Ok, it's been a while, I know. But I am finally on break (Give thanks for Thanksgiving!) and so I now have time to share what all I have been through these past few weeks. So, I am Sorry for the suspense but here is what has happened since my last post:
We went on the northern trip which I will have to explain in a completelyyyy different series of posts (I started to write it but it's getting too long and I have other things to talk about). So expect those sometime soon. (For real this time).
We started our final project of the semester (yes, mid-semester) hence why I have had basically no time as of late until now. To give you an idea of what we are doing we were asked to make changes to an area in Trastevere (a neighbourhood on the other side of the river to Rome) which had a poor urban scheme and was just generally a bad area architecture and feeling wise. (Part one was urban). That part has been finished as of two weeks ago and now we are in the process of designing a palazzo (building) from within our scheme. The palazzo is a Jewish school. We just had preliminary reviews for it and so currently I must make some changes. That's really all I want to say about my project. I've been working on it everyday in most of my free time which has been hard but still I enjoy it. So enough of that for now, no need to think of it until I get back to Rome.
O yea, did I mention that I am in Barcelona? Well I am. I left this morning and am now in a great hostel in the middle of the city. But I shall talk about Barcelona, in, of course, yet another blog post. So that I don't confuse you.
Okay, so finally, really onto what's happened and good to note.
So as many of you know, I celebrated my 20th Birthday a few weeks ago. It was great. Actually, awesome. The more I think about it, the more I am sure that it was my best birthday that I have ever celebrated. I was excited the entire week and when my bday weekend finally hit, an explosion of awesomeness just happened. On the Friday, we went to this place called DeeJay Bar in Trastevere where it was ladies night meaning for 5 euro, ladies got as many shots as we wanted from 11-midnight. We went there expecting to use that as a warm-up to a club or some other place but when we went to the basement... well, we kinda made it a club. They have a second bar section (on top of a piano) and a wide open space.. and great dancing music. So we politely stayed as the music was ooo soo inviting and danced... until 2. It was great. Basically half of my class was there, making it an arkie dance party. (Almost reminds me of another arkie party in a basement where I was with about half my class. Hmm...)
The day following (Saturday), I had my day planned out: I would go to studio after waking up, work for a few hours, go shopping for my clubbing clothes for about 2 hours then dinner with my roomies, rest, go to my fave bar--Bottecella aka Steelers bar-- and get a tequila slammer from my good man Giovanni and then finally end the night at Le Maison, a night club literally a block from Giovanni's.
Well, it didn't exactly work out that way. The first and last things just didn't work out. Work didn't work because... well, it's work. I just went shopping instead. For five hours. Oops. A bit longer than I expected. But on the plus (?) I did get to see the massive crowd of people waiting outside one of the government buildings for the Prime Minister to finallyyyy announce that he was stepping down (definite relief for the Italians). I have the newspaper too to remind me what happened on/near my bday.
The rest of my night was pretty much just plain awesome. Ate at a really good restaurant near Piazza Navona (south side) and also went to Giovanni's where I met an Australian name Robbie and had my fave drink of all: a Long Island Ice Tea. Needless to say I was extremely happy that night as I was surrounded by friends in the eternal city, in my favorite bar drinking my favorite drink. It was great. Around one, we tried to get into Le Maison, but the names on the list that we usually use did not work. Apparently they only work on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays (even though it was Saturday). So we just headed back to the hotel. I was glad though, the night was still wonderful and I was extremely tired from the lack of a nap and just from all of the excitement. So off to bed I went.
My actual birthday day, I just slept, did some work and chilled. Easy Sundays :)
That Tuesday we decided to go to a soccer game. Uruguay v. Italy Friendly. It was all in all a great game. It's really exciting to be in a stadium full of soccer fans. They can be really intense. It's too bad that we missed the only goal scored in the game (first three minutes) due to a run in with Rome's ever so sketchy transportation law enforcement, the ATAC. (Attack of the ATAC). In short, stamp your bus tickets or be prepared to pay fines of 50 euro each on the spot or be a mob of arkies arguing that you have no money and that they need to give you a ticket to pay the next day. (Which they really can't do since by law, you pay on the spot or get taken to jail.)
