Reflections from Rome

Rome is a city of surprises. It seems like every time I take a different route to school, I discover some beautiful flower, or cute little shop, or a church with, say, the head of St. John the Baptist.

Although there are means of public transportation here, they are not always the most convenient way of traveling(not to mention, they might not be up and running because of a strike), so we usually walk everywhere. And I mean everywhere. Although by the end of the day I’m usually quite exhausted and ready for bed, I am very glad of these walks because of the little surprises I encounter along the way. One day, I decided to take a different route home from the Angelicum. Although I felt a little lost at times, I happened to run across two beautiful little churches in the same small square. Since there was a wedding going on in one, I couldn’t explore it as much as I would have liked, but I did find a little side chapel that housed the head of St. John the Baptist. Not just a little relic, but the whole skull! You can imagine how surprised I was by the preciousness of what I’d stumbled across.

Another day, some friends and I decided to split up after we missed Mass at a certain church. I was very hungry, and since I was in the neighborhood of the Pantheon, I decided to grab some lunch and eat it under the shade of a 2,000 + year old building. After all, why not? Well, there happened to be quite a few homeless people there that day, and I just sat and watched them. It was such a blessing for me to do this, because living as we do in America it is easy to forget that people do live in suffering in the world. People actually go for a day or two without eating, just sleeping wherever they can find a sheltered bit of ground. Seeing this suffering made me realize that we must keep this perspective always before us, otherwise we risk treating a whole class of humans as non-existent, or as unworthy of our and God’s love and charity. I think that that’s why we can find cases of such extreme poverty and extreme wealth side by side. Without truly seeing our brothers on the streets, how can we be expected to help them beyond throwing a few dollars at them every once in a while?

If you are going to study in Rome, my biggest piece of advice is to not be afraid to have an adventure. Don’t be afraid to walk five or ten minutes out of your way, because you never know what surprises await you right around the block.

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

Monday, October 8th arrived and along with it our first day of classes; over one month later than our peers back in St. Paul. The beginning of classes also means that after the initial, frantic excitement of arriving in Rome, we are coming down off that high to settle into a more regular routine. We are approaching the period of time in which many Catholic Studies Rome students enter a frame of mind which Sister Helen, the British Dominican who runs our program at the Angelicum, affectionately referred to as the “slough of despond”. This is not a part of studying in Rome that most people hear of from their friends – and rightfully so as it is not representative of the overall experience – but it is common for many of the students to go through each semester.

I doubted this when she first mentioned it shortly after our arrival. How could anyone ever be depressed where there is gelato (an Italian ice cream that I believe has been blessed by Almighty God, Himself). Yet, between classes the other day, I found myself reflecting on that thought and suddenly become aware of not only how it might happen, but how it was happening to our very group (I think the statue of St. Joseph next to me must have been whispering in my ear). Rome is a beautiful city in which you’ll find a concentration of beautiful art and architecture that is unparalleled across the world. But it is also, like any big city, dirty and chaotic. There are also many things we take for granted at home like meat, free refills, bathrooms and driving that are simply not available to us here. None are major irritants; but add them up, toss in a longing for far-away family, and garnish with the helplessness of being unable to speak Italian and you have yourself a nice helping of the “slough of despond”.

This is not something unique to the St. Thomas program. Rather it is universal across study abroad programs and is one of the most valuable experiences of going abroad for an extended period. Because in order for us to drag ourselves from depths of despair, we will be forced to find those aspects of the life in the States which are in fact essential to our person (i.e. Mass, prayer, sleep, study, baseball) and ensure that they are provided for. The other things we take for granted (i.e. Meat) we must simply let go of and find other ways to satiate ourselves according to the local culture (Please read – “eat lots of gelato”). After all, we are in Rome. There are an infinite number of things to do, see, and eat. We would have to make a concerted effort to be bored during our time here. This is why people who hit the “slough of despond” invariably recover and return after four months to tell anyone who will listen about the amazing time they had in Rome. I know that we will as well.

Posted by Hank at 04:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We have been here in Rome only one week and two days and already it feels as if we have been here for months, even though plenty of things come up each day that show just how much of a rookie we still are at living in Rome. But perhaps I should introduce “us.” My name is Melissa Hackenmueller, and I am a junior at the University of St. Thomas, currently studying abroad in Rome, Italy. There are 25 people in my group: 11 girls and 14 guys. Dr. Martens, his wife Tabitha and son Sam also live with us students. We live in the Bernardi Residence, which is on the Tiber River across from the Italian Ministry of the Navy. For the rest of the semester we will be living together “in community,” which is a first for some of us. Although I did not know what it meant to live in community when I first arrived, I am gradually learning that it means that we will live, eat, pray, study, and have fun together, and in so doing grow in friendship so that we can support each other in our trials and rejoice in our blessings. Or something like that.

The past week has been filled with activity. On the Saturday after our arrival, our chaplain, Fr. Carola, got tickets for us to attend an ordination of bishops by Pope Benedict XVI. We were very excited to be able to see the Holy Father so soon, especially since we were able to be close to Papa when he processed out after Mass.

Today we attended another ordination. Men from the North American College were ordained deacons, among them Justin, who will be on our chaplaincy staff. This ordination felt more personal because of the connections we have with the new deacons and the men studying at the NAC. Besides, it was good to be able to say the responses at Mass, and hear English voices once again.

Our Italian class started at the beginning of this week. I can’t wait to learn Italian so that I can hold a conversation or order a meal without using English! I think knowing the language will help me really get to know this culture, instead of looking at it from the outside perspective of an English-speaking American. I’ve picked up a few phrases already, just from daily use in the cafes, churches and shops in the neighborhood.

Speaking of Italian, our class was canceled yesterday and we had our first “snow day” of the semester! And we put it to good use! We spent the day at the beach at Ostia; we went swimming in the Mediterranean Sea, played ultimate frisbee on the sand, and had an amazing picnic lunch. It was relaxing to get out of the craziness of the city for a day and breathe the fresh salt air.
Well, I should go now and fix some dinner. (which in Italy is around 7 or 8 pm, and can last for hours) Arrivederci for now!

Posted by Melissa at 04:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)