Four months in Rome, Part Three

Rome                                                                                                                Monday, August 30, 2010

It’s been almost a week since I arrived and I feel pretty comfortable getting around my neighborhood. I did decide today, though, that it wouldn’t be the best place for someone with bad knees. Some of the cobblestone streets are so uneven it can almost be dangerous to walk. When I know I’m going to do a lot of walking I wear my tennis shoes because I tend to slip off my sandals a lot when I wear them. I always notice older adults hanging onto the arm of another person when they are walking… I just thought they had a close bond, but I decided today, they need the added support to walk on the cobblestones!

 

I’ve had several people ask if all the streets are as close as the ones in many of my pictures. No, not all of the buildings are that close together, but the older neighborhoods are. The really narrow streets are either one-way or pedestrian only. They have those really small 'Smart Cars' here, which get through the narrow streets well and lots and lots of motorcycles. They have normal sized streets and highways just like anywhere else. I’ve tried taking a variety of pictures, but I guess I didn’t get the “normal” stuff on my blog. The narrow streets are just more interesting!

Wednesday is the class orientation for the students. Cheri will be gone because she and Brenda (teaches painting) have an appointment to get their “permit to stay” on that day. This means I’ll be giving the students the orientation for their graphic design classes by myself. I don’t feel nervous about it yet! Cheri and I have been working hard preparing for that first day. We take the students out on a neighborhood “tour” that afternoon. They hope to divide the students into groups of ten to make it easier for the groups to get around. Pia (teaches interior design and lives in Rome full time) wasn’t sure I would be able to lead a group, but I told her I thought I was pretty comfortable in my neighborhood already. They have a map with certain places marked to show the students. Cheri was having internet difficulties today (mine was fine) which is very frustrating, so we went out on the neighborhood tour in the afternoon and marked additional stores we knew our students would be needing during the semester.

It wasn’t quite as hot today because it was a little overcast most of the day. I’m not sure what the heat index is here, but so far the weather is similar to an Iowa summer – hot and humid!

 

I walked to the “Largo di Torre Argentina” (Sacred Area of Largo Argentina) in Rome this morning. I thought the angle of the sun would be better for picture taking. It’s kind of crazy that this huge ruin has been devoted for use as a sanctuary for stray cats! I read a sign that says all of the cats are sterilized, vaccinated and tested. They are cared for through charity. I noticed this morning there were at least two people in part of the sanctuary cleaning and hauling in cat food. The ruins include four Republican Roman temples and the Theatre of Pompey, where Julius Caesar was assassinated.

We had been told that “everyone” goes on vacation the last two weeks in August and that could be easily seen in the number of stores that have been closed. It was refreshing to see my neighborhood in the Jewish Ghetto come alive this morning with most of the shops opening up their doors and sweeping out the dust from the last two weeks. Cheri and I were looking forward to the opening of the “Dollar” store. I stopped before going to the studio to get the “essentials” of daily living. The place was packed with shoppers! I guess I wasn’t the only one holding out to buy certain things until it re-opened! (I took this photo on my way to the “Largo di Torre Argentina” so it looks a little desolate, but by the time I made my way back, the street was full of customers glad the store had re-opened!)

I just wanted to let everyone know I really appreciate your comments about the blog. I don’t have time to answer each of you individually, but I really appreciate hearing from all of you! Without the internet, I know I would be homesick, but I’ve even chatted with some of you on facebook and that has been a lot of fun. I was going to try Google Voice to call home, but when I went to download the program, a box popped up to say they were sorry but that Google Voice wasn’t available yet in Italy. Oh well, Cheri has had really good luck with the phone card she bought, so I’m going to get the same kind. It’s really the only way for me to keep in contact with my parents.

 

Here's a better picture of the fountain in my courtyard and a fun view of my neighborhood... well, maybe fun and laundry shouldn't be in the same sentence!

Four months in Rome, Part Two

Sperlonga, Italy                                                                        Saturday, August 28, 2010

First, we took a bus for about 10-15 minutes, then a train for an hour, then another bus for about 20-30 minutes (the bus was packed with beach-goers so we had to stand. I also helped a young woman out who needed a band-aid during the trip – you know me – the eternal mom!), then we arrived in Sperlonga along the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. It was beautiful! Everyone was out to have one last weekend of fun in the sun and surf before school started. The water was clear and warm. Cheri and I had a great time walking on the beach, but I’m sure we stuck out because we were the only ones NOT in swim suits! I never thought to bring one along. There were people of all ages there enjoying the day. 

