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| The Colosseum! |
My oh my. Where
to begin…
It’s really difficult just summing up what has been going on
in some simple blog updates.
I have a couple of small essays I wrote and want to post…
but I’m going to have a few people look at them for some editing before I post
them for all to see. But until
then… I just wanted to get something up here.
So… on the 21st of September the group of USAC
students headed down to Rome for a tour of the Colosseum and the Roman
Forum. It was the second time I’ve
seen it, but it was amazing nonetheless.
It’s crazy to step off the train, and literally walk just a few steps
until you get outside, with the Colosseum just right there in front of
you. From there we met up with a
tour guide who took us into the Colosseum and ancient ruins of the Forum and
gave us some historical and factual insight. This took until about 2 pm from which we headed over to
Piazza di Spagna, the Trevi Fountain, and the Altar of the Nation.
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| A wish in the well... don't ask me, I'll never tell! |
My favorite part of the day though was definitely seeing the
Trevi Fountain up close in person.
You don’t realize how big it actually is until you’re there, with the
crystal blue waters spewing down from the intricate and detailed marble
statues. The Trevi Fountain is
also affectionately known as the wishing fountain. There are a couple of legends, one of which says that if you
put your back to the fountain, and toss in a coin with your right hand over your left shoulder, it will guarantee your
return to the Eternal City of Rome.
But being the not so superstitious person that I am, I just figured,
hey, I’m throwing a penny in a fountain, I’ll just make up my own wish. I mean yeah, it would be great to return
and all…. but there are a few other things on my list…
Anyways, after the wonderful time spent at the Trevi
fountain we walked around a bit, passing by the more modernized city streets
almost appearing to be more like a street of New York City than an ancient city
of Rome. But after passing a
Gucci, Gap, H&M, among others, you also pass by spots of churches that
knock you back to reality. I guess
it was odd at moments to realize these stores weren’t hiding in cement
skyscrapers, but rather ancient buildings that lined the vias and piazzas of an
ancient city. But hey, people have
graduated from shopping around for tomatoes and cucumbers I guess… that’s just
how life goes.
From there we took the metro to the train station, which
took a small group of us to our home sweet home of Viterbo. And when I say home sweet home, I mean
home sweet home. The funny thing
is, I didn’t realize what a special place Viterbo was until that day spent at
Rome.
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| The walk from my apartment to school. |
You see, Rome, not at all in contrast to the assumed, is a
city mostly catered to tourists.
It wasn’t just Italian, it screamed Italian. The city seemed to suck up every bit of stereotypical bit of
Italian identity and regurgitate it back out. From an overabundance of restaurants with outdoor seating,
to the extremely busy pizzerias, with chefs adorned with tall white hats and
English speaking skills to street vendors and shops spilling from the brim with
pasta cookbooks, pizza magnets, and postcards.
I mean maybe it was just me, but that’s not the Italy I came
to know and love when I arrived here a month ago. Viterbo is truly an authentic medieval town that lies hushed
against the populous and touristy sites of the country. It’s history goes all the way back to
the Etruscans, with stops in the medieval period, and most importantly it’s the
birthplace of the Papal Conclave, the formal meeting that convenes to elect a
new Bishop of Rome. But that’s just the historical part of it.
Today, it’s a quiet yet vibrant city that has become not
only where I go to school, shop for my fresh produce on weekends, study and
hang out with friends, but it has also become my home. From the friendly faces to the inviting
smiles, I feel nothing but welcomed as the locals help me through
my transition here to my new life in Italy. Even as I stumble through my Italian the locals have been
there to offer a small laugh against what would be so easy to consider a
mistake or failure.
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| The five girls I tutor, all ready their tutoring session! |
In the journey they’ve helped me realize that life,
especially transitioning to living in a foreign country with customs and
culture so unlike your own, is something to not be taken so seriously. It’s not something to bite your tongue
over, or attempt to fight when its something you can’t change. Little by little, you learn, you
change, you discover. You begin to
understand things about yourself that you’ve never known before. And most importantly, you realize you
can’t do it alone. It takes a city
to raise a child, and it definitely took Viterbo to help me realize the
grandeur of all that life has to offer. And for that, I’m so appreciative of everything this
city has offered me thus far. For
all that I’ve learned about myself and the world around me in this short month,
I can’t wait to find out what the next three have in store for me.
All I meant though to share today was a small update on how
I’ve been, so I hope I’ve accomplished that. It’s difficult to share in words the changes, the
discoveries, and the ideas that swarm my head and my being on a day-to-day
basis. Even today, I was
privileged to host my second English tutoring course for the group of
elementary students at one of the girls' homes. The group magically turned from 3 to 5… I’m not sure how
that happened but it definitely added some spunk and energy to the group. I’m finally seeing my career and my
future pan out in tangible ways and I couldn’t be any more excited. There’s definitely a magic in being
able to spend time with children from a completely different country and way of
life, and still be able to so easily share smiles and laughter from across the
table. Sometimes I wonder if it’s
me doing more of the teaching or them.
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| My host mom, Roberta and I in the kitchen. |
I’m excited for all that is still awaiting me within the
next few days, weeks... and following months. One of the girl’s families, the mother at the home that I
tutor at, invited me for dinner this Friday at their home. She only speaks a small amount of
English, and I, only a small amount of Italian, so I’m sure it will be
interesting. But we will
fare. I mean I can’t say I’m not
used to it living with a host mom that knows the same amount of English. I still think it would be quite funny
if anybody were to eavesdrop on our conversations; which what seem to be crazy
a fiesta of English fragments and chopped up Italian phrases. But as I’ve said, that’s how we
learn. That’s how we
discover. That’s how we live.
Here’s to Italy.
And here’s to the next 3 months living in this beautiful country I can
for now happily call my home.
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