Reflections from Rome

Needless to say, after prepping for our art history mid-term we were all ready for a break when the weekend finally rolled around. Maybe it was the beautiful weather, or the cold blood of Minnesotans, but a group of seven of us made it out to the Ostia beach, and yes, we swam! This was our first of what is now two beach trips, but I still can’t believe it was possible to swim in mid-April when the lakes back home are still frozen (I say possible because while there were a few other people who ventured out into the cold water it looked like most the locals were content to just lay on the sand). Two important things I learned between the two trips were: one, no one wants to go to the beach during the earlier part of the season and two, everyone want to go as the weather gets hot! Our first time was great because the cooler weather, while keeping the locals away and the beaches free, was ideal for a pick-up game of soccer on the sand, and if you’ve never played in the sand before I can assure you that it doesn’t take much to work up enough of a sweat for the cold water to look pretty pleasant. For our second trip it was already getting pretty warm for beach soccer and based off of the masses of new people, it had also become impossible. Therefore, we were plenty content to just play some cards and make it to the water, this time alongside some of the bravest locals, whenever the sun became too intense.

I am really struck by how much Rome has to offer, from history, art,culture, and even those slightly more trivial (but to the college student such as myself often equally as important) experiences such as a day playing at the beach. Best of all, it is economical. At a one euro dollar each way and just a couple more for a picnic lunch, even with the exchange rate at an all time high of 1.64, it works out to be a ten American dollar day! I sure hope it works out for us to make it to the beach again. At the same time, with only a month left, it will no doubt become a bit of a juggling act to maintain full time student status with a demanding work load and pretend to be vacationing at the beach all the time. What about doing homework at the beach you might ask? Maybe. For now I really am just thankful to be able to enjoy all the opportunities as they come, taking them all one at a time. Such an attitude helps keep one open to new and exciting experiences and in Rome it seems there is always something left to surprise you.

Posted by Jim at 03:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Classes are officially in full swing and we just finished our art history mid-term. As a biochemist I can’t say that the class is my favorite subject matter, but I can say that getting the chance to study the history and art of the city you are living in greatly enhances your appreciation of the whole city. Also, I got a second peek at the Villa Borghese Museum and was even more impressed by the Bernini sculptures the second time around. Bernini’s genius was that he could capture a fleeting moment permanently in a marble medium. This very idea seems contradictory. The solidity of marble and the fleeting facial expression which portrays the person’s character, or in the case of The Rape of Proserpina, the instant of her being pulled down. According to the laws of physics I know that Proserpina (who carved in marble must weigh a ton!) is, in fact, being held up in the air by Pluto, and yet in the instant that I am looking at the statue, it is as if he has just emerged from the underworld, clasp her, and is tensing every muscle in order to pull her down. The marble physically is holding her up, but in every other regard, is straining to pull her down. Incredible.

If you don’t particularly like sculpture there are six Caravaggio master pieces within the museum and a whole second level devoted to other great paintings. As for me, the Villa Borghese Museum definitely goes down as a must see and my favorite museum.

Posted by Jim at 12:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ciao tutti!
It’s been a little over a week since my last update, but with two full weeks of Easter break, the richness of Easter in Rome, and all of Europe to explore, it is nearly impossible to keep that “free” time free. Easter in Rome really is a beautiful celebration and it seems as though the secret is out. The streets, the shops, the churches, and every gelateria on every corner were packed with people spanning all languages and all ages. In the midst of the chaos, however, it was also possible for me to enter into this Easter season in a beautiful and new way.

In order to avoid the torrents of rain and long hours waiting in line for Holy Thursday mass at the Vatican, I snuck off into a relatively small church (compared to St Peter’s anyway) called Trinita dei Monti, just on top of the Spanish Steps. The mass was so beautiful and the weather in the days that followed so persistently rainy that I ended up sharing the entire Triduum with the French brothers and sisters who run the parish. The Mass was done in French, Italian, and Latin so if you find yourself in Rome and are looking for an English Mass this is not the place. Also, if you are looking for a quick Mass so that you can quickly get on to the next site, this isn’t the right place either. Our Easter Vigil was definitely a full four hours, even longer than the Vatican Vigil. If, however, you are looking for a beautifully reverent mass celebrated in four part choral so stunning that you can’t help but let your spirit be carried off with the song, then this church is a must. And, if it’s any encouragement, the ordinary Sunday masses are only an hour and a half. I wish I could better explain what was so unique, whether it was participating in rich music, not understanding what could have been a boring French homily, or maybe sharing in the Easter celebration with my family for the first time away from home, but it will definitely go down as one of my most remembered times during this study abroad experience.

