Vendors...

While just walking through the streets of Rome, there are shops on each side with gorgeous clothes and oddities. After class we would usually shop but after four weeks it was just shopping for little things not in general. We would go to places, find what we needed and get in, get out, get going. In addition to shops, there were street vendors with little shops, stands or even just blankets of things. These people, like in New York City, are very agressive and will constantly talk to you, ask you if you want to buy anything and sometimes give you a deal. I will admit they are quite annoying, but one of my friends sees it completely differently.

She seems to come from a very nice family that does not tollerate people and things being annoying. She saw them as completely annoying and even a waste of space. They would ask her if she wanted to buy anything, she would snap at them and yell at them, call them stupid and make extremely snide remarks about them when we walked away. She also used very choice words to describe them, which I did not appreciate what so ever. It wasn't so bad at first, but after a while, it was too much for me. Her comments got worse and worse as the days went on, and I got more and more frazzled by her words. Yes, I understand they are super annoying, but it is their profession. That is how they make their money, and sometimes they are in such bad situation that this is their only way of making money. I just reacted differently to them then she did. I understood where they were coming from, which she was snippy and mean. I guess people just see things differently.

Colosseum!

The Romans were known for a lot of things, but in my opinion, one of their greatest achievements was the Colosseum. This building was such a place of greatness and splendor. When we were walking around, I was just looking around thinking about all that happened here. It will always amaze me to be in a historic place that is almost 2000 years old, and think about who all were there, how they reacted and what their lives were like back then. We got there and I was completely in awe of this building that was still standing and just wanted to stay for as long as possible. I wish I could have sat down and just stared at this beautiful piece of architecture and think. However I could not. I traveled with a group of people and we always liked to stick together. At this point, none of us were extremely comfortable with being alone in the city. So when one of us wanted to leave, we all had to leave so no one was by themselves.

One of my friends decided that the Colosseum was extremely boring, so she wanted to leave. Being so awe inspired by the whole thing, I was a little adamant about leaving so abruptly. This girl who wanted to leave was very against the whole trip in my opinion. She hated going places, always complained about not having wifi and I could tell she was not super into the trip. She didn't like exploring. I felt that's why she wanted to leave. I knew she wasn't enjoying herself unless she was back at the convent. Her personality was the exact opposite of mine. I loved exploring, and her wanting to go back was such a damper on my mood. I wish we were able to explore more, but sometimes we have to please others before we please ourselves. This experience made me realize that sometimes we need to explore by ourselves so we can fully experience the city.

The Gorgeous Island of Capri

After long days of classes and adventures, we were finally taking our weekend trip to Southern Italy. Now I can bore you with some details about all the ancient ruins we saw but one of my favorite parts was Capri. This sweet little island of the coast of the southern town of Sorrento. We took a ferry ride over and then had the entire day to ourselves. It was a little cloudy of a day, but hey when in Rome you have to make the most of every minute. So we decided to take the 'incline' up to Anacapri which is where all of the great shops and cute little things were located. We decided to enjoy all of the shopping that Capri had to offer. They were adorable little boutiques that you could tell were completely indigenous to the area. We enjoyed looking at all of the cute things the area had to offer, and then decided to break apart. The group of 6 of us split up. Some of us decided to go exploring, while the some decided to shop. And boy I am so thankful that I decided to go exploring. Now I cannot account for my friends actions, but this may have been one of my best decisions on the trip.

In my opinion, I can shop in Rome and America. Personally, I had my fill of shopping for the day, especially in being in such a new area with so much to do and explore! I went off with some friends and we found some of the most gorgeous spots on the island. Going down a hill, we actually stumbled upon a cemetery. Now cemeteries in Italy are nothing like cemeteries in America. The family members build shrines of several different types of beautiful flowers with a single simple cross. They believe this commemorates their loved ones, yet allows something new to flourish in their place. Like the old saying "From out of death comes life". I never would have really come to realize that if I had never gone exploring. If I would have stayed and shopped, I never would have found all of this beauty in such a place of grief. I guess that is just the adventure seeker in me.

Religion with the Pope

Rome is the seed of the Catholic Church. Naturally, one would expect that most of the population would be Christian if not Catholic. Being so, religion is crucial to the Italian lifestyle as many go to church regularly on Sunday mornings, and occasionally the Pope's open masses Wednesday mornings. I am one of those lucky people who can say that I saw the Pope's Wednesday morning mass. I am personally not Catholic, but I am a Christian. Even though I may not follow the Pope as a so called "icon" of my religion, I deeply appreciate who he is, and what he stands for. During our Vatican Day we were able to see the Pope on the "Pope-mobile", hear him preach the Homily and listen to the Cardinals do the readings. I was fascinated with the whole experience rather than what was being said, because of my religion. Not to say in any way shape or form I was offended or not paying attention to what was being said (when the English translation was being said) I just more appreciated the whole idea of it. People come from around the world to hear this man preach the word of God simply because he is the Pope. He seems to have an overarching power and authority over so many people, and I am glad he uses that for good. That whole concept just amazes me how people will come from the corners of the world to see one man speak about the word of God.

