Vita è Bella!

Rainy Days in Roma

Sorry that I haven't updated much in the past few days. Life has been just as busy as ever, but this weekend I'll just be spending some time enjoying life in Rome without the stress of tours or traveling. Of the 53 people here on the program, about 40 of them are gone this weekend, mostly to Venice for Carnivale, or Florence, or the Amalfi Coast down by Naples, one to Milan/Pisa, one to Greece, one to Sardegna... all of which sound amazing. But after the past couple weeks, all I really want to do is sleep in! I just wanted a weekend to breathe, and to just savor some time off here in this fabulous city. Traveling is wonderful, and it's amazing to have these opportunities... but I really want to get to know Rome.

So here I sit in the library on a rainy afternoon, attempting once again to get all my pictures uploaded for you guys to see! I've been working on this as much as possible in my spare time, and hope to get them up soon. My goal is to at least have SOME of them to show by the time I finish this post! I'll let you know how that goes in a bit...

But for now, I wanted to share some thoughts on rainy days in big cities. (The last post was quite deep, so I thought I'd lighten it up a little!) First off, having lived in the suburbs of a smaller city my whole life, I haven't had much experience with life in a big city. Sure, I've visited Chicago, and spent a well-supervised week in New York City for Marching Band in High School, but aside from these random day trips, I've had very little exposure to the traffic, cigarette smoke, noise, car exhaust, and general bustle of a large city. As you can well imagine, jumping into life in the heart of Rome was quite a rude awakening, but it's been quite a refreshing change. No matter where I go in this city, I seem to be surrounded by people on the move, some strolling along without care and others sprinting to catch a certain bus (because the bus drivers NEVER stop for anyone! Even if you're standing outside the bus just as the doors close before it starts to move, pounding on the door for the driver to let you in, he will not. He merely throws you an emotionless stare as the bus jolts forward. It's quite frustrating, but I suppose the poor man's job demands him to abandon all compassion.) Anyway, the point is, there are all sorts of people around me at all hours of the day, and I enjoy just sitting back and observing them, especially near monuments. People watching has definitely become a new favorite hobby of mine.

Unfortunately, whenever it starts to rain, I'm forced to substitute my people watching to umbrella observation, and good Lord, I don't think I've ever seen so many different kinds of umbrellas (in such close proximity!) in all my life!! And though the description sounds rather dull... umbrella observation has proven to be one of the most amusing aspects of life in the city. Because here in Rome, things are a little bit cozier than in America. These Italians like to cram as much as possible in their plots of land, which leads to incredibly narrow streets. And not only are they narrow, but they're all covered in uneven cobblestone, which leads to a large amount of oddly colored puddles in random places. And on top of all these challenges, which make maneuvering nearly impossible as it is, the drivers here are completely crazy and still speed down these tiny, narrow roads as fast as they can manage without crashing, which of course proves disastrous for those unfortunate souls who happen to be standing near a puddle when they speed past!

I'll use this morning as an example. Today my friend Theresa and I set out for the Sacred Steps and San Croce in Gerusalem, and ended up making it to neither. (I'll explain why shortly.) We marched out the door, armed with our two little umbrellas, and began a very wet walk over towards Saint John Lateran, one of the four pillar churches here in Rome. The first obstacle arose within ten feet of the hotel doors, at the bus stop. When people wait for the bus stop in the rain, they all stand in big swarms under a large canopy of umbrellas. If someone wished, they could merely hunch down a little and scurry through the crowd, remaining completely dry the whole time due to the sheer quantity of umbrellas! It's quite amazing to behold. But imagine, for a moment, attempting to get through this crowd while still holding an umbrella of your own. It's quite intimidating, when you pause, to look at the colorful umbrella wall before entering. Therefore, I've developed my own special maneuvering tactics for making it through these bus stop umbrella walls. First, I take a deep breath and focus my attention on the nearest opening. I would advise that one never try to look towards the end of the wall, because it's quite difficult to foresee ever making it through without poking out someone's eye. Next, I stick my arm STRAIGHT UP over my head, holding the umbrella as high as my short arms can raise it! Last, I barrel straight through the crowd, all the while praying that I don't hit someone or get whapped in the face by an umbrella man.

