I've arrived back in Rome, which I have to say, flying over the city as we were landing was bittersweet. For one, I get to speak some Italian again! Just as I thought I wouldn't be able to practice anymore, I get to use it a little bit more. The sad part is that I am so close to the city, yet will not be spending any time in it. Even with a 10 hour layover, it wouldn't make sense to go to Rome late at night. So I'm sitting at my gate, the first flight being mine at 9:50am, collecting my thoughts about this final blog.
A quick note on my flight, I know I ranted about Alitalia in the last post, and I was pleasantly surprised to board a pretty new and nice plane after I hit "publish post". It was an Airbus A320 "Enhanced" which I guess means it is newer and has enhanced technology like TV's in the headrests (all my other alitalia flights had TV's like coach buses that pop down from the ceiling every 10 rows or so), but they were never turned on. Even if they had been, there was a credit card swiper also attached to the back of the head rest right next to the tiny screen, so I'm guessing nothing is complimentary. On my flight from Newark to Rome, they played 1 movie over an entire 8 hour flight. Lets hope I get an "enhanced" plane in the morning.
I've thought a lot about writing this last post. Ever since I wrote the first post in Rome actually, I've thought about what I would talk about, how to finish off the blog, etc. Sitting in an empty terminal in Rome, well I knew that was coming, but the complete quiet is really something completely different than any airport experience in the past 3 months.
So I guess let me start off with the list I promised, the one that is basically a brief recap of my experiences.
I flew by myself for the first time
...to my first foreign country
...where they don't speak English
...and I didn't speak the language
I attended an all girls college
...with 1 other guy
...and some really great girls
...who never made it awkward for us two guys
I lived in a 4 star hotel
... In the Center of Rome
... Right down the street from the Pantheon
I worked at the Vatican
...in the internet office
...and wore a suit every day
...at 8am every morning
I got to help make Virtual Tours for the Vatican
...had full photography rights to St. Peter's Basilica
...and St. Mary Major
...and especially St. Paul's Outside the Walls
I went Inside the Walls
...twice
...and saw infrastructures of the Vatican that few have ever seen
I went on the Scavi tours
...and saw the tomb of St. Peter
I met one of the Pope's security guards
...and he gave us VIP treatment while photographing
I learned a new language in 3 months
...enough to survive in the country
...and not stress every time I had to speak Italian
...to the point I actually enjoyed using it
I have a new love for Italian food
...Pasta
...Pizza
...Gelato
...and will never be able to eat Italian food without comparing it to its counterpart in Italy
I traveled Italy pretty extensively
...Rome
...Florence
...Mantua
...Ferrara
...Padua
...Bologna
...Ravenna
...Venice
...Naples
...Pompei
...Capri
I traveled Europe a good amount as well
...Barcelona
...Paris
...Nice
...London
...Amsterdam
...Brussels
...Bruges
...Dublin
I became a frequent flyer
...7 flights in my last 11 days
...14 flights total
...with lots of buses, trains, trams, trolleys, boats, taxis and every other form of transportation in-between
I walked, and walked, and walked all around Europe
I celebrated a birthday in Rome
...and of all birthdays, my 21st
I had 4 groups of visitors
...14 people total
...and met up with other friends in-between
I went to two concerts
...Dave Matthews Band
...John Butler Trio
I performed twice in Rome
...and was asked to play my first encore to a packed back room
I went to a European soccer game
...and survived to tell the tale
I lived in Europe for 98 days
...wrote 79 blog posts
...which had 6,440 views
...from 342 visitors
...18 countries
...24 different states in the U.S.
...and 176 U.S. Cities
and had an amazing time sharing my experiences at the Vatican, Living in Rome, Traveling Europe, and everything else that came my way...
I hope you've enjoyed the ride. Breathe easy, we've made it.
So what's next?
Well I'm going to Quebec in 3 days with BRMS, which should be an awesome experience, first time in Canada. I figured why stop traveling now?
There are also some preliminary plans for a documentary about Haiti that I would work on, which we would travel to Haiti for 3 weeks to film over the summer. Very preliminary plans, nothing solid yet as far as I know, so I'll keep you all updated about it.
How will I keep you updated? Clearly I'm not Inside the walls anymore, and this post is called The End?!!
