(no subject)
So, LJ informs me that it's been ten weeks or so since my last update, so I decided to get my fingers off of their metaphorical arses and type something out regarding my whereabouts.
I'm currently in Rome! *waves* It's a lovely city, and experiencing the layers of history around me does wonders when compared to only having heard about it during my life. On the other hand, I traveled over here without knowing any of the other students involved and as a result I've been rather lonely. The time difference makes it difficult to talk with people back home, so I find myself in my own head a lot of the time.
I miss the routine I had going this early summer. For five days of the week I'd sit down and write for four hours--10am until 2pm. I always took Sundays and one other day I felt like taking a break on off. I was really making a lot of progress with my novel then. Since coming to Rome, all of that has been left behind. When I write, I like to write for chunks of time, and I just don't have that here for writing or many other things. That's really the only bad thing about being over here. I doodle sometimes in my journal, and I'll scan those pages when I get home, but it isn't as much as I'd like, and the constant flow of roommates in and out of the room puts a dent in my space. As an introvert, I thrive on that space.
I'll stop with that, though. Really, who doesn't wish for more time in the day? I'm in bloody Italy, and I know I'll carry these memories with me always. I've been very good about keeping up with my journal--as I'm sure you can tell I'm sort of bad with those sorts of things. Then again, before this summer, I was bad at writing continuously for days on end, and I was vigilant with my novel. Maybe that's just part of growing up: being more responsive to personal discipline. Now, if I could only apply it to my artistic life, I'd be doing great.
My study abroad program keeps us all pretty busy. The first week here we took the weekend to go south of Rome to Sperlonga, Fossa Nova, and Teracina. I found the trip to the Fossa Nova abbey very moving since it's where St. Thomas Aquinas died. I knelt and prayed a while for him to prod God about a few things for me. The beach of Sperlonga was infinitely nicer than the beaches of Texas. The Mediterranean wins over the Gulf of Mexico any day. I've had some of the best food I've ever eaten in my life during this trip. I couldn't help but take pictures of the awesome four-course meals we were having.
Classes have been going well. I've really enjoyed my religion class on the Medieval Church, and the rise of Christianity and the papacy. I've always wanted to study Catholicism from a secular standpoint--the majority of my education on Catholicism comes from the Church itself, which is understandably and obviously biased towards itself. I have no idea what religion, if any, my professor follows, and that makes me rather happy. The separation of myth and fact has been enlightening. Reading the works of the early Church fathers such as Augustine, Aquinas, and Benedict have really helped to open my eyes wider to the different approaches to Christian faith. It left me wondering why the works of the saints aren't talked about more in the Church itself.
I suppose it's because they're hard to digest, and most people only come to mass once a week, if that, to hear a sermon on the Bible, not the thoughts of Augustine on time and memory and a relationship to God. I guess most people wouldn't care to hear it, which is a shame. I know I wouldn't mind if the mass included, I don't know, a reading from a saint or theologian on a similar topic that the Gospel and other readings touched on. Then the priest could tie his sermon not only to the Gospels but to the saint and how things were viewed in his or her time, and then how we might perceive it in our own. But that's just me.
Anyway, last weekend I went to Venice, Florence, and Pisa. Venice was fun to experience, but I found it got repetitive after a bit. A day was all I needed there. Maybe it would've been better it it hadn't been pouring and I had carried an unmbrella with me and I didn't have to carry my luggage around with me for the day, but maybe not. I did ride on a gondola if only because I doubt I could go home and face everyone to say that I had been to Venice and didn't.
Florence seemed like it would be an awesome city to go to if you traveled with people that appreciated art. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case for me. I reluctantly ran through a Caravaggio exibit and left sooo many statues in the dust. This is because my traveling companions only wanted to see Michaelangelo's David, and nothing else. We went to the wrong museum, and found this out about halfway through the exhibits, hence the sudden rush to go to the right one and see David before we had to leave. Argh, I wouldn't have minded staying and seeing some of the other art! Caravaggio is one of my favorites! x_x
To me, David lived up to the hype. It was a lot bigger than I imagined, and I walked around it for a good while admiring it. Also helped hide a camera so one of my classmates could get a picture of it.
All of that museum running took place on Sunday, and I have to say that the morning was far more peaceful to me. I missed mass the previous Sunday, the first time in a year, and was rather annoyed since I'm in ITALY and can't even ride the bus without running into at least two priests, three nuns, a few seminarians, and a monk. So I was determined not to miss mass in Florence. I woke up before everyone else and wandered out on my own to this little church down the street and enjoyed mass in Italian. I was pleased to see that it was exactly the same as back home, so I had no trouble following along. I mean, the sermon went over my head, but that's to be expected. I spent that time looking over at this gorgeous Byzantine icon on the wall. I was surprised to see it in this little hole-in-the-wall church. It was an icon I recognized from art history class! Felt much better after mass, anyway, and I think everyone assumed I was Italian, which is cool.
So this week has been school-centric. I hate writing papers on philosophy, especially when I'm rushed to do so. Turned that in this morning, so I'm cooling down. I have post cards to write and send off from the Vatican post office. Speaking of which, I can't wait to see the Vatican! I haven't been yet because I've been everywhere else, but I plan on spending several days poking around it once things settle down.
Won't be this weekend, though. This weekend we're going to Naples, the Amalfi coast, and Pompeii. My camera batteries better not die on me. I also have to go to an opera while I'm here. Sometimes when I stand outside on the balcony of my apartment, I can hear them distantly, and everytime I do, what I hear is gorgeous. I just close my eyes and get lost in it.
