Week Two in Rome (GL 350)

On the first day that we arrived in Italy we were forced to stay awake and go to orientation.  Right as this orientation began we heard a song playing throughout the hallway, “Home” by Phillip Phillips.  “The trouble it might drag you down. If you get lost, you can always be found. Just know you’re not alone, cause I’m going to make this place your home.”  We were told that Rome was going to be our home for the next two months, that we would grow attached to our place here in our little bubble of perfect Italy. 

Attachment, an idea that is heavily discussed in the book, Smiles.  Attachment to Rome to be specific.  There’s a sense of never wanting to leave.  In one of the stories Ovid, an author, is being exiled from Rome to the Black Sea, back in his day, the edge of earth.  As he rode the wagon out of Rome he discussed his attachment to the beauty and the grace and the history that Rome possesses.  He speaks, as they leave the gates of Rome, of trying to put Rome in his pocket.  He wants to take this captivating city with him wherever he goes.  Something I think referred to as the “fatal charm” in The Italians.  Something we have all fallen victim of. 

I think that each and every one of us has felt that attachment.  “Rome Home” is a coined phrase around the dorms; we’ve all begun to think of this as our home.  On Monday Katie and I went shopping at the Spanish Steps for things we forgot in our prior shopping trips or things we found later on.  As we grew tired and weary we kept saying I just want to go home and sleep.  Of course we meant the dorms, but it just felt natural to say home.  

Tuesday and Wednesday we pretty much just bummed around campus and did laundry preparing for our first weekend group trip.  There was a big rainstorm that passed through Rome and Castel Gandolfo those days and so we were not feeling very up for exploring the city.

Thursday, though it was supposed to rain again, was sunny and beautiful.  The dreaded Appian Way bike ride was upon us and we were not happy.  We got all the way there and it was not until we were up on our bikes finally riding that we started to have a blast.  The cobblestone made for a less than smooth ride, and after several bike chains popping off and people falling off of their bikes we were all a pile of exhausted and happy people.  The only ill after-affect was the bruised bums which still persist to this day.

Friday at 4:15am, we all boarded the vans to Fiumincino Airport to fly out to Venice.  Again dreading the trip to a supposedly flooded Venice, we all boarded the plane ready to see what was in store.  We were not off to a good started when we arrived, taking a very crowded ferry with luggage in hand to our hotel.  Then our hotel was cramped, none of the plugs worked, we got our room late and missed our scheduled nap.  Things were just going wrong left and right.  We fixed our room, Danilo fixed our plug issue, we got a nap later in the day and we got to explore Venice.  We walked around shops on Friday and got to ride in a gondola.  It was amazing!  Saturday we went on a tour of the Murano Glass factory and got to see and purchase official glass.  Sunday we ended the trip with a visit to Hard Rock Venice for a quick bite to eat before killing time, going to the airport, losing Amy on the ferry, and hopping a flight back to “Rome Home.”
We were all extremely excited to be back in our own captivating home, Rome.