Due to the success of the blog, and how much fun I've had with it, I've decided to start another blog, "After The Walls" which will let me to continue writing a blog. Mind you, this will not be an every day thing. Maybe not even a weekly thing. But when I feel like it, or when I'm on a trip like in Haiti, I will be sure to blog like I did in Rome. I will setup an email notification system on that blog so that you can receive emails whenever I update so you don't have to check constantly for new posts when there are none. The URL is: ramlax13.blogspot.com
I will also be posting pictures into the posts that don't have pictures, so be sure to check back within the next few days for the final versions of all of those posts.
It's 7am here, just about 2 hours until the plane boards, and I'm ready to get going.
What am I looking forward to at home? Here's the final list.
Seeing my friends and family
Living in a house, not a dorm or hotel room
Summer Vacation
...The Jersey Shore (Silverton, not Seaside)
Visiting Villanova, and celebrating Matt going to Villanova next year
All my musical equipment, Guitars, drums, you name it
Playing with my band again (They've been hard at work, name change, roster update and all, wildmonicaband.com)
Working on more films
Speaking English, American English, not British English
Driving (not the paying for gas part)
And in 5 months, the start to Senior year at Villanova
Thank you all again for your support and continuing to read as I posted every day. I plan on having this blog printed into a hardcover book sometime over the summer, comments included, so if you haven't left your name in a comment yet, or you have commented and just want to make one last comment, please, please, everyone and anyone, comment in this last post so that I can have your comments printed in the book, as a record of people who read and enjoyed this blog. I'm going to leave the blog up, hopefully as a source of information for people who will be traveling to Italy or are just interested in the topics I talked about, so feel free to come back and visit anytime.
Sincerely, and with an overwhelming appreciation for all of the readers,
Ryan Mahoney
Showing posts with label Traveling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Traveling. Show all posts
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
One last trip in Italy...
So this is my final open weekend in Rome, so I will be making a final trip within Italy for it.
Traveling Italy has been incredible. If there is one country you can travel to multiple cities and never get bored, it is, from my experience, Italy. I’ve been to so many different small cities and each one has its own unique feel and culture to it. Being that Italy was and has always been very much segregated by region, they still hold their own regional cultural values and traditions in high regard. It’s definitely a pride thing for the Italians.
Traveling Italy has been incredible. If there is one country you can travel to multiple cities and never get bored, it is, from my experience, Italy. I’ve been to so many different small cities and each one has its own unique feel and culture to it. Being that Italy was and has always been very much segregated by region, they still hold their own regional cultural values and traditions in high regard. It’s definitely a pride thing for the Italians.
It seems that many people agree with the above statement. For their spring break, Becky and her friends decided to travel Italy, visiting Rome first, then going north to Florence with a couple side trips up there, and now down to Naples, with side trips to Capri and Pompei. I’ve decided to join them on their journey south.
This is my first time going south, and I have to say I’m quite excited for it. I’ve heard so many cool things about Capri and Pompei, and of course Naples has its own unique qualities.
I’ll be getting on a train tomorrow to head down to Naples, where we will stay. It’s only an hour and ten minute ride from Rome, which is nice to be able to get somewhere so quickly and not have to deal with the airport security and all of the minor hassles that come with flying.
I’ll be getting on a train tomorrow to head down to Naples, where we will stay. It’s only an hour and ten minute ride from Rome, which is nice to be able to get somewhere so quickly and not have to deal with the airport security and all of the minor hassles that come with flying.
Seeing as it is my final trip, I’ll be sure to take tons of pictures (just reminded myself to charge my camera battery, that would be pretty terrible if I didn’t), and will of course be back online Sunday night or Monday to blog about the entire thing, as I have with all my other trips.
I’ll leave you now with a gallery of pictures I call, “My days with the Pope” which are a compilation of the three different days over the past three weeks that I saw the Pope (2 Angelus’, one Audience) and also my visit to the Vatican Museum, and another visit to St. Peter’s.
I’ll leave you now with a gallery of pictures I call, “My days with the Pope” which are a compilation of the three different days over the past three weeks that I saw the Pope (2 Angelus’, one Audience) and also my visit to the Vatican Museum, and another visit to St. Peter’s.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
A month ago...
I was trying to come up with an interesting topic for my post tonight, but with being in full swing at the Vatican and with classes and traveling, I was only able to really focus on one topic tonight. I've been here exactly a month now. 30 days ago I landed in Rome, my first time in a foreign country, surrounded by a language I had no comprehension of, and not sure what to expect for the next three months.
