Every New Beginning...

I don’t know if Blogs are meant to have endings, but I seem to find myself at one.

Here I am once more, 30,000 in the air, on the return path of my flight 112 days ago.  So, what did I do?

I survived.

I survived living in a different country with a different language and a very different culture.  I survived jet lag and traveling almost every other weekend.  I survived very different classes and professors with limited English vocabularies.  I survived a rumored earthquake that was supposed to level half of the city on May 11^th.  But I did a lot more than that.

I ate incredible food, half of which I still don’t know exactly what I was eating.  I saw amazing views, beautiful works of art, and miraculous architecture.  And I made some unbelievably great friends to share it all with.

I lived.

Last night was my dear friend and roommate Dorothy’s 21^st Birthday and our last night in Rome.  I woke up at 7:00am Friday morning and have been laughing, crying, and hugging ever since.  Apparently, sleep did not fit into our busy schedule for our last 24 hours.  We finished our exams, got dressed up, and had one last dinner in Trastevere.  There were countless toasts, a few tears, and summer and fall reunion planning.

It was an incredible semester.  Thank you to all of my family and friends from home who sent their love half way around the world.  Thank you to all of my readers, I hope you had as much fun reading as I did writing.  Thank you to all of my friends in Rome, you did the impossible and made the semester even better than I could ever imagine.  And, as always, thank you Mom and Dad for this incredible opportunity and your unconditional love and support.

Goodbye for now, my Italy.

Wrapping It Up

In six hours, I will be leaving Italia.

Since I can't deal with the emotional magnitude of that statement just quite yet, I am going to summarize what I've been doing for my last few weeks in Rome.

Way back in the beginning of the semester, I believe I said something about weekly blogging about onsite classes.  It turned out those blogs were few and far between.  Even though I took my last exam this afternoon, here is an update:

Art History

"If it ain't Baroque, don't fix it!" As the cheesy music T-Shirt slogan goes.  The last half of my on-site art history class dove into the world of Baroque.  Notable Sites: Il Gesu was the model for pretty much all of the churches after the 1500s.  The ceiling of Il Gesu was painted by Gaulli in the late 1500s and represents the merging of the art forms.  It's hard to tell where the architecture, sculpture, and painting start and stop.  The rest of the semester was filled with even more beautiful churches, incredible works of art, and an awkwardly dramatic documentary series on Carvagio and Bernini, one of those that has an art expert with a British accent narrating the timeline while semi-famous actors that are in a rut do dramatic walking scenes with very little actual acting.  Informative and slightly hilarious, but beautiful.

Sociology

So, it has become clear that my Sociology professor is...interesting.  After the Midterm, he told us he does not believe in Passports, he thinks anyone should be able to live and travel where they want, and he firmly argues there is no such thing as "preserved nature."

The second to last week of class, he took us to the Mouth of the Tiber river.  Literally.  We took a tram to a bus to a train all the way to the end, then we took a bus to the pier and walked to the very entrance of the river.  The lecture was only 20 minutes long before we had to start the trek back.



The week before that, he took us to meet his friends.  His friends are gypsies, most of them without papers, living in illegal housing on the outskirts of the city.  While it was fascinating to see how these people live, it was difficult to communicate.  I felt guilty because they made us lunch and everything.  "Hi, I'm really interested in why you had to leave your own country and come to Italy, but I'm just going to sit here and eat your food because you can't understand me. :\ Two hours after we left, there was a police raid of the camp.

Finally, my very last Rome activity, Vatican Museums Under the Stars.

While most visitors pack into the museums and spend hours being shuffled along by tour guides, I had the entire museum almost completely by myself, with galleries lit by candles and moonlight.

What an amazing way to end the semester!

A Weekend in Paradise (The Amalfi Coast) Day 3: Pompeii

Day 3: Pompeii

We woke up to the breakfast bell of 7Hostel on our last day in the beautiful Amalfi Coast.  After scrambling to pack and locating all of the key cards for check out, we grabbed a pastry and walked to the buses.  After an hour of playing I Spy, I'm Going on a Picnic, and other fun car-ride games from our childhood, we arrived in Pompeii.

