After much ado, Scott on the Rocks has finally made it to the second major city in our study abroad semester! That’s right, two months and six countries after leaving the lovely state of Minnesota, we are finally in Rome. This post marks the end of the three-part blog, so strap on your boots and get ready for a whirlwind of stories.
When the Three Caballeros and I arrived back from our fall break, we were pretty tired. It had been two weeks since the last time we were in a classroom and it seemed like we were going to be starting a whole new semester. Though we weren’t looking forward to going to class again, I definitely was excited to check out Rome.
My excitement goes all the way back to when we were applying for study abroad programs. Last winter, I was split between three different trips: this one, the London trip, and the Australian trip. I was hesitant about doing Greco-Roman because it was in the fall, right when everything exciting tends to happen. I would be missing out on not only activities at St. John’s (namely football), but also many other mainstays of Minnesota autumns. There would be no leaves changing color, no football in the “tundra,” and of course no seeing the Twins in the playoffs or the Vikings (who later went out and got this Favre guy who is apparently pretty good). But, the main factor that made me choose this trip was the end goal of getting to see Rome.
Rome is and always has been a beautiful city. I can best describe this place as a giant outdoor art gallery. Everywhere you turn there is a new fountain, church, statue, monument, or ancient wonder. In our short time since arriving here, we’ve become accustomed to the extraordinary. Take conversations like this for example:
Matt: What’d you do today Scott?
Scott: Well, I took the metro over to the Colosseum, walked down the Roman Forum, stopped at the Pantheon, got some gelato, and headed back.
Matt: That’s a long walk. How was the gelato?
See what I mean? There are so many amazing things here that you can’t even comprehend it. If any of these famous artworks or buildings were anywhere else in the world, they would be the main tourist attraction. But here, you see a cool fountain and wave it off because it’s not the Trevi fountain or the Fountain di Quattro Fumi. It’s almost sinful.
Obviously, all of these sites are amazing. St. Peter’s Basilica is so large that it looks small. Confused? Let me explain. On a walking tour inside the Basilica, we were told to look up at the windows that were allowing light in on the South side of the church. The windows looked like nothing special. They were just high up and were 5 windowpanes wide by 7 windowpanes tall. We soon found out, though, that each individual pane was 6 feet tall and 4 feet wide. It was inconceivable. There was no way that window was that big. It looked completely normal. But the vast size of the Basilica tricks you into not realizing just how large it is. Like I said…it’s so large it looks small.
Besides seeing all the famous touristy sites, one of our main sources of entertainment here in Rome is trying to follow the Path of Illumination set out by Dan Brown in the book (and now movie) Angels and Demons. It just so happens that one of the churches (Santa Maria della Vittoria) is on the street that we live on, so I’ve taken my fair share of pictures of me doing my best Tom Hanks impression and running into the church. It’s one of those things that you just have to do in Rome.
I could tell you about the classes here, but I’m sure none of you Chasers really care. You’re reading for the stories, not the educational value. So all I’ll say is that the teachers are pretty good but also somewhat crazy. We have a history teacher (Jan) that has been on the History and Discovery Channel, and if you’ve ever seen any of the programs on those shows you know that the people they choose to interview are always the weird ones (Here's an impression of him by a former student...and that's him on the right in the beginning of the video). On top of that, we have a British theology teacher, an overly excited art teacher, and a language teacher that has an odd resemblance to Luigi. But other than those observations, classes here are just like classes anywhere else (except we hear about places like the Roman Forum while walking through it).
Since getting here, there have been many highlights. First off, a friend of mine flew out to visit for a week (he, Ben, is the one who received a shout-out in Part One). It was nice to finally see a different face than one of the 30 that I’ve seen every day. His presence definitely forced us to go out and do all the “touristy” things that we’re normally too stingy to pay for, such as go in the Colosseum and actually eat at a real Italian restaurant. But the most important thing that we did during his visit was to go see the Pope.
While sightseeing may have become routine during our semester abroad, seeing the Pope still holds its allure. As a Catholic boy who has gone to private Catholic schools for my entire life, this was a pinnacle moment. I mean, I value seeing the Pope higher than meeting the President: this is a guy I actually have faith in.
Basically, we were able to acquire free tickets to a “General Audience” with Pope Benedict XVI. The “audience” was held in the Vatican Auditorium, which is big enough to seat 12,000 people. We got there two hours early on Wednesday morning (8:30) to try and get good seats, but we still ended up about ¾ of the way back. Finally, the Pope appeared to raucous applause while cameras everywhere flashed brightly. He just sat in the front and waved for a while until everyone quieted down. Then, he gave a blessing in Italian that was later translated by 10 cardinals into 10 different languages. Finally, when all the translating was done, it was time for special shout-outs (I think he stole the idea from me). Each cardinal came up again and named different groups of people that were present from different countries. When the English cardinal came up, he notified the Pope of the “pilgrims from the UK and the United States” before listing off all the different groups that were present. Each time he would name a group, those people would stand and cheer while the Pope acknowledged them with a small wave or finger point. Since we didn’t get our tickets until the day before, we weren’t on the shout-out list. However, there was a group from St. Paul, Minnesota, and we decided that that counted for our shout-out too.
Though the entire audience was pretty memorable, the most unforgettable moment occurred when the English cardinal gave a shout-out to the “pilgrims from Fort Hood, Texas.” A large group of over 200 people stood and cheered loudly while waving mini American flags. As they cheered, the rest of the auditorium began clapping and cheering for them, clearly understanding the significance of the moment. The Pope even got out of his chair to acknowledge the group. It was the only time he did that during the entire service.
On top of seeing this beautiful city, we’ve also been to Subiaco since I last wrote. Subiaco is a mountainous retreat about 2 hours outside of Rome where St. Benedict founded the Benedictine order. He came up with his rules while living in a cave near the top of the mountain for 3 years; a cave that has since been turned into a church and monastery that looks like it is coming right out of the cliff side. The effect is pretty remarkable, and it’s easy to see why the Benedictine monks continue to use the area even today. The visit allowed us Bennies and Johnnies to observe our roots, because without St. Benedict, we wouldn’t have a school. It also allowed for more scenic views, as you’ll see in the picture slideshow.
In just a few short weeks, I’ve already fallen in love with Italy. I’ve thrown my coin into the Trevi Fountain (there’s many old superstitions that surround the fountain, and one is that if you throw a coin in over your left shoulder, you’ll return to Rome someday) already, but I’m going to try my best to enjoy my time here now. The end of our journey is already fast approaching. As I write, I am looking at a schedule and see that we only have 7 days of class left before finals. Oh how time flies.
You Chasers are now almost caught up on my time over here. This ends the three-part blog that started weeks ago, but since I started those three parts I’ve had many more exciting, funny, and memorable stories. But those will have to wait until next time. This final part of the three-part blog would have to be called Possibilities because of all that there is to do in this city. After surviving Problems and Patchwork, the Possibilities that lay ahead are endless.
Special Shout-Out of the Day: Pope Benedict XVI. It would be terrible of me to not give him the shout-out this post after he blessed some of my classmates and me. Though he didn't acknowledge us specifically, (we'll be going back, so he will) he still made for one of the most memorable moments of the trip.
European Insult Tally:
Bill: 1
Scott: 4
Matt: 1
Ryan: 3
Nothing new to report this post. We all realize that there's only so many days left, so hopefully we'll get some good ones in before we leave.
Here are the pictures from our first week in Rome and at Subiaco. Enjoy!
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