Rome via Brooklyn

533 words, 3 minutes read time.

“Room 9 contains another fine example of large-scale painted terracotta sculpture-the sarcophagus of the married couple from Cerveteri, dated to the late C6. Acquired in 1893, this depicts a man and a woman reclining on a banquet couch, their garments modelled exquisite detail. They originally held objects of ritual significance-perhaps an egg(his right hand), a perfume flask, and a piece of fruit(her right and left).”(Claridge, 479)

At this point, I’m expecting to meet a celebrity, an art piece(ancient or not) I’ve learned about, on a daily basis. I love how the Etruscans decided to use the lying down pose as the lid design for their sarcophagus. As a professional bed rotter(self-proclaimed), it is indeed a very comfortable pose that allows you to enjoy leisure moments and perform leisure activities such as reading, gaming, eating, watching a film, etc. The message I’m receiving from this design is that the Etruscans have a positive attitude towards the afterlife. No fear, just accept it in a comfortable pose when it comes.

I was nervous about the group presentation, not only because our group is the first one to present, but also because of my lack of confidence regarding the presentation topic: goddesses Fortuna and Mater Matuta. At the end of the day, it is always my overthinking brain complicating situations, adding unnecessary emotional turmoil onto my mood board. Is just a presentation. What’s the worst that could happen? That my pants are unzipped the whole time while I’m presenting? 

During the short dismissal before visiting Villa Giulia. I have a small plan: take a sneak peek at the colosseum and then take a look at Chinatown. The plan went well. The Colosseum is cool, can’t wait to actually go inside and take a deeper look. Hopefully, it will be less crowded too(keep hoping). I decided to enjoy my lunch while sitting by the entrance of the Colosseum; check off eating a pepperoni cheese sandwich while having the Colosseum as entertainment and FaceTime my mom at the same time from my bucket list. It was such a vibe😭, would do the same thing at the MET if they allowed it👀, the whole experience is like eating while watching your favorite comfort show. It is for sure a privilege to have the opportunity to see and visit the places of your dreams, I now understand why sometimes my parents would say: “back in my days…”.

By the time I arrived at Chinatown, it was far from what I had pictured in my mind. There is a dramatic difference between Rome’s Chinatown and Manhattan’s Chinatown: minimal cultural elements are expressed in food, architecture, and language. I happened to stop by the Asian supermarket to pick up a few things to cope with my Chinese stomach, and was fortunate enough to chat with the store owner. Based on her words, Rome’s Chinatown is a street where you can see some local Chinese faces. She also points out that some of the stores only do wholesale for business rather than retail. Is weird but also interesting to know that not all Chinatown has their special food spots; this contrast could be a hint at something.