A month later it is hard to put myself back in that position. The time has been flying by, and yet with my comfort level it feels as though I've been here for a year (I would hope however that my Italian would be better had I actually been here a year already).
So lets look back at the last 30 days...shall we? (You know you don't have a choice, like it or not I'm going to do this):
For the first time I took an international flight, by myself nonetheless. I used my passport for the first time in a Foreign Country. I've begun to learn another foreign language. I am enrolled in an all girls school. I am living in a hotel in the center of historic Rome. I experienced the Italian Christmas season. I am interning at the Vatican. I had exclusive access to private areas of St. Peter's Basilica. I've had my first real gelato, and have tried lots of new foods. I've acquired a taste for espresso and cappuccino. I take daily walks, just because. I wear a suit every day. I've been to my first real soccer game. I've seen more smart cars and mopeds than I ever thought existed. I learned how to haggle in Italian. I've toured most of Rome's famous monuments and attractions. I've written 28 blog posts. I've survived without internet and TV. I've traveled for a weekend to Barcelona. I've stayed in my first hostel and I've made a lot of new friends along the way.
So that's one third of my trip, my experience. So what's to come?
How about a trip to Paris this weekend, multiple visits from family and friends (4 separate visits and counting...), a weekend in Florence, a 5 day trip to northern Italy, a pilgrimage, a day trip to siena, a weekend in southern Italy, a video project for St. Paul Outside-The-Walls, learning more Italian, a Dave Matthews Band concert in Rome, at least one more soccer match, a couple final exams, and to wrap it up, a trip to London, with short trips to Prague, Amsterdam, Vienna, Ireland,(maybe more?), a State Radio concert, and by my estimation, about another 60 of these blog posts, all before heading back home on April 10th.
Are you up for the challenge? You keep reading and commenting and I'll keep posting. Hold on tight, I'm just warming up...
A month later it is hard to put myself back in that position. The time has been flying by, and yet with my comfort level it feels as though I've been here for a year (I would hope however that my Italian would be better had I actually been here a year already).
So lets look back at the last 30 days...shall we? (You know you don't have a choice, like it or not I'm going to do this):
For the first time I took an international flight, by myself nonetheless. I used my passport for the first time in a Foreign Country. I've begun to learn another foreign language. I am enrolled in an all girls school. I am living in a hotel in the center of historic Rome. I experienced the Italian Christmas season. I am interning at the Vatican. I had exclusive access to private areas of St. Peter's Basilica. I've had my first real gelato, and have tried lots of new foods. I've acquired a taste for espresso and cappuccino. I take daily walks, just because. I wear a suit every day. I've been to my first real soccer game. I've seen more smart cars and mopeds than I ever thought existed. I learned how to haggle in Italian. I've toured most of Rome's famous monuments and attractions. I've written 28 blog posts. I've survived without internet and TV. I've traveled for a weekend to Barcelona. I've stayed in my first hostel and I've made a lot of new friends along the way.
So that's one third of my trip, my experience. So what's to come?
How about a trip to Paris this weekend, multiple visits from family and friends (4 separate visits and counting...), a weekend in Florence, a 5 day trip to northern Italy, a pilgrimage, a day trip to siena, a weekend in southern Italy, a video project for St. Paul Outside-The-Walls, learning more Italian, a Dave Matthews Band concert in Rome, at least one more soccer match, a couple final exams, and to wrap it up, a trip to London, with short trips to Prague, Amsterdam, Vienna, Ireland,(maybe more?), a State Radio concert, and by my estimation, about another 60 of these blog posts, all before heading back home on April 10th.
Are you up for the challenge? You keep reading and commenting and I'll keep posting. Hold on tight, I'm just warming up...
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Blast from the past
Today we had some unexpected visitors to the office. Two Villanova graduates, who had participated in the Vatican internship program in the fall of 2006, Gloria and Chris, stopped by because they were in Rome. We had a really nice conversation with them at work and decided we should get together tonight to talk about our experiences.
When Gloria and Chris were here, they were not part of the Saint Mary’s Program. The program was very new at that point and many of the kinks were still being worked out. Regardless, they still found their experiences in Rome to be so influential that they have both come back to Rome multiple times since their study abroad program 4 years ago.
