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Come ti chiami?

I should just wear a shirt that says “Non lo so.” That’s what my roommate Katie’s friend, Stef said when I explained what this Italian man named Sangio was trying to ask her. But that’s how I feel, too, because it’s so frustrating to try and remember what to say,  when it’s so easy in English.

A good amount of people speak English here, especially within our college, since it’s an American University. >.<

But at the same time, not everyone does, and it’s so much easier that I do know a bit of Italian!

Classes start on Monday, and I’m going to try and set up an Independent Study. So far, I have no clue what I want to try and tackle. Yet, I’m supposed to come up with ideas. Grrr, the first chance to do some original research and test this art historian scholar dream of mine, and I’m so excited and shocked that I’m confounded. Ah, well, I’m sure I’ll come up with something. I’ve just got to brainstorm! Look at a few old powerpoints from my Classical Art course.

My apartment is gorgeous, and I promise pictures, as soon as Orientation is over and everyone is done unpacking. Everything is a mess; all of my flatmates went out for the evening but I stayed up most of the night last night and drank way too much coffee today, so I crashed and couldn’t move for a while.

I walk SO MUCH in Rome. I live on Viale Trastevere, which my guidebook claims to be the most popular street/section of Rome. I’m going to look into buying a bike at the market, I’ve asked an Orientation Leader about it, and she said that it’d be better to try and haggle or get an Italian to buy it for me…since they’ll try to rip me off.

We’ve also been told multiple times about the horrendous driving that occurs here and to avoid eye contact with an Italian man unless we really want a lot of attention! Hahah the way they were talking it was like none of the guys in the program are going to get lucky with Italian girls.

Everything is overwhelming at this point, but I’m very pleased to be here. I have to get a few things settled, and start my Honors College blog, which will be a PG rated version of this blog, probably not so different. But it still needs to be done, yet another thing.

I will say that the immigration anti-terror laws create a ridiculous amount of paperwork, and I’m ready for that to be over!!

Also, I’m excited but nervous about my classes. Someone said the art history courses were very tough. Uh ohhhh….

Is this not enough, this blessed sip of life?

Something that truly disturbs me about the streets of Rome is that beggars and the homeless sit about with dogs, asking for money. These dogs or puppies all look the same; tired, sad, hot, and hungry. These dogs make me want to give money to these beggars even less. If you look sadly upon the dog, a cup gets shoved in your face, and they mumble “Signora….” and other things I can’t get a grasp on.

It disgusts and disturbs me that they are using these animals to get money when they cannot even take care of themselves. There are so many of them, all around Viale Trastevere (the street I live on), and around the corner. Wearing sunglasses has been helpful, it’s easy to pretend to ignore beggars and gypsies.

It has shed new light on the glorification of the concept of the gypsy back in the states, because of the movie Borat. I know a few of the girls in my sorority call each other gypsies for fun, but I’m not so sure they would anymore if they saw the people I see every day walking to school, in front of the churches. Not if they had to worry about their purse at the market, on the tram, or at the ruins.

It’s a distressful experience for me, simply because I see people or animals suffering and I want to help them. But giving money to a beggar or gypsy is not really going to help a problem. I loathe feeling guilty, but I do, and that is their aim. I am not sure what the proper response is to this situation—to hold my head high and ignore these people, who I don’t even know, and make judgments about them (they’ll just use the money for drugs, they are horrible, they are useless).

But I am somewhat justified in believing these things. Very poor men and women who beg while doing nothing, that is horribly aggravating. Learn a trade…something. There are men that shove roses and bracelets in your face while sitting in the park or while you’re at a fountain or the Spanish Steps; they sell these things illegally, but at least they’re doing something for their money. Something is better than nothing?

It makes me wonder what drives someone so low that they stoop to begging for money. I guess they’re hoping that you believe it’s because they can’t do anything else. But I don’t believe that so much. Even the old man with the crippled foot plays the accordian, he takes off his shoe every day, so that people can see his damaged foot, and makes money by providing a service. I have been tempted to give him a few euros every day.

