The Eternal City --The Selfie City

 I guess before I get into Roma I should start by saying that I forgot two big parts in my posts from Germany! That whole sustainability thing that makes me love Germnay so much in the first place...so I realize I COMPLETELY left that part out, my bad everyone. I know you have just been sitting at home shaking your head in disappointment, I get it, me too. 

So anyways, now that I am like a week removed from Deutschland sorry if this seems rushed and not put together I'll make it as coherent as I can...

1) alternative energy sources- Germany is covered in windmills. Last year I was on a boat that went by the whole northern coast of Germany and thats when I first noticed it...miles and miles of a windpark it was unbelievable to see. And then on my flight in to Berlin I looked down and was amazed at the fields of mills there were hundreds...but we aren't stopping there either because there were more on my bus to Eichstaett!! AND closer to Ingolstadt, so definitely in Bavaria the villages all have solar panels on their roofs. THE WHOLE TOWN! It is amazing to see becasue it is definietly a mentality shift that is completely different than in America! 

2)Next- the dorm I was staying in in Eichstaett was older, not exactly state of the art but there were many passive aggressive notes saying things like TURN THE LIGHTS OFF WHEN YOURE DONE WE HAVE TO SAVE ENERGY IDIOTS (along those lines). So its great to see how the younger generation has also taken this up. 

3)Berlin also had a big showing of electric cars (and just really cool cars in general, hot damn), which was similar to Paris, I thought, probably because (in my mind at least) these are the two biggest EU hubs..I mean I know theres Brussels and everything, but Paris and Berlin really seem to be the movers and shakers. 

Okay so that is a bit of a catch up, sorry again. 

NOW FOR ROMA! 

I guess I can start with where I just left off, the hostel I'm staying in believes strongly in energy saving methods and they put a nice sign in our room explaining that we aren't allowed to turn the AC on. Which is great for the planet but bad for me and everyone who needs to smell me (its a bad siutation, I left my soap in Eichstaett so I've been stealing other peoples, but just don't tell them, okay? It's for the greater good so my moral compass checks out). But really, no one ever has AC on here. I remember once being told that some Italians think that it brings spirits or bad vibes or some weird superstitious bs. So yes, those superstitious Catholics are at it again. 

So I wish I had spent more time in different parts of Italy, namely because the three universities I dropped by were all empty...I think this must be the week off before summer classes start because that was what was about to happen in Eich. So, yes, better planning could have helped that but let's not forget that I didn't actually believe I would make it to this part of the trip. I don't know I just never thought through and the "and then one day you will be in Rome and you will be finishing your project" I think my thought process was probably just "lol Rome"...so that's reassuring to everyone, sorry. I know it wasn't my finest moment, but I think most universities are at a lull right now. 

SO I thought I'd dig a little bit more into the recent history of Rome to see what I could find. As I mentioned in an earlier blog the cities of Paris and Berlin really resonated with me for the emotion that they carried. Rome doesn't have that, it is similar(ish) to Athens in the sense that it knows that it has a history but it is completely over it. So I was sitting on this thought and then I realized, wait, no, Rome does have a past that should give me this feeling...

(See, no feeling! Thousands of people died here) 

so I jumped on the metro and had it take me to the EUR, which stands for Esposizione Universale Roma also known in my mind as Mussolini's Rome. I knew that it is mostly a residential area now and full of facist architechure but I didn't know what to expect after that. I was reflecting on the feeling that this city on the outskirts of the city gave me after I spent the afternoon wandering...it's doom. That is the only way to describe how this place makes me feel. Maybe I'm just being dramatic, but with the strong white marble and empty sidewalks (people were driving everywhere and there were tons of cars but NO ONE was walking down the streets AT ALL) this is a city guys. It was weird. 

The not so famous(?) square colosseum. We need those 90 degree angles 

(Me and fascism!!)

This is my art 

There was no public spaces...I thought I saw a park, but it was just two trees planted near each other.

It was really something else. I think the creepist part for me was thinking about how most of this was built in like the 20s-30s but it is meant to resemble Ancient Greek architechure so the statues of the gods look like they should be at least 2000 years old when really they are less than 100. It's creepy, right? So no wonder no one wants to get out of their cars. There is no public space because no one watns public space (also fascism) and it has a really errie heavy feel. 

So there was that. 

Outside of this weird little place though, nationalism seems pretty strong in Italy definitely moreso than in Germany or France and Spain (wow I just ran through all of the countries in my head deciding which ones were more or less or about the same thats werid). 

 

Also great in Roma! On my first night here I posted a picture of my food on the interweb because that is what Americans do when they eat pasta

...and I got a message from my long lost cousin Angela (we haven't seen each other in probably three years) that she JUST started her study abroad trip in Rome! So I was very happy to meet up with her for lunch (she's so big and 20 and everything OMG) so that pic will probably make my grandma really happy :) yay crazy things happening! 

Also wonderful is I have a friend (and one of the other fellows' roommate, hey Haley!), Sydney, who is interning in Rome for the summer so we were able to get dinner which was lovely. We got gelato afterwords and it was so hot that I was completely and disgustingly covered in melted chocolate and gelato and didn't know what to do about it (I complained a lot and poured hand sanitizer all over myself until Syd said, hey there is a fountain right there...thanks for always coming in strong Syd). 

And, as today is my last day (sob) I had to go hang out in the Jesuit headquarter church. I spent a lot of time in there, like more than I've ever willingly spent in a church, ever. It was such a beautiful and amazing church and I had to light a candle for the fellows because XAVIERS ALWAYS GOT YOUR BACK GUYS, I just made sure of it! 

Also fun. Someone found Francis Xavier's arm. They decided to put it here. Really, really great and normal idea.

Still trying to decide how inappropriate taking a picture with the dead severed arm of my university's namesake is...but went for it anyways? 

I'm imagining that he is waving goodbye to me and wishing me a safe journey home! ...and a safe journey into THE REST OF MY LIFE BECAUSE I'M NOT GOING BACK TO X IN THE FALL (so many tears have been shed over this). 

Some more food 

ALSO it is very important that everyone knows that my Professor, Dr James Buchanan, who has been my mentor through this whole process will be heading here to Rome on Tuesday in order to open his exhibit in the Vatican! I know this project has been a really long time coming and I can't believe I missed it by less than three weeks! 

Anywa, if you're in Rome from the end of July to mid September check it out! It's going right there