It was awesome to hear their stories and see the love they have for the Vatican program and for Rome. When they came into the office they were welcomed as if they were long lost relatives, with hugs and kisses, everyone happy to see them.
We decided to go to dinner tonight and we invited our Italian teacher who had also been their teacher, Carlotta, to join us. We went to dinner on Roman time, so 9pm, and Carlotta recommended a restaurant to us in Trastevere, a very nice neighborhood full of restaurants and shops. It was by no means a tourist restaurant, and it helped that we had Gloria and Carlotta with us, Gloria who speaks fluent Italian, and Carlotta being a Roman native, who not only understands the language but the culture behind it all.
Our food was fantastic. Home made pastas and pizza at a great price. The tiramisu though was the highlight of the night. Though it did not look anything like your normal tiramisu, it was probably the best I’ve ever had (Chris agreed, he has refused to eat tiramisu since the last time he had been at the restaurant).
It was a special night for all of us, and one that will forever be in my most prized memories of my time here. The experiences that Gloria and Chris shared and their connection with Rome formed while they were studying here makes me certain I will be back to visit many times throughout my life. Their friendship with Carlotta is still strong after all these years. I can only hope I can come back and have dinner with future Villanova Vatian internship students, share my experiences with them, and have the same impact that Gloria and Chris had on me tonight.
When Gloria and Chris were here, they were not part of the Saint Mary’s Program. The program was very new at that point and many of the kinks were still being worked out. Regardless, they still found their experiences in Rome to be so influential that they have both come back to Rome multiple times since their study abroad program 4 years ago.
It was awesome to hear their stories and see the love they have for the Vatican program and for Rome. When they came into the office they were welcomed as if they were long lost relatives, with hugs and kisses, everyone happy to see them.
We decided to go to dinner tonight and we invited our Italian teacher who had also been their teacher, Carlotta, to join us. We went to dinner on Roman time, so 9pm, and Carlotta recommended a restaurant to us in Trastevere, a very nice neighborhood full of restaurants and shops. It was by no means a tourist restaurant, and it helped that we had Gloria and Carlotta with us, Gloria who speaks fluent Italian, and Carlotta being a Roman native, who not only understands the language but the culture behind it all.
Our food was fantastic. Home made pastas and pizza at a great price. The tiramisu though was the highlight of the night. Though it did not look anything like your normal tiramisu, it was probably the best I’ve ever had (Chris agreed, he has refused to eat tiramisu since the last time he had been at the restaurant).
It was a special night for all of us, and one that will forever be in my most prized memories of my time here. The experiences that Gloria and Chris shared and their connection with Rome formed while they were studying here makes me certain I will be back to visit many times throughout my life. Their friendship with Carlotta is still strong after all these years. I can only hope I can come back and have dinner with future Villanova Vatian internship students, share my experiences with them, and have the same impact that Gloria and Chris had on me tonight.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Some wires
A while ago I posted a long blog post about being "unwired". One of the major points of that blog was the lack of a cell phone. Well, I caved, and now have an Italian cell phone number.
(I do warn you that this may be a very techy post, so bear with me if it's not your thing and I'll try and explain it clearly)
For the first two weeks I was attempting to buy the skype phone offered by the mobile carrier 3(tre). What I found though is that the service provider 3 is not very good in Italy. I'm a tech junkie. When I go to get a new piece of technology I do my research. I had been researching cell phones abroad for months before I left. So when I went into the 3 store, I knew what I wanted and that they offered it. The salesperson disagreed with me. I was told even though it is advertised all over their website that I could not only not purchase the skypephone, but I could not get a pay as you go plan from them at all unless I signed a 24 month contract. After a frustrating argument, with the sales person speaking broken english and myself speaking very, very broken Italian, I left empty handed only to walk a block down to the TIM store, where I purchased a SIM card (I already had the phone from a friend, thanks Tim!(not TIM the cell company, Tim the person, confusing I know))
For all the non-techy readers, cell phone contracts work a little differently in Europe than in the States. You do not normally sign your freedom away to a service provider for 2 years. You instead buy a phone(cheaper than in the U.S I may add), and then buy a SIM card from one of the providers here. A SIM card is universal and can go into any phone. It is assigned your number so any phone you put your card in automatically gets connected with your number and service provider. Pretty cool huh? Well it gets better: As I mentioned, contracts don't really exist. Instead you pay-as-you-go. You put 10 euro or however much on your phone. You have an agreement with your service provider that you will pay x amount of money per minute for all calls you make. In my case, this is 10 cents a minute for every call I make. Notice how I said every call you make, because receiving calls is totally free. When you run out, you put more money on your account, either online or buying a prepaid recharge card from any "tobacco store" (tabacchi in Italian, basically a convenience store).
