Adventures in Rome so far 6/09/2010

Living in Rome has been amazing so far! The first week my roommates and I visited many sites throughout the city. We took the tour of the Vatican, and I'm so happy we did. It was so surreal looking at the amazing art work and trying to grasp how important all the pieces were. Our tour guide was great, and the whole group learned a lot that day. We also went into the Basilica, and wandering around the square for the rest of the day.
The Colosseum was also a great experience.  We went inside and walked around reading all the facts about the history, and got to see what the Gladiators wore. Its crazy learning about the Colosseum in school, and watching so many movies based off it. To actually be there, and be able to say I saw the inside of the Colosseum is something I'm very thankful for.
I have also really enjoyed taking the Italian history and culture class. I did not know very much, if not anything really about Italy's culture and history. Learning about all the historical sites, and being able to go to them on our days off is incredible.
We have been in Rome for almost three weeks now, and time is flying!! My roommate and I only take the class on Monday (Italian History and Culture) so we are privledged to be able to go explore other parts of Italy, and it has been amazing so far!! So beautiful!

Gusto in the Gusto Lab 6-1-2010

Today was a great day in Rome. After my first session in The History of Food, a few of us went out to the Villa Borghese. The best way I could describe this is the Central Park of Rome. In the center of the city there is a massive park with ponds, trails, trees and statues. We were really exhausted so we found a nice little spot of grass and took a brief nap.  

We returned to the Pantheon Institute and took a field trip down to the Gusto Lab. The Gusto Lab is a very modern/ chic wine tasting lab. Upon entering, we were greeted by the owner, Sonia, a very bold younger Italian entrepreneur. We entered the wine tasting room, which was able to accommodate all of us. We had a world class server, sommelier, who has credentials from professional resorts, and serving institutions. We tasted various wines and olive oils. We were instructed on presentation, matching, tasting, smelling, pouring, and even opening the bottle. This was very informative and we were able to taste some fine wine paired with delicious cheeses and breads. 

I was actually able to enjoy some of the red wines. I am usually a white wine person, and cannot drink many red wines, however, their wines had a great flavor and were very smooth to the tongue. I could get used to this. 

-G. Mario Ulibarri

6-6-2010 Mass at the Vatican

     It's been a couple of day's since i've contiplated going to mass at the Vatican.  Two views that held me back from making my decision was, first-the news on the radio reported the Pope was going to be in the Middle East and second- i'm not Catholic, although it's been assumed by many that I was Catholic because of my race. 

    My arguments: I have journeyd to Roma for the purpose of education and to experience a culture that was not my own.  Also, I was brought up in a bible reading, faith based christian church, which through history has been separated through religious opposition, yet... share the same biblical foundation-Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  The fact that the Pope was not going to preside over this particular mass, brought up the question "why go?" (culture); and yet I'm a believer...of God as Father, Jesus Son and Savior and of the Holy Spirit (faith).  
It was'nt until late yesterday evening (June 5) that I decided to go.  While on a walk I began to meditate through the streets of Rome, I realized that I should'nt be concerned about who presides over mass,  but why mass is being celebrated.  To gather as the people of God under one roof (in this case theVatican) to worship God and to rejoice over the saving grace of Jesus. I was intrested in seeing the Pope but... what I was most intrested in- was the man that represents a slice of Religious History.  A few hundred years ago I would have been one of the heritics that would have been burned at the stake, by this same same appointed seat.  I arrived early sunday morning to beat the crowds...

No lines, no crowds just two hand-full of tourists waiting for the first mass to begin, in portuguese.  Along with studying Italian I also studied Portuguese so I entered with the faithful from Brazil. Back at home I'm used  to going to church on sundays for two and some hours, so I decided to remain seated and listened to the second mass in Italian.  When this mass was over the masses of people were already snapping pictures and observing the third lituragy.     

It seemed to me that the Romans have forgotten of what it's like to have such a magnificint structure in which to worship in.  I have heard from scholars that the Roman Catholic Church in Italia is losing it's parishoners, but not to other denominations but rather to their own free wills.  I realize that the Vatican is rich in history, however in my opinion the faithfull gather to see a man rather than the purpose of the structure.  Worship

Martin 

                                                                                                                                               

2nd week into Roma! By Sarah Bryant

Hey All!

Im writing you two weeks into my amazing visit of Rome, Italy. Today we went to the tiniest country in the world with the population of 300!!!! (If you guessed Vatican City, you guessed right!) It was so amazing I cannot even find the words to explain it to you all. When we walked into St. Peter's Square it took my breath away and did not even care about the heat, the line, the cost of getting in ( although that one is not so true haha), the people screaming, nothing, just true peace. This place was almost magical it was weird how it had that affect on me. So the line is really long to get in but its all good because we just took pictures and absorbed the fact we were at the place where the Pope lives!

