giorno nove

Thursday, May 12, 2011

What’s up ya’ll!

Today was a fabulous day! We were done with touring and lecturing at 12:30, so we were done early enough to do our own thing and spend the afternoon however we pleased. It was nice to come back to the apartment and still have a glimmer of energy and not want to collapse into the sheets and never wake up.

We saw the Church of Four Fountains, Ecstasy of St. Teresa statue, and the Tomb of Pope Julius II.

I gave my report today! Mine was on the Tomb of Pope Julius II with Michelangelo’s statue of The Moses. I felt really prepared and it went so well! I was so excited to give it because I had grown so fond of it after all the hours I spent learning about it. It was so amazing to see it in real life. I spent so much time researching this work of art and learning all about it, so it made it that much more incredible to be standing feet away from it and seeing it with my own eyes. I think, to me, this was my one moment to experience Italy in the shoes of all these art history majors. They have studied these people, places, and works of art for years and it is such a huge moment for them to be able to see it in real life. I haven’t heard of so many of these artists, sculptors, paintings, sculptures, or buildings, so I don’t have that same passion for and connection to the things we see. I love being a part of this once in a lifetime opportunity, but it’s different for me than it is for the rest of the group. After taking the time to learn all about one specific work of art, it really intensified the experience of seeing it in real life. Now I understand why this trip means so much to these girls. We’re all here for different reasons and it was cool to be able to have a chance, however slim, to understand the reason some people came and what they are getting out of it.

After my report, we were dismissed for the day. Oh happy day! It makes such a huge difference in all of our attitudes when we have shorter days because we’re not so overwhelmed, stressed, and exhausted! We are so much more excited about the things we see when we haven’t been going for 5 hours! It made such a difference! We all went to the shops in downtown Rome by the Spanish Steps. We spent the afternoon exploring the city and buying souvenirs. I have been so good about spending money here, I’m almost worried I’m not going to use all the Euro’s I took out at the ATM! All I wanted for myself was a t-shirt and a jacket and I got them both today! I can’t wait to walk off the plane in all my fly get-up, practically fluent in Italian… You guys will hardly recognize me!

We just barely got back to the hotel and have been lying around talking for a little bit and will go down to dinner in a few minutes. I am so sick of the food here! How weird is that?? I seriously just keep daydreaming about food at home. I would go for a huge bowl of cereal or some eggs in a heartbeat! Breakfast is all like pastries and desserts and then meat and cheese. It’s the most bizarre combination. My breakfast each day is a croissant with honey and a piece of meat rolled up with cheese. For dinner, they serve us pasta as an APPETIZER at every meal! We get a plate of pasta, and then the main course comes out which is usually meat I don’t eat, and then some really bland dessert. All I can say is, Mom, your cooking beats Italy ANY DAY! I guess I don’t have to be so worried about gaining weight on this trip… I hardly eat anything! Plus, Steve said we end up walking about 130 miles on average throughout this trip! And the 7 flights of stairs to our bedroom are enough to give us all buns of steel!

Anyways, it’s been a great day and after a little help from my friends, I got over my slump of homesickness I was having earlier in the week. Things are looking up!

Love you all!

Take care,

Wit