Gl 350; week due

     Ah Rome! A city that is famous for everything; food fashion, art, history and the way it is able to captivate the tourists who come to visit. Now, wait a second, I am not here to only visit but to stay for a while….”I am not a tourist, I live here”, at least for eight weeks and six now. As for this week we went to the Spanish Steps, piazza de Popolo, and the Appia Antia. Going to the Appia Antia was by far the best.

    The Appia Antia, one for the oldest roads in Rome, some parts of huge old chucks of cobblestone and other little small chunks. The big chunks were by far the worst to go over with on a bike, yes, we were on a bike. The bikes were not liking the cobblestone or my butt, but… the views and whole bike riding in Rome was amazing! Now, in our readings for the week in “the Smiles of Rome” Jane Alison’s section “The love artist” talked about a man named Ovid going into exile from the country he loves. He passes by all these places in Rome that belongs to he country like, the circular temple, the Aventine and the city of Ostia Antica. He is traveling down this road through Rome awaiting his exile and he asked an officer “Does that mean I can bring Rome with me”? He says this because Rome is in his heart forever, apart of him and who he is, a Roman. This does not really have anything to go with the Appia Antia except for Ovid traveling on a road to his exile and me traveling a road that could lead me back to home or, campus.

     The charm of Italy, it is true, I have been captivated by it. What captivated me? I think it was the history, the art and the beauty and history of the churches around Rome. The Churches are the biggest part of what has captivated me because of being a new catholic and excited to learn more and see more about the religion I am choosing to follow. In “the Italians”, chapter 3, the author talks about “the fatal charm of Italy”, talks about the Pope, specifically, “The Pope has once again become a great spiritual leader, a symbolic figure, the moral head of all forces of good against evil”. I am so excited to see the Pope at the end of our trip and especially being able to go to the Papal audience. Then, in the chapter it says “Of course, natural beauty and famous views are abundant in Italy. Such things, however, are not unknown elsewhere. Nature is usually more inspiring even in the United States…”. I wondered to myself how could this author possibly compare Italy’s natural beauty to the United States, because I have lived there almost 20 years now and I have not seen beauty that can touch this place. Maybe when I go back to the United States and find a natural beauty that can rival Italy but as for now, Italy has won.

     “The air is in fact filled with so much noise that one must usually talk in a very loud voice to be understood, thereby increasing the total uproar”. On pg 60 in “the Italians”, the author wrote this. I can relate to what the author wrote about the Spanish steps, oh my word were they packed. The steps were occupied with tourists, lots of tourists, more than I have seen so far and just good old Italians waiting on the steps for someone. Since the steps are know to people as a meeting place, everyone really does meet there, it is like a maze trying to walk up those steps to get to the top. The Spanish step or piazza de Spania, was beautiful, but not as what I expected, maybe because I pictured something else in my mind or just because I was not interested in steps, who knows. Then on pg 69 of “the Italians” it says “the fact that everybody, or almost everybody, seems to be doing his job with whole-hearted dedication and enthusiasm is what impresses travelers next”. I believe this passage does not speak for Most of the Italian workers today, from the people I have seem very few are sincere others are just probably to the point of hating tourist and only liking their money, but do they really care about how happy they seem or how hard they work?

     This week I was able to see three beautiful churches; the art work was just gorgeous and amazing. How can someone paint something so big? Also just being in the churches surrounded by a holy presence is just relaxing, calming and peaceful. Just sitting down in a church for a while is something I am trying to do every time I go into one. I know the names of the churches I went into but I just can’t remember at this moment. As for being in Rome this week, it was again amazing, but I have noticed that the waiters and service at restraints suck, they suck and the servers get paid for doing a horrible job. I have not found a good waiter yet, even though I have managed to find a couple who are somewhat cheerful. As for having seven more weeks, I am ready to see more of the City around me and explore the bounty of art and history around me.