I apologize for such the long delay (I can't believe it's already been a whole month since my last post... time sure does fly) but I'm back to fill you in on my exciting life in Rome. When last I left, I was frolicking in the Borghese Gardens enjoying the beautiful sunshine of Italy but so much has happened since then, it feels like a lifetime ago. The best thing to do would be to start where I left off.
So after my frolicsome scene in the Gardens, the next week was week 5 of my archaeology class. Comparatively, it was a rather slow week. We visited some very interesting sites, including the Stadium of Domition, the Pantheon and the Ara Pacis museum (Oh, so cool) but with Tunisia looming in the distance, it was hard to keep my mind on anything else. That weekend I didn't do much besides preparing for the trip and studying for my ever-approaching midterms. Eventually, the sun dawned on Monday morning. Today was the day. The next five days were spent crawling around in archaeological sites, tasting new foods, and experiencing the new culture of Tunisia.
The days blur together in my mind (we visited more archaeological sites than I can remember) but highlights included El Djem, Dougga, Carthage, and the ancient marble quarry. Because of the dryer climate, many of these sites were very well preserved and whole cities were still intact (one such site was Dougga). I could continue to be nerdy and explain more about these sites, but again, I might bore you. Besides the 10 hours a day we spent in class, we had a couple nights and one afternoon to explore. Unfortunately, I was very obviously a tourist and not a native, so I had many merchants trying their best to sell me things. However, I was able successfully avoid them (after buying one beautiful scarf for myself). Overall, I enjoyed my trip to Tunisia. It was very different, nothing like I'd ever experienced before, but it was great to see it. And I was also surprised to realize that, despite still being homesick for Texas, I was also homesick for Rome. I think I'm really starting to become attached to my simple life in Roma, Italy.
Onto week 6... MIDTERMS. Gah! I think I did relatively ok, and while I spent much of my time worrying about them, I had other priorities as well. One of my roommates, Jen, unfortunately was admitted to the hospital the day after we returned from Tunisia with acute appendicitis. So in the little free time I had, I was running back and forth between my apartment and the hospital, trying my best to both be there for Jen and do well on my exams. I think I found a happy medium and though I lost some sleep because of this, such is the life of a college student. That's nothing new. And in the end, I was rewarded with the best Spring Break I've ever had.
Spring Break - so much to say and so little time to say it. For the break, my fellow companion, Josh, and I (Jen was to make the duo a trio but alas, emergency surgery made that impossible) spent three days in London, England; three days in Paris, France; and three days in Vienna, Austria. And what a trip it was. Highlights include the British Museum and Westminster Abby in London; the Eiffel Tower, Versailles, and the Louvre in Paris; and the Imperial Palace and the Belvedere in Vienna. We spent as much time doing as much as possible, trying our best to see, do, and eat it all. My pocket book is considerably lighter than it was when I left and I am more tired that I thought I would be, but it was well worth it. It was the experience of a lifetime, something that I might never have the chance to experience again. Fabulous.
Well, now that I've caught you all up to speed, I can return to my life as a college student and do all the homework I should have done over Spring Break. I promise to post pictures of all these experiences later in the week. Ciao.
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