I would say I have a somewhat relaxed approach to religion. I am more spiritual than religious, and I am very proud of my belief. On the other had, I have friends on the trip that were extremely Catholic, born and raised throughout their whole lives. My friends were doing everything they could to see this man they worship so much, even pushing people out of their way so they could get closer to the Pope. I even got pushed aside so my friend could get a better picture! They were crying jumping up and down, constantly praying, and became so enveloped in the Pope's mass. I know it is their religion and belief, but it felt over the top for me, but I firmly believe the differences was based on religious perspectives. 

Michelangelo's Greatest Work

On the fifteenth, we went to the open Wednesday mass at the Vatican and watched the Pople give mass (that's a whole different story!) and then later that day Liz Lev, our outstanding art history teacher, took us on a tour of the Vatican Museums. If anyone was to take us to the museums, she is absolutely the best person. It was adorable to see how excited she was to take us around! Anyways, we walked around and saw a lot of ancient Christian artwork and alter pieces. It was really cool to see their evolution and how they have changed over the past 2000 years. We were finally on our way to the most amazing piece of artwork in the museums, The Sistine Chapel. This is considered Michelangelo's greatest work, and possibly one of the greatest pieces of artwork in the world. Lev gave us the run down of what each panel meant, and what important things to look for. We were however not able to take pictures in this chapel.

We went inside, and honestly, it was a lot smaller and darker than I expected. I thought it would be this huge grand thing, but maybe the smaller scale was a great venue for such a memorable piece of artwork  There was a lot of people there, but I felt like I was the only one there. The artwork there was so incredibly breathtaking. It was probably one of the best experience so far here in Rome. I was able to find a seat and just look at the fresco. I ended up sitting down and starting for almost 20 minutes, but it felt like one minute. I could stay there all day and look at this ceiling. Just looking at the beauty of this piece, knowing the story behind it, what each panel means, how Michelangelo tirelessly worked for years, made me tear up a bit. I felt so incredibly blessed to be in such a great place. It made me realize that I am so insanely lucky and humbled by this experience.

Pantheon Pentecost Mass

As a Christian, we celebrate different holidays and beginning of the Liturgical calendar. Pentecost would be one of these special occasions where we see the presence of the Holy Spirit. In Rome every year, there is Pentecost Mass at the Pantheon. The Pantheon is not normally a church as it is more a gathering and tourist attraction, but this special mass happens only once a year and this is truly a once in a lifetime experience. We got to the Pantheon at 830 and the doors opened at 9. There were probably 8 of us, and I was the only one who was able to find a seat, which i was extremely thankful for, but felt bad that none of my friends were able to sit down with me. I was sitting next to a gentlemen who was traveling Europe with his wife, and talking with him was nice to pass the time. Two hours later, the mass started. Now obviously it was in Italian so I understood nothing. But, after going to church and sunday school for years, I was slightly able to follow the line of events, which I was thankful for! At the end of the mass, they dropped rose petals from the hold in the ceiling for probably 10 minutes.

I attempted to get a picture, but I ended up getting lost in what was actually happening. It was such an eye opening experience. When again in my life... will I ever be able to see something to beautiful happen in such an ancient building that was built in 125 AD? It was such an eye opening experience. It was then that I finally realized that I was living in Rome for a month. I was in one of the greatest cities in the world and I needed to soak in every experience. It was also a nice religious experience for me, hearing mass in a different language and being able to follow it. But honestly, the ending was the best!! I kept a couple rose petals as they floated towards me, and I have them pressed in a book; I'll keep them forever to commemorate my experience.

Ah Florence!

The past day, we traveled to Florence in Northern Italy. It was an optional trip so it wasn't so planned.  That being said, we had to find our own accommodations, whether it be a hostel or a hotel. Six of us decided to stay in the same hostel in two different rooms. We had booked our room and were set to go! We got to florence and were set free to explore, shop, and find our hostel. We finally found it after 30 minutes of walking around. We were so excited to finally put our bags down. When we got to our hostel, we had a large communication problem between us and the owners. We were under the impression that we had already paid for our rooms, yet they had not received the money. We were all freaking out that we would need to pay double, and almost walked out. The owners spoke maybe ten words of english. Luckily, one of our friends spoke Italian, but there was still so many communication problems. We ended up calling our director, Michael who did a lot of translation for us. The problem got solved, but boy was it quite a liberating and irritating experience. We were all getting a little antsy and frustrated with everything.

In this situation, i wish I would have known more Italian. That would have helped a lot. In this moment, I felt like such a tourist, when I normally would have felt like a traveler who was enjoying the city. Being in a foreign country, we need to respect the local residents, and I felt bad we were all getting frustrated with them, when in all reality, our lack of Italian and aversion to simple communication was the root of the problem. Needless to say, I'm going to brush up on my Italian!