The sand was so fine and it packed hard so it made a perfect sand for castle-building. The beach was incredibly clean! This is one of the more popular beaches for Italians to vacation at and they take pride in their beaches. (Actually, Italians take pride in all of their cities… I was taking a picture of a street scene one day and a gentleman, who I’m sure ended up in the photo started talking to me and pointing after I had taken the photo. I thought he was mad I had taken his photo, but he wanted to point out the church at the end of the street to make sure I had gotten it in the picture! It had an unusual steeple so I took a couple of shots of it by itself, then thanked him for pointing it out.) Back to Sperlonga - It was fun to get out of the city and see what the rest of Italy looked like.  I really enjoyed the train trip because I got to see the countryside. It reminded me a lot of the foothills in Colorado, and we passed vineyards after vineyards. Then we seemed to get into a more agricultural area. I could tell there were crops growing under tents, but it wasn’t until we slowed down for a stop that I realized they were growing cherry tomatoes… or at least that is what they looked like from the train. I saw several herds of sheep along the trip also. The closer we got to Sperlonga the more it reminded me of driving through the farm areas in western Nebraska and eastern Colorado.

I had an interesting experience with a public restroom. It was clean, it was just strange – I put a half a Euro into a machine, which opened the door of the restroom just like an elevator door. I walked in to the restroom, the door closed, when I was finished, I pushed a button, the elevator door opened, out I walked, the door closed and then you could hear the toilet flush, then it sounded like a car wash as the entire room was washed and disinfected! I was a little concerned it would start this cleaning process while I was in there, but it waited until I had left and the door had closed as it was supposed to. Kind of crazy, but it was clean! I haven’t come across a bathroom yet that was just a hole in the floor, like I have read about. In fact the majority have all been very clean, but they don’t always have a toilet seat!

Our train trip back was interesting. One train had been cancelled due to mechanical problems, so by the time the next train arrived there were twice as many people waiting for a ride. We ended up standing up the entire way home. We’d met a guy (late 20’s) from NY on the bus ride out to the train who was also on his way to Rome. We had talked during the bus ride, so we naturally boarded the train together too. Believe it or not, I was not the one who started the conversation!  Cheri did! When we got on board, there was a couple, most likely on their way home from vacation, who were taking up four seats with all of their luggage. Even though they could see everyone was having to stand, they didn’t even attempt to move their luggage to make room for anyone to sit down. The guy from NY kind wanted to ask them to move their luggage so Cheri and I could sit down, but we said we were ok. Stop after stop people boarded and the standing room got more congested and still they didn’t budge to let anyone else sit down. After many, many stops a large Italian man gave them heck for taking up so many seats, but they argued back that there was no other room for their luggage. Right after this man, two nuns came through. The nuns looked at the seats occupied by the luggage and said something to the couple. At first the couple did nothing, but finally they moved enough luggage so the nuns could sit down. They must have squeezed into one seat because the woman, who was sitting on the aisle, got up and stood to free her seat for one of the nuns. The guy continued to sit! I guess there are rude people everywhere, but their conscious finally got the best of her anyway when the nuns boarded.

Cheri was positive we needed to make sure our NY friend made it to the bus he needed to get to his Rome destination. He had a hand-drawn map from his friend of what he was supposed to do when he arrived at the train station to get “home”. Cheri and I made sure he had bus tickets and got him on the first bus he needed for his next leg of the trip. He helped us tell the ticket person that we wanted to purchase 30-day bus passes for September. I got minutes added onto my cell phone (from ISU) and back home we went for a quiet night. Sorry, I can’t use this phone to call the USA. Tomorrow, we are going to the famous Sunday market, then back to work on Monday.

The students arrive on Wednesday. I’m sure my time for taking photos will go down drastically then. My plan is to blog once a week. I’ve heard from several of you now, and everyone enjoyed the blog and photos, so I’ll keep it up since it worked.

