343 Words, 2 Minutes
Ostia was a wonderful experience for me. While I continue to enjoy my time in Rome immensely, Ostia elicited a different feeling. As I have written about (along with most of my classmates I believe) part of the excitement of Rome is to see the many different important eras in history built on top of each other. While Ostia has some reminders of the passage of time (the swastikas shoved into the otherwise striking mosaics, for example), it mostly feels stuck in the past, so much so that I often felt like I was walking with the ghosts of its inhabitants, still carrying on their daily activities.
This feeling was punctuated by two locations in the city: first, the tavern we stopped in as a group. Seeing the bar, the spot where wine was placed, it was all slightly surreal, as we stood there imagining ourselves as citizens enjoying the company of others. The second was the ancient toilets, which I have attached a photo of. The little illustration makes this even easier to visualize, as uncomfortable and pungent as it must have been. I hate public bathrooms today, I can’t imagine having to rely on these.
Despite my enjoyment of Ostia, I think I would rather live in ancient Rome. Being in the midst of all the action, for lack of a better word, is preferable. Rome also contains more interesting landmarks. Obviously, I’d like to imagine myself as a senator, a general, or something else important. I may have made a good historian, and I can see myself enjoying that job. Attempting to be as factual as possible while relying only on memory, interviewing different sources, and having your work studied for millennia (if it was good); it sounds fascinating. I do wonder how I’d fare seeing violence and death so regularly. Would I react how I do currently, or would it feel like an unfortunate but ultimately routine part of my life? Obviously, I don’t want to test this, but it’s interesting to think about.
That’s all for now!
-Joseph
Rome via Brooklyn 
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