There is not much to Pompei (The current Italian city).   The Bus2Alps guides pointed out a pizza place where we had lunch, and then we wandered around the piazza at the entrance to the ruins.  There were a few rows of tents where vendors were selling souvenirs.  We walked by one very Italian looking old woman who had a large display of coral necklaces.

I must have lingered because within seconds she was telling me about her jewelry and pushing a small photo of the Virgin Mary into my hand.  "Yes, you are so beautiful, let's find a necklace for your beautiful mother!" Well, mom would actually probably like one of these, I thought to myself.  She picked one out for me, we bargained the 40-euro price down to 20, and I handed her a 50-euro bill, the only thing I had on me.  Oops.  She looked at the bill, looked me and said, "I have just the necklace for you, you need a beautiful necklace too because you are so nice, so beautiful." Before I could blink, I was down to 15 euro and two coral necklaces.  Oh well. When in Rome, or, Pompeii. And they are very pretty necklaces.

In 79AD, Mount Vesuvius violently erupted, spewing poisonous gases into the air for 4 days.  When the volcano finally calmed, Pompeii, a port town at the base of the volcano, was deserted.  Most inhabitants had fled, but about 4,000 had remained and died of poisons.  The city was buried by landslides and earthquakes in the years that followed.

Since 1400, excavations have cleared about 3/5 of the city.  During one particular dig, an archeologist found a hollow space surrounding human bone.  He discovered the space was left by decayed flesh and by injecting plaster, he could make molds of the bodies of the victims.  These molds are so detailed, some even show the pained expressions on the victims faces from their final moments.

Our tour guide was Antonio, a 60-something Italian man who grew up in the area.  His tour was informative and thorough, and he made sure we understood his English.  We saw the markets, the forum, the baths, and the red light district, which was the aspect of the ruins that most of the sketchy street vendors seemed to focus on.


It was a beautiful, informative, and fun weekend.  I got home and saw "11 Days Left in Roma" on my computer.  I can't believe it's almost over, but I can't wait for my last few days in this incredible city with my amazing friends.  It's going to be epic!

See photos of the entire weekend HERE!

A Weekend in Paradise (The Amalfi Coast) Day 2: Positano

Day 2: Positano

If you ever get a chance to visit the Amalfi Coast, DO IT!  However, prepare to do a lot of walking.

We woke up Saturday morning snug and warm in our 7Hostel beds...to a thunderclap.  All week we had been biting our nails and carefully watching the "chance of precipitation" fluctuate.  When we asked our Bus2Alps leaders what we would do in case of rain, they always quickly replied, "Oh, it won't rain."  Always the optimists.

We had already paid for the bus so we piled on and drove down to Positano.  It was one of those "OH-MY-GOD-SLOW-DOWN-THE-BUS-IS-GOING-TO-FALL-OFF-THIS-CLIFF-COULD-YOU-TAKE-THAT-TURN-ANY-FASTER?!" rides, but the view was beautiful.

We got off at the top of the coast and looked down at the beach below.  Remember when we went up all those stairs in Capri? We went down them in Positano.  Hundreds of wet, slippery stone steps later, our knees were shaking and our legs were ready to collapse.

In Northern Michigan you don't really go out in the rain (unless you are troopers like Anna Mae, Linda, and Travis and run around Mackinac Island anyway).  If anything, the library is a good place to spend the day, but mostly we just turn on a heater and curl up with a book or a movie.  I suspect Positano is the same way.

The town was quiet and almost deserted apart from Bus2Alps and a handful of tourists.  Our shoes got soaked in a matter of minutes and soon we were shivering by the shore.  A few of us ducked into a restaurant mainly because it had heat lamps.  It only took a few seconds of menu browsing before we found something that sounded like heaven: Ham, Egg, and Cheese Crepe.  Soon we were forgetting our frozen toes and reveling in warm, cheesy goodness.

After brunch, the boys took their football and the girls hit the shops.  As expected, the economy in Positano is comprised mainly of sunglasses, beachwear, and jewelry, all incredibly expensive.  We had a lovely couple hours window shopping and daydreaming of a time when our broke college days are over and we can spend our days lounging on a yacht.

Our Bus2Alps trip leaders decided to bump up our departure time, so we headed back to the hostel around 3pm.  I jumped in a hot shower to thaw before participating in our unscheduled group activity for the day: Nap Time.  No one felt like going anywhere, so 7Hostel arranged a 9-euro all-you-can-eat pasta buffet for dinner and invited a live band to play in the club.  They specialized in feel-good 90s music and we rocked out to some Shania Twain until we had to head up to bed.

