Rome via Brooklyn

(563 words, 3 minutes read time)

The first thought I had when getting off the bus to walk to the Colosseum was how much I love my umbrella. Her repurposing into a parasol for this trip has been the best decision I’ve ever made: I brought one just in case of rain, but now I don’t forget to stuff it in my travel bag to fend off the blazing sun. I’m glad it was able to help Lainey and Professor Yarrow do the same thing later on!

The Colosseum was an amazing experience even with all of the people around. Learning about the construction and former usages of this iconic landmark was awesome–A standout for me was learning how there was a period in the Middle Ages when people lived in the Colosseum! After learning about the gladiatorial games from Lainey, though, it really felt like the Romans were bored as hell to be doing all of this. Joseph and Khadija’s presentation on Mussolini’s maps after we left the Colosseum was amazing! It both inspired and terrified me, as I was next on the chopping block.

I felt quite unprepared going into my and Mazzy’s presentation, mainly due to me being more confident in my ability to give a presentation without a clear script. Hopefully people didn’t notice my nerves, but I didn’t feel satisfied with my presentation even after others told me I did well. On the bright side, I did learn some new things about Nero’s Domus Aurea in the readings for today. In Claridge’s Rome: An Oxford Archaeological Guide, she claims that Nero’s Golden House was used to host his elaborate banquets, with triple or quintuple the size of average dining rooms throughout the expansion (Claridge 326). Both Nero and Caligula were fascinating figures to do a presentation on, and I’m really grateful to have had Mazzy as my presentation partner.

Khadija, Isabel, and I went to a gothic church after class, and I fell in love with the stained glass there. I haven’t visited as many churches as my peers during this trip so far, and I’m not sure why that exactly is because of how beautiful these churches are. I found this church in particular to remind me a lot of the one I grew up at, even though they don’t have much in common. I guess it’s just a vibes-based observation? There was also this statue finished in 2022 that I didn’t know was there and I had no clue what it was until I got closer to it.

Back at the apartment, we faced a Key Jamming Scare when Ace got their key stuck in our front door, and Key Jamming Scare 2: Electric Boogaloo when the same thing happened to Elena and Mazzy later. We eventually deduced that our door was letting the “wrong” side of our key fully through the keyhole when it didn’t previously, so we’ve all had to be mindful of what orientation our key is in now. We didn’t have too much time to dwell on it, though, as we needed to prepare to head to Naples the next morning.