Culture Shock

Readjusting to being home has been harder than I thought it would be. It's been four days since I returned to Philadelphia, and I'm still incredibly jetlagged and confused.

I went shopping with my Mom and sister on Monday afternoon. At one point, a woman was in the same aisle as us, talking loudly on her cell phone. Of course, she was speaking in clear English, making it impossible to shut her out. I pined for the constant din of incomprehensible Italian I had peacefully ignored on the streets of Roma.

Later, when I had to ask the cashier for help unlocking an item I wanted to buy, it took everything to resist greeting her with "Buongiorno" and answering her questions with "Si" and "Grazie."

Using a credit card was strange, too. If the cashier hadn't told me "You can swipe your card now," I probably would have just kept staring dumbfounded at the machine. (In Europe, I was never allowed to swipe my own credit card--the cashier always did it for me). It took me a moment to remember which direction to slide my card and that I could sign right on the screen (there was always a separate receipt to sign in Italy and no way to sign electronically).

Other things have been hard to adjust to, too. I keep looking for the flush button on the wall, forgetting that most American toilets have the tank attached and the flush as a lever on the tank. After four months without a TV (except in some of the hotels we stayed at on trips), 500 channels have been overwhelming. It didn't take long to hate having to drive everywhere, but I knew even in Italy that this would bother me about coming home. Also, I keep wanting to fearlessly cross the street by just going wherever there is a small break, large enough for Italians but too small for American drivers, and I have to remind myself I'm not in Italy anymore.

On Sunday, I got a Chipotle burrito (oh, how I missed them!) for lunch. It was the weirdest thing to just sit down in the restaurant, without having to pay extra. Part of me just wanted to stand at the counter-height table where we were sitting on stools; it felt so strange to sit and eat my lunch.

Grocery stores are enormous. It's amazing how much easier it is to shop in Italy, where you are only presented with three or four brands of the same type of food at max to choose from (except for pasta). I went to buy shampoo and conditioner (I left mine in Italy) and was overwhelmed by the long aisle of various scents, formulae for different hair types, and brands. At least when I went to the coffee aisle to buy a can of Italian espresso, the selection of real, imported ones was much more limited. Though I miss going to a local bar for a daily cappuccino, I have still been able to enjoy the drink with my new moka pot and cappuccino frother that I brought home with me.

At least there are still some parts of Italy, like cappuccinos and authentic recipes, that I was able to bring home with me. And of course, all of my memories.

Every morning when I wake up, I imagine myself in a different part of Rome and picture the walk back to either our apartment or studio in my mind. I guess it's kind of like the ancient Roman method of memorizing speeches that we learned about in history: imagining each part of the speech being spoken in a different part of the city during practice and then walking through the speech in one's mind when presenting it. I don't care about speeches, I'm just determined to never forget my home in Rome.

Parting Thoughts

Four months ago, I was leaning back comfortably against my dad's legs on the couch in my living room. Our Christmas tree was still up and lit, and my mom and sister and I had just finished one last game of Bananagrams. I was so nervous about leaving that I felt slightly nauseous, but I didn't want my family to worry so I tried to seem as calm as possible.

Four months ago, I had no idea why I was coming to Roma. I had never dreamed of studying in Roma, not even after I was first on the list to go. Since I was little, I wanted to be like Amy in Little Women and study in France. But for some reason (fate? divine intervention? luck?) I was venturing off to Roma for four long months that have turned out to be much too short.

I don't think the idea of going home will be truly real to me until I'm there, just like the idea of coming to Roma wasn't real until I settled into a routine of classes, churches, and cappuccini. I really didn't like this graffitied and dirty city when I got here, but now it has become an enormous part of who I am. Four months later, I love Roma, more than I love DC after two and a half years, and I thought I was really falling in love with DC. In four months, I've gotten to know Roma so well: I walk everywhere here, and I feel so comfortable exploring on my own. In only four months--in just one semester--Roma has truly let me make her my own.

And now I'm leaving. Tomorrow.

