Last day in Rome

Having had spent two weeks in Rome has honestly been a life changing experience. It has disciplined my character and has awoken me to new dreams. On my last day, I decided to go see the inside of the Colosseum. The class was suppose to go inside the Colosseum while out but it opened late and so class ended early. I told myself that I cannot leave Rome unless I've seen the inside of the Colosseum, even if it meant going alone and paying for it again. So I got on the bus, and went to the Colosseum, waited in line, and then entered the field of the Gladiators. It was, spectacular. It's funny how in the movies they portray the Colosseum as this enormously big stadium, I mean it's pretty big. But it's not as big as it is displayed in the movie Gladiator. I think going by myself was actually a pretty good idea because I was there for 40 minutes taking pictures and listening to my ipod. Going to the Colosseum and being alone let me reflect my journey away from home. Away from technology, social networks, American culture, but mostly American attitudes. Overall this trip has opened my eyes to different venues, different languages, different people, different colors.

Last weekend in Rome - Sunday

After having has sight see most of Rome, there was really not much to do but just sit down and relax while eat gelato. Oh, and go shopping. Andrea and I went shopping, first we began at the Spanish Steps, and somehow ended up by the trevi fountain, and then ended up somewhere else. I like the fashion style in Rome, it is definitely different from America. Since I currently live in El Paso, there's not much to do, nor do I have alot of open options when it comes to shopping. I bought a nice shirt at H&M and I went inside the Ferrari store to buy myself a purse. I absolutely love it.


Note:
Although I love Rome for its fashion style, history, hot guys, good food, I miss the United States and I cannot wait to return. I cannot wait to return to...

1.) Eat scrambled eggs.
2.) My comfy apartment.
3.) My cooking.
4.) My car.
5.) School.
6.) Get work.
7.) Unlimited amount of time on the phone.
8.) Did I mention scrambled eggs?

Ostia

Today was a much better day than yesterday. Today was actually really, really awesome. The class went to Ostia, a city that lies in ruins. I learned how the ancient people lived, how they dealt with commerce, I saw the schools they attended, where they bought bread and fish, and where they went for entertainment. The city although in ruins, was perfect in its own way. Unfortunately I forgot to put the memory card back into my camera, so I don't really have pictures. But I do have memories and Google images. Haha. It doesn't stop to amaze me how humanity has always been the same. There is really nothing new under the son. A child is born, grows into youth, develops maturity, finds meaning, and the cycle once again repeats itself. 3000 years ago, and 2012 is not much different. The only difference are the tools that we use today, the material. But music still exists, performances have been happening for a long time, fathers work hard to provide a better life for their families, and those who believe, worship. Yeah, nothing much has changed. But maybe now we just have ipods and internet. But that's about it. It's been a long journey, and Ostia was the perfect way to end the Layers of Rome.

Keats Shelley House

The museum of Keats and Shelleys house was an but interesting. I did NOT like this museum. I don't like to complain about things, especially if I'm spending a good amount of time there. But this museum hands down was the most boring one. The tour guide who was telling us about Keats life and the roots of his home kept saying "ummm" so many times that it was ultimately the only thing I could focus on. I was falling asleep during the whole tour, which wasn't really a tour because we all just sat there listening to this woman say "uummmm" . As a matter of fact, I did fall asleep, and the only reason why I woke up was because my worksheet fell to the floor from my hand and I felt it, so I woke up and picked it up. Overall, I extremely disliked the museum and everything that had to do with that activity. The only part that I liked were the Spanish steps. another place that we went to was the protestant cemetary. It made me think alot about life. Like how we're all going to face the end one day. I'm about to be 20 years old and I've been blessed to have friends and family with me, I don't know anyone personally that has passed away. It saddens me to know that one day my loved ones and myself all have a ticking clock. Honestly, I just haven't came to terms with death, and I guess I haven't came to terms with death because I haven't came to terms with God, it scares me sometimes. Especially because I never know when my last breath or step will be. But I guess human beings were not meant to live forever.