It's not here now, but I'm going to update this with pics and vids. Just tired now. And same for the next part.
Which I will continue tomorrow.
Since I am about to pass out (it's 120am and I stressed myself out trying to sort out my Christmas schedule. Be sure to book your hotel before your flight...)
Ok. That's it for me now, talk to you tomorrow! XOXO
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Nude v. Naked
So an interesting combination of things has led me to this title. First off, is that today in drawing class we had to draw a model in the nude using gesture lines with charcoal and chalk and second was that after a comment on the photo of one of my drawings, I started thinking about my last History class (taught by Ingrid Rowland -- be jealous) where Rowland had been talking about the difference between "naked" and "nude" when it came to statues.
Now by definition, they are the same but in the ancient times, being naked was more of a disgrace but being nude as a statue, had a certain dignity to it. When you look at ancient statues and compare them to actual people, you notice several things. One, is that while their body, especially concerning shoulders and hips are proportionate to an adult, some other parts (you can probably think of which) are actually much smaller and their only hair is facial and on their head. The reason for this is because of the message that they wanted to portray. Their body parts did not define them, they defined their body parts. When it came to statues, the head was as is, for they believed that your facial looks were your personality but their bodies were typically what they defined as "perfect". That's why with some statues you get some really old heads on young looking bodies. So all of that basically defines what "nude" is.
"Naked", on the other hand, has more of a vulnerability to it. Things are as is, not as you would like them to be. And because of that things are not perfect, even though they are proportionate. It's strange but really interesting to think about.
Ok. So now that that is out of the way, about my drawing class. It was GREAT. I had really been looking forward to this class since it has literally been years since I last worked with charcoal and I have never had the opportunity to have an actual model come in for me to draw from. I was really eager and so I sat in front (also because I'm really short and can barely ever see). We did gestural drawings, meaning the goal was movement rather than lines. We were to draw from the inside out. I had a little trouble for a while, since I first drew from up to down rather than from gesture to refinement but my Professor made no hesitation in literally grabbing my hand and moving it up and down the page to get the gesture. At one point he even just came over and rubbed my drawing off to show me the right way. Some people might be embarrassed by that but I was wayyyy to eager to learn to mind. Sometimes you just gotta start over to learn better.
The model did several different, energetic poses which required the contraction and elongation of muscles. This gave us many wonderfully varied gestures which we did our best to bring to life. Her poses ran from 30 seconds to 5 minutes, which gave us different kinds of refinements depending on what we could fit in.
For as long as I could remember I have been obsessed with the human form, the way muscles contract and elongate, the way life can lie within a series of curves. I have always felt that the strongest shape is the human form. There is nothing quite like it. My professor is an artist, not an architect and so in school he actually took anatomy classes as a requirement to learn how the body works and is put together. I'm highly considering taking an anatomy class just for that. So many things are based off of the human form and architecture is just one of those major things. He also mentioned that we could higher the model on our own time since we only get to do this for one class. I think I'm going to do that too with a bunch of people.
It was really great working with a model. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
My two favorites.
Now by definition, they are the same but in the ancient times, being naked was more of a disgrace but being nude as a statue, had a certain dignity to it. When you look at ancient statues and compare them to actual people, you notice several things. One, is that while their body, especially concerning shoulders and hips are proportionate to an adult, some other parts (you can probably think of which) are actually much smaller and their only hair is facial and on their head. The reason for this is because of the message that they wanted to portray. Their body parts did not define them, they defined their body parts. When it came to statues, the head was as is, for they believed that your facial looks were your personality but their bodies were typically what they defined as "perfect". That's why with some statues you get some really old heads on young looking bodies. So all of that basically defines what "nude" is.
"Naked", on the other hand, has more of a vulnerability to it. Things are as is, not as you would like them to be. And because of that things are not perfect, even though they are proportionate. It's strange but really interesting to think about.