Now lets compare this to the American system of cell contracts. We will ignore exchange rates because for natives of the respective countries that's not important, and I'm going to refer to all currencies as dollars or $. Right now Verizon Wireless' cheapest individual plan is $40 for 450 minutes per month. That includes no text messaging, just 450 minutes of using your cell phone's main function, talking (I know hard to believe that's what they were made for, right?). I'm sure that includes free nights and weekends, but to me that doesn't really factor in, what matters is the ability to call someone at any time.
Take that same $40 and apply it to my rate. That's 400 minutes if you pay 10 cents a minute. Very similar isn't it. In fact, Verizon might even look more appealing at first glance. I think not. Those 400 minutes I have from the $40 I placed on my account, they don't disappear at the end of the month. I'm not restricted per month. Okay, so AT&T has rollover minutes don't they? So if you only use 200 minutes one month you get to keep the extra 200 minutes (we've all seen the commercials, "those minutes are still good!") Yes you get those minutes, but you are still paying $40 again that 2nd month for another 400 minutes. Now why do you need another 400 minutes if you just rolled over 200? See what I'm getting at?
$40 dollars prepaid. It lasts for as long as I need it. If I use 400 minutes a month, poof they're gone when I've used them all. If I only need 200 minutes a month, well then look at that I really only paid $20 a month. Busy month? Lots of gossip? Simply put more money into your account, for the same rate you've been paying all along. Verizon charges 45 cents per every minute you go over your monthly allowance. I might be beating a dead horse but lets do a little math. 600 minutes in a month? If you're using my prepaid service that will cost you $60. Verizon's 450 minute contract? $40 for the first 450 minutes, + $0.45 x 150 = $107.50. In other words, for less than it costs to pay for those 150 extra minutes, you could have 600 minutes on prepaid. Not to mention you don't pay for any calls received! (Sticking with the math theme: Free incoming calls > Free nights and weekends)
Phone break? Not happy with the one you have? Just want to upgrade? Sure, pick which one you want, buy it, and put your SIM card in, none of this waiting 2 years to get a new phone.
Anyone feel ripped off by their U.S. cell contract? I sure do. I'm not going to even get into the whole data/internet on phones argument, this post is already borderline rant, but for those interested one line of stats:
On ANY phone: Verizon: $15 per month for 25mb of data over the entire month, TIM: $10 a month for 50mb of data a day (You see where the rant would come in?)
The phones are better, the plans and pricing is better, and the coverage from what I've seen is the same if not better. All those ready to switch to the European system raise your hand...
(I do warn you that this may be a very techy post, so bear with me if it's not your thing and I'll try and explain it clearly)
For the first two weeks I was attempting to buy the skype phone offered by the mobile carrier 3(tre). What I found though is that the service provider 3 is not very good in Italy. I'm a tech junkie. When I go to get a new piece of technology I do my research. I had been researching cell phones abroad for months before I left. So when I went into the 3 store, I knew what I wanted and that they offered it. The salesperson disagreed with me. I was told even though it is advertised all over their website that I could not only not purchase the skypephone, but I could not get a pay as you go plan from them at all unless I signed a 24 month contract. After a frustrating argument, with the sales person speaking broken english and myself speaking very, very broken Italian, I left empty handed only to walk a block down to the TIM store, where I purchased a SIM card (I already had the phone from a friend, thanks Tim!(not TIM the cell company, Tim the person, confusing I know))
For all the non-techy readers, cell phone contracts work a little differently in Europe than in the States. You do not normally sign your freedom away to a service provider for 2 years. You instead buy a phone(cheaper than in the U.S I may add), and then buy a SIM card from one of the providers here. A SIM card is universal and can go into any phone. It is assigned your number so any phone you put your card in automatically gets connected with your number and service provider. Pretty cool huh? Well it gets better: As I mentioned, contracts don't really exist. Instead you pay-as-you-go. You put 10 euro or however much on your phone. You have an agreement with your service provider that you will pay x amount of money per minute for all calls you make. In my case, this is 10 cents a minute for every call I make. Notice how I said every call you make, because receiving calls is totally free. When you run out, you put more money on your account, either online or buying a prepaid recharge card from any "tobacco store" (tabacchi in Italian, basically a convenience store).
