When in Rome

We made it safely to Rome yesterday morning after an early start. To prepare ourselves, we stayed up late on Tuesday night and watched Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck (it was a perfect night for a movie....storming outside). When we arrived at the termini and stepped foot outside, my dream-turned-reality began. I walked along the Colosseum in utter amazement. When checked into our hotel yesterday afternoon before going to the local Allamentari (grocery store) to purchase our italian picnic lunch (I have become a huge fan of risotto and fomodro (a meal of barley, cheese, and sesame oil with capers and tomatoes). Our professor, an amazing guy who has traveled and taught in Italy over eight times, is ultra patient and intelligent with us. We met on the Esquline hill for a picnic lunch and began our reports that make up half of our grade. We are seperate from the rest of our group, since the archeology class studies different topics. The rest of the day, we toured the the Roman forum, Trajans forum with its market place (probably the first shopping mall), the Republic Temples, and the Circus Maximus (the place of chariot racing as in Ben Hurs famous tale). Last night, after a fabulous dinner in one of Rome°s best pizzerias (who knew they put sunflower leaves on their pizza?), we went with a fun group to the Spanish Steps which were all lit up and full of teenagers and tourist. After gelato (they even serve soy here), we sat in front of the Trevi Fountain for at least 20 minutes, trying to make ourselves believe that this really is all real.

I did not sleep much last night...I am still just so amazed to be here. The dream continued today when we walked down dark stairs into a small hole in the Marintime prison. The dark and dank smell filled our nostrils and my eyes welled up with tears as we walked into this small jail cell where Peter and Paul were held in chains. From here, apparently, Peter received his dream of escaping and left to go out onto the Appian Way where he was caught and brought back to the city to be crucified upside down. The girls and I got to talk a lot about the disciples true joy and passion for preaching in the midst of their despair. I never imagined that this trip would hold such spiritual importance in my life.

This afternoon, I saw the most sought after thing of the trip (in my eyes): The Colosseum. I walked up with great anticipation to see this amazing piece of history. Over 700,000 living things saw their life's end in this pit of death. Animals and humans alike walked the narrow underground tunnel across the street. This is where they held the armor and other gladiators. I tried to imagine the fear that must have swept over them as they walked to their undeniable deaths and tried to gather enough courage to stand in front of thousands of cheering crowd partcipants and fight other gladiators and dangerous animals. The underground layer of the arena is almost completely exposed but they are starting to recover it with sand to create a more realistic effect. There were originally five levels to the arena, but only three remain...all of which we were able to walk along and take pictures. Contrary to popular history, this was actually not the place for Christian persecution. Although some believers were killed here, most of Nero's persecution of Christians who were supposedly bringing destruction on the empire occured in the Circus Maximus (the same place as the chariot racing). I was able to call my mom from my cell phone and, in a small way, share this moment with my best friend who has dreamed about this sight as much as me. It was so cool to see the setting of all of the books I have read and just let my imagination and giddiness run wild.

We had an afternoon off in Rome, so Joy and I headed out in our adventerous manner...and went to find some little dress shops and a great coffee "granita" cafe near the Pantheon. This place is like the Serendipity's of New York. Joy got an email from her boyfriend after three weeks of no contact and I found two pairs of pants that were long enough...and only cost me 15 euros each...that's about 25 dollars! As if these simple joys weren't enough, we got to eat dinner right next to the Colosseum while it shone in the night. We begged a waiter at this little music cafe to let us share a set menu. So, for 7.50 each we had a drink, salad, lasagne, bread, and our own special tarimisu. It was the perfect end to a great day.

Friday morning, our professor asked us to start really early so that we could get to St. Peter's Basillica in Vatican City before the crowd. I had no idea of what to expect and was very pleastantly overwhelmed and surprised. Vatican city is its own country included in the midst of Rome. This is where the Pope lives and also houses the Vatican Museum which takes at least 4 hours to view completely. St. Peter's basilica, where the Pope John Paul is now buried, was an amazing place of worship for us at 7 am in the morning. Nuns from all over the world came to participate in mass and worship with eachother. I have learned so much about the Catholic faith and learned to worship with the masses and the devotion of the Pope's and the traditions. This church was stunning and is built around the tomb of Peter which is ten feet underneath. Joy and I went back to the Vatican museum later in the afternoon. We expected to stand in line for at least two hours. We walked right up to the front of the line, shoving tuna sandwiches into our mouths and praising the Lord for his graciousness. The art here was endless, but the most noteworthy pieces we saw were "The School of Athens" and all of Michaelengelo's paintings in Sistine chapel. Raphael's school of Athens includes all of the great artist and philosophers of his time and before like Socrates, Aristotle, and even the miserable and alone Michaelangelo who was around the corner painting the Sistine chapel during the same time. He even included a self portrait towards the corner as he overlooks the crowd, almost seeking their approval for his work that faded in comparison with the chapel art. Viewing the Sistine chapel took up about an hour of our day. You simply can not imagine or contain the talent that this must of taken. High overhead, Michaelangelo portrayed the scenes of creation and the creation of man (this is the touching of man and God's fingers) with realistic portraits of the saints and apostles surrounding the beatiful scenes. On the facing wall, "The Last Judgement" depicts the return of Christ with the martyrs surrounding him (including Bartholemeu who is holding his skin from when he was skinned alive for his faith). We sat, straining our necks for over an hour just to try to take it all in, but failing to capture the entire enormous pieces. I never paid for a tour guide, but I'm sure most of them thought I was part of their groups because I would just gaze at art...pretending to ponder but really getting in on their wisdom...a cheap way to learn!

Last, and probably most importantly, I traveled down the dark and damp tombs of the first Christians. The Romans cremated their dead and placed their ashes in urns outside of the Palatine Hill. When Christ came and The Way followed the truth in the resurrection of our bodies, Rome gave Christians permission to bury their dead underground, outside of the city walls. So, tunnel after tunnel and grave after grave was dug into the soft clay to house the remains of fallen lives. Christians would often come to this place during their times of persecution to regain strength for the outside world of suffering and hardship. Even I, only facing a tired body, was rejuvinated after witnessing this solemn, yet incredible place of history. Constantine built a church on top of these catacombs and it is one of the only places in history that has always been completely accessible. The apostles met, once a year, for a dinner feast to commemorate the deaths of family and friends. When they did, they signed pieces of the wall and wrote prayers to Saint Peter and Paul, asking them for intercession with the father. They would mark signs above the tomb, including the icthus, an anchor (representing their hope to sail away), a dove of peace, and the Greek symbols for the Alpha and Omega. Rome, in so many ways, is probably my favorite city because it held such art, history, and spiritual significance.