Sorry I haven't posted but I have lots of pictures!

It's hard to believe I've been in a foreign country for almost a month. Monday starts our fifth week of the program. I'm already learning past tense in Italian, I'm becoming more enamoured with my Cicero translation, and I'm actually enjoying looking at maps constantly! We had a lot of field trips this week (no surprise there), and we're leaving for our week long trip to Sicily next Friday! Starting Monday I will have class every day for the following 13 days or so. But I'll be in Sicily, and allegedly we stay in nice hotels, and most of our meals are all at delicious resturants. I trust that Franco (our program manager) will take good care of us while we're in Sicily.

My shopping trip last Friday was very successful! We found the store near Piazza Navona after a little extra wandering. It's called Officina Profumo Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella. I splurged and bought not only pomegranate shampoo and conditioner, but also almond soap. They all smell wonderful and I'm going to make sure I buy some before I go home. It will be hard to go without.

Faith and I are finalizing plans for our Greece trip in October. We're investigating where it will be best to spend our time besides Athens. I'm excited for so much travelling over the next few weeks. I'm also very excited for the visitors I'm expecting later in the semester! My aunt, LeAnne was here briefly during her layover (she's a flight attendant for Delta), but it POURED all evening and our night was not that enjoyable as it involved lots of standing in the rain and having wet clothes. It will be nice for her to come back and get to see things when they're not flooded.

Below our some pictures of our field trips. I'll try to give each some context with a caption. I'll tell you one brief anecdote with them. Our trip on Tuesday was to Cosa, a Latin colony which is about a two hour drive outside of Rome. The beautiful vistas below are from Cosa, because like most settlements we visit, it's on a hill. Hills were excellent places for settlements because of the defense benefits. Well when our professors had previously been to the site, I'm assuming they went in a car and didn't realize that the road up the hill was unavailable to busses. There's a low lying bridge that would prevent a tall bus from going under it. So when the bus driver told them this was the end of the road for him... we are all informed that we have "a hike" up to see Cosa. Ha. Most of our excursions require walking, I'm used to it now, and with the weather cooling off a little it's usually not that bad. This walk was rather intense. Definitely a hike. Anyway I just wanted everyone to appreciate the effort that was expended to obtain such a wonderful view!


This is a view of the Forum before it opens. It's a great picture opportunity because there are not swarms of tourists in it.... yet.

This is the Arch of Septimius Severus. I haven't learned anything about it yet, but it looks pretty impressive.

I really like this picture, it's an interesting view of the Temple of Antonius and Faustina. We were actually studying something right next to this temple, instead of the temple itself. Next to it is an archaic sepulcretum, where they found remains from as early as the 10th century BCE.

Popped collar in Rome. Heehee.

View of the Medditerranean from the acropolis of Cosa, Part I.

Part II.

And a view of the Appenine Mountains (I think).

How quickly a week flies by...

So overview of the last week: more field trips, Latin, quizzes, wine tasting, RAIN, and did I mention Latin?

On Thursday we went to Veii, a town 17 miles outside of Rome. There are remnants of an Etruscan temple there, we also saw an archeological excavation in progress. The archeologists working on the site think that it used to be a healing center (Like a spa with religious overtones). We got to walk (single file) through the site, as the Italian grad student pointed out various rooms, tiling, etc. Then we went to the Villa Guilia, which is a museum that had many Etruscan artifacts, including Greek pottery that the rich Etruscans imported. Very neat. We were a little rushed through the museum (1 hour to see the entire thing and fill out a 4 page worksheet) so we ended up taking more time... which made us over an hour late for lunch. We were all very tired and grumpy on the bus on Thursday.

Friday we had our wine symposium. The owner of a nearby wine bar came to instruct us on tasting and brought two white wines and two red. The Centro even had some brucetta and other snacks for the tasting. The man spoke in mostly Italian, but Franco the director of the Centro (he's not a professor, but instead the head of the administrative part of the program) translated, but some of his English is a little choppy. But overall it was a very nice evening.

It rained all weekend and I mostly stayed inside and struggled with my Latin translation. It's not very exciting, but that's what I was up to... I think some of the nuance has worn off and classes are starting to push me very very hard. I'm determined to do it all though. I'll improve my translation skills, learn Italian, and see the city!