Also worth noting about my break are my travels to Paris where I met my parents and with whom I then proceeded to travel to Florence, Siena, and finally back to Rome. I could write tons about how great it was to share the week that followed with my family, but I’ll try to highlight only those pieces which, though slightly less profound, are readily understood, such as free dinners and the chance to go into the museums that I have only walked by in order to save money. Yes, I know it sounds shallow, but what a great gift to finally get to see some of the worlds most famous museums, my favorite being the Villa Borghese Museum.

Every museum has certain strengths. The strength of the Villa Borghese Museum for me was found in the masterpiece sculptures of Bernini, a famous sculptor and architect of the 17th century whose hand is seen throughout all of Rome. Seeing stone come alive through the hand of a young man my age seems an impossible feat and yet there it is in front of you. Bernini’s Rape of Proserpina sculpture is an incredible example of such life being brought to the inanimate nature of marble. Unfortunately, other then being struck by the incredible workmanship, there is little I can tell you about the history or thought behind The Rape of Proserpina. I can’t wait until next Wednesday to revisit the museum with our art history professor! For now look up a picture, enjoy, and start studying up in case you get the chance to see the sculptures some day as well.

Posted by Jim at 03:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Benvenuto a Roma! This marks the first official posts to my blog; however, I have been in Rome already over a month. I was jogging my memory trying to figure out where to start and I realized really just how much I’ve had the opportunity to do, including some of the most interesting and unique classes I’ve ever taken, day trips to Norcia, Sienna and Ravenna, and living in one of the most historical and fascinating cities in the world—ROME! I suppose a natural starting point would be to introduce myself. I’m a junior at St. Thomas double-majoring in biochemistry and Catholic studies and hoping to pursue a career in medicine. Yes, I know, Catholic studies and biochemistry doesn’t sound like your typical double major combination, but through reading some of these future posts the ways in which these two majors complement each other will become clearer. Now about Rome…

The people of Rome say that it never rains here and we were pretty much inclined to believe them being gifted with two solid weeks of sunshine as soon as we arrived! Coming from Minnesota and sub-zero temperatures you can only imagine how excited we all were to be walking by the Spanish steps, the Coliseum, and the Trevi Fountain wearing only a light jacket. The first free day we had to explore Rome was a whirlwind of walking from site to site and church to church. We left the Bernardi student house after lunch, and, still jet lagged, managed to squeeze what should be at least a week long ordeal into an afternoon. What an incredible introduction to Rome and what a blur to look back on. I don’t know that I can remember any specific details of that day except for realizing we managed to walk by one particular church at least a dozen times. They also say that all roads lead to Rome, but once in the city of Rome it takes either an incredible sense of direction, or a lot of trial and error to navigate the small winding roads. I fit into the trial and error category.

While I have so many interesting experiences many of them are each going to need an entry dedicated solely to themselves, so let me finish quickly by telling you a little bit about the Bernardi student house where the 30 of us are living, as well as some of the quirkier aspects. I must say Bernardi has greatly exceeded my expectations. My room is twice the size of my freshman Brady Hall dorm room with 13 foot ceilings, crown molding, and two huge double panel windows, one of which opens up toward the Fiume (river) Trevere. We share one bathroom between every two people which miraculously clean themselves every morning (thanks to the very friendly cleaning ladies), but which despite being immaculately clean always have a “unique” smell. What a beautiful gift it has been so far to be living with a group of students studying in different fields, but desiring to take seriously their faith, to find myself in Bernardi with its very own chapel and lets not forget…forever clean bathrooms!

Stay tuned for another update. I think I’ll pick an individual experience and dive into it in a little more detail.

Posted by Jim at 11:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Since returning from Rome, every old friend that I have run into has asked me some variation of the question “So…how was Rome?” I’ve tried to vary my answers. A simple ‘good’ seems a wholly inadequate response, so sometimes I pause for a moment, look my friend in the eye, and lower my voice to add emphasis. Sometimes I try a different adjective; ‘wonderful’ and ‘amazing’ have been favorites. Sometimes, when I’m really feeling saucy, I throw in an adverb like ‘very’. Hyperbole, hand gestures, and everything short of haiku have been tried; yet I am certain that none of my friends has left our short exchange with any better sense of my semester in Rome than before they asked the question.