Ok. So now that that is out of the way, about my drawing class. It was GREAT. I had really been looking forward to this class since it has literally been years since I last worked with charcoal and I have never had the opportunity to have an actual model come in for me to draw from. I was really eager and so I sat in front (also because I'm really short and can barely ever see). We did gestural drawings, meaning the goal was movement rather than lines. We were to draw from the inside out. I had a little trouble for a while, since I first drew from up to down rather than from gesture to refinement but my Professor made no hesitation in literally grabbing my hand and moving it up and down the page to get the gesture. At one point he even just came over and rubbed my drawing off to show me the right way. Some people might be embarrassed by that but I was wayyyy to eager to learn to mind. Sometimes you just gotta start over to learn better.
The model did several different, energetic poses which required the contraction and elongation of muscles. This gave us many wonderfully varied gestures which we did our best to bring to life. Her poses ran from 30 seconds to 5 minutes, which gave us different kinds of refinements depending on what we could fit in.
For as long as I could remember I have been obsessed with the human form, the way muscles contract and elongate, the way life can lie within a series of curves. I have always felt that the strongest shape is the human form. There is nothing quite like it. My professor is an artist, not an architect and so in school he actually took anatomy classes as a requirement to learn how the body works and is put together. I'm highly considering taking an anatomy class just for that. So many things are based off of the human form and architecture is just one of those major things. He also mentioned that we could higher the model on our own time since we only get to do this for one class. I think I'm going to do that too with a bunch of people.
It was really great working with a model. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
My two favorites.
Frascati - The Land of Pork and Cookies
After a bit of a long night (stayed up til three talking to the guys at the reception desk about randomness) I awoke at 7:15 for what was to be one of my nicest days abroad here in Rome.
The destination for the day was Frascati. A name constantly forgotten and messed up by all members of the group except for the two organizing it.
After getting off of the train, the first thing we noticed was the silence. We walked up the steps and looked around. Barely anybody. It was nine a.m. and there was literally just a few people walking. Quite different from the hustle and bustle of the inner city where by 8 a.m. the streets are filled with people trying to get to work, tourists and hobos.
Walking up the stairs, we took in the wonderful view. Palazzo Aldobrandini sits on a hill and on axis (yes, I'm going to talk like an arkie right now) is a fountain which I pictured here below. Gorgeous isn't it?
For about two hours we walked around and eventually made it to an incredible medieval tower... of which we were yelled at by some crazy lady through her window :s. It got a bit uncomfortable after about 5 minutes because a) she was yelling at us in Italian and b) her window was closed the whole time and she looked like what you imagine a witch looks like. I almost feel like she was trying to put a curse on us. Anyways, we left and walked around some more, Karen picked some illegal pomegranate and then we ended up having to pass the tower AGAIN. And as we expected, the lady was still waiting. Glaring at us. I don't think she moved in the 45 mins that we were gone. It was freaky as you can imagine. I really do think she was trying to put a curse on us.
Well enough about witches.
It was only 11 and none of the food stalls had opened yet, or more specifically the one I read up on and reallyyyy wanted to try so we explored some more and came upon a dog park. The dog park had a fountain with a statue of just legs. Seriously. Twas pretty funny. There were also lots of cute dogs.
After spending a little time there it was finally time for lunch (yessss). When I looked up Frascati the first link that popped up was a blog; and literally half the blog was about eating a pork sandwich from this place called Lena La Regina Della Porchetta or in English, "Lena the Queen of Pork." Of course, as the diligent youths that we are, we arrived promptly at 12 where Lena herself (or I'm guessing that was her from going off the blog) was setting up shop. We kept looking around for the pork because the Queen of Pork has to have a pig right? We waited awkwardly for about ten minutes before asking if they served pork there. Seems silly I know but hey, sometimes you gotta ask. Apparently, she was just about to bring out the pig and so as we waited another five minutes, I bought another thing that Frascati is apparently known for. Wine Cookies. Or just cookies made with wine. They are pretty good. Taste familiar... but I don't know like what.
