Happy Wednesday everyone. Welcome to my first Official Blog Post. You really do not need to worry about this unless you are in my class, because that is part of our grading. For right now, we will just move on to the collection of things that happened today.
The Air Conditioned Museum
There are a couple things that it feels like I will never get used to in Rome. One is the history that surrounds me to the extent I almost suffocate from excitement. Another is the seemingly random times a shop opens or closes. The one that is most uncomfortable for me is the heat. As a good Minnesota girl, I know to appreciate anything over 40 degrees (Farenheit, that is), but Rome is one of those places where I need sunscreen just to be outside, and the public water fountains are the only thing keeping me from dying of heat stroke. It gets hot here, is what I'm saying.
I was somewhat relieved, then, when we went to the Capitoline Museum. The Museum has a couple historical buildings built right into it. It's all just a matter of finding the signs. There is a temple overlooking the Forum, which was a great view.
Today I had a couple more experiences where the past popped up, photobomed the present, and disappoeared into the background again. I have been trying to improve my Italian, at least to a transactional degree. I went to the grocery store today, and the woman behind the checkout had greeted me with a "salve." Salve is a common greeting in Latin, and while I knew that it was also an Italian thing. The part of my brain that gets excited whenever I see a guy dressed up as a gladiator on the street got excited here and caused me to forget all the Italian I knew.
We also went to a church that was built directly into an ancient temple. I chose not to go to the catacomb level because at that point I was exhausted, but on the exterior of the building you could see the original columns. I am sure that someone who is more familiar with Romann architecture could have seen other signs that the building was once a temple as well.
The way that the church was built around the temple, rather than over it or not at all, is fascinating.
The Gelato
Today, I was feeling extremely traditional. I got strawberry gelato, which was the bomb. The gelato had real bits of strawberry in it and everything. It was definitely a good use of two euro.
That is the face of someone who is satisfied with her purchase.
Next Time
I have been feeling really ill lately. It is causing me to sleep through meals. As a result, I have had very lillte meat or vegetables since I left the US. Tune in as I attempt to get the proper nutrition in a city known for its food.
Ciao!
Great post, Morgan! I love your divisions, organization, and pictures! Very accessible and interesting. Let us know if there's anything we can do to help you be healthy!
ReplyDeleteI completely understand the your suffocation from the excitement of all the history that surrounds you when we visited these ancient sites so far. I feel the exact same way when viewing all of this history right before our eyes. It is also incredibly awesome that you found someone who says salve which as you said is a Latin greeting but I didn't know that modern Italians still used it! I hope I meet someone who does!
ReplyDeleteHey, Morgan! I found this post to be especially entertaining. I definitely understand the excitement you're feeling when looking at all of these sites. It's really different to be able to look at these things in person rather than just learning about them in a classroom. Did the sites meet your expectations? On a completely non-academic note, the strawberry gelato is the bomb and everyone in our group needs to try it before we go back home!
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