Roma

Buon Giorno! After a 9 hour flight and some crazy jet leg, I arrived in Roma, Italia. On Sunday (the first day), my parents and I went to the Museo di Roma (Museum of Rome) and the Villa Berghese – a beautiful (and huge) park that was once a great estate. We also walked to the Spanish Steps, the hot-spot in the evenings, and especially on Sunday late afternoon. The place is crowded and the streets which normally carry the madhouse traffic are instead flooded with pedestrians strolling along.

It didn't take long in Italy to discover our

favorite thing: Gelato (Italian ice cream)

In the morning of our second day in Rome, we took a walking tour of “Classic Rome” which included Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, as well as many statues, fountains, and obliques. The afternoon included a trip to the Vatican City which is the home to St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museum, and the Sistine Chapel - this was DEFINITELY my favorite day in Rome.

The Pantheon was my second favorite sight. It was once a great pagan temple to all gods and was covered into a Christian church which is what it has remained.

It is a dome-like structure with no windows at all. All light comes through the ceiling where there is a hole (no glass). Also through this circle comes rain (there are small holes in the floor to drain). What is amazing is this building would crumble because every piece rests against the circle.

All through Rome are obliques which were taken from Egypt after it was conquered by the Romans. Around the time that Rome was taken over by the "barbarian Christians," anything pagan would be destroyed. The only way for something to remain is to have it "Christianized." Pagan temples became churches, and pagan statues like this oblique would have a cross placed on top.

The first time we came to Trevi fountain, the water was completely drained at it was being cleaned. The fountain is actually cleaned DAILY.

In ancient times, before a Roman soldier would leave for war, he would come to Fontana di Trevi and throw a coin over his left shoulder with his right hand as a wish to return to Rome. Clearly the tradition has lived on because Rome collects 300,000 euro a year in coins that have been thrown into Trevi fountain.

The third day can only be described as the Caesar Shuffle: the Colosseo (Coliseum), the Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill.

Outside the Colosseo

Inside the Colosseo

Our last day in Rome was actually not in Rome at all. We took a tour down to Naples and Pompeii (a city that was destroyed from a volcano and has been excavated).
We left Rome for Venice and to be honest I am very sad to leave Rome – I loved in more than I thought I would.

Arrivederci Roma!

Almost Here

I cannot believe in a week I will by flying over that small pond which separates home from Oxford. It really seems like it wasn't that long ago that I was sitting in the Corum, thinking about what I was going to do with the rest of my time in college and feeling like I desperately needed an adventure. I just wanted to explore someplace new. Go somewhere far away and do something exciting.

A year later I'm packing to do just that. I feel like I'm trapped between three worlds. The first is Grand Rapids, Cornerstone, and the wonderful life I lead there. The friendships are rich and intimate. The number one reason I love CU is the community on campus. The second world is home, where I spend all my time working and making money for the upcoming school semester. I live at home with my parents, which can be an adventure in itself, and I see my sisters and brothers. Each member of my family is as different as night and day. Yet, there is so much of us that's the same.

And the third of my worlds. That's the unknown. The third world is Oxford and everything I hope and fear it holds. I fly in 7 days. I arrive in the UK in 14. And Oxford orientation begins in 17 days. The next few weeks are going to fly by!