As we munched on the wine cookies, the porker was brought out. And my O my, was she a beaut. Since we were there first, Lena of course gave us first dibs and we ordered a round of her famous pork sandwiches. I'm just going to put the pictures here at this point, because they speak louder than any of my poorly written sentences could. And you probably could smell it better if I did that. Ya I said smell it.
The inside of the pig was lined/stuff with an array of wonderful spices that just left sparks of yumminess bursting in your mouth with every bite. Being part Filipino of course, I must mention it's delectable skin. That was the part I looked forward to the most. It was nice, crisp and absolutely delicious. I'm glad I read up on her.
To walk off the food that we just consumed we decided to just go exploring some more. We walked up another hill and found ourselves in a lovely, green park. On the right end of the park there was an extremely large fountain which actually was built all the way up the hill. It was pretty nifty. The repetition of the arcades and it's flatness of the bottom facade just made the whole thing seem to fit in perfectly.
And just to the left of that fountain is a park. The most wonderful, relaxing, fun park that I've been to. The first thing that I did was jump on this jungle, spinny, climby thing (which is pictured below) and spin it. It was really cool. I'd never seen on of those before. I also went on the see-saw with Karen and the swings which I was just a little too big for. It was lots of fun and really relaxing. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
After playing in the park, we climbed the hill more to get to the top of the fountain. Walking up I found some pretty interesting purple flowers. They have a ring as the base and the petals grow upwards. I pressed a few of them in one of my journals.
All in all it was an excellent day. The weather was great, chilly, but very sunny and the vistas at several points were wonderful, especially since Frascati is on a hill so you can see the surrounding city which is really cool and jawdropping.
P.S.: We were supposed to scan our train tickets before boarding and yup, we didn't do that so my friends and I still have a free ride to Frascati up until Dec 7th. We're definitely going to put that 1.90 Euro tickets to good use.
The destination for the day was Frascati. A name constantly forgotten and messed up by all members of the group except for the two organizing it.
After getting off of the train, the first thing we noticed was the silence. We walked up the steps and looked around. Barely anybody. It was nine a.m. and there was literally just a few people walking. Quite different from the hustle and bustle of the inner city where by 8 a.m. the streets are filled with people trying to get to work, tourists and hobos.
Walking up the stairs, we took in the wonderful view. Palazzo Aldobrandini sits on a hill and on axis (yes, I'm going to talk like an arkie right now) is a fountain which I pictured here below. Gorgeous isn't it?
For about two hours we walked around and eventually made it to an incredible medieval tower... of which we were yelled at by some crazy lady through her window :s. It got a bit uncomfortable after about 5 minutes because a) she was yelling at us in Italian and b) her window was closed the whole time and she looked like what you imagine a witch looks like. I almost feel like she was trying to put a curse on us. Anyways, we left and walked around some more, Karen picked some illegal pomegranate and then we ended up having to pass the tower AGAIN. And as we expected, the lady was still waiting. Glaring at us. I don't think she moved in the 45 mins that we were gone. It was freaky as you can imagine. I really do think she was trying to put a curse on us.
Well enough about witches.
It was only 11 and none of the food stalls had opened yet, or more specifically the one I read up on and reallyyyy wanted to try so we explored some more and came upon a dog park. The dog park had a fountain with a statue of just legs. Seriously. Twas pretty funny. There were also lots of cute dogs.
After spending a little time there it was finally time for lunch (yessss). When I looked up Frascati the first link that popped up was a blog; and literally half the blog was about eating a pork sandwich from this place called Lena La Regina Della Porchetta or in English, "Lena the Queen of Pork." Of course, as the diligent youths that we are, we arrived promptly at 12 where Lena herself (or I'm guessing that was her from going off the blog) was setting up shop. We kept looking around for the pork because the Queen of Pork has to have a pig right? We waited awkwardly for about ten minutes before asking if they served pork there. Seems silly I know but hey, sometimes you gotta ask. Apparently, she was just about to bring out the pig and so as we waited another five minutes, I bought another thing that Frascati is apparently known for. Wine Cookies. Or just cookies made with wine. They are pretty good. Taste familiar... but I don't know like what.
