll get to see it again, but hopefully when I figure out how to add pictures to this thing, I can show you some  of the amazingness I am speaking of. 

This is the view of the Coleseum from the Roman Forum.  That is not me.  I don't like to be in pictures so you won't be seeing many of me.

We stopped by the Pantheon, but mass was being said inside, so we’ll have to go back another time.  The journey back to JFRC took us a long time.  The pros: we came across a bookstore…I was able to buy Harry Potter in Italian, so now I can improve my Italian even more!  We asked so many Italians for directions to the 990 bus that my Italian is improving, or my confidence in it, either way is definitely a pro.

Random Things I’ve noticed:

1.        At the Vatican, outside the Nativity, there was netting , and people were throwing coins.  I asked some people around school, but no one knows the significance of that.  I am on a mission to find out, so if you have any ideas let me know!

2.       I’ve survived three days of crossing streets now.  This may seem like a simple achievement, but I have trouble in the United States, so I thought for sure my death was going to be by a Roman car.  Fingers crossed, that my luck stays good.
3. The people with roses are very persistent. We said no, and he said, “no charge, just 1 for free”  we didn’t take them, because we were told this was a tourist trap, and instead put them on the steps next to us, and then he started his schpeal about  how poor his family was, just like the books say he will, and when we wouldn’t give anything he took the flowers back.   I guess we weren’t as beautiful as he said we were.

Vita a Roma

Life in Rome

These first few days mostly consist of orientation things. The first day was basically moving in, meeting people, and we had a walking tour of the neighborhood. I’m glad I took the tour, because they pointed out some places I probably wouldn’t have seen. They also told us which supermarkets were cheaper, which ATMs the best to use, etc. The majority of people went out to a local bar called the Cubbyhole. I’m sure I’ll be visiting there sometime soon, but I was just too tired to do anything.
The second day was a lot better. There are over 100 Loyola students here, so many people know each other, but I met more people, and with my friend Rachel from Marquette and Crew, we walked around our neighborhood, Baldunia, with our neighbors. I’m really glad I brought shampoo, soap, and conditioner with me. Even though they made my bag extra heavy, and took precious pounds away from other things I could have brought, they are so expensive here. Probably triple the price. Everything is expensive. I’m also glad I “accidently” put the towel from my hotel into my suitcase. Another expense saved. Most impressive purchase today for 5 euro: 2, as in TWO, bottles of wine, crackers, cheese, and a pear. 5 euro. Not too bad. It’s ok to be impressed.
We had dinner at local restaurant called Capperi. It was absolutely delicious. There were 100 hundred of us at the restaurant, but my roommate and I sat with some great girls, and then we all decided to go to downtown Roma. (The Romans feel offended when Americans say Rome. They compare it to if they were to go to New York and call it Nuova York.) We stumbled upon the Trevi Fountain and took some pictures. I was very proud of myself when I was able to go confidently up to the carabinieri (the military police) and ask for directions in Italian. I was also very proud of myself for understanding their response. Before heading back we were deciding if we wanted a drink or coffee to warm up, and a bartender was outside and told us if we came in, he’d give the whole restaurant a free shot. They were very nice, and seemed to love us…kept offering us discounts if we bought more, and disappointed that we all only had the one drink. He probably thought we were they stereotypical Americans out for a night on the town. The bartender even juggled all the bottles while mixing us the various drinks. We opted for a taxi on the way home, because the night busses are different, and we aren’t exactly sure of their routes. Our taxi driver was a very nice woman from England who met her husband here 25 years ago and never left. She pointed everything out to us, and gave us advice on where to go. It was basically a very cheap tour of the whole city.
This week, before classes start, we have survival Italian sessions, they separate you based on your level, which meant I was with the most advanced group. Like I said, I’m good at the reading and writing, but speaking is difficult for me. Anyway, we weren’t allowed to speak English at all. Of course, I was able to speak with the people around me quietly in English if there was something someone didn’t understand, but I was hanging in there with everyone, so maybe there is hope for me after all.
The weather here is so warm, probably low-mid 50s and 60s. Most of the Romans are walking around in their bulky, marshmallow like, winter jackets, but it is definitely sweatshirt weather (although, yesterday everyone was in t-shirts it was so warm).
Everyone working here is very willing to help, and even learning our names. It is a bit unorganized, but maybe things will begin to settle down once classes start.
More Random Things:
1. They turn all water off around 2 until 5. That includes toilets, showers, and laundry.
2. We were told Italians think we are loud. The only thing I could think of was my family…maybe it’s an Italian-American thing, but Italians are pretty loud too.
3. Everyone is under the assumption that most Italians speak English. False. Most that we have run into do not. It’s definitely helping me with my Italian.