Next up: Pompeii!

See photos of the entire weekend HERE!

A Weekend in Paradise (The Amalfi Coast) Day 1: Capri

It's official.  My life-long love affair with Italy has begun.  From the rolling hills in the north to the beautiful coast in the south, Italy is the most beautiful country in Europe!

For one last trip, I visited the Amalfi Coast this past weekend with a few of the most amazing people in Rome!  Around midnight, we arrived in Sorrento at 7Hostel, our base camp for the weekend.  7Hostel is a Bar/Club on the first level, a youth hostel on the second, a hotel with private rooms on the third, and a open roof bar on top.  It was clean and beautiful.

Day 1: Capri

Friday we got up at 7am, had breakfast downstairs, and walked about a mile down to the marina.  Unlike the gently sloping shores and sand beaches of my beautiful Michigan, the coast is almost completely tall rock face.  Steep paths wind back and fourth down to the water. No buses allowed.  But the view was beautiful, so we didn't mind.  At the bottom, we boarded our ferry.  All I could think about was how much I miss the boat back home and how great it was to be back on the water.  I don't think I could ever live in a land-locked state.

We arrived in Marina Grande of the Island of Capri about an hour later, disembarked, and boarded a little tour boat for a loop around the island.  Our first stop was the Blue Grotto.  Ancient Romans used this cave as a private swimming spot.  The only light comes from the small opening at the front, reflects off the clear water and illuminates the entire cave in an eerie blue glow.  Next stop was the Green Grotto where the rocks give the water a beautiful green tint, and after that the White Grotto.  As the waves break along the coast, you can see vibrant orange and red coral, one of the symbols of the bay of Naples.  Finally, we went through the "Lover's Tunnel" and arrived back at the Marina.

The trip was organized by Bus2Alps, the same group that took me to Naples in the beginning of the semester.  Friendly and enthusiastic recently graduated students point out incredible sights and great activities.  Our guides told us we were going to walk up the island to meet our transport to Anacapri, the little town on the higher part of the island.  HUNDREDS of stairs later, with aching calves and sore knees, we arrived at the Augustus Gardens.  We had a quick look around and then hopped aboard some buses that took us to the top of the island.

Capri is famous for Limoncello, Chocolate, Red Coral, and Handmade Sandals.  So after lunch, we indulged.  Our trip leaders pointed out a small sandal shop where Bus2Alps has arranged a discount for their travelers.  We picked out sandal designs and sat to be fitted while tasting Limoncello and sampling chocolate. Mmmm.  Afterwards, we wondered through the shops and tents.  I found an Italian Horn red coral necklace and some little turquoise rose earrings.  Everything was tropical, fresh, and beautiful.

Next, we took a chairlift up to the top of the island where we relaxed and let the clouds wash over us like waves.  The view was incredible!

Once back down in Anacapri, we were faced with the task of getting back down to the marina to catch our ferry back to Sorrento.  Dan, one of the trip leaders, recommended a taxi.  So we climbed into a convertible taxi and raced down the picturesque coast as the sun was falling lower in the sky.  Beautiful!

Once back on the mainland, we went out to dinner with the Bus2Alps crew.  I had AMAZING grilled chicken in a gorgonzola and cream sauce with mushrooms and artichoke. MMMMMMM.  After dinner we walked to a nearby outdoor English beer garden for a relaxing evening with a pack of interesting and slightly creepy Italian men.  Falling into my hostel bed after a long but incredible day felt soooo good.

Next up: Positano! Stay tuned!

See photos of the entire weekend HERE!

A Few Words on a Historic Day

One afternoon when I was in 5th grade, my mom picked me up from school.  We sat down in the backyard and she told us,

"A terrible thing happened to our country today."

This morning I woke up and opened my laptop to check the weather.

"Obama Confirms Bin Laden's Death"

It was everywhere.  From CNN to Al Jazeera, Facebook to Twitter.  Big, bold letters bringing me back to that day in 5th grade.  It was on almost every computer screen and mentioned in every conversation at school.  I quickly saw photos of rallies in New York and DC.  By noon I had read articles and watched video clips.