So we finally got in! Then there were more lines but we decided to climb the steps all the way to the top of the dome in St. Peters Basillica and wow I do not think I have ever seen so many steps! There were like 400 - 500 steps we were told but when we got to the top the view was to die for I have attached some pictures in this email for you to see. After that we went to the Vatican Museum and saw the Sistine Chappel and all I can say is WOW! I do not even know how Michelangelo was able to paint that it just was simply marvelous!

Thats all for now...
Ciao
Sarah Bryant

Second Week in Roma

It is Friday June 4, 2010, 11:47 pm. It’s our second week here in Rome and it has gone by quite fast. Even though it seems that we've done a lot here and have seen so much, there is still much more to see and do. Since I've been here I've already taken in so much. Many events have occurred like the Day of the Italian Republic that was this past Wednesday. Is was great being a part of this day and watching the parade. Different groups of the military and the Italian president marched down the Via Dei Fori Imperiali, right along the Coliseum. It was amazing! What a long parade it was but quite an experience. So many people showed up to this parade and getting out of this area was a little bit of a hassle but we managed to stumble right out of the crowed.



I don’t think this has ever happened to me before, it just had to happen to me in Roma, but maybe it was a good thing. Well, you might think that this is just unfortunate but think again. As a group of us were walking back to our flats from the parade that same day, I felt a splash coming down from the sky and Jonique who was behind me saw the splash too but she couldn’t quite point it out. This all happened in a split second and as soon as I turned to my left shoulder I saw a little puddle of Wight bird poop sitting on my black t-shirt. It was discussing and I yelled out loud, "gross!" Yes, everyone laughed a little bit and Nicole quickly got a paper towel and whipped it off her me. Thank you Nicole! An Italian older man saw the whole thing and as soon as he walked passed me he said "good fortune" in Italian, "good fortune." I didn’t know what he meant at the time but Jonique told me he said good fortune and when a bird poops on you it means good fortune Italy. Well, I guess I'm a lucky one then.



Later that night, Sarah, Nicole, Jonique, and I had all purchased our monthly metro tickets and we thought to stop somewhere we haven’t been before, so we picked the San Giovanni stop. There arent very many tourist sights around here but we did see many shops. We even had one of the greatest cappuccinos in this area. It was only a euro and very sweet with just the right amount of crème. We walked and talked through the streets of Rome, sipping our cappuccinos. It was great!



This day was quite eventful and everyday is like this. Everyday we discover something new. I love being here and being around the people that I'm with.

Crystal Holguin

First blog

Hello All!


So we had our ifrst day of class today, it is almost unreal that I am here. In order to get to our building where class is, I have get on the metro (have never done that before) our stop is called p'aza de spagna (sounds like espana like espanola) then we walk down cobblestone streets with scuh gorgeous architecture it is like looking at a movie! We have to pass the spanish steps on our right with this fountain in front of them. Then about five minutes later the trevi fountain is on our left, this is by far one of the prettiest things I ahve ever seen! As you look down into the pit of these fountains there are like 6 statues of gods and this water is shooting out ever so elegant, at night it brought a tear to my eye. They say if you throw two cois in this fountain and make a wish it will bring you luck and the love of your life will appear. After passing the fountain you pass the pantheon the oldest building in Rome. i have yet to see inside but just the outside alone is beautiful. The story behind this building is inside you see The great Julius Caeser (yes, caeser actually lived here!) Venus and tons of other gods. The translation of Pantheon means "house of gods", so like I said UNREAL! I have yet to see the colliseum and vatican city but did you know that is the smallest country in the world. In order to live in Vatican City you have to be associated with the Vatican or the Pope or something. (Talk about members only!)

The men here are gorgeous !!!!! So well kempt and the hair, its like a city full of Patrick Dempseys hahaha. But everything here (I mean the food) is natural and fresh, like they dont have the only fatty big macs, they use real cheese and you dont see any obese people here! Plus you walk everywhere. Their gelatto here is considered healthy to have everyday as a snack. ( who would have thought it would ever be considered healthy to eat so much ice cream!)

This has opened my eyes in a way I didnt think I could move them! I'm so lucky and fortunate to be doing this at 21! Im off to something else hope all is well!

Florence

This past weekend Nicole, Martin, Crystal, and I went to Florence on the train. We were very excited to go on a weekend trip, and it was a lot of fun. We took the train from Rome, which was a new experience that we all got to share together. When we go to Florence we decided to find a hotel first, we walked around for a bit, but after about an hour and a half or so we found a place to stay. We noticed a few differences right off the bat, for starters, there are a lot of Americans, and also people that speak English in Florence compared to here in Rome, the men in Florence are a lot more aggressive as well. When we were walking around that night we saw more people, and families riding bikes, as opposed to driving cars, or mopeds. On Saturday we got up early and went to see the statue of David, it was pretty amazing, we all sat there for a while and just tried to take in as much as possible. All in all we had a great weekend, and I think Florence is for sure a place everyone should visit! -Jonique Sais