I've been repeating that statement all week in an attempt to make it real, but I still have a hard time believing it. It's strange to think of this entire experience just...ending. It's like travelling to the USA is 'spring break part five', but we're not coming back for another three weeks in Roma this time. In fact, we won't be coming back here ever.

Sure, any of us might return to Roma in the future, but it will never be like this ever again. We won't be allowed to stay in the same Trastevere apartments or hang out in the courtyard. We probably won't be able to revisit our studio space with the prow overlooking Campo. The walk back to a hotel at night won't be the same as the walk back from studio through the backstreets of the Theater of Pompey/Campo area, down Via Arenula, across the Ponte Garibaldi (with a glance left to Tiber Island then right to St. Peter's Dome), left along the right bank of the river, straight past the Agip gas station, and right onto Vicolo di Santa Maria in Cappella.

Coming back in the unknown and distant future, Roma will be an entirely new adventure. But, then, that's exciting, too.

Late Discoveries

Four months gone. Two days left. I've taken so many long walks around the city since I've been here, and I'm still discovering new things, even in the areas I walked past every single day this semester.

For instance, I spent Holy Thursday relaxing, sketching, and people-watching on Tiber Island with Steph Cervantes. While there, we found a gelateria with the softest, creamiest gelato I've ever had that dares to rival even Giolitti, just five minutes from the apartment. But there was only a week left to enjoy it.

Last week before jury, I stopped into the bar right across from studio because it was convenient for a pick-me-up cappuccino. With a week and a half left, I realized that a decent 90 cent cappuccino and delicious cornetto were just across the piazza. Why didn't I ever stop in there before?

While walking home from the center yesterday, I decided to cut through the Jewish Ghetto. In the sunshine, it made for a beautiful and interesting walk (not just the same things I see every day).

I've taken pride in the fact that after four months I can walk through the center and know exactly where I am or at least know which direction I'm headed in relation to landmarks like the Tiber, Campo, the Pantheon, Via del Corso, the Forum, Piazza Navona, or the Vatican. I may know where I am, but I still don't know all there is to see and do. I'm happy to still be discovering, but I wish it didn't have to end so soon. Going home is exciting, but I'm really going to miss this Roman adventure.

Buona Pasqua!

I was about ten meters away from the pope this morning. The reality of that didn't even cross my mind until I got back here to the apartment.

I wasn't even planning on going to Easter Sunday Mass at the Vatican when I arrived in Roma this semester. I had my mind set on finding some nice, quiet, small church in the heart of Roma to celebrate in. I didn't want to deal with crowds pushing and shoving just to see the pope.

But when CUA asked if we wanted them to request tickets for us, "Well," I figured, "Why not?"

And so, at 6:30 this morning I woke up and made my way to Vatican City with some of the Arts and Sciences students from my floor.

Piazza di San Pietro, empty at 7:30

I'm really happy I decided to go because it was a really neat experience! It was like going to a Catholic school graduation: a lot of pomp and circumstance added to the usual ritual of the Mass. For instance, just before the service started, the Swiss Guard marched in (I had no idea the Vatican had so many Swiss Guards!), followed by four different military bands, all leading up to the arrival of Pope Benedict XVI in the Pope Mobile. 

Military bands in formation before the outdoor altar

Pope Benedict XVI processes in for Mass

However, what I thought was most interesting about the Mass was its use of multiple languages. Most of the Mass parts were spoken in Latin (I was amazed how much Latin I remembered from high school--including the 'Pater Noster'), but the first reading was in Italian, and the second reading was in English. Also, each of the general intercessions was spoken in a different language, including French, Portuguese, Spanish, Chinese, and even Swahili.

Piazza di San Pietro at 12:30 (just after Mass),
crowded all the way down Via di Conciliazione

But even more impressive was the multilingual end to Pope Benedict's Urbi et Orbi message at the end of Mass. In what must have been at least 30 different languages, including Mongolian, Japanese, Hungarian, Finnish, Korean, Thai, and Icelandish, the Pope wished the world a happy and blessed Easter.

Pope Benedict XVI delivers his Urbi et Orbi Address

And I felt happy and blessed to be there.