Sunday morning Faith and I went in search of breakfast and found heaven! Italian pastries. Most shops are closed on Sundays, but not the pastry shops. I had un cafe e something amazing. It was like a croissant stuffed with nutella. It was all very inexpensive too. Definitely a new weekly ritual.

Today was another all-day excursion, but the weather was perfect and the sites were amazing! This week we went south of Rome to Lavinium. This the city of Latium where Aeneas is said to have landed after the Trojan war. We also saw Lake Nemi where two Roman ships sank and were recovered around 1930!! The wood of the ships was preserved after many centuries. Apparently it was stuck in mud on the bottom of the lake and that helped to preserve it. An anchor for one of the ships was 5 meters long. Sadly the actual ships were burned at the end of WWII, but we saw reproductions of the ships and artifacts recovered from the lake. The ships were huge, so big that they could hold a temple and gardens, all the comforts of home... even running *hot* water. I am constantly amazed by the Roman's engineering abilities. My roommate told me they had a kind of concrete that hardened under water, and we don't even know how they did it.

We also saw the Temple of Diana at Nemi which was one of Augustus' favorite temples, and we saw a view of the Alban lake... very beautiful. Finally our last stop was Tusculum, a town on an elevated spot outside Rome. The view was breathtaking, even after a day of other wonderful views. Here we saw some remnants of the early Latin city, like a theater, but more importantly we saw Cicero's villa!! As I've mentioned Cicero is the author I'm reading this semester in Advanced Latin, so even if the other classical history I've been rambling about is not interesting hopefully anyone can appreciate the awe of this visit. Cicero lived over 2000 years ago, I'm reading his work now, and I saw where he lived (well one of the places where he lived) back around 40 BC.

For the rest of this week I plan on studying a lot, but also taking time to do some shopping! There's a Profumeria I want to go to for shampoo, conditioner, and soap (the store bought stuff I have is not that exciting). This place is supposed to be very neat, as historically they served the Medici family. We also want to do some touristy sight-seeing and take in the city. That's the plan for Friday, weather permitting. Otherwise I need to keep up with my reading and translation, practice my Italian (with some shopkeepers perhaps...), and start a project on the Roman Calendar.

I'll bring my camera (or steal Faith's pictures) to put up some pictures of our next field trip.
So stay posted for pictures of the Forum, it's our field trip for Thursday...

Definite Procrastination

So I am here choosing to put my work off, very consciously, in favor of updating about my life... before there's too much to write about anything well. I've had a great weekend and equally great beginning to the week. I hope that is to be expected for a life in Roma. No more pictures yet, but I'll work on it.

Saturday night was an all night festival: La Notte Bianca. It started at 8pm and continued until 8am. Not being Italian I hardly made it to 8am, but stayed out until about 3 and didn't sleep until 4. The idea of the festival (from what I gather) is to showcase the vast culture of Rome. Different artists, musicians, etc. were out to perform and show their talents. Over the course of the night I heard a Senegalese drum performance and a Miles Davis tribute. The subway was running all night, shops were open, and various other things were going on (supposedly). Most of the night I wandered around the city and took public transit and saw... throngs of people wandering around the city and taking public transit. I was not as informed about what was going on as I could have been (we wanted to take things as they came), but I was surprised by how much of the festival was just people out in the middle of the night. All in all it was worth it just to see the nearly full moon over the Colosseum. Another highlight was cramming onto the Roman subway to ride it like sardines...

Sunday was very lowkey, everyone in the city slept late, and most shops and bars stayed closed. Consequently the hungry Centristi went on the hunt at about 7pm... much earlier than a suitable Italian dinner. We wanted to go to a Sicilian restaurant that had come recommended to us. When we went by the owner informed us his family was eating dinner (oops!) but we could be seated in an hour at 8... This quickly divided our group. Half so hungry they decided to get some quick bar food, but Faith, Dustin, and I were determined to eat at the Sicilian restaurant and walked around the neighborhood, slowly killing time until 8.

And it was so worth it....

We shared a fabulous bottle of house white wine, good bread and the entrees... I had ricotta ravioli in an orange flavored cream sauce, Dustin had pistachio pasta, and Faith had swordfish. To be extremely decadent Faith got pistachio gelato and I had lemon sorbet. It was the best meal ever... we were all squealing in delight and not one of us offered to share a taste (except for the desserts). I just had an amazing Centro dinner of risotto and beef strips but the thought of Sunday's dinner still makes me hungry for that ravioli!

