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| St. Peters Basilica at Sunset |
So this past week has been filled with more or less menial tasks (as menial as they can get in Rome!), like waiting 3 hours outside a post office to turn in my Permission to Stay paperwork (apparently applying for a visa is not enough), and meeting with advisors. Luckily, I survived the Intensive Italian week! After finishing our first quiz, my Italian class, along with the more fluent Italian speakers in the 400-level course, attended a lecture by a gentleman who was a child in one of the Jewish Ghettos in Rome in the 1940s. It was an extreme honor to have the opportunity to attend the presentation, and despite it all being in Italian, I was moved by his experiences. Slowly, but surely, I am coming to understand the language better, and hopefully by the end of the semester (sooner would be better though!) I'll be somewhat fluent. Being immersed in the language and culture helps a lot.
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| My attempt at photographing the Sistine Chapel |
Friday night my roommate Becca and I went to the Vatican City Museums, and attended a rare, night tour of the galleries and grounds. It was spectacular. I cannot think of other words to describe it than that. The Galleries were beautiful, some filled with art and sculpture I've studied in courses at my school, others I wish I knew more about. Walking through the halls filled to the brim with art, I was once again reminded of just how lucky I am to be in this country, to be able to experience all that I have been able to. The crown jewel of the night, of course, was sitting in the Sistine Chapel, and looking up at the paintings that are still so vibrant as the day they were finished. It was breathtaking, and despite attempting to sneak a few photos of the ceiling (it is against the rules, but come on...its the Sistine Chapel, people!), I know I will never be able to replace that feeling. It is better than the pictures online; it is better than anyone could ever imagine.
After being in the Sistine Chapel, everything else we saw just couldn't compare. Since the Vatican is about an hour walk away from my apartment, and it was such a beautiful night, we left early from the Museums, ready to take on the weekend.
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| Inside the Vatican Museums |
Saturday, my ISC was going to take us to the Medieval Festival in Orte, a town about a hour outside of Rome. Of course, not everything goes as planned, as Saturday night saw Becca and I sitting outside of the train station in LOWER Orte, waiting for our ISC who got on the WRONG train, unable to find the festival (apparently because it was in UPPER Orte, a simple busride away from the trainstation--did we know that? nope!) Upside of our turn of events was being able to finally eat Italian pizza (soo goood!) and learning how Rome Termini (the main train/bus/metro terminal in Rome) works, for future trips. So at least there is that...
Today was the first day of classes, which was pretty exciting...Only having Italian has been a bit boring, so I was looking forward to bringing some change to my schedule, and learn a new routine. I wasn't disappointed. I had three classes today, and already have a small heap of homework, though all interesting. I am taking Contemporary Italian Politics, Italian Travel Literature, International Peace and Conflict Resolution, an Archaeology Seminar (for my internship, hopefully!), and of course, Italian. As much as I hate to admit it (though I don't really...) I'm excited to start learning again! Yes...lame, but oh well.
I won't wait a week to write again, so hopefully I'll have something to say in a few days! Ciao!
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