Framing Views

2,764 years old Thursday, Roma really knows how to make itself look good. Here are some views of Roma, framed by Roma, taken over the course of the semester.

Castel Sant'Angelo to St. Peter's

Keyhole, Aventine Hill, to St. Peter's



Porta Portese Market

The Roman Forum

Castel Sant'Angelo to the Tiber

One Tribal Bird Man

With only days left, I keep thinking about all of the things I'm going to miss when I go home. One of those is "Carlo Menta," a restaurant in Trastevere that I've been to multiple times for delicious, inexpensive dinner (splitting a Pizza Margherita between 3 people, pasta, dessert, and Coca-Cola for 12.50 euro...yum.). Another is Baccanale, a panini stand just off Campo de' Fiori where I go almost every day for lunch. I've frequented it since the beginning of the semester, so the girl who works there recognizes me and always gives me an extra friendly smile and a happy "Ciao!" when I go up to order. It makes my day every time.

And then there are the different atmospheres of the places I walk through often: local Trastevere, artistic Piazza Navona, the busy market of Campo de' Fiori during the day, and the variety of street performers that magically transform it at night. Fire dancers, musicians, and--a few nights ago--One Tribal Bird Man. 

Three of us were strolling leisurely back to studio after dinner at Carlo Menta, in absolutely no rush because we had absolutely no desire to go back to work. We took some back streets to get to Campo from Ponte Sisto, and on our way, we passed the Bird Man, with his variety of instruments, pipes, pig, and spider. Back at the Place du Georges Pompidou in Paris, I didn't think street performances could get any stranger. This one topped all of the ones I'd seen this trip. He had a dancing spider! Actually, the Bird Man reminded me a lot of Bert from Mary Poppins: so many instruments and gadgets, controlled by every body part he could possibly spare.

One Tribal Bird Man

The idea of going home--of going back to the United States--just seems weirder and weirder. I really can't believe in two weeks I'll be using currency that is all the same color and size. That coffee will be subpar, cappuccini won't exist, and what does will cost way more than one euro, even in US dollars. It's also weird to think that I won't be able to walk everywhere--in fact, anywhere, since I live in the suburbs. And people will move so much faster...

Everywhere--every second--in Rome is a cultural experience. I'm going to miss it terribly.

Sunday Stroll on the Quirinale

Jesus may be the Light of the World, but the first thing I noticed about Roman churches back in January was that they were always dark. Except when there was a Mass.

Therefore, ever since the beginning of the semester, I have made it a point to attend Sunday Mass at those particular churches that I especially wanted to see in my time here, so that I could actually see them in all of their illuminated splendor.

Two Sundays ago, I decided to scale the Quirinale hill on a pilgrimage to Bernini's Sant'Andrea al Quirinale, a baroque church with an elliptical plan. There are a few other oval-shaped churches in Rome, but Sant'Andrea al Quirinale is unique: through a few subtle design moves, Bernini successfully converted the shorter axis of the ellipse into the main axis of the church.

Sculpture above the altar at Sant'Andrea al Quirinale

Since the Quirinale is pretty far from our studio and apartment, I decided to walk around and explore a bit while I was already in the area. After checking my handy Roma guidebook for suggestions, I strolled down the street to revisit Borromini's San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane.

One of the "Quattro Fontane" outside San Carlino

Since San Carlino also has an ellipselike plan, I decided to do a comparison sketch until the priest kicked me out of the church a half hour later to lock up. From there I walked away from the Quirinale along Via Veneto (which didn't live up to the hype of my guidebook) and eventually made my way back. Heading uphill, I had one of those Roman moments where you're just walking aimlessly and suddenly pass a monumental fountain that pops out of nowhere. This time it was the Moses Fountain.

Fontana dell'Acqua Felice (Moses Fountain)

Like the Trevi Fountain, the Moses Fountain marked the terminal of an aqueduct. I wonder if these fountains would have seemed so random when the aqueducts were still visible.

