Hello lovely readers ! A few things have happened since my last blog post. Among the highlights are -
- My first weekend trip to Rome for Easter
- The start of classes
- A day trip to Lucca
As predicted, keeping up with my blog has proved harder done than said due to spotty wifi and general laziness.
Rome
Anyway, let’s start with a recap of my trip to Rome. Now, I’m not Catholic, but I’m really thankful for the cultural enrichment that came with experiencing Easter service at St. Peter’s Basilica. It’s actually quite interesting how our group of seven happened to get in on the event. Usually, you have to book tickets way in advance of coming.
We were simply taking pictures around St. Peter’s Square, when suddenly we saw a crowd of people lining up. I definitely had no idea what was going on, but before I knew it we were shoved into the line as well. Somehow we ended up going through a security check, and realized that we were in front of the line for the Easter Vigil. One problem - no tickets.
The crazy thing is, 3 of us randomly ended up getting tickets from nuns and monks who had extra ones in the crowd. While there’s a lot that I don’t know about the Catholic faith, it was very cool to see how invigorated the crowds of people were - how willing they were to stand in line three hours before a mass to celebrate a special day. That level of faith and commitment is so admirable.
The rest of us (me included) who didn’t have tickets for the vigil ended up walking around Rome and grabbing dinner and dessert. Pizzeria Baffetto, the place we went for dinner, was absolutely amazing. They made thin crust pizzas that seemed to just melt in my mouth. Luckily, as