bonjourno roma

Rise and shine!!!

Today, Wednesday February 9^th, we had a full schedule of activities. We gathered outside the UW ROME center at eight in the morning. To make our way to the Mosque we traveled by bus and metro systems. Bus 40 to termini was crowded as usual. What surprised most of us was how overly-crowded – my everything on the way of everyone feeling…. the train station was. To make our way into the train we needed to be aggressive and push our way in and to get out push our way out. We shortly discovered that the train station was crowded because of strikes. After, being in everyone’s way, we finally made it to Piazza Popolo to discover that we needed to take another train to reach our final destination – the Mosque. An unfortunate short lasted detour was encountered because we got on the wrong train. We got on the wrong train because there were two train stations – we just happened to get on the wrong one. So we had to back track our steps and head to the correct one. After, what felt like a half-an-hour train ride we arrived at our final stop. We then walked about five minutes to the Mosque.

The architecture of the Mosque was unique and eye pleasing – very beautiful. We/I learned that in Rome, other churches aren’t allowed by law to build higher or be in a visible surrounding as the Vatican. Even though the Mosque was far away from the heart of the city and wasn’t as visible as the Vatican; it didn’t take away from its beauty and its serenity. The inside was decorated with a lovely carpet and gorgeous art work of the ceiling chandeliers and the tiles. However, we all felt the cold rising from the palm of our feet dispersing to the rest of our bodies. We then made our way to the Mosque library – and I was continued to be impressed by their artwork. One thing that Brenda, a classmate shared with me, is that they have separate places for women and men to pray because of the positions in which they pray.

After, our visit to the Mosque we made our way back to Piazza Popolo and we all dispersed for our lunch break. Marissa, MinJi and I decided to walk home and stopped by a Pizza place for our lunch. Our walk home was illuminated by the rays and warmth that the sun shined on us. It was a very pleasant walk home.

After our lunch break, most of us gathered for a walk to the Jewish Ghetto and a tour of the Synagoue and Museum. I, as well as others, didn’t have the pleasure to be part of this tour because we weren’t feeling so well. But, I heard from classmates that it was a very good learning experience and very educational.

Afterwards, we had a couple of hours to rest and recuperate to head out for our group dinner at Luigi’s. We had a chance to practice our Italian – we ordered in Italian. The food smelled and tasted great. I left early with MinJi back to the Rome Center. I walked back home, changed, and then headed out to Trastevere to find Garbo – a gay bar. I walked around for about half an hour – and I still couldn’t find it. So, I decided to abandon my exploration and head back home. I came home to discover that the map, with directions to Garbo was incorrect. I was in the wrong part of Trastevere. All this time I thought, that this self-directed excursion only re-confirmed by bad sense of direction. But, I was somewhat proud of myself that I had followed directions correctly – even though they were far off. And with this…

buona notte,