As I continued walking, I eventually stumbled upon Piazza della Repubblica, a large traffic circle with a huge fountain at the center. The piazza is really close to Termini Station, and every time we took a train for a school trip outside Roma and passed it, I wanted to come back. While there, the huge size and semi-ruined exterior of Santa Maria degli Angeli caught my eye. It didn't look like any other church I'd seen in Roma, and that enticed me to go in.

Facade of Santa Maria degli Angeli

Apparently, Santa Maria degli Angeli was built using some of the structure of the Baths of Diocletian that once stood on the site (some ruins are still there today). Therefore, the church is enormous, with huge barrel-vaulted spaces. Finally, I had a sense of just how massive the ancient Roman baths were, thanks to this rather large case of adaptive reuse.

Down half of the old frigidarium at Santa Maria degli Angeli

Southern Italy Study Tour: Ercolano

On our last day in Southern Italy, we had the option of either touring the local area of Castellamare di Stabia or visiting the ruins at Ercolano. Having explored much of the main part of Castellamare di Stabia in our free time the first day there, I decided to venture out to Ercolano.

Ercolano

Ercolano (Herculaneum) was another city like Pompei that was destroyed by Vesuvius's eruption in 76 A.D. However, Ercolano was much smaller than Pompei and much better preserved, due partly to differences in how the eruption effected the cities. Because of this, Ercolano was much more interesting to explore than Pompei: you could see more of the city's ruins because of its small size, the ruins were much less ruined (some houses still had parts of their original second stories and roofs still intact), and (except for the large groups of elementary school students) there were a lot less tourists to dodge.

Taberna (ancient hot food bar)

However, the most wonderful thing about Ercolano was the freedom to explore just about everywhere. In Pompei, there are wooden gates blocking almost every entrance to the buildings except for those that are the most well-preserved and best maintained. Therefore, in Pompei, you spend most of your time just strolling the streets and occasionally catching a glimpse of an interior space through a blocked off doorway or ruined gash in a wall. However, in Ercolano, because the entire city is so well-preserved and maintained, almost every building and every room inside is accessible to visitors, allowing you to get a really good idea of the scale and feeling of the ancient houses, public buildings, and overall urban planning. For the first time ever, I felt like I had a really good sense of the size of the different rooms of typical Roman housing.

Corinthian Atrium

The freedom to explore also allowed visitors to view frescoes, statues, and preserved architectural details in their original place. This was particularly interesting because you could see all of the different layers of the frescoes preserved on the walls. I never realized before just how colorful the ancients liked their houses. One can find colorful renderings of Roman temples in so many books, but it is always hard to believe that the white ruins we see today were once so vibrant. However, Ercolano is not a city of whitewashed ruins but full of color.

Fresco with original linework exposed

My favorite building in Ercolano was the so-called "House of the Black Salon." Nestled amidst a blacksmith's shop and various other stores and tabernae, This house was very well-planned, with careful attention to details that still read today, even in its ruined state. For example, the main sitting room for guests was located between and directly on axis with the main entry/atrium and the garden. By positioning this room adjacent to the two spaces exposed to direct natural lighting (the garden and the atrium), it is naturally well lit and inviting. Also, the columns that would have supported the overhanging roof in the garden line up precisely with the walls of the space, such that all of the openings off the garden are unblocked, maximizing their views and the amount of daylight they would receive.

House of the Black Salon, standing in the atrium and looking
through the double-height sitting room towards the garden

Southern Italy Study Tour: Pompei and Sorrento

After staying in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius for four days, we went to the place that has most famously felt the impact of being so close to that volcano: Pompei.

Mount Vesuvius looming on the horizon in Pompei

Ancient crosswalk in Pompei

Probably the most impressive thing about Pompei is its size. There are ruins all over Rome, but few that cover so extensive an area or retain so much of their original form. Because of Pompei's size, it was easy to find a side street to walk down off the beaten track and distance oneself from flashing cameras and pushy tour groups.

