Rome via Brooklyn

What contrasts of new and old did you find aesthetically pleasing?  What contrasts of old and new did you find too visually jarring and/or confusing?  What did you learn on your own about life in Italy?  Perhaps reflect on eating lunch or riding public transportation?  Did Culture Smart!Help? What about the apps?

I found the contrast between the floors aesthetically pleasing. The old tile floors with the white spots and patterns out of rectangular stones which we seen under the glass in the museum, were pretty and it’s fascinating how every single aspect of Roman life was so carefully thought out, but I guess what else do you have to do before the internet. Lol.

I didn’t find any contrasts confusing but I did find it interesting to learn form the presentation the mouth of truth used to serve as a top for the building which was reconstructed to have a point at the top. That is something you couldn’t know from just looking at it.

What I learned on my own about life in Italy so far is that it is a place rich in tradition and despite having a brutal history, Italians care a lot about their culture. They mow and maintain the grassy hills, have vegetarian menus at fast food restaurants and maintain historical structures. I didnt eat lunch today because I didn’t want to take up too much time cooking but then I had trouble with the electric scooter and had to take the bus which made me a little late anyways but for dinner I tried to cook salmon because I had already bought the ingredients for the one I cooked yesterday. However today I bought it from a different supermarket and as you said receipts DO MATTER because the fish was rotten and I hadn’t noticed the smell until I was already in my apartment. Eight euros down the drain because I misplaced my receipt.

When it comes to traveling I mostly use Google Maps. To be honest I’ve noticed that it’s a lot easier here than in New York because it for the most part gays accurate while in newyork the app is always acting up or misleading me (yes I still get lost in my own city as a native New Yorker )

The quote that stuck out to me from the reading was “By the end of the century the possibilities of concrete (p. 44) for walls, arcades, and vaulted roofs were being experimented with on a grand scale.” Because it really makes you think about how intentional Roman’s were with using concrete to create things and what kinds. Some of the things I’ve “learned” thus far in the trip have simply been surprising reminders like the fact that Roman’s have a self healing concrete. Many of these facts since the basic courses of freshman year. The thought that went into each construction concept makes me wonder if the Romans ever considered their empire falling and raises the question of did they want these structures to last so long for safety reason? So that they lasted for their generations to come? Or so that future onlookers like ourselves would know that they were there?