Before class, after getting up and getting dressed, I opened my windows to the small enclosed space that my room looks out to, and noticed that it was sheets day for our next door neighbor. Every morning so far she has put her laundry out on the pulley-system clothes line strung between two walls. It is peaceful and nice to wake up to the light sound of the laundry line squeaking a little bit, and to see that we have a pleasant neighbor to say “buongiorno” to.

Today we started with an interesting lecture by Dr. Rosa Parisi, an anthropologist, in our Immigration and Migration class. She spoke at length about migration trends throughout Italy’s history, and highlighted some of the trends specific to Rome. As Dr. Parisi is an expert in “mixed” marriages between Moroccan immigrants and Italians, we also learned about different familial and cultural patterns, and how they worked together in the cases of these marriages. Hard core kudos to Theresa, Steve, and especially Rissa for being amazing impromptu translators. Dr. Parisi let us know that she preferred to use Italian, so we were dependent on our three Italian speakers to translate for us. They were particularly amazing in that they did a great job for the entirety of the almost three and a half hours of the talk!

After class, we had a few hours for lunch. I went off in search of Pizza al Taglia, or pizza by the slice. I seem to have ended up with leek and potato pizza that was definitely in need of a little more salt. Fear not, it was still delicious. After eating, Shannon, Julia and I found the travel agent just off the southwest corner of the Campo, to purchase tickets for our upcoming adventure to Pompeii. We were pleased with how easy the transaction was, and that there were no extra fees for the service, just the basic ticket price!

It was then time for our adventure to the Ara Pacis, as presented by Steve. Steve gave a fun and interesting presentation, beginning with our class acting out one of the friezes on the monument. The frieze depicts Augustus and those close to him, celebrating the peace that Augustus had brought to Rome. We then analyzed and discussed recurring themes that were present in the large carved panels on the front and back of the monument, particularly how Augustus was linking himself to other powerful figures such as Romulus and Remus, and Aeneas, men who were said to have founded Rome (according to the myths).

After coming back to the Campo, a number of us went over to the bakery that Lisa recommended, and tried their Pizza Bianca. It was very good, although I would recommend following Lisa’s advice, and trying to get some when it is a little fresher.

My last out-and-about journey of the day was to preview my monument, which I will present in a few weeks. I ran into Julia just outside the UW Rome Center, and she joined me on my trip to the Vatican City. When we arrived at Piazza San Pietro, my monument, it was exponentially more powerful and moving than the last time I saw it, since I have read so much about it, and know why so many of its features are as they appear today. Seeing the Piazza again, a few years and a big stack of books after my first experience there, was definitely the highlight of my all around exceptional day. We had a good walk back along the Tiber river, where we saw some paintings of the She-Wolf that saved Romulus and Remus, and is now a symbol of Rome, painted on the walls along the river bank.

Upon returning home, Theresa decided to use some of the delicious tomatoes she had to make a very simple, yet incredibly delicious pasta topping, to go with the pasta she was making. Laura and I thoroughly enjoyed Theresa’s blend of fresh tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and fresh basil. After cooking, we realized just how small our sink is, while we were doing dishes. It is functional, but is not a conveniently oversized sink like I am used to.

The five of us sharing our apartment then lounged in our beautiful living room with the frescoed ceiling until it was bed time. Today was wonderful, and I look forward to the rest of our trip being at least this amazing every single day!

The pictures are: The frieze that Steve had us act out, with arrows indicating who played what part in the procession. Me (Jenne) at Piazza San Pietro. Julia with the she-wolf along the Tiber River.







---Jenne Driggers