Courtyard in the Baths at Pompei

I walked all the way down one of these less-travelled roads while I was sketching. There were only two other individual tourists and a park ranger walking around as I neared its end. It was eerily quiet, like a ghost town, far away from the constant din of noise and life of the touristy areas. Just by walking 50 feet down the road, I found the real atmosphere of present-day Pompei: a quiet memory lost in desolation.

Everywhere that there were signs of life and vegetation seemed somewhat odd in Pompei. The ruins at Baia and Cuma were not large cities: unkempt plants growing over broken arches and sideways column capitals seemed fitting there, like those ruins were a garden planned to look old and overgrown. But something about Pompei, knowing that it was a city where so many people had died so suddenly, made the maintained vegetation in preserved housing courtyards seem strange.

Garden at a house in Pompei

There were some striking trees around the city of Pompei. Many were the same kind of evergreens I've seen all over Italy, which are maintained to have long, branchless trunks, creating an umbrellalike canopy high above. In Pompei, these trees were so old and so tall that they were able to filter beautiful light and shadows on certain parts of the city to a neat effect. I was also intrigued by a particular tree in the House of the Fawn, whose branches spiraled and intertwined with each other just off the trunk, creating a kind of lovely, natural, freestanding column within the courtyard.

Underside of the tree canopy by the sports complex



Tree like a twisting column at the House of the Fawn

In the afternoon, we left Pompei for various destinations. One of our afternoon options was to visit the coastal town of Sorrento. I had been longing to return to Sorrento ever since I fell in love with the city on my high school trip.

Cloister with a variety of arcades and fragrant flowers in Sorrento

Sorrento is lemons and flowers. Wood and water. As soon as I stepped off the train, I could smell the sweet fragrance of the multitude of drooping purple flowers and lemon groves. We first walked to an overlook on the edge of the cliffs to gaze over the gorgeous, crystalline waters. Then we got gelato (for me, limone e fiori di sorrento--my two favorite scents of the place were just as wonderful as gelato flavors), saw the more significant architecture of the town, and browsed for local handicrafts like handmade shoes, ceramics, and (my personal favorite) inlaid wood along the main shopping street.  

Harbor at Sorrento

I was amazed at how well I remembered Sorrento. At just about every street corner, I recognized a place or recalled a particular memory from my previous stay there. I was so happy to be back in that coastal town, even more gorgeous than I had remembered it with the spring flowers in bloom.

Inlaid wood Stations of the Cross at the Duomo in Sorrento

Southern Italy Study Tour: Castellamare di Stabia

After two days of full breakfast buffets (with eggs and bacon!) in the Naples hotel, it was time to make our way further South. We took a bus tour of various archeological sites along (and out of) the way. Our first stop was Cuma, which is actually North of Naples, where there are Greek ruins of an oracle's cave and a Temple to Jupiter. We had about an hour to explore these ruins before we moved back down the coast.

Cave of the Sibyl

Our next stop was Baia, an ancient imperial palace complex built into the side of a hill. These ruins were like a huge playground, just waiting for us to run around, climb, and explore. The highlight of Baia was definitely the so-called "Temple of Mercury." It was a huge, flooded domed space with 4 side windows and a central oculus. The acoustics and rippling movement of light reflected off the water were what made the space fascinating. Even the faintest sound was amplified and echoed throughout the space.

The so-called "Temple of Mercury"

The next stop after Baia was the Anfiteatro di Flavio, an ampitheater where, unlike the Colosseum in Rome, some of the seating and the floor are still preserved. You can actually go into the underground cells of the ampitheater, which were really neat because it gave a much clearer representation of how Roman ampitheaters would have worked than just gazing at the ruins of the Colosseum did. The Flavian Ampitheater in Rome was a disappointment; the Flavian Ampitheater just north of Naples was fascinating.

Underground cells at the Anfiteatro di Flavio

We finally arrived at our hostel at Restoring Ancient Stabiae in the town of Castellamare di Stabia in the late afternoon. In our free time before dinner, a group of us decided to walk down to the beach and admired Mount Vesuvius from the southside.