In the book Dancing Skeletons, the anthropologist Katherine Dettwyler describes how beggars and lepers in the marketplace are “adopted” by people living in Mali. You go to the market, and beggars will crowd you. But if you are a regular, you adopt a beggar and a leper, sometimes more, if you have more money. Then the other beggars will leave you alone. I’m not sure how this system worked, I don’t think she was either, but something about its organization and structure makes me feel less disturbed. It is a self-organized sponsor program. You give money to your one beggar, you form an attachment to them, and they keep the other beggars away from you. No hassle, and all the beggars get a sponsor, or more. Something about the way that their culture works, something about the size of their towns and market, allows this to work.

When I lived with my Bulgarian roommates three summers ago, I remember Neviana telling me that the real problem in Europe was gypsies, people who “just don’t want to work.”

Gypsies have a culture of their own, and a unique language as well. I remember being fascinated with a book about their culture at my Grandmother’s house. Perhaps once you’re born into that sort of life, it’s very difficult to get out of it. How can you get a job if you don’t have a birth certificate? Problems upon problems, and everyone treats you with contempt.

Still, I have to remind myself: I am a student, I don’t have enough money for myself and education, much less these people. Sometimes it doesn’t seem like enough, though. I need to get used to living in a city.

Courses

European Art and Architecture: 19th Century.

Covers roughly from Jacques-Louis David and Sir Joshua Reynolds to Manet and the Impressionists. The professor, Dr. Smyth, is very nice and certainly old-school when it comes to art history. We have slides (omg! slide projectors…they’re not being made anymore, that’s how old school they are), exams, we have to memorize stuff, and write comparisons. Although it’s old school, it’s comfortable for me, and that’s something to be said for being in another country all by yourself. I know I can do well in this class, because I’ve had the same structure before.

But I am looking forward to learning more in-depth about 19th century art; I love David, Manet, Goya, and Ingres. Not just great art, but great artists. David lived through two monarchs, through the Revolution, Napoleon, to the Bourbon restoration! He was at the forefront of it all, making artwork that not only captured history but influenced it as well. He was drawing Marie Antoinette’s sketch as she was taken to her death!

I do love taking notes in Pages for this course, and putting the images into the notes. I feel very organized and it makes me happy!

Great Writings on Art

This course is actually about the history of art history and criticism. The professor, Dr. Wilberding, is very intelligent, and it’s difficult to keep up with him! He has great powerpoints, and rattles off so much information. The readings on the syllabus are amazing, Vasari to Lucy Lippard! I wasn’t planning on taking this course, but I’m very happy that I am, I feel as if I should know all of this to be a better art historian. Seems like we’ll have a course project (essay) and then exams based on the readings that we’ll be reading over the semester. Lots to learn!

Culture Clash and Innovation in the Medieval Mediterranean

I wasn’t planning on taking this course, either, since it’s on-site, and my italian course starts at the same time this ends. However, while chillin’ in the art faculty lounge with Dr. De Sena (from now on, known as Eric), he told me that Dr. Yawn said only 1 student showed up for her class!! So I found her in the bigger faculty lounge and she told me about the course and said that the class could be flexible since it was just me and Kristin (a nice girl I met in orientation, a part of JCU’s Student Gov’t Association).

After going over an amazing powerpoint, and giving her the application Caffeine for her Powerbook, (and convicing Eric to download firefox and the add-on zotero), I decided to keep the course. Simply because the syllabus she made was amazing. Good, cheap book, we’ll be making a website if we want, going on-site to museums for classes. We can write a paper…or really, do whatever we decide! Next class we meet at a museum, so it’s going to be fun getting up and doing that. >.< I hope I get a bike soon!

Italian Conversation and Composition

This course is going to, potentially, kick my butt. Simply because it’s a bit tougher than the Italian courses that I’m used to. She gave us a pre-test (which everyone failed). I got one out of 50 problems right. But seriously, they were all on the subjunctive tense, which I forgot, so how can I get any right if I forget that? Oh well, it’s actually a lot of fun, and our professor, Professoressa Cocciolillo is very intelligent and funny. My book was only about 18 euro, and my Euro art book was about 40, so I did really well this semester for books!

Independent Study: Magic and Magical Objects in Ancient Rome

Here’s the tough course. I get to write a 25 page paper…original research, keep a research journal. I had to develop the syllabus, and I’ll be working with Eric De Sena, the head of the art history department. I met with him to discuss starting my own study, and he acted like we were going to work together so I asked him, “Did you already decide to pick me to work with?” and he said, “I think that we picked each other.”