As we munched on the wine cookies, the porker was brought out. And my O my, was she a beaut. Since we were there first, Lena of course gave us first dibs and we ordered a round of her famous pork sandwiches. I'm just going to put the pictures here at this point, because they speak louder than any of my poorly written sentences could. And you probably could smell it better if I did that. Ya I said smell it.
The inside of the pig was lined/stuff with an array of wonderful spices that just left sparks of yumminess bursting in your mouth with every bite. Being part Filipino of course, I must mention it's delectable skin. That was the part I looked forward to the most. It was nice, crisp and absolutely delicious. I'm glad I read up on her.
To walk off the food that we just consumed we decided to just go exploring some more. We walked up another hill and found ourselves in a lovely, green park. On the right end of the park there was an extremely large fountain which actually was built all the way up the hill. It was pretty nifty. The repetition of the arcades and it's flatness of the bottom facade just made the whole thing seem to fit in perfectly.
And just to the left of that fountain is a park. The most wonderful, relaxing, fun park that I've been to. The first thing that I did was jump on this jungle, spinny, climby thing (which is pictured below) and spin it. It was really cool. I'd never seen on of those before. I also went on the see-saw with Karen and the swings which I was just a little too big for. It was lots of fun and really relaxing. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
After playing in the park, we climbed the hill more to get to the top of the fountain. Walking up I found some pretty interesting purple flowers. They have a ring as the base and the petals grow upwards. I pressed a few of them in one of my journals.
All in all it was an excellent day. The weather was great, chilly, but very sunny and the vistas at several points were wonderful, especially since Frascati is on a hill so you can see the surrounding city which is really cool and jawdropping.
P.S.: We were supposed to scan our train tickets before boarding and yup, we didn't do that so my friends and I still have a free ride to Frascati up until Dec 7th. We're definitely going to put that 1.90 Euro tickets to good use.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Ostia Antica, St. Peter's and Other Places (Quick Catch Up Post)
Ok, so it's been a few weeks since my last post but hey, no worries, I got you ;)
This past Friday we had our first day trip in Rome. And what better place than Ostia Antica? Well, actually, I can name a few, like Cinque Terre but whatever. Ostia Anitca is basically an abandoned town on the outskirts or Rome, about 40 minutes from the center where I'm at. Many of its ruins are well preserved and there are actually quite a few mosaics in their entirety left there. All in all it was a pretty neat place. I was tempted to run up and down taking pictures climbing on top of ruins but I couldn't find any camera person. I'm going back though, I feel it's a necessity (plus there's apparently a really cool tiny town right outside the gates that my Prof banged his head against the wall for because we didn't see it while we were there).
The following day (Saturday) we went to Vatican City and visited St. Peter's. St. Peter's piazza and basilica are AMAZING. They are gigantic. I just can't get over the size of it. It's beautiful too no doubt. I went with a few friends and we ended up waiting this line to get in the basilica that basically snaked around one arm around to the other. It didn't take long though. It was pretty much like walking slowly up to it. Inside, we ended up getting split up because I just couldn't keep still. I walked all around and took tons of photos of just about everything. I didn't go up into the cupola nor below into what I'm guessing to be the crypt. I have to go back.
Kate and I just amazed.
Also, I think I found a statue of my Saint there (yay), St. Agnes of Rome. I'm pretty sure it's her. A girl with a lamb. I wonder who the other lady is...
Next on my list is I went shopping. And yes, I had to be dragged out of the store because I buy too much. I have a bit of a problem. I regret nothing however. Sunday, I went to the flea market too where I bought my awesomely mint colored nail polish for a euro. Best. Deal. Ever.
AND:
Before I forget I also made a wish at the Trevi fountain (sooo many peopleee) and I went to the Spanish steps that night.