Anyway, I'm out for now! Ciao!
I'm currently in Rome! *waves* It's a lovely city, and experiencing the layers of history around me does wonders when compared to only having heard about it during my life. On the other hand, I traveled over here without knowing any of the other students involved and as a result I've been rather lonely. The time difference makes it difficult to talk with people back home, so I find myself in my own head a lot of the time.
I miss the routine I had going this early summer. For five days of the week I'd sit down and write for four hours--10am until 2pm. I always took Sundays and one other day I felt like taking a break on off. I was really making a lot of progress with my novel then. Since coming to Rome, all of that has been left behind. When I write, I like to write for chunks of time, and I just don't have that here for writing or many other things. That's really the only bad thing about being over here. I doodle sometimes in my journal, and I'll scan those pages when I get home, but it isn't as much as I'd like, and the constant flow of roommates in and out of the room puts a dent in my space. As an introvert, I thrive on that space.
I'll stop with that, though. Really, who doesn't wish for more time in the day? I'm in bloody Italy, and I know I'll carry these memories with me always. I've been very good about keeping up with my journal--as I'm sure you can tell I'm sort of bad with those sorts of things. Then again, before this summer, I was bad at writing continuously for days on end, and I was vigilant with my novel. Maybe that's just part of growing up: being more responsive to personal discipline. Now, if I could only apply it to my artistic life, I'd be doing great.
My study abroad program keeps us all pretty busy. The first week here we took the weekend to go south of Rome to Sperlonga, Fossa Nova, and Teracina. I found the trip to the Fossa Nova abbey very moving since it's where St. Thomas Aquinas died. I knelt and prayed a while for him to prod God about a few things for me. The beach of Sperlonga was infinitely nicer than the beaches of Texas. The Mediterranean wins over the Gulf of Mexico any day. I've had some of the best food I've ever eaten in my life during this trip. I couldn't help but take pictures of the awesome four-course meals we were having.
Classes have been going well. I've really enjoyed my religion class on the Medieval Church, and the rise of Christianity and the papacy. I've always wanted to study Catholicism from a secular standpoint--the majority of my education on Catholicism comes from the Church itself, which is understandably and obviously biased towards itself. I have no idea what religion, if any, my professor follows, and that makes me rather happy. The separation of myth and fact has been enlightening. Reading the works of the early Church fathers such as Augustine, Aquinas, and Benedict have really helped to open my eyes wider to the different approaches to Christian faith. It left me wondering why the works of the saints aren't talked about more in the Church itself.
I suppose it's because they're hard to digest, and most people only come to mass once a week, if that, to hear a sermon on the Bible, not the thoughts of Augustine on time and memory and a relationship to God. I guess most people wouldn't care to hear it, which is a shame. I know I wouldn't mind if the mass included, I don't know, a reading from a saint or theologian on a similar topic that the Gospel and other readings touched on. Then the priest could tie his sermon not only to the Gospels but to the saint and how things were viewed in his or her time, and then how we might perceive it in our own. But that's just me.
Anyway, last weekend I went to Venice, Florence, and Pisa. Venice was fun to experience, but I found it got repetitive after a bit. A day was all I needed there. Maybe it would've been better it it hadn't been pouring and I had carried an unmbrella with me and I didn't have to carry my luggage around with me for the day, but maybe not. I did ride on a gondola if only because I doubt I could go home and face everyone to say that I had been to Venice and didn't.
Florence seemed like it would be an awesome city to go to if you traveled with people that appreciated art. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case for me. I reluctantly ran through a Caravaggio exibit and left sooo many statues in the dust. This is because my traveling companions only wanted to see Michaelangelo's David, and nothing else. We went to the wrong museum, and found this out about halfway through the exhibits, hence the sudden rush to go to the right one and see David before we had to leave. Argh, I wouldn't have minded staying and seeing some of the other art! Caravaggio is one of my favorites! x_x
To me, David lived up to the hype. It was a lot bigger than I imagined, and I walked around it for a good while admiring it. Also helped hide a camera so one of my classmates could get a picture of it.
All of that museum running took place on Sunday, and I have to say that the morning was far more peaceful to me. I missed mass the previous Sunday, the first time in a year, and was rather annoyed since I'm in ITALY and can't even ride the bus without running into at least two priests, three nuns, a few seminarians, and a monk. So I was determined not to miss mass in Florence. I woke up before everyone else and wandered out on my own to this little church down the street and enjoyed mass in Italian. I was pleased to see that it was exactly the same as back home, so I had no trouble following along. I mean, the sermon went over my head, but that's to be expected. I spent that time looking over at this gorgeous Byzantine icon on the wall. I was surprised to see it in this little hole-in-the-wall church. It was an icon I recognized from art history class! Felt much better after mass, anyway, and I think everyone assumed I was Italian, which is cool.
So this week has been school-centric. I hate writing papers on philosophy, especially when I'm rushed to do so. Turned that in this morning, so I'm cooling down. I have post cards to write and send off from the Vatican post office. Speaking of which, I can't wait to see the Vatican! I haven't been yet because I've been everywhere else, but I plan on spending several days poking around it once things settle down.
Won't be this weekend, though. This weekend we're going to Naples, the Amalfi coast, and Pompeii. My camera batteries better not die on me. I also have to go to an opera while I'm here. Sometimes when I stand outside on the balcony of my apartment, I can hear them distantly, and everytime I do, what I hear is gorgeous. I just close my eyes and get lost in it.
Anyway, I'm out for now! Ciao!