Now lets compare this to the American system of cell contracts. We will ignore exchange rates because for natives of the respective countries that's not important, and I'm going to refer to all currencies as dollars or $. Right now Verizon Wireless' cheapest individual plan is $40 for 450 minutes per month. That includes no text messaging, just 450 minutes of using your cell phone's main function, talking (I know hard to believe that's what they were made for, right?). I'm sure that includes free nights and weekends, but to me that doesn't really factor in, what matters is the ability to call someone at any time.
Take that same $40 and apply it to my rate. That's 400 minutes if you pay 10 cents a minute. Very similar isn't it. In fact, Verizon might even look more appealing at first glance. I think not. Those 400 minutes I have from the $40 I placed on my account, they don't disappear at the end of the month. I'm not restricted per month. Okay, so AT&T has rollover minutes don't they? So if you only use 200 minutes one month you get to keep the extra 200 minutes (we've all seen the commercials, "those minutes are still good!") Yes you get those minutes, but you are still paying $40 again that 2nd month for another 400 minutes. Now why do you need another 400 minutes if you just rolled over 200? See what I'm getting at?
$40 dollars prepaid. It lasts for as long as I need it. If I use 400 minutes a month, poof they're gone when I've used them all. If I only need 200 minutes a month, well then look at that I really only paid $20 a month. Busy month? Lots of gossip? Simply put more money into your account, for the same rate you've been paying all along. Verizon charges 45 cents per every minute you go over your monthly allowance. I might be beating a dead horse but lets do a little math. 600 minutes in a month? If you're using my prepaid service that will cost you $60. Verizon's 450 minute contract? $40 for the first 450 minutes, + $0.45 x 150 = $107.50. In other words, for less than it costs to pay for those 150 extra minutes, you could have 600 minutes on prepaid. Not to mention you don't pay for any calls received! (Sticking with the math theme: Free incoming calls > Free nights and weekends)
Phone break? Not happy with the one you have? Just want to upgrade? Sure, pick which one you want, buy it, and put your SIM card in, none of this waiting 2 years to get a new phone.
Anyone feel ripped off by their U.S. cell contract? I sure do. I'm not going to even get into the whole data/internet on phones argument, this post is already borderline rant, but for those interested one line of stats:
On ANY phone: Verizon: $15 per month for 25mb of data over the entire month, TIM: $10 a month for 50mb of data a day (You see where the rant would come in?)
The phones are better, the plans and pricing is better, and the coverage from what I've seen is the same if not better. All those ready to switch to the European system raise your hand...
Sunday, January 17, 2010
It's a beautiful day
Finally a truly beautiful day in Rome. I'm glad to see that the rain held off for 3 days and we had blue skies and warm weather for our tours today. The Pantheon, Jewish Ghetto, and a couple of other places in-between, which made for some cool pictures. So here they are:
Link for Gallery: http://picasaweb.google.com/ramlax13/ToursOfPantheonPiazzasJewishGhetto
Link for Gallery: http://picasaweb.google.com/ramlax13/ToursOfPantheonPiazzasJewishGhetto
Saturday, January 16, 2010
balloons
A bunch of us were out enjoying the beautiful weather tonight, walking through the Piazza Navona, gelato in hand, when we saw a group of people in the center of the piazza. They had 4 or 5 of these miniature hot air balloons, which looked like plastic bags with a large votive in them, and were setting them off one by one. Every time one launched successfully they all cheered and clapped, then set up the next balloon. Watching the balloons was a spectacle. They would just barely make it above a crowd of people, and would then quickly start to rise in the air. They all followed the same path, leaving a trail of lights over the piazza. It seemed like they would get miles away within minutes of being let go, their light still visible high in the sky. It was hard to take my eyes off of the lights, hoping to watch them travel on until they were no longer visible. A feeling of realizing where I was at that moment, being in Rome, working at the Vatican, hanging out with some really awesome people, all hit me at that moment.
These next three months are a fleeting moment. They will pass me by as quickly as the balloon takes to get out of sight. It just made me realize I have to take it all in and take notice of every little detail until it is gone.
