I'm Sorry We're Just So European

So it turns out the two days a week that I actually have class, my mornings don't start in a classroom at all. They are on-site lectures that are held all over the city. I can't believe it! Rome is my classroom!

I've decided to give you a quick rundown of what I see every week partly because it will help me make everything stick for my exams and also because IT'S SO AMAZING!

Last Monday my Art History class went to the Basilica di San Clemente, a small church that holds the ashes of the third successor to St. Peter. The church was built in the 12th century, on top of a church that was built in the 4th century, which was built on top of a house that dates back to the 1st century. It didn't sound very safe to me but I guess it was pretty common practice back in the day and they knew what they were doing. Or they may have just been very lazy. Anyway, we walked down some stairs all the way to the house where there is a subterranean river which tells us the ground level has risen substantially since then. Afterwards, we walked to the Campidoglio and had a brief history of Michelangelo.

My professor, though still hard to understand at times, is very knowledgeable and very nice. It's a three hour class and we always take a ten minute break in the middle for coffee.

Wednesday was a bit of a rough start. Dorothy and I got stuck waiting 25 minutes for a bus transfer. When we got to the meeting point we found our professor and apologized for being late. His response? "No, it's ok. You guys are actually the first ones. Did you eat breakfast? Do you want to get some coffee?" I guess coffee breaks with professors are pretty normal. It makes me feel very European.

Once the rest of the class showed up he took us to Testaccio. Once a major industrial hub of Rome, it went through a rough downturn as the developed nation turned into a service economy. Sounds familiar... *cough*DETROIT*cough*

Eventually various ethnic communities moved into the warehouses and put up flags to claim their "squatter's rights". It is now turning into the Free Trade and Organic center of the city. One of the old buildings has even been converted into an educational center where you can learn about Free Trade, living organic, and even Eco-Tourism. My professor was a little taken aback that I knew what Eco-Toursim was and even more so when I told him briefly about my trip to Ecuador a few years ago. It turns out he is sort of a cross between a sociologist and an International Relations scholar. He has offered to help with my thesis when I start it. (Next year! That's a scary thought!)

After touring the grounds of the Organic Farmers Market, he decided that he just had to take us to this beautiful park on top of the hill. The park is called the Orange Gardens. There is plenty of grass and beautiful orange trees, and you can see the entire city from the back edge.

Next to the gardens is the Basilica di St. Sabina, another one of Rome's hundreds of beautiful basilicas. Inside, sitting in the corner, is a large black stone. Our professor casually mentioned that it is said to have been touched by the Devil, and we were free to touch it too if we wanted to try our luck and perhaps damn ourselves to a fiery afterlife.

Outside the basilica, he showed us "The most famous keyhole in all of Europe." I bent over to look through it...

I'll let the picture speak for itself.

These are my classes! Wow!