GL 350 Journal 2

My journey to Rome has been an unforgettable experience that may never happen again in my life. I had only left the United State on one other occasion which was a fishing trip to Canada, and I had never flown in an airplane until February 20^th came. The Rome 2015 Global Learning experience has become a series of firsts exposing me to a tremendous amount of new ideas and familiarities and that I would’ve never discovered otherwise. Two weeks have come and gone faster than a summer’s storm. While I reflect on what I have seen, heard, and tasted on a once in a lifetime chance, I begin to ponder the structures of Italian life that has collided with my own. Now that we have been here for a couple of weeks, the veil of surprise has pulled its curtain away from an ancient city to reveal a history as Morton says is “exhilarating and oppressive.”

I first want to start with Italian life today on how I feel that it fits within Morton’s point. Seeing some of Rome’s famous attractions such as the Coliseum, Forum, Piazza del Popolo, Café Greco, Spanish Steps, and its many churches and Basilicas has overwhelmed me with awe as I gaze upon these sites for the first time. All throughout my life depictions of these famous locations have popped up in movies and text books expressing their charm on my T.V. screen and in history class. For the first time, I get to actually see the real thing with my own eyes. I never thought I would ever get the chance to walk inside the actual Coliseum or see the spot where Brutus betrayed Caesar that isn’t depicted within a text book. As I gaze upon such historic sites, I try to think about what the Roman Saw and how they may have looked like. Being here gives me a new perception on some of man kind’s most famous history. I begin to think, who has walked these streets that I cross? Who has enjoyed a cup of coffee at this café? I am in the city that gave rise to one of Earth’s greatest empires, whose legacy shaped the world today.

As exhilarating as Rome is, it is just as oppressive with its culture. One part of the Italian culture that I will never come to understand is the use of gestures. Barzini gives an example of gestures in action with a boy that is asking a man what he thinks the idea of a unified Europe. The man’s response is this, “He slowly lifts one hand, perpendicularly, in a straight line, from the table, as far as it will go, higher than his head. Meanwhile he utters only one sound, a prolonged ‘eeeeeh’, like a sigh.” This simple gesture and sigh showed immense disagreement, and basically conveyed his point with great intensity. To me Italian gestures are like a whole new language. A simple wrinkle of the eyebrow or twitch of the lip could say a sentence or even a whole paragraph.

The most obvious aspect of Rome’s oppressive nature is the language barrier. I find myself performing awkward hand motions and fumbling sentences in hopes that the other person may, by chance, understand me. This gap in communication makes it too easy for shopkeepers to rip me off. Thankfully, I don’t think that anyone has tried to yet. The guys on the streets trying to sell Selfie Sticks infect every major church, obelisk, fountain, statue, a Roman building like a disease. As I tried to get through a practice run of my tour earlier this week, I had to fend off a rapid fire barrage of Selfie sticks in the Piazza del Popolo. What I learned this week about Rome is that every gem has its imperfections, and this city is no exception.