This is a monumental event in our nation's history, there is no doubt about that.  But it is also incredibly emotional, political, and complex.  Events like these require us to gather all the knowledge we can, analyze it, and then figure out how we feel about it (which can be the most difficult step of all).  I respect well-formed opinions and I believe in everyone having and expressing their own.  Today, I talked to friends on both sides of the spectrum and everywhere in between.  Here is mine:

It is appalling that one human being can take the life of another.  Osama Bin Laden took the lives of over 3,000 innocent Americans in only one day.  An American took the life of Osama Bin Laden.  This event marks a closure for many people, and it will go down in history as a good day for our country and for people around the world.  However, I do not see this as a joyous celebration.

In the words of Harry Waizer, a 9/11 survivor, "I just can't find it in me to be glad one more person is dead, even if it is Bin Laden."

Do I think Bin Laden should have been killed?  I don't know.  I don't think that is a question I can answer.  Am I glad? In a small way, yes.  This is a very complex situation with layers upon layers of consequences that many of us cannot imagine.  I have faith that our government is doing what is best for the safety of its people and their rights and freedom.  I have a lot of respect for how President Obama handled everything in the public eye.  People did their jobs, and someone was killed.  I think this calls for solemn respect, remembrance, and peace.  I "celebrated" today with a moment of silence and a prayer.

That being said, however you chose to remember the events of the last couple days, I hope you will join me in giving thanks that we live in a country where we are free to do so.  United we stand, all over the world.  I encourage you to watch Obama's address from yesterday if you have not already.  It was very well delivered.

On a lighter note, related to recent political shenanigans, I found this quite amusing:

Small World (Friends, Food, and...more Food!)

Chillin' in Roma

I think April has been my favorite month in Rome.  The weather is getting warmer, the flowers are blooming, and I have had wonderful company all month long!  The first weekend, Mom and Grandma visited.  The second, Liz and I went to Venice.  And the third, Travis!

St. Peter's during Holy Week,
CRAZY!

Things I learned this week:

1. Easter Week in Rome is crazy!  

There are so many people!  The program alumni warned me that come spring time, I would be grumbling about tourists just like the locals, but I've tried to keep in mind I'm just an extended tourist with no right to get annoyed.  People flock to DC and Michigan all the time because they are beautiful places to visit.  Rome is an even better example.  It's an amazing place that I think everyone should see.

Drinking from the fountain at
the Orange Gardens

2. I know my way around!

Every time we went downtown, we probably took a different bus line.  I'm glad I've worked out how to get where I need to go, even if it took four months.  Anyway, this came in handy when running around the city all weekend.

The Forum

3. I walk, A LOT!

My sense of distance has made the European switch!  (At least part way.)

Between sporadic bus strikes, getting lost and confused, and not having a real winter, walking is just a bigger part of life here.  When I get back to DC, I hope I don't bother waiting for the AU shuttle to take me the 3/4 of a mile to the metro.

Piazza Navona
(Prettiest at night)

4. I'm not very good at bargaining down prices with street vendors.

Travis, with his months of Jordanian Bazaar training, kind of showed me up on that front while buying a little something for his host sister.

5. I don't appreciate trees enough.

...According to the guy currently living in the desert, but I think it's a good point anyway. 

Spanish Steps
Ahhhh!

Before I left, our program advisor told us "Yes, go see Europe, but don't forget about Rome!"  She's right.  It's easy to get caught up in travel and school.  Sometimes, on my free days, I'd rather just sleep in, relax, and watch a movie.  And that's fine every once and a while, but there is a lot to see in this incredible city and I'm glad I've had this month to run around it with friends and family, putting to use what I've learned in my "All Rome All the Time" semester.

Trevi Fountain!

So we did St. Peters, the Capitoline Hill, the Forum, the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, the Famous Keyhole, the Orange Gardens, Trastevere, Monteverde, Tiber Island, AUR, Giolitti, and Villa Pamphili.  Whew.

But while playing tourist, we dove into the real Rome.  We ate at my favorite restaurants: Le Fate, MoMo, and we even tracked down the best pizza in Rome at Dar Poeta. MMM!