Monday was a looong day with a lot of class. Two hours of lecture for the Ancient City. An hour and a half of Latin. An hour of Italian. It was all spaced throughout the day in an almost endless stream of learning. I also tried handwashing some clothes on Monday. It was effective but time consuming. I'm glad I did it, and may hand wash some items in the future but typically I think I'll cough up the Euros to pay for the machine. Oh how I miss "free" Rice laundry machines!

Today was another loooong day (see a pattern?). I got up at 7:00am, and still managed to miss all of the hot water (boo cold showers!), had breakfast at 7:30am, packed my bag and was on the bus by 8:00am for our trip to Tarquinia and Cerveteri. In Tarquinia we went to the Etruscan Museum and saw several sarcophagi and more interestingly Greek pottery. Some of the most amazing Greek pottery was imported to Etruria because the Etruscans were very wealthy and had the resources to bring in this pottery. Then we went to the necropolis at Tarquinia and viewed numerous tomb paintings still in their original location. This means we got to climb down claustrophobic flights of stairs to dark clammy tombs and view the painting through a window. By the 8th or 9th tomb I was feeling a little light-headed. Luckily after that we had a tasty bagged lunch. (Bag lunches contain a juice box, some cold cuts, a cheese similar to but better than cream cheese, and a large roll). Onward from there (this day feels long to you too right?) we went to Cerveteri, which I actually preferred, where there were more tombs. These were more like a maze or outdoor adventure. You went in and out of the tombs with more climbing but less stairs. Most of the tombs lacked paintings, but they had their own redeeming characteristics. My favorite was a tomb carved with an intricate relief of many household items. And then... we went to the beach! I've swam in the Mediterranean! It's very salty. After drying off I had a Bicardi Breezer (fruitier version of a Smirnoff Ice) on the beach and then finally we headed back to Rome for dinner. Now I'm postponing doing my homework....

But the best way to learn Italian is to do my homework, and I'm actually excited I figured out the Indirect Statement in my sentence of Cicero...

I'm a nerd!

Keep the comments, emails, etc. coming! It makes all of this being away from home, away from everyone so much easier.

Pictures!

So today was a very lazy and uneventful day. My schedule allows for no class on Friday, so I have a three day weekend every week! It's definitely something I can live with. I slept late, cleaned the room (although it doesn't take very long), and thought about doing my homework. We had a meeting at 3pm where a representative from the American embassy came to give us advice. Mostly her message was, "don't get drunk and do stupid things." I think it's very good advice, and I intend on taking it to heart.

After the meeting it was time to investigate the neighborhood some (read: we went out before siesta was over and had to waste time until 4pm). After things opened we went to a wine shop and purchased a great bottle of prosecco to have with dinner. Then we picked up some flowers, and stopped by the grocery store to purchase a vase.

It's a little less than two hours until dinner, but I'm famished. I slept through breakfast and because the Art History class had a field trip today it was a bagged lunch for everyone, so my food has consisted of a roll and some cheese. I'm saving a pear until I'm desperate. I could easily get food at one of the many bars in the neighborhood (bar = cafe), but I don't want to spoil dinner. I'm excited for it, this is what is on the menu:

penne al pomodoro e basilico
caprese (mozzarella, pomodoro e basilico)
pesca con gelato

That's basically penne in tomato sauce, mozzarella salad, and peaches with gelato. Is it 7:30 yet?

Since today was so laid back I took the opportunity to get some pictures to illustrate my experience here.

This is the Centro. We share the corner with a church, which explains the prominent statue of the Virgin Mary. At night the statue is outlined in blue lights, it's a sort of beacon welcoming us home. The Centro is the building on the left-hand side of the picture, partially behind the tree.


This is my room. I'm assuming that the bars on the window are to keep other people out, but they could easily be to keep us in. I just realized, however, that we have no curfew. Faith's bed is off camera but that's the only part of the room not shown.



This is the view from my window (beyond the bars). This is the terrace above the garden.

Here's a picture of Faith and me.

These are the flowers that Faith and I bought. If you look closely you may notice that the vase is actually a cut off supermarket brand lime soda bottle. It's fun to be a cheap college student even in Roma.

This is a shot of Carini, one of the streets near where we live. Even though we live in a very residential area there are lots of shops and people around.


This is some random graffiti I found entertaining, supposedly it's Fascist.