Mia Casa Nuova

My New House

A few people have been asking about my address, and I love letters BUT NO PACKAGES.  It can cost hundreds of euro for me to pick them up, because they get taxed when they come into the country. Last semester, some girl's parents sent her a shirt she left at home and really wanted, so a used shirt, and she was charged 100euro in italian taxes at customs.  But, I really do love letters!

Laura Raspante
Room 209
Via Massimi, 114A
00136 Rome, Italy

I also would love to see your smiling faces, so my skype name is: laura.raspante
pretty clever, I know.

My email remains, laura.raspante@marquette.edu

Treni, aèrei, e automòbile

Trains, planes, and automobiles

I’m here!  Safe and alive!  The flights went very smoothly, and I had no trouble at all.  The night before I left, I called United about something, and the guy was so friendly and he changed my flight so I wouldn’t have to switch airports.  (I was looking forward to seeing you, Nicole) That made the trip there much less stressful, because I didn’t have to recheck my bags or go through security again.  On the first flight nobody sat next to me; I had an aisle, and the guy who sat next to me is also studying abroad this semester, so I lucked out on both flights.  The guy is from Penn State and doing a different program.  I finally saw The Social Network (which I was very impressed with)…side note to anyone who has seen it/knows anything about rowing: I’ve always wanted to row in a tank.  Then there was this crazy weird movie on about people that get created just to donate their organs to other people, and they’re dead by the time they are 30 because of these donations.  If you don’t like movies without happy endings-don’t watch it. 

Anyway, I was prepared to take a train (treno), the metra, and a bus (autobus) to the hotel I’m staying at tonight, but I made some travel errors with my luggage, and knew, as strong as I am, that carrying my bag (since I went wheel-less) would not be enjoyable.  Taxis are too expensive, but there was this car service offering a flat rate, not too much more than all the public transportation was when I added it up, so I took it.  (I guess I didn’t really take trains, planes, and automobiles, sorry) Maybe I took the easy way out, but I kept picturing myself walking all over Rome trying to find the right busses, while carrying another person) The guy was very friendly.  My Italian is not good.  At all.  I was expecting at least to understand, and I would be able to mumble some sort of response back, but they talk so fast.  He said his English wasn’t very good, but we managed some friendly conversation in both languages.  Hopefully, I will catch on soon; at least, I’ll be around it and hear it every day.  (I watched a TV movie in Italian yesterday in hopes of that helping)

The hotel is in the same area as my school, on Monte Mario, so I walked around for awhile to see the neighborhood.  It’s very beautiful!!  Now, I realize it is on Monte Mario, so I was prepared for the hills, but I don’t think I actually thought about that until I was walking them…they’re pretty steep, it’ll be a good run.  I do, however, wonder how all the women were walking around in 4 in heels like it was nothing, I can’t even walk on a flat surface, let alone stand still in heels, but they must have killer calves from it.  On my little excursion I decided I should probably get some food.  I hadn’t really eaten the plane meal, and my next given meal wouldn’t be until tomorrow, so I went to the supermarket.  The woman wasn’t very friendly when I checked out, even when I attempted to use my Italian, but you can’t win every time.  I was just proud that I was able to navigate my way around.

Things I noticed:

1. Everyone walks their dogs; no one picks up the poop.  Lesson learned: watch where you walk.

2. Wine is literally cheaper than water.  That is not just a saying. 

3. I found this fascinating, but weird things like this interest me, so take it as you will:  when you buy fruit at the supermarket, there is a scale and you weigh it yourself, punch in the number, and put the ticket on it, so when you pay all they do is scan it. 

So, not too much to write about that will intrigue you, but in short, I’m here and I have not yet been abducted by the Albanians.

Buòna Nòtte