By the way, it’s just about 10 am here and it’s 70 degrees right now. It will be around 85 today, but it is very humid here. I sweat all the time. Church bells have been ringing at different times every day. They chime every morning at 7 am. I do have a church close by, but I haven’t looked at it’s schedule. They post all of their services on their doors. I haven’t found a Lutheran one yet, but I’m sure there is one somewhere. I plan to go to several different churches while I am here so I can see what they look like on the inside… I won’t be able to follow the service very well, but it will be fun to sit there and listen.

 

Porta Portese Market                                                                                    Sunday, August 29, 2010

The guidebook describes this as “Rome's biggest and most famous market, where you can find practically anything you can possibly need. Every Sunday morning the square fills up with crowds of people who browse the several acres of new and secondhand merchandise, all searching for a bargain.” It truly is one huge flea market, where you can buy anything from underwear to tools, purses to jewelry, household items to furniture… there is something for everyone! I’ve never been a fan of flea markets, but I do love a good garage sale and flea markets could be described as really big garage sales… I really went for the cultural experience! I didn’t expect to buy anything while I was there, but I did pick up some kitchen sponges for a euro and two purses… the vendor acted as though I’d haggled him to a price where he was losing money. It’s amazing how they will accept your price if you walk away! Cheri bought a genuine Gucci handbag, which I guess is illegal for the vendors to sell and illegal for you to buy, but there were “mobile” vendors everywhere who are always looking out for the polizia. 

 

There were plenty of beggars in the area looking for Euros. There were a few nuns, so I guess going to the market on Sunday isn’t a bad thing! I really get a kick of how they display underwear around here. Italians are very proud of the quality of their underwear! The market just goes on and on… as the guidebook says, “several acres”.  I thought it was pretty crowded, but vendors “cried” that because everyone was still on vacation, the crowd was small and they were not selling their wares

We didn’t cover the entire thing because after awhile it all started to look the same. Cheri and I stopped at “Planet Kabob” for lunch. The restaurant she wanted to take me to was closed. Then we walked to her apartment just to sit and talk. As it usually does, one thing leads to another, Cheri asked me to look at something on her computer (school related) and five hours later we had completed a bunch of work for all three classes! She was going to walk me home, but I told her I thought I had the route down now. I had my camera in hand as I walked home taking photos. I knew I wanted to stop along the bridge and take pictures of the Vatican and of Tiber Island.

  

As I walked by the park near Cheri’s apartment, I really wanted to sit and take pictures of all the families of all ages enjoying a Sunday evening in the park, but I didn’t think it would look too good for a stranger to be taking pictures of children, adults eating icecream cones and an elderly woman enjoying being pushed around the park in her wheelchair. That’s one thing I’ve noticed this weekend was how family-oriented Italians are. You always see several generations together, whether it was at the beach yesterday or at the park today or just running errands during the week. I’ve tried to document the people of Italy as best as I can without invading their privacy, but I’ve had a few “ask” me not to take their pictures… I think. I did have a vendor from the market this morning as me if I was from Interpol! He had a smile on his face when he asked though! Rome has their fair-share of homeless people too, and I walked past several settling down for the night as I walked home. I was just glad it wasn’t really “dark” yet by the time I made it back to Piazza delle Cinque Scole, which I found out means “Square of the Five Synagogues”.

 

Back in 1555, Pope Paul IV segregated the Jews in a walled quarter of Rome with three gates that were locked at night. The synagogues were passed off as schools as a way to get around the Pope’s restriction that there could only be one synagogue in every town. The fountain in the center of the Piazza is called “Fontana della Piazza” and came from the square in the old ghetto that was destroyed in 1888. It is carved by Pietro Gucci and was designed by Giacomo della Porta. The four masks on the fountain are inspired by the Gorgons, with snakes in their hair, who spout water through wide open mouths. There are always people resting or gathering around the fountain. (Sorry I don't have a better picture of the fountain. This one is taken from my apartment window.)

Rome - Saturday, August 28, 2010

I feel like I’ve been in town much longer than I really have, simply because of all that I’ve seen and done. Cheri Ure, the other graphic design professor from Iowa, has been my own personal tour guide and it’s been great.  This is her 9^th semester to teach in Rome, so she knows her way around. Ferro, one of the art history professors who taught in Ames for a while, lives here in Rome. He has taken Cheri and I on “walks” to places that Cheri has never even been too. I think there are three art history instructors, but I asked Ferro if I could tag along when he takes his students out on “walks” around the city, and he said, “of course!” He is a really good storyteller. I think he grew up In Rome, so he has lived the history of Rome.