Side note: every time it rains, the umbrella men come out in swarms. These men are well-trained street vendors who stand near the side of the road, often by street corners or famous monuments, and stare into the crowds like hawks circling above their prey. They seek out vulnerable looking folks, particularly touristy types or those without umbrellas, and once they spot their victim, they begin to follow them chanting, "Umbrella? Umbrella?" repeatedly. The odd thing is, they sometimes do this even as you stand under an umbrella! It doesn't make a whole lot of sense. But they will follow you. And they are persistent. Unless you're a fast walker, the best thing to do in this circumstance, is say, "Basta!!" (Enough!!) as many times as necessary. Angry looks help. I, unfortunately, cannot make an angry face to save my life.

Anyway. So this morning we made it through several bus stops, across countless busy roads, and past three major monuments without getting attacked by umbrella men or hit with umbrellas. All in all, it was a successful journey! As we walked, Theresa informed me that we would be meeting up with a woman she knew from church at St. John Lateran, a woman who happens to be a member of Opus Dei. (Apparently, Theresa's actually been to an Opus Dei meeting! I know what you're all thinking, or at least those of you who have read The DaVinci Code, and NO, they're not some secret cultish group that's trying to cover up some mystical "truth" about Mary Magdalene. The group was founded in 1930 by a man who wished to give the laity greater opportunities for action within the Church. I know there's a great deal of intrigue surrounding the group's leaders, but I suggest you research that on your own before jumping to any conclusions.)

Anyway. Again! Sorry that I get so sidetracked. But we got to the church and joined up with this woman, whose name is Queenie, and also met two young women from Nigeria who are studying here in Rome. They seemed to be in their lower twenties, and were very friendly and hilarious! I enjoyed their company immensely. We stood talking for a while, and were wandering around the church when Queenie suddenly remembered something she'd heard about getting Pope John Paul II prayer cards with relics. At this point, we set off on a wild goose chase, and as we started exploring the offices of St. John Lateran, I could tell by the amused/skeptical looks Theresa kept throwing at me that she, too, thought we were searching in vain. I really didn't think we'd find the right place! We walked all over the office section, occasionally discovering exciting little places that we probably weren't supposed to be viewing, and with the help of some friendly workers, found the office of Pope John Paul II. There are a large number of people working for the beatification of JPII (the process of making him a Saint) and we somehow stumbled into the headquarters! The people working looked at us in confusion at first, as we probably seemed an odd looking bunch: Queenie, a thirty-something Asian woman, two Nigerian women, and Theresa and I, two American gals on a random adventure. They were very gracious though, and led us back into a room filled with binders and papers and little posters of Pope John Paul II.

As I stood staring at everything around me, I noticed a big pile of drawings on the table. Most of them were addressed to Pope John Paul II, with little notes scribbled on in crayon, and brightly-colored drawings of flowers and sunshine and crosses. The sheer simplicity and childish grace of the drawings captured my attention, and I yearned to page through the drawings and read what the children wrote to him about. I wonder if he got to see a lot of these... who knows. Just standing there, though, staring at those crayon-colored pictures gave me chills. I couldn't even believe where I was standing, what I was doing! How surreal. The woman working pulled out a bunch of little prayer cards, and then handed us some cards with a little circle in the bottom righthand corner. I held mine in wonder, and rubbed my thumb over the tiny piece of cloth in that circle--a secondary relic. From Pope John Paul the Second!! I think it's just a little piece of one of his vestaments or robes, but it still blows me away. JPII has been one of the most influential world leaders in my lifetime, and he was beloved by so many people. He did so much good... wow. It just feels so surreal.

So we thanked the woman merrily, and left the building just smiling and laughing. As we walked back towards the Pantheon, I found myself deep in conversation with the two Nigerian women about difference in our education systems, and the weather in Nigeria versus Rome, and snow in America, and our life goals... it was so neat! They're both fascinating women, and it was amusing to see how excited they got at the prospect of snow. They were so enthusiastic about everything they saw, and so curious! They kept asking question after question about the monuments, and Theresa and I could merely shrug our shoulders and answer as best we could. We walked with them to the Pantheon, which they were pretty excited to see, and left them to explore on their own.

We then returned for lunch at our four star hotel, a meal which would cost £25 for any other guest to buy, much to my amazement! I can't even believe our luck.

Just another day in Roma!

posted by Sarah @ 3:28 PM