Vesuvius from Castellamare di Stabia

Eventually, we headed back up to our hostel to watch the sunset from our hilltop fourth floor terrace. That was another thing I noticed about Southern Italy: where we were along the coast there were a lot of cliffs and hills. The long, uphill and downhill treks around the cities we visited left almost everyone feeling sore and tired by the end of the trip.

Sunset view from the hostel at Castellamare di Stabia

Southern Italy Study Tour: Capri

Our second day in Southern Italy, we went to the most beautiful place I have ever been in my entire life. Casa Malaparte, on the island of Capri.

Capri harbor

Capri is gorgeous enough in itself: flowers everywhere, light coastal architecture set on towering white and gray cliffs, crystal clear blue water washing up on gray rocks, lemon groves, ceramics, tiled house numbers, boats... Everywhere you looked was something beautiful.

Fragrant purple flowers over a restaurant awning

As soon as we arrived on the island, we took the funicolare up to the top of the cliffs and walked through town to a small food store where our professors had ordered sandwiches for us. They picked them up and we began the journey to Casa Malaparte.


Uphill, downhill... Through forests, past houses and gated gardens. Down paths surrounded by rock and wildflowers, on paths with nothing between you and a 30-foot drop but a low stone wall... Past rock formations like abstract sculptures, past periodic panoramic vistas of the sea...  

The three rocks symbolic of Capri

Down a narrow path that zigzagged its way through the woods down the hillside... Until, finally, far from town and any sign of houses or civilization, we caught our first glimpse of a piece of secluded paradise.

Casa Malaparte from the first gate to the property

We weren't permitted to take photos at the house, which ended up being kind of a blessing. The place was just so beautiful that if I had been allowed to keep my camera, I probably would never have looked anywhere with my own eyes. I would have just attempted to take an endless stream of photos that wouldn't even come close to capturing the true beauty of the place.

The last gate before the house, with a view of the dramatic roof stairs

The entire walk to Casa Malparte, all I could think about was how gorgeous the trees, flowers, cliffs, and water of Capri were. Casa Malaparte somehow managed to enhance that natural landscape in every possible way: the entire place was a designed experience of the surrounding natural features. Malaparte had selected certain views for each room on-site during the house's construction, so that specific rock formations, parts of the sea, or trees are perfectly framed for the optimal view from every window. The exterior of the house adds drama and wonder to the landscape, with the white sail on the roof blocking your view of the open sea, so that when you finally ascend the stairs and move around it, you are just completely blown away by the isolated openness of it all. The entire experience of the house and property was incredible.

We spent three hours at Casa Malaparte, sketching, picnicking on the roof, and releasing every ounce of stress out to the endless surrounding sea. The best part of being there was just that: to be.

However, eventually, we all had to leave, knowing that there was only a very slim chance that any of us would ever be able to come back. Still, I know I'll never forget the feeling of the refreshingly cool water splashing on my feet as I sat sketching at the bottom of the stairs down the cliff. Or sketching in the picture windows of the living room, gazing out at the spectacular view beyond. Or what it felt like to stand so calmly on the edge of the roof, with nothing between me and the horizon but the sparkling azzuro water of the Mediterranean. No railing, no usual fear of falling. Just the inner peace created by the architecture, the seclusion, and the quiet magic of Casa Malaparte.

Southern Italy Study Tour: Napoli

Today was our last train ride home to Rome for the semester. The next time I travel away from Rome will more than likely be at the end of the month, and I will not be returning anytime soon. Three weeks into the semester felt like forever. The three weeks that are left seem so short.

We began our Southern Italy Study Tour in Naples. People had always told me that Naples was a dirty city, so I really was not expecting much when we got there. It actually reminded me of Rome, because it has a definite city (and less coastal) feeling, which is probably why everyone I had talked to found it dirty and unpleasant.

Napoli Spanish Quarter

We spent a lot of our Southern Italy trip looking more at urban design strategies (city scale) than individual buildings. In Naples, we compared the narrow, dense, very lived-in streets of the Spanish Quarter with the wider, pristine, covered streets of the Galleria Umberto. We sketched and looked at how the architecture and planning of these two completely different spaces affected social interactions and the general atmosphere of each area.