The Borghese

Ughhhhh yes! Finally a museum that I feel I can be in a long time for. This museum was full of sculptures and paintings that really struck a cord, more like, a thought. The one sculpture that caught my attention the most was the rape of proserpina. I mention this sculpture for various reasons. 1.) The story is very different from all the others in the sense that somone was sexually violated, and 2.) Their facial expressions perfectly depicts the rape scene. As I looked at her, I saw a woman who'se face beared horror while trying to escape the arms and strenth of a male who was looking to obtain his desires. While she is in a state of helplessness, his grin implies that he's conquered what he had been searching for. Something else that caught my attention was the detail put into the sculpture As she is trying to escape, his hands strongly grab a hold of her, making it seem that he is making a dent on her skin. Very, very real.

St. Peters Square

Today everybody went to go see the pope, they kept saying how it was one big concert and how he's basically a rock star. Well, I didn't go. I didn't go for personal/religious reasons. They said I missed out, but I guess you can't really miss out on something you're not interested in. Isn't that funny.
I met the class afterwards for presentations and another... guess what... worksheet! It just keeps getting better and better (being sarcastic here) St. Peters Square itself was very lovely, before coming to Rome it was my wallpaper on my laptop, and seeing it in person was just amazing. I was more than 4,000 miles away from home experiencing first hand a picture I had on default for so long. Inside the Basilica, I saw many people, gathered around for religious reasons, for tourist reasons, for reasons that I may never know. By the entrance, there was a long line of people, they were waiting to touch a golden cross. I asked one of my classmates what the line was for and she said "It's the popes cross, nobody was able to touch it but him. Now it's available for everyone, they say that if you touch the cross that your feuds with your enemies will end" Haha. Never had I heard so much ignorance. Someone please reference a scripture to back that claim up. The style of the interior of the basilica was nice though, but overall it was an unpleasent visit that I wouldn't do again. I just don't care, it means nothing to me. Nothing.

June 5th, Capitoline

I liked the Capitoline... All jokes aside, I'm getting a bit tired of going to museums. They are all starting to look and be the same to me. And by that, I mean all the paintings are looking extremely similiar to one another from other museums. Although, I really did like the fact that the Capitoline has sculptures and Egyptian artifacts. That was probably my favorite part, the Egyptian artifacts, I was wondering the whole time why Rome, being the religious city that it is, have Egytian aritifacts not only in museums, but the city as well.

Free day - 2

I love free days, I finally get to sleep. Well, not really. My time in Rome is too limited to get a good nights sleep. Honestly I'm not sure where I went today. I just know there are a bunch of bars and clubs. I went with Lauren and we walked around and shopped alot. We also stopped by the Trevi fountain. My official favorite dish is Rissoto alla crema di scampi. OMGGG. It's sooooo good. There's this restaurant right by the Trevi fountain that makes it amazing, I have to learn how to cook it when I go back to the states. I also ate gelato and shopped with Lauren for a bit. Bought a ring that represents a snake and a neklace in form of a magnet. I've also noticed that I get better deals when I say that I am NOT American. Not that I'm trying to disown. But, people are actually nicer to me when I tell them that I am something else. Interesting.



Note:
How do I upload pictures?? :(

Free Day!

Sunday... free day... shopping :D
Must there be more said to it? I officially have two favorite places for shopping. Trestevere and Piazza de Navona. I bought mostly shoes... because well, you know, I'm a girl and it's just what I do.
Also, some classmates and I went to go eat at a restaurant at the fountain of four rivers. I would like to know why water is so expensive. A thirsty group of 14 people paid a totaly od 38 Euros for only a couple of bottles of water. The totaly bill came out to 425, so I had to take a picture of it. Haha, no really, I had. Otherwise nobody would believe me on the cost of the water.