By the way, if anyone knows of any significance of the balloons, I'd love to hear about it in the comments. For those who don't know how to comment, right below this post it will say "comments". Click on that, then type your comment and either sign into one of the existing types of accounts, or if you don't have one click Anonymous and just make sure to leave your name in the comment!
Tours this weekend, lets hope for good weather.
These next three months are a fleeting moment. They will pass me by as quickly as the balloon takes to get out of sight. It just made me realize I have to take it all in and take notice of every little detail until it is gone.
By the way, if anyone knows of any significance of the balloons, I'd love to hear about it in the comments. For those who don't know how to comment, right below this post it will say "comments". Click on that, then type your comment and either sign into one of the existing types of accounts, or if you don't have one click Anonymous and just make sure to leave your name in the comment!
Tours this weekend, lets hope for good weather.
Friday, January 15, 2010
out of the loop
On Tuesday a 7.0 earthquake shook Haiti. The aftershocks rattled the country multiple times at around a 5.0 scale, which could very well be considered devastating earth quakes by themselves. The shockwave of the tragedy though, took until today to reach me.
It's not that Italy wasn't aware of what had happened. It's just that reading an Italian newspaper isn't exactly something I'm capable of doing every morning, given the previously mentioned language barrier, and the busy schedule. It was not until this morning that I heard anything about the earthquake, and it makes me realize how out of the loop I am.
Studying abroad is meant to pluck you from your comfort zone and put you into a different worldview. Unfortunately given the circumstances it also disconnects you in some ways from the rest of the world. With no TV and minimal internet accessible to me, I have found myself drifting further and further away from keeping up with the news.
I have a feeling that when I get back in 3 months I will have missed 3 months of pop culture and world news, and will be out of touch with global politics and events.
So instead of writing anymore, I am going to take the next half hour or so to read the front page articles on the New York Times Website, and if you haven't been up on your current events lately, I suggest you do the same with me.
http://www.nytimes.com
It's not that Italy wasn't aware of what had happened. It's just that reading an Italian newspaper isn't exactly something I'm capable of doing every morning, given the previously mentioned language barrier, and the busy schedule. It was not until this morning that I heard anything about the earthquake, and it makes me realize how out of the loop I am.
Studying abroad is meant to pluck you from your comfort zone and put you into a different worldview. Unfortunately given the circumstances it also disconnects you in some ways from the rest of the world. With no TV and minimal internet accessible to me, I have found myself drifting further and further away from keeping up with the news.
I have a feeling that when I get back in 3 months I will have missed 3 months of pop culture and world news, and will be out of touch with global politics and events.
So instead of writing anymore, I am going to take the next half hour or so to read the front page articles on the New York Times Website, and if you haven't been up on your current events lately, I suggest you do the same with me.
http://www.nytimes.com
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Inside the wall, days 1 and 2
I posted my blog last night completely forgetting that I had not even touched upon the fact that I had started my internship at the Vatican.
This first week is what I would call Italian boot-camp. 3 hours of Italian tutoring from 8am to 11am every morning, with our awesome Italian tutor, Carlotta. Going into this I was afraid I wouldn't do well learning another language. My experiences with french classes did not exactly end on a high note, so I had this premonition that learning a language couldn't be fun. I was wrong. Carlotta is engaging and fun. She is able to not only teach us the basics but help us effectively understand the language that we are surrounded by. It's as she called it, "survival Italian", and so far it has been extremely effective. After two days, though I haven't even learned how to speak much Italian, my comprehension and confidence when listening to a native Italian speaker speak Italian to me has significantly gone up. Going into the phone store today to get an Italian phone, I found myself eager to listen in on the representative talking in Italian (though he was speaking in English to me). Carlotta has proven to me that I can understand Italian even though I don't know how to speak it yet, and that is more than half the battle.
The internship part of the experience has been short due to the extended Italian tutoring for the first week, but it has been awesome nonetheless. I've gotten settled into my office and am beginning to learn what I will be doing for the rest of the semester. Being so close to the Vatican and knowing that what I work on will be seen by one of the largest populations of people is motivating me to go above and beyond the jobs assigned to me.
When I start working on specific projects I will be sure to keep you all updated. I hope to have some video up soon of experiences in Rome or of working in the Vatican.