Setting aside for the moment the inherent difficulty in summing up four months abroad in a single, carefully-chosen adjective, I believe some of the difficulty I am having conveying what my time in Rome meant for me is that I, myself, do not know. It is often said that spending time abroad will for anyone be a “life-changing experience”. I am not sure sort of change is implied in such a saying. If the change meant is a new financial outlook on life, one of frustration with the American dollar, then the saying holds true. But if the change implied is more personal in nature, a fundamental change in who I am, then I should pass it off as mere sophistry, because it could hardly be further from the truth.

We were warned during the homily of a 5 a.m. Mass given by our chaplain Fr. Carola the morning we were to leave that returning home would be like waking from a dream (and given my track record during Fr. Carola’s homilies, I was likely dreaming at the time as well). So it has been. I’ve returned to St. Paul and to classes as if it were any other semester. Looking back upon the semester, I sometimes wonder if it really happened. Being in Rome seems such a distant reality.

Yet, it is not. Very clearly I remember my times there, even if they seem as though from a different life. Very clearly do I remember the Missionaries of Charity and the Little Sisters of the Lamb, the Pope and the Vatican, restaurants and train rides, Bernardi and the twenty seven wonderful people with whom all these fond memories are inextricably tied up. I can recognize points where I’ve grown. My time in Rome did not change who I am; I am still the same person who God first created 21 short years ago. In fact, I am more so that person, because God has never stopped creating and during the past few months he has been hard at work.

Someday, when God finally stops creating, hopefully He looks upon me and sees precisely the person He created. Then I will see Him face-to-face. He will show me my life, and I will finally, fully understand what He was up to. For the moment, I can only look back upon the surface of four months of experience and see that it was, indeed, ‘good’.

Posted by Hank at 04:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The final day in Rome has come, and we are going home. It’s a sad day—I know I will miss living here when I get back to Minnesota. But it’s also a happy day, because in ten hours I will see my family and friends, who I haven’t seen for four months.

Our last week in Rome was memorable. Everything we did was a “last time,” but at the same time we looked forward to being home in America. On the day of our last test, a local restaurant owner who some of the boys had made friends with gave us a going away spaghetti party. Although his restaurant had TVs tuned in to the soccer game, Micky did his best to help us celebrate our return to America, most notably by hanging an enormous American flag from the ceiling. It was the heartfelt gesture of a friend who is sad to see his friends leave.

The night before we left, everyone met at another one of our favorite restaurants for one last Roman meal. Everything that needed to be done before leaving had been done, so it was good to just relax and enjoy each other’s company.

Finally, the time came for our grand exodus from Bernardi. Around 4:00/4:30 a.m., everyone began stumbling around in the dark to get ready for the day and finish any last packing. It was almost unreal(but maybe that was because I was only half awake) when Fr. Carola celebrated our final Mass in the chapel at 5:30 and bid us farewell. No matter what time of day, night, or early morning Bernardians leave, Fr. Carola always comes to say a parting Mass. Nina, our women’s formator for the semester, came too, and it was good to be able to say a last hurried goodbye to her. Since the seminarians had the earliest flight, leaving at 9:00 a.m., Thanos ordered a bus to take us to the airport at 6:00 a.m.

How do you sum up an experience like living in Rome? Rome is a completely different culture from America, which makes it either difficult or an adventure. However, no matter how romantic one might picture the experience being, it is just like the rest of life—that is, we lived. There were hard times, and there were times of profound blessing. I think that one of the biggest things I learned was simply how to live, how to truly value life itself and get the most out of it. Not: take the most opportunities or advance the farthest in things, or even be the ultimate happiest. No, I learned how to acquire wisdom through my experiences, how to take the bad right along with the good—simply, how to value everything that comes my way. Granted, this is definitely harder to put into practice in America because our culture does not cherish living the way Italians do; but it is a lesson that I will try my best to remember all of my life.

Posted by Melissa at 05:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We are now near the end of our Italian language program; and, while I would still describe my ability to speak Italian as “non bene”, I was able to carry on a two hour conversation with an Italian man on the train one weekend. Not a bad achievement! I found my vocabulary rather limited in most all topics of conversation with one exception: food. Though I would be put to shame by any Italian three-year old in a game of “What animal makes this sound?”, I am able to navigate my way around a menu as though I were a native Roman. Time spent dining happily constitutes a healthy portion of our life here in Rome, thus Italian cuisine is certainly deserving of a place in this on-line journal.

Continue reading "Italian Cuisine" »

Posted by Hank at 08:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)