Colossus of Rome aka ME!

Captain’s Log: 10 June 2010

Well, I conquered Rome today. I have the medal to prove it! INSERT PICTURE

This leaf is what they used to put on kids shirts when they would race. It was supposed to look like a medal. This is indicative of the things I have learned today.

Starting off at 8:20 this morning and ending this evening at 7:10 was one heck of a marathon. We saw the colosseum, the forum, the pallentine hill, the arches of Constantine and Titus, Trajan’s column, Augustine’s forum, the memorial to Emanuel II and so many other things it is hard to put into words.

Fun fact: There is no record of any Christians ever dying in the Flavian Amphitheatre. They were only recorded as being killed in the Circi. Seeing the coliseum again was a blast and a half. The day was hot though. Every inch of shade was crowded to the max. It was like we were vampires fleeing for our lives from the sun. Every water spigot had a line like the Vatican. That is called overstatement by the way.

Our tour guide was phenomenal. His name was John Paul and was the boss of the tour guides. We only scheduled him for the coliseum but he also gave us a tour of the Palentine hill and the Forum. He was super nice. He also got us into places and talked to ticket guys to bend the rules for our group. It was pretty sick. After all the touring, the group split up. Some of us wanted to go back to the Forum and have a more in depth look at it, and the others went back to the University.

After a delightful lunch, we went back and stood under the blazing sun in the forum. We enjoyed the Curia a lot, mainly because it was so cool inside. Then after the Forum we just walked the city for a couple of hours. Dr. Lavigne explained things to us as we went from site to site. We had some great photo ops. We stood at the top of the Monument of Emanuel II, and got a panoramic view of Rome nearly. We also went to some old slummy streets and took Backstreet Boyesque pictures. It was tons of fun, but super tiring. It was just 6 guys and Dr. Lavigne and his fiancé (I believe) romping around Rome.

Once we got back to the University the same guys went out and got some great food at a local restaurant. We talked about the finer things in life like video games and… I am not sure. It was a blast though. I ate some smoked swordfish, ricotta filled ravioli (chef Boyardee style!) and some lemon sorbet. Goodness, it was tastalicious.

After a really long day it was nice to just sit down do some readings and relax. We have an early start tomorrow though. 6 oclock!!! We are going to Pompeii and Herculaneum though, so totally worth it. I am going to chill at Caecilius’ house with Matella. The dog Cerberus will be there. Maybe Grumio will cook us something. I just hope his son Quintus isn’t being a baby and whining the whole time! (ALL Mrs. Sea’s Latin students should understand this paragraph)

It was nice to get more introduced to someone I had class with all last semester, Will Utterback. He is an ex-marine and pretty cool dude. He has one crazzzy mouth. Likes to use army language for sure, but most of all he has a booming voice and an infectious laugh. You can hear is laugh from so far, and EVERYONE knows it is Will. There is never a dull moment with him.

All today and yesterday, he and I have been buying stuff for each other trying to reconcile a 2-3 euro debt. It has swung back and forth like 8 times today. We have been joking around and swapping stories. Man, he has some terrible stories from how much he got hazed. He is still a really super nice guy to everyone and is easy to get along with. He really improves the mood of everyone around him and never stops smiling. A good guy.

Anyway readers, I hope to post all the pictures soon so you can see what I am talking about. It is a little difficult not being able to post my blog from my laptop. Life is tough, but then ye make the trip down to Davy Jones’ Locker!

End Transmission.