SIstine Chapel/Independence Day

Ok, so today was really awesome because I went to the Sistine Chapel. I saw Michael Angelo's pantings such as "The last judgment" and the "Creation of Adam" The reason why that particular room caught my attention was because
1.) The paintings were all done by one man
2.) How long ago the paintings were done
3.) The message/story
Too bad I couldn't have been there longer, and too bad pictures were not allowed to be taken of Michael Angelo's work. Which I did take anyways. Lol. What I really like about that room was the biblical story. The casting of Satan and his minions onto earth because of corruption, the creation of Adam, the fall of man, etc. Seeing the paintings almost made me feel like I was there to witness all these events, the use of the colors were extraordinary. ALSO. My day did not stop there, it was a festive day in Italy and so a couple of classmates and I went to the beach, who knew you had to pay to get in? Maybe it's just California girl me, but I thought that was crazy. But none the less, it was great. I broke my sunglasses... and got new ones, as well as bought an orange beach blanket & some jewlery. Saw some jets doing shows in the air while splashing the color of the Italian flag all over the clouds. I definately got it on video.



Note:
I still think it's pretty awesome how I can buy as much liquor and alcohol as I want and not get asked for an ID. I wish America was that cool. 

The Palatine

On todays agenda was The Palatine, Arch of Constantine, and Colossuem.
I really liked the Palatine, because it is said that, that is where Rome was formed, in the Palatine was an incedibly big garden, it looked about the size of the football field. In the Palatine, emperors lived and had important dinners with other who were in the field of government/ other leaders from different nations. My favorite part of today was probably seeing the Arch of Constantine, I took a good amount of pictures and a lengthy video because I just thought that it was massive and well done by those created it. In the Arch, constantine is being shows as victorioius after a trumphant battle that was fought. Also, in the arch, the barbarians who were defeated are portrayed in it, you can tell who the barbarians because they were wearing pant like clothing. Romans considered pants to be barbaric and so, did not wear them. Although the day was pretty awesome for the most part, it was a bit disappointing because we didn't get to go inside the Colosseum, for some reason, it opened late. Although on a positive note, I did get to see the exterior and that by itself was grand. I'll just see the inside some other day, afterall there is plenty of time.



Note: There are wayyyy to many vendors trying to sell things. It gets kind of annoying, I've basically stopped saying no gratzie and continue to walk by them.

The Forum

So, we checked out the forum which was a pretty cool spot because it basically used to be downtown Rome. Offices, markets, and other places of commerce were held at the forum. I learned about the virgin vessels and how they would hold their position till the age of 30 and thereafter had the decision of whether they wanted to continue working in their position of leave and form a family or take a different route. I found this particularly interesting because the vessels were from elite families who had money and power, these vessels had the authority to stop an execution. What was even more interesting that that was seeing their homes. It is, or was, a HUGE mansion. There were less than a handful of them living in what basically is a palace, they must have really had an outstanding view. We were at the forum the whole day, although it was cool, I wish we could have gone somewhere else too.


P.S: I hate writing worksheets. I didn't think we were going to do them on this trip.

Day: Who knows, I have seriously lost track of time

Today, was a pretty cool day. We went to the Palentine, the palace where emperors lived, well, more like Nero. I saw a beautiful garden, probably the size of a foodball field, it was incredible. It's amazing to think, how an emperor or a general were walking down the very paths I walked on today, I try to imagine what life must have been like back then; what it was like to be a Roman. Not just that, but I also try to visualize the buildings, how majestic they must have looked during their time and how eventhough time has tried to do some damage, beauty is still there. I also learned how Nero caused a good portion of the city to be under fire and how in the end, he was overthrown by the Roman people. This trip so far has been more than what I imagined, because as I look at the pieces history, something from before, I'm learning something new about myself everyday, of what is the present.



P.S: I ate some Kebab today, it was A-W-E-S-O-M-E.
I wish America had some Gelatos. Hazel nut is the best flavor, screw 31 Baskin Robins, seriously.
Also, The bread here is pretty good, fresh. I love the streets of Rome, so pretty and vibrant... eventhough it feels like I'm going to seriously get hit by a car or a motorcycle. Haha, but I'm alive :)
Indepence day is soon, better believe I'll be celebrating with the Italians!