Eric wants me to transfer to JCU, and he got Dr. Yawn and Dr. Smyth to start pestering me too >.< Hee hee, it’s good to feel so wanted.

We’re both very enthusiastic and fun people, we love art history and are really excited about my course. I’m going to be studying some artifacts that were recovered recently from a fountain that is linked to the cult of Anna Perenna.

I’ll be going to that museum soon, I just have to make sure I bring my sketchbook so that I can study the images later…photographs are a no-no in many places.

All in all, my courses are amazing. I feel like I have a bit of it all! I’m going to get my butt kicked, but hopefully I’ll rise to the challenge :)

Solo sono una studentessa!

It’s about 5:30am Rome time…and I’m awake because my roommate’s friend peed all over my side of the room. Then when I made her travel buddy (who was, of course, in bed with my roommate in another empty room) move her, she proceeded to freak out and say she’s never peed, ever, and that she didn’t do it.

When we’re all awake in the morning, if she doesn’t apologize, I will take the mop bucket, and throw her piss mixed with soap water all over her. This is what I have decided.

But seriously, she’s probably just still drunk. And half-asleep.  Just like everyone else. So that’s why I cleaned it up. Cause I can’t have my room starting to smell (thank goodness the chairs are plastic and the floor is tile). If my laptop were out, like I usually have it….it’d be dead right now. My adapter was kind of in the mess, but it seems to be working all right. I’m going to leave it out to dry really well, just in case.

The night before? I was woken up at 7am because Katie told these people that they could stay here, and neglected to inform me. She says I was asleep, but I wasn’t, because she introduced Ryan to me. She was just drunk. So we already had the “that’s unacceptable” talk and the “if this continues to be a problem, no more guests, I’ll tell on you” talk. The night before that? Katie rang the doorbell non-stop at 3am because she didn’t have her keys, and she had a boy in tow. Lovely, no? I was too asleep to really do anything, but I should’ve just not let him in the door. She didn’t have her keys because Alana had her purse, because she didn’t want Katie going home with this guy.

Needless to say, I’m getting tired of this. I told Katie *that* morning that I quit being an RA because I was sick and tired of getting woken up my drunken idiots who forgot their keys. And that I wasn’t going to open the door anymore. Because it was ridiculous.

Aside from the past few nights, I do like my flatmates, and there aren’t any other problems. I just will start locking my door all the time when Katie moves out.

As far as having a great time in Rome goes, I love volunteering at the cat shelter. I pick up poo and clean litter boxes and give loves to the gatti and gattini. I learn lots of Italian every time I go in there, and they want me to start giving tours of the archeological site and shelter when I’m there! Great experience for an art history major. Plus I think it should be fun.

Classes are tough, but after a lot of searching, I think I’ve found the open source notetaking application that I’m going to stick with. More on that soon, once I get a super snazzy screen shot.

"Jupiter is Best and Greatest,

not because he makes us just or sober or wise, but because he makes us healthy and right and prosperous.”

-Cicero, The Nature of the Gods

And therein lies the difference between Christianity and the Roman religion; Romans were concerned not with ethical behaviour, but material success. They kept praying in the same ways because it was always successful in the past. Reading all of this, it’s quite easy to see why the Roman emperor Constantine converts to Christianity; because of success in the conquests of war.So the adoption of Christianity to the state was philosophically Roman…

I think I’m getting a taste of what Art History graduate school is going to be like. Not entirely sure if I like it just yet, but I certainly love the primary literature. Making conclusions and taking notes on what I read is the tedious part. When I read primary literature, I feel like I have a connection with a person of that time, like I can somehow understand them.

Of course, that’s all partially fabricated because it’s been translated from a language that I don’t understand. Taking a composition course has helped me realize just how much can’t be translated…the best translators must be poets. I think I appreciate Robert Fagles’s translation of The Iliad more than I ever could have before.

Another primary text I enjoyed was actually in sections, from Procopius’s History of the Wars, as an assistant to Justinian’s great general Belusarius, Procopius was quite interested with gossip and courtly intrigue. He sits on all of his best information until he can safely publish the Secret History, in which he reevaluates all of the things he said about his leaders in the previous History.