Galleria Umberto

When we were finished sketching in the Galleria Umberto, we regrouped at the intersection of the two streets to take a group photo. As the 20 of us all stood on evenly spaced floor tiles to form the base of the dome we were standing under, some other tourists noticed what we were doing and did the same. They had the most confused, "What the heck are we doing?" looks on their faces as they followed suit and stretched their arms out with us. It was mob mentality at its finest.

On the left are two of the tourists who helped us complete our circle
(Photo by Stephanie Cervantes)

We spent the rest of the day exploring other sights in Naples. We saw Castel Nuovo (a castle right by the bay), a couple of piazze, and the Duomo of Naples. We also looked at some Fascist architecture, which we had already seen some examples of in Rome.

Poste e Telegrafi Building (Fascist)

After our architectural tour, we went to the Museo Nazionale, an archeological museum. There was an exhibit there full of Roman sculptures from Palazzo Farnese, a site that is pretty familiar to us since it is right near our studio building in Rome. There were also exhibits featuring mosaics, pottery, and frescoes from Pompei and Herculaneum. There was one particular fresco that looked so familiar to me, and, at the time, I couldn't figure out why. I realized later that the portrait is in a poster that hangs above my bed in our apartment in Trastevere, and it was also featured in at least one of my high school Latin textbooks.

Frescoed portrait from Pompei in Museo Nazionale

As soon as we arrived in Naples, it was clear that Southern Italy had a different culture from Rome or Northern Italy. Compared to the northern cities, less Italians spoke fluent English in the south. They also spoke in a distinctly Southern dialect of Italian (or maybe it was just an accent; in any case, it took some getting used to). The people generally seemed to be more easygoing and relaxed in Southern Italy.

View of Mount Vesuvius from the roof of our hotel

Even the panini and pizze were different. Panini in the North are usually served on thinner slices of bread and pressed. The panini we had in the South were served on thick rolls (which reminded me fondly of Amoroso's rolls). Likewise, Northern Italian pizza has a very thin, often charred, crust, but the pizza in Southern Italy has a thick, chewy and delicious crust. On our first night, we actually had the opportunity to sample some at the place where the Pizza Margherita was supposedly invented. It was so good.

Forse Roma!

I just got back from the Roma vs. Juventus soccer game a couple of hours ago, and, fortunately, I'm still all in one piece. Italian soccer fans are so crazy! Curses, smoke, explosions...it's all just part of the experience.

Full stadium for the Roma vs. Juventus game

Throughout the game, the Juventus fans kept lighting things on fire, creating huge clouds of smoke that drifted through the stadium. Early in the game, and again after they scored, the Juventus fans set off booming firecrackers in the stands, which made everyone jump (some of us mistook them for gunshots at first). You know the fans are crazy when they enclose the opposing team's fans behind glass, bus them in early and don't let them leave until all of the home team's fans have left, and have an entire squad of security guards and firemen waiting down on the field in front of the stands, just in case.

Maroon and Gold smoke (A.S.Roma's colors) in the stands 

All in all, it was certainly a fun and eventful game! If only Roma had won...

La Dolce Far Niente

It is definitely springtime in Roma. The trees are flowering and the weather is sunny and warm (in the low 70s).

Cherry Blossoms in Our Courtyard

Therefore, we decided it was the perfect time to take a trip to the beach! It turns out that Roma has a train in its metro system that takes you from the stop closest to us to Ostia Lido, one of the public beaches. A group of us spent the entire day there. After an intense week of projects, an Italian final, and little sleep, it was so wonderful to spend a day basking in la dolce far niente ("the sweetness of doing nothing"). We soaked in the sun, waded in the cold Mediterranean, built a sandcastle (complete with a tunnel), and stayed late enough to watch the sunset. Having never been to the West Coast, it was the first time I've seen the sun set over the sea.

Sunset at Ostia Lido

Our daytrip to the beach, combined with our Southern Italy study tour this coming week, is making it really start to feel like summertime. It's going to be hard going back to classes and finishing out the semester after we get back from "spring break number four."