And still to come: Emily has her first full weekend in Rome and takes pictures of the Centro's garden, the park, maybe other people, and perhaps even some old things.

So this one time... I was in Rome, and it was amazing!

Ciao, mi amici! Come siete?

I've been in Rome for four days already, but it feels like I've been here for weeks! My flight over was looong and dealing with my luggage was a hassle, but it was well worth it to get here and have everything I needed. Arriving at the Centro was exciting, I live near Trastevere on the West side of the Tiber River, only a short walk from the Vatican. The cab ride from the airport was a little frightening, everything you've heard about driving is Rome is probably true. I especially like the no lanes and the crazy scooters. The drivers have a certain confidence in their chaos, however, so I never really feared for my life in the taxi (although I have constantly as a pedestrian).

After paying an excessive amount for the taxi (it was a Sunday and I think a holiday as well so the fare was steep) I went through the gate to my wonderful home: The Centro. It's a small building that functions as a dorm and school for everyone on the ICCS program. There are 36 students studying this semester and five professors. The first floor has a lobby, library, offices, and a classroom. The dining hall is in the basement (the food is spectacular, authentic Italian cuisine). The dorms are on the upper floors.

I live in a corner room with a roommate named Faith. She's actually from Houston, but goes to Washington and Lee University. Some people have singles which I'm slightly jealous of, but in actuality I'm thrilled to have Faith. We've been getting along so well, it's a bonus instead of a drag to share the room.
The accommodations are modest. The room is about half the size of a Jones double and we share one desk and one wardrobe, but the room is in Rome so I'm not disappointed.

Orientation here has been nothing like O-Week. We had a two hour meeting to run through the rules of the Centro and overview the syllabus, but there were no name games, and no buttons. I'm still a little foggy on some people's names, although 36 people is not a huge number of names to absorb. It's easy enough to ask someone's name or more covertly find it out on facebook or look on the message board. They asked for one inch photos and used them in a name board... mine looks like a mug shot... Aside from the first meeting we've done an extensive amount of walking. First we became familiar with the neighborhood(1-2 mile walk), then more of Rome (8 mile walk), but yesterday was the Obelisk walk...

We traveled over 13 miles around the city of Rome, entirely on foot. The weather was pretty scorching, although it would have been worse to be in Houston. Here at least there's a cool breeze and not 100% humidity. I drank Nalgene after Nalgene full of water. Which brings me to another one of my favorite things about Rome... the terrific tap water. It is the most delicious and often cold water you could imagine. There are fountains in parks all over the city and it is refreshing, clean water.

Living in a foreign country is most obviously an adjustment. The most difficult part being the language barrier. When I was packing to come to Rome I made the decision to not bring shampoo, conditioner, and some other items because I knew they had those kinds of things here. Well they do, but it's difficult to determine which kind, style, color bottle, etc. when your Italian is extremely limited. Mostly I've been buying based on pictures and the rare recognizable brands (like Colgate toothpaste!). I'm working on my Italian by taking it here, which is amazing since I have so much incentive to learn. The Professora is very good and the class is immersion so I'll hopefully learn a great deal.

It's weird how some things are different, like paying for grocery bags, or not having a TV to watch (although Faith and I plan on downloading Project Runway from Itunes every week), or walking down the street and seeing an ancient structure, or having wine with dinner every night.

I'm slowly starting to get more acquainted with wine. I wasn't ignorant to begin with, but my knowledge is definitely limited. Lucky for me we get a wine tutorial soon, taught by the very nice owner of a wine shop.

I feel rather long-winded and like I'm not really delving into any specific experience or topic. There's just so much that's happened it's difficult to cover in one sitting.

I miss everyone. Faith, Jack (other guy from Rice), and I reminisce about Tex-Mex frequently. I miss being able to say "I'm smart, I go to Rice!" whenever I do something stupid and have it mean something. Even though I'm so far away I have reminders of home. Jack and I will occasionally talk about Rice and another guy Tom goes to WashU and knows my roommate from IMSA, Priya. Also about a third of the people here are from the Chicagoland area or go to Northwestern. It's insane. I feel like I'm one of the Rice people from Texas we're such a huge contingent. Apparently Chicago breeds Classists. Someone has A Girl Named Craig (band from Barrington) on Itunes and I'm so thrilled!

Please write, comment, etc. It will make my day to hear from you!