Villa Pamphili

On Thursday we had a picnic on the Aventine Hill. We took the bus up to school and walked into the deli on the corner.  The two guys at this place really know their trade, because they throw together delicious sandwiches with fresh cheese, meats, and sauce.  I ask for two sandwiches.  They ask what kind, and I say "una sorpresa!"  I love going there because the whole experience is just so Italian, and the sandwiches are amazing!

MoMo Desert!

Easter Monday night, I was surprised by our dear family friend Gary and his wonderful fiancée Amy.  We had dinner at Le Fate which included some excellent Cacio e Pepe pasta and a mysterious "Chocolate Salami."

 Food, Friends, and Rome!  What more could one ask for?

Well, I guess one could ask for more photos.  So here they are!

"The Most Beautiful City Built by Man." (My Weekend in Venice!)

Northern Michigan is my absolute favorite place in the world.

Emily in Venice!

It's difficult for me to imagine a summer without going to Michigan Beach, sailing on Lake Charlevoix, and swimming in Oyster Bay, or a winter without the beautiful snow, half frozen Great Lakes, and delicious Woolly Bugger hot chocolate.  If I don't find an internship for this summer, I will be seriously considering moving up there for a few months.  I could teach swimming lessons, give yoga classes, and fulfill my life long dream of being a dock hand for Shepler's Mackinac Island Ferry Company while teaching myself to sail.

Grand Canal

Where is all of this reminiscing and fantasizing coming from?  This weekend, I found very similar place: Venice!

My dear friend and fellow international traveler and temporary European, Liz Swarthout visited last week.  After a few days of sightseeing, gelato, Italian class, gelato, Italian food, and yes, more gelato, we embarked on an adventure!

Venetian Traffic

We started early Friday morning.  We left the apartment at 7 to get to the train station before the bus strike started.  After some wandering, browsing, and shopping, we boarded the train and I promptly fell asleep.  Four hours later, we walked out into a very busy piazza.

Canal-side Churches

Venice is beautiful.  I think it's a lot like Mackinac Island, except with gelato instead of fudge, gondolas instead of horse-drawn carriages, and beautiful hand-blown glass instead of Petoskey stones.  Everywhere you look there are adorable shops selling jewelry and postcard-worthy views are around every corner.  I would love to spend a few months there, maybe after tourist season.

Rialto Market

Our first day, we found ourselves a bit overwhelmed, so we did the only reasonable thing and declared that day "Wander and Shop Day."  We followed the flow of people from the station to Piazza San Marco, stopping along the way for sandwiches, gelato, and a few pretty little things.

Amazing Architecture!

In my Italian class, we talked about the unique economic structure of old Italy.  Instead of one industrial center, everything was spread out and worked together in a web.  Rome is the city of government and metals.  Florence is the city of marbled paper and leather.  Milan is the city of fashion.  Venice is the city of glass and lace.  In Florence, I got my leather jacket.  In Venice, I had my eye's peeled for the perfect Murano glass watch.  After looking in countless shops, I found it.  The face is surrounded by the Venetian "Thousand Flower" glass design.  It's framed by gold gondolas that hold the muted silver leather strap.  I love it!

Beautiful!

Just another little canal

Two weeks before Ash Wednesday, Venice is overtaken by figures in elaborate costume and decorative masks for Carnivale, a historic festival that hid the identities of the guests so there was no distinguishing features to identify members of different social classes.  One of my professors explained the elite used it as an opportunity to be quite naughty and get away with it.  It's a huge festival with fountains of wine, parties, dancing, and beautiful art.  Masks are sold on virtually every street corner and we had fun trying on all the different colors and shapes, putting most of them back because huge feathers are not fans of backpacking as a method of transportation, but we did find a few that didn't mind the journey back to Rome.

Gondola's Galore!

After a successful day of shopping and getting used to our surroundings, we planed day two, the "Sightseeing and Photo-taking Day!"

We started the day by taking a Vaporetto (boat bus) down the Grand Canal from the train station to the tip of the main island.  We slowly walked back along the winding paths, being sure to take a few deserted side roads and being rewarded with picturesque canals, bridges, and churches.  By the end of the day, we had toured San Marco, wandered through beautiful courtyards, and crossed the three large bridges that span the Grand Canal.  We grabbed one last gelato before jumping on the train and heading back to Rome.  It was a wonderful trip!

You know what would make this blog post even better?
That's right! MORE PHOTOS!