It's me, Aviva and I'm back at the wheel. Today was the last day of school and I feel a bit more relaxed - no homework to do, no grammar to learn, no need to go to sleep early so my brain can function. That being said, going to school was good for me - a chance to learn some new things, have conversations that revolve around things other than food and directions, and experience learning Italian in a new setting (although I miss everyone from Italingua, Jeff, and Joel!). I think the most amazing part of the class is that people from all over the world (Russia, Algeria, Ireland, Germany, Canada, Australia, Indonesia, Spain) were able to communicate in a language foreign to all of us.
Here is a summary of the interesting things that happened/I learned this week:
- First of all, the most amazing coicidence. When I introduced myself to the class, I explained that I just moved from San Francisco to New York. My teacher asked where I studied Italian in San Francisco - not just the name of the school, the street it was located on. I assumed she knew something about the Bay Area based on that question, and it turns out I was correct. The next day before class we were talking about where I was living in Oakland, and she mentioned she lived in the Bay Area for 20 years and moved back to Italy several years ago. She lived in the Marina, in Marin, and in Oakland. In Rockridge. On Chabot Street. Across from the Zen Center. Which means that she lived in an apartment that must have been within five seconds of my old apartment. Incredible.
- Every day we had a 90-minute grammer lesson, a short break, and then a 90-minute session dedicated to converstation. I learned some new grammer rules and then we reviewed the subjuntive tense. All I have to say is that it was a good thing that I did some review before starting the class. For those who know - I needed to know all the tenses - even passato remoto. Era pazzo!
- During the conversation sessions, topics ranged from how Americans are unique in that they just quit their jobs (like Mike and I did, and the other guy in my class from Brooklyn), age and gender discrimination, how youth today has a hard time finding work that earns them enough money to move out on their own, and the pros and cons of being a celebrity. I learned several other random things: about the school system in other countries, why there are so many kinds of pasta in Italy, that women who are pregnant in Italy are treated like celebrities, and about future excavations planned in Rome and the idea to close down a lot of Central Rome to traffic (future job opportunity??).
Mike on the other hand, had his last day of his morning routine. Just as he had hoped, the barista recognized him this morning and started making his cappuccino without having to be asked.
We met for lunch and then started the tour for the day. The first stop was at the Bocca della Verita (Mouth of Truth) where you stick your hand into the mouth of a stone face in the wall. Supposedly if you are a liar you hand will be chomped on by the stone face! Luckily no liars have ever stuck their hands in there yet.Next we went back at the church near the Colosseum we had tried to visit a few days ago - the San Clemente Church. From inside the 12th century church, we climbed down a set of stairs, where there was a whole other church (really large) from the 4th century. After we toured this church, we walked down yet another flight of stairs where we found a 2nd century Roman temple. At this lowest level, we also saw several rooms from Roman houses and alleyways between the houses - this used to be the level of the street and future generations literally built right on top of it. While its amazing to see these things I have a hard time immagining how one can build on top of an existing city. Can you immagine the street being at the level of your roof? Its just nuts!
From the church, walked over to the Fondazione Roma Museo where they are having a special exhibit on costumes for operas and ballets designed by famous designers. Even though I'm no fashionista, and Mike, well, he's a "dude", there were some pretty amazing pieces here (and some that were totally nuts). I just wish they provided more stats - how much did the pieces cost to make, how much did they weigh, how much material did they use, how many man-hours did it take to make them, etc. It would have added another dimension to the exhibit.
After the museum we took a quick detour and bought some gear for the soccer game on Sunday. Just buying the Lazio jerseys (or "kits" as they are called here) incited a Roma versus Lazio discussion between the store staff. We continued on, taking a walking tour around the neighborhoods near the Pantheon. Some of the sights we've seen already on our trip, but we did get to see some new things. One was the remains of the Temple of Adriano, whose columns are now the facade of a modern day building. Other stops on the route gave us more information about the history of some of the piazzas, monuments, and churches in the area. It was finally time for dinner and we found a pretty decent place near Piazza Navona. After dinner we had some really good gelato at the recommendation of a friend who lived in Rome for about two years (thanks Sonya!). We made our way home and called it a day!
Gelato Gusti per il Giorno:
Mike - Cooky e Cannolli and Cioccolato Bianco e Pistacchio
Aviva - Mente e Fragola (strawberry) and Pera/Caramel e Zenzero (ginger)
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