This first week is what I would call Italian boot-camp. 3 hours of Italian tutoring from 8am to 11am every morning, with our awesome Italian tutor, Carlotta. Going into this I was afraid I wouldn't do well learning another language. My experiences with french classes did not exactly end on a high note, so I had this premonition that learning a language couldn't be fun. I was wrong. Carlotta is engaging and fun. She is able to not only teach us the basics but help us effectively understand the language that we are surrounded by. It's as she called it, "survival Italian", and so far it has been extremely effective. After two days, though I haven't even learned how to speak much Italian, my comprehension and confidence when listening to a native Italian speaker speak Italian to me has significantly gone up. Going into the phone store today to get an Italian phone, I found myself eager to listen in on the representative talking in Italian (though he was speaking in English to me). Carlotta has proven to me that I can understand Italian even though I don't know how to speak it yet, and that is more than half the battle.
The internship part of the experience has been short due to the extended Italian tutoring for the first week, but it has been awesome nonetheless. I've gotten settled into my office and am beginning to learn what I will be doing for the rest of the semester. Being so close to the Vatican and knowing that what I work on will be seen by one of the largest populations of people is motivating me to go above and beyond the jobs assigned to me.
When I start working on specific projects I will be sure to keep you all updated. I hope to have some video up soon of experiences in Rome or of working in the Vatican.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Just Around the Corner
You never know what you're going to find just around the corner here in Rome. That's something I've come to accept this past week or so. It's been just over a week since I got here and I've seen a lot, and sure feel like I know where I'm going when I walk around the city.
A few of us went for a walk tonight to get out and explore yet again. Maybe we all have K.I.A instincts (Know it All) like myself, but we've been stubborn not to use a map to find where we are headed. That or we head out with no real bearing and just pick a road to see where it takes us.
The Spanish Steps had been until tonight eluding us, and seeing as their a gigantic set of steps, we felt they couldn't be that hard to miss. We started off going in a general direction we believed them to be in, past the Pantheon to Via del Corso. All the way up Via Del Corso and then to the right, (so we thought). What we found was instead a large piazza with fountains and statues (Piazza del Popolo), with a hill behind it which had an amazing view it all. From there we went back down a main street that ran adjacent to Via del Corso. And what do you know, the Spanish steps were at the end of that road. Up the steps, just in time to see a 10 minute display of fireworks (all green).
Feeling adventurous, we continued from the top of the steps down the mainstreet, up a large hill and then down a side street to another Piazza (Piazza del Quirinale) heading down the hill as we knew we needed to go down in elevation to get to anywhere familiar. Out of pretty much sheer luck we happened to stumble upon the Trevi fountain.
All in all about 5km, an hour and a half with stopping. It definitely wasn't the most direct route to any of our points of interest, but we found it ourselves, and I guess that's what counts.
Our route mapped out on google maps (try streetview out by dragging the little man above the zoom bar to any one of our stops!):
http://bit.ly/7jmV3R
A few of us went for a walk tonight to get out and explore yet again. Maybe we all have K.I.A instincts (Know it All) like myself, but we've been stubborn not to use a map to find where we are headed. That or we head out with no real bearing and just pick a road to see where it takes us.
The Spanish Steps had been until tonight eluding us, and seeing as their a gigantic set of steps, we felt they couldn't be that hard to miss. We started off going in a general direction we believed them to be in, past the Pantheon to Via del Corso. All the way up Via Del Corso and then to the right, (so we thought). What we found was instead a large piazza with fountains and statues (Piazza del Popolo), with a hill behind it which had an amazing view it all. From there we went back down a main street that ran adjacent to Via del Corso. And what do you know, the Spanish steps were at the end of that road. Up the steps, just in time to see a 10 minute display of fireworks (all green).
Feeling adventurous, we continued from the top of the steps down the mainstreet, up a large hill and then down a side street to another Piazza (Piazza del Quirinale) heading down the hill as we knew we needed to go down in elevation to get to anywhere familiar. Out of pretty much sheer luck we happened to stumble upon the Trevi fountain.
All in all about 5km, an hour and a half with stopping. It definitely wasn't the most direct route to any of our points of interest, but we found it ourselves, and I guess that's what counts.
Our route mapped out on google maps (try streetview out by dragging the little man above the zoom bar to any one of our stops!):
http://bit.ly/7jmV3R
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)