Captain’s Log: 12 June 2010
Today was an early start, for sure. 5am sucks. All of it was worth it though. We took a pretty awesome bus ride out to Pompeii this morning. We had three hours to do our readings, chat and get to know each other. We all were pretty tired so lots of people slept while others read. I finished up my readings and took to watching the countryside of Campania fly by. It was such a beautiful drive. The fields were freshly harvested and the mountains in the background framed the landscape. As I sat there with Miley Cyrus telling me it’s all about the climb I relaxed and enjoyed the country.
The Romans had an ideal outlook on the countryside. The ideal turnout for a Roman soldier was to serve the state in battle honorably then return to the fields. The best dictator in Rome’s history was Cincinatus, who received the dictatorship in a crisis. He took the title, went and solved the problem and then he gave back the power to the senate and went back to working his fields. The Roman countryside was (and probably is) the life. As we drove across the land, these were the random history lessons we got. We kept driving and approached Pompeii.
As we entered into Pompeii I was super stoked to see Caecilius’ house (The boss of the Cambridge Latin books) and the house of the Tragic Poet. Pompeii is one of those places that I have always wanted to visit. In the story we had been translating for four years the end is where Mount Vesuvius erupts and all the characters we have grown to love… allllll die! So visiting Pompeii was like visiting a grave yard for me. It was super cool, but at the same time I am visiting a place where thousands of people died. We saw the casted molds of people who had died and the emotion was there. Fear and anguish. It was sad. But also, it was waay fun! We walked around under the blazing sun fighting each other for shade and seating. Our tour guide whose name I can’t even imagine ever spelling correctly was a very nice lady. Though, like some Italian women, took it upon herself to not shave her armpits nor did she own deodorant. Other than that, she was really informative and helpful. After she took us all through Pompeii, we went to a café and got some lunch before Herculaneum.
When we go to the café, my little group was way later than everyone else because we went and saw some extra sites. We had to order from the inside of the café so we walked up and there was like a 13 year old Italian kid at the counter. I thought to myself that I am going to have such a hard time getting my food order across. Well, I was totally wrong. This kid was a baller! He had a working knowledge of English and was hooking us up. Will and I were laughing and saying he was a baller out loud and we saw his grandpa in the corner laughing and nodding his head. That nod said, “My grandson is quite the salesman amirite? Try living with him haha!” It was such a funny experience.
Herculaneum! This is a town that was buried due to the volcano as well. It had rained for several days before the ash cloud hit so when that happened it all turned to mud and a huge mud slide happened. This covered the town super quick and pushed the shore line out about 2 kilometers. It is way better preserved than Pompeii and was actually more interesting in its own way. I think mostly because visually it is more appealing. It was an old resort town really. Right on the beach and away from big cities—this was the place to be!” After checking this place out for a couple of hours we got to explore. Some of my friends went into a restricted tunnel without telling me… Jerks! I still had fun though.
The bus ride home was super fun. I really got to know a girl I have had class with in the past. Lauren Harris (she might be reading this so I am going to be nice) is a pretty cool girl. We actually met my second semester of college in a Latin course. The second day of class she sat right next to me so she could be my friend and get help. Well, I looked over at her homework that was perfectly done and said “Over achiever”. I was trying to joke with her and kind of break the ice, but she didn’t take it as a joke. The rest of the semester she sat on the other side of the room. So that is the story of how awesome I am at first impressions. Anyway, on this trip she gave me a second chance I suppose and now we are friends! I talked to her for most of the bus ride home about my testimony and my beliefs and things of that nature and she shared some of her past as well. She is a journalism student and you can kind of tell. She asks good questions. I am a terrible question asker (mainly because I want to talk about myself). She asks very intuitive questions and that’s why it is pretty fun to talk to her. She makes you think. So it was really fun talking about each other’s history and opinions on things. Surprisingly, it is really easy to get to know someone when they don’t think you are a jerkface McGrumpy butt.
Later that night 14 of us went to a restaurant we had eaten at the night before. We talked to the waiter Meerco and he hooked us all up and was super nice. After a great meal of Roman milk-fed lamb we walked back to the University and Tia, Lauren, Jordin, Katherine and I just talked and joked till late into the night. To be honest, there is really not a single person on this trip that I don’t get along with. Now, I am sure half the people here think I am annoying, but I like love everyone on this trip. We will see how this continues on as the days pile up, but I think I am super blessed to be on this trip with these people.
Miss you all slightly
End transmission.
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