This past Friday we had our first day trip in Rome. And what better place than Ostia Antica? Well, actually, I can name a few, like Cinque Terre but whatever. Ostia Anitca is basically an abandoned town on the outskirts or Rome, about 40 minutes from the center where I'm at. Many of its ruins are well preserved and there are actually quite a few mosaics in their entirety left there. All in all it was a pretty neat place. I was tempted to run up and down taking pictures climbing on top of ruins but I couldn't find any camera person. I'm going back though, I feel it's a necessity (plus there's apparently a really cool tiny town right outside the gates that my Prof banged his head against the wall for because we didn't see it while we were there).
The following day (Saturday) we went to Vatican City and visited St. Peter's. St. Peter's piazza and basilica are AMAZING. They are gigantic. I just can't get over the size of it. It's beautiful too no doubt. I went with a few friends and we ended up waiting this line to get in the basilica that basically snaked around one arm around to the other. It didn't take long though. It was pretty much like walking slowly up to it. Inside, we ended up getting split up because I just couldn't keep still. I walked all around and took tons of photos of just about everything. I didn't go up into the cupola nor below into what I'm guessing to be the crypt. I have to go back.
Next on my list is I went shopping. And yes, I had to be dragged out of the store because I buy too much. I have a bit of a problem. I regret nothing however. Sunday, I went to the flea market too where I bought my awesomely mint colored nail polish for a euro. Best. Deal. Ever.
AND:
Before I forget I also made a wish at the Trevi fountain (sooo many peopleee) and I went to the Spanish steps that night.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
It's a Bit Chilly in the Morning
I woke up far too early this morning to complete some work that is due. And in doing so, I realized that I would be able to enjoy the sunrise here in Rome.
The cool blues of the night meshing with the warm reds and yellows of the morning sun on the domes of the surrounding buildings are absolutely amazing. The colors are best seen on the domes of the churches surrounding the hotel. As I sit on the hotel terrace, I soak in the sights, the faint smell of smoke and the chiming of bells and seagulls. This place is truly beautiful. Though I got up quite early, I'm no longer tired. This sight and experience has completely refreshed me. I am ready for the day.
My only regret of seeing this beauty is that I'm not high enough to watch the sun start its journey over the buildings. I'm making it my goal so that one day while I'm here I get to see that.
View from the Terrace.
The cool blues of the night meshing with the warm reds and yellows of the morning sun on the domes of the surrounding buildings are absolutely amazing. The colors are best seen on the domes of the churches surrounding the hotel. As I sit on the hotel terrace, I soak in the sights, the faint smell of smoke and the chiming of bells and seagulls. This place is truly beautiful. Though I got up quite early, I'm no longer tired. This sight and experience has completely refreshed me. I am ready for the day.
My only regret of seeing this beauty is that I'm not high enough to watch the sun start its journey over the buildings. I'm making it my goal so that one day while I'm here I get to see that.
Most Epic Schedule Everrrrrr.
My Schedule is far too awesome to really be real. Must be all a dream.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
The Arkies Have Landed!
September 11th, 2011. The ten year anniversary of one of the most horrid attacks on American soil in history. Also the day that we, the architecture students of 2014, were to fly from DC to a little place called Rome.
I was so freaking excited.
No words could truly describe my feelings of angst, nervousness, joy and pure ecstasy that was held within my small body. Whatever these feelings were, I couldn’t hold it in very well. I ran. I jumped. I skipped. I climbed on the tops of the airport chairs. I quietly screamed people’s names to make them look just to say hi. I was all over the place. I was excited. I still am. Eight and one-half hours of a most wretched sleepless flight, we landed.
It was morning in Italy. The sky was blue, the atmosphere of the most interesting mix of passion and smoke. I knew, even before we landed that this year will be my year. It will be ours (as in us architects) but it will be mine. This city is soooo wonderful. Everything about it amazes me. I can’t wait to explore it to its farthest corners.
Day 1 in short:
Got:
Papers and desk sorted
Unpacked
Ate:
-Pizza Magherita and red wine - (house wine) - kind of like barefoot (at Novana Notte, a little off from Piazza Novana)
-Gelato (Soooo many flavors!)
