For me, at
least, being in Rome, actually in Rome, the ancient capital of the
Roman Empire, home to the Pope himself, where all roads lead to,
didn't hit me until the last two days.
Day 1? Sure,
the airport was weird but everyone spoke English, it was no problem.
In the end, airports are airports, regardless of how many Foosball
tables are in there (Undefeated in airport Foosball, by the way). The
Jewish synagogue and the Jewish Quarter were interesting to learn
about, and a new view of the Holocaust through a local, Roman,
context. The Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine were incredible,
but seemed, in a way, not there. Somehow, I didn't fully make the
connection that THAT Colosseum and THAT Arch were erected so long
ago. Somehow, with the swarms of tourists and multilingual signs, it
didn't seem so ancient. The Borghese Museum and the Scavi had this
similar problem of, in a way, being too accessible, too modern for it
to fully sink in.
This lasted
until yesterday. It began to fall apart in the Vatican Museum. First,
seeing the casual disregard, the kind of lackadaisical lumping of a
bunch of statues into a couple rooms, all priceless Roman copies of
Greek works, boggled my mind. I began to give poor Sebastian,
Richard, and whoever was within earshot a impromptu history lesson,
focusing on the famous Athenians or Romans (largely) depicted. The
Sistine Chapel, in its breath-taking beauty that caused me to skirt
around the strict “NO PHOTO” rule about 5 times, intensified this
effect on me, bringing me into Rome. Something I had only seen in
video games, movies, read of in books, was in front of my eyes, in
all of its original glory. It blew my mind.
I was barely
putting my brain back together when we headed over to the Papal
Audience. I had been looking forward to this, because, you know, its
the Pope, the Holy Vicar of Christ on Earth, the Head of the Catholic
Church, known literally throughout the world, kind of a big deal.
When I saw him walking down the aisle, and could look over to see the
familiar view of Pope Francis on the TV, then move my head a bit and
see him walk in person (!!!) made it real.
Oh my God. I
was in Rome. THAT Rome. With the Romans. And Augustus. And Julius.
And Trajan. And Hadrian. THAT Rome. With the Pope. And the Vatican.
And the Pantheon. THAT Rome.
This
near-complete brain paralysis, expectedly, got worse. Heading outside
Rome to the Ostia Antica, seeing the ruins, the ROMAN ruins, drove it
further in. And all the experiences came rushing in. This trip, and
the incredible experiences I have been able to experience because of
it, really only just hit.
I stood in the
Roman Forum. I sat in the Colosseum. I petted a cat in a Roman port.
I saw the Sistine Chapel. I saw Bernini's probably and half of all
Carvaggio ever made. I saw the bones of St. Peter. I
saw the Pope,
the freaking Pope! In person!
Now, with the
aid of an extraordinary full stomach and maybe some of that grappa,
I'm finally coming to terms with the incredible nature of this trip.
I would like to thank all of the Honors students, for being amazing
and flexible travel companions, willing to deal with everything from
a extraordinarily stressed Matt at an airport to a bunch of stray
cats requiring petting. Thank you. I would also like to thank Drs.
Hinson-Hasty, both of them, for the amazing trip. This trip would not
be possible without you two, and to call both of you incredible
guides and helpers is merely the tip of the iceberg. Thank you.
Finally, I would like to thank the Honors Program, for both providing
this opportunity to do this trip and to streamline it so so many
could come. Great job!
This was an
incredible experience, so I am going to go to sleep so I can soak in
more tomorrow. See you all tomorrow.
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