I haven’t had any problems with mosquitoes, as I had been told, and there are no flies! Everyone has shutters over their windows, and glass windows that open like a shutter opens, but no screens. When I open my shutters, there is nothing between me and the open air. I kind of like having the shutters open, but Pia, one of the interior design instructors and who keeps tabs on all of ISU properties, told me that Rome is a very dusty city and that they even get sand in the air from the Sahara Desert. She suggested that I keep the glass windows closed in the second bedroom unless I am using it to cut down on the dust in the apartment. I haven’t noticed any dust in my apartment yet, but you can see the pollution on the buildings. Their justice building is in the process of being cleaned right now. In fact, I think that must be what they are doing to the Pantheon with all of the scaffolding around it.

I just had two pigeons land on my ‘open’ windowsill! I really haven’t seen too many pigeons either, except at one park. There is a ‘park’ for cats here in Rome! It’s a sanctuary for all the abandoned cats in the city and it’s in the ruins where Julius Caesar was murdered! Crazy. On occasion, they open it up and let people go down it to pet the cats. No thank you! Even if I wasn’t allergic to cats, I wouldn’t want to pet any of these cats. I don’t imagine they get vet care.

I was using my $10 duel voltage travel hair dryer the other day and it got so hot I think it could have given me third degree burns! That’s when I realized I had forgot to switch it from 110 voltage to 250. It took forever to cool down, but once it did I tried turning it back on and it was dead. I tried the reset button but no luck. So, it became the mission of the day to find me a new hair dryer. Late August is the time when businesses go on vacation over here, and when they go on vacation, they just close up shop! It’s going to be interesting walking down all of these narrow streets around my apartment that have nothing open right now to see how many open back up in the next week or two. The store Cheri affectionately refers to as the ‘Dollar Store’ is closed until the 30^th. The Dollar Store probable sells hair dryers, but I found one at a different store. It’s a travel dryer, like my old one, but it cost €20, so about $27! Oh well, I now own an Italian hair dryer, but it is only good in Italy, or anywhere else they have the same kind of plug.

If you look at a map of Rome, you will see a bend in the Tiber River where there is an island, Tiber Island, in the middle of the river. Tiber Island has been associated with healing from way back. It is connected to the city of Rome with two bridges, one on each side, one for pedestrians and one for cars. Before Christianity spread through Rome, criminals and the contagiously ill were condemned to the island. Around 293 BC, a temple to Aesculapius, the Greek god of medicine and healing was built. Those people, who were ill, recovered. Now this island is the home of a hospital. In fact if any of the students need emergency care while here, this is where we will take them. Getting back to the bend in the river. Once you find the island and the bend in the river on a map, you should see an area on the north side of the river referred to as the Ghetto or as the Jewish Ghetto. I know this doesn’t sound like an area anyone would want to hang out it, but it is actually the “happening” place to live, and one of the more expensive areas of Rome to live in. This is where the studio is and where I live! I had been walking around my neighborhood for two days before I even realized I lived right next to the river! I had been on one side of the street and on the other side of the street was this wall… I had no reason to cross the street. Yesterday, Ferro, Cheri and I walked crossed a bridge to the other side of the river for lunch.  Cheri and I were working on the curriculum for our classes. We didn’t leave the studio until 7 pm and we had arrived at 10 am. Then we walked around, Cheri showing me new places, ate supper and figured out our weekend plans. I was so tired when I got home, mainly because I was so wide awake the night before I only got about 4 hours sleep at the most, so I never even opened my computer when I got home. Cheri had the same ‘no’ sleep problem. I guess it takes at least a week to get over the jet lag. I was told it takes 1 day for every hour of time change… and everyone agrees it is much harder when you travel to the east than when you travel to the west.

So, today is Saturday. Cheri keeps telling me of all these places we should go visit, and I just say, “let’s go!” We are taking the train to a city on the ocean today. Well, she said ocean, but looking at the map, I’d say it is the Tyrrhenian Sea. We’re going to Sperlonga. Cheri says it is a beautiful town. It’s about an hour away by train.