Buildings I know seen today:
-St. Peter’s (Dome)
-Pantheon
-Albergo Sole (my lovely hotel)
-Studio (it amazes me the ceiling details and floor)
-Palazzo Massimo
-Piazza Novana
had:
an awesome day with my wonderful friends exploring and eating pure Italian stuff.
PS I shall edit this with pictures in a bit.
I was so freaking excited.
No words could truly describe my feelings of angst, nervousness, joy and pure ecstasy that was held within my small body. Whatever these feelings were, I couldn’t hold it in very well. I ran. I jumped. I skipped. I climbed on the tops of the airport chairs. I quietly screamed people’s names to make them look just to say hi. I was all over the place. I was excited. I still am. Eight and one-half hours of a most wretched sleepless flight, we landed.
It was morning in Italy. The sky was blue, the atmosphere of the most interesting mix of passion and smoke. I knew, even before we landed that this year will be my year. It will be ours (as in us architects) but it will be mine. This city is soooo wonderful. Everything about it amazes me. I can’t wait to explore it to its farthest corners.
Day 1 in short:
Got:
Papers and desk sorted
Unpacked
Ate:
-Pizza Magherita and red wine - (house wine) - kind of like barefoot (at Novana Notte, a little off from Piazza Novana)
-Gelato (Soooo many flavors!)
Buildings I know seen today:
-St. Peter’s (Dome)
-Pantheon
-Albergo Sole (my lovely hotel)
-Studio (it amazes me the ceiling details and floor)
-Palazzo Massimo
-Piazza Novana
had:
an awesome day with my wonderful friends exploring and eating pure Italian stuff.
PS I shall edit this with pictures in a bit.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Pre-Roma Post #2: Preparations
So it is now Saturday, September 3rd, 2011. Eight more days until my flight from DC goes to Rome. Some people are pretty much starting to freak out, wondering if they have everything for Rome and if this or that is enough or do they really need this and yada yada yada. But I'm not freaking out. Nope, not I.
I've travelled quite a bit and if it's one thing I've learned it's you don't need most of the things you have. You don't need all of those clothes, you don't need the extra bags, you don't need the extra shampoos and conditioners and whatnot. You just don't need it. And when I say don't need it, I mean don't need to bring it. Any normal stuff like clothes and care products you can find where ever you go. Foreign people need those things too, believe it or not.
The only things that are necessary to bring are your passport, your papers, your debit card, a second ID, and the fee money that we're supposed to pay unless you'd like to be deported. That's it. Nothing else. Real simple.
My advice for when you're packing this go around is this:
In addition to your essentials (that is, the things I listed and also any absolutely necessary things like meds and deo for this trip) is to pack an extra pair of clothes in your carry on. If your checked luggage gets lost or sent to the wrong place, it sucks. Terribly. But it sucks less if you have fresh clothes (and yes, that includes undies) that are actually yours with you. It'll seem a hassle at first as it takes up space but hey, better safe than sorry. Plus, your underwear is always more comfortable than anyone else's.
Other than that my only other advice is don't forget your camera and trace paper, and actually write down your family and friends' names, numbers and addresses in one spot so that you can contact them from anywhere, regardless of where your laptop is. Because sometimes, even bringing your laptop will be a hassle.
Be smart packers guys, see you in eight (now seven as it's passed midnight) days.
Ciao,
Erika
I've travelled quite a bit and if it's one thing I've learned it's you don't need most of the things you have. You don't need all of those clothes, you don't need the extra bags, you don't need the extra shampoos and conditioners and whatnot. You just don't need it. And when I say don't need it, I mean don't need to bring it. Any normal stuff like clothes and care products you can find where ever you go. Foreign people need those things too, believe it or not.
The only things that are necessary to bring are your passport, your papers, your debit card, a second ID, and the fee money that we're supposed to pay unless you'd like to be deported. That's it. Nothing else. Real simple.
My advice for when you're packing this go around is this:
In addition to your essentials (that is, the things I listed and also any absolutely necessary things like meds and deo for this trip) is to pack an extra pair of clothes in your carry on. If your checked luggage gets lost or sent to the wrong place, it sucks. Terribly. But it sucks less if you have fresh clothes (and yes, that includes undies) that are actually yours with you. It'll seem a hassle at first as it takes up space but hey, better safe than sorry. Plus, your underwear is always more comfortable than anyone else's.
Other than that my only other advice is don't forget your camera and trace paper, and actually write down your family and friends' names, numbers and addresses in one spot so that you can contact them from anywhere, regardless of where your laptop is. Because sometimes, even bringing your laptop will be a hassle.
Be smart packers guys, see you in eight (now seven as it's passed midnight) days.
Ciao,
Erika
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Friday, August 12, 2011
Pre-Roma Thoughts
Soooooooo.... it's exactly 30 days (EST, this is set to Rome already) until one of the most epic parts of my entire life is going to commence and to be honest... I'm not sure.
Now, no doubt that I'm elated at the thought of studying for not just a semester but an entire school year in Europe and there's absolutely no doubt that I'm truly blessed for the opportunity but...I'm not sure if architecture is really what I want to do with my life when I get out of college. I mean, creating and piecing together usable space that I, as well as my friends, family, countrymen and those after me can be proud of and enjoy for generations to come, that'd be cool. Hell, who am I kidding? It'd be freaking awesome. But I don't know if it really is for me.
The problem with this is that... I don't really feel a pull towards anything else. I love being an architect student. I love my friends that I've made through the past few years because of it. I love the long nights and the hard work, the encouraging smiles and I love the love I feel doing such magical things with my hands and being with such inspirational people; friends, teachers and random people included. I love the atmosphere and I love the work. But I feel like I need something... more. There's something missing. And I don't know if it's because I have some anxiety about going through this torturous (admit it, we’re just masochists) training just to be something else. I'm always thinking that I'm going to be like my parents and study one thing in college and end up doing something else. My Dad studied Electrical Engineering and look at him! He's a Martial Arts Teacher for crying out loud! I don't even know if he's EVER used his degree at all!
I do know however, that the skills he got from engineering classes were transferable and he uses those. So at the very least I know that if I continue in architecture and not become an architect, I'll have transferable skills. I'll know how to present my thoughts and ideas to others in a formal manner. I'll know how to draw and paint much better than most people ever will. I'll know how to look at the big picture and at the same time pay attention to the details. I already know how to stay up for two days straight after only 3 hours sleep for the past few nights and still manage to be considerably sane. All good skills to have. The others, more so than the last one, unless you're wanted by the FBI or something.
So again, I'm just really anxious that this might not be what I want to do after college. That's really my main fear about this year. I don't want to waste this experience just because this major might not be right for me.
But I tell you what... I'm not going to regret this experience. It's going to be absolutely fantastic, I know it. It's going to change my life, hopefully for the better. It's going to open new doors for me, academically, socially, spiritually, emotionally, culturally, and all of the other kinds of 'ly's you can imagine. I'm going to travel all through Europe during the breaks and weekends but I'm not going to forget to travel through the same country that I am so blessed to be studying in. I'm going to be open to new experiences, I'm not going to be afraid of making friends like I usually am. There's no time for that. I only get two semesters in Rome.
When most student want these kinds of experiences they only get a single semester... I get two! I can't waste it. I'm here for a reason and I'm going for a reason. God has plans for me and though I don't know what they are, I just know they're right for me. I wouldn't have randomly chosen architecture out of everything else if there wasn't a good reason for it. And I do love architecture... I think... maybe I just need to be more open about it and explore more.
One of my good friends wrote a blog too today and her message was to "be used." Too often I worry about my future and lately I've been running into a lot of stuff to just "let go and let God." Cheesy line for some maybe, but maybe it's just the truth. Maybe I should let go of my worries and fears and just let God handle this. If I wasn't meant to be here, then why am I here? I have to trust in the Lord and He will guide my feet. Maybe I should surrender myself to God...and architecture.
Okay, Peace for Now,
Erika
P.S. VISA IS IN! AND MY PAPERS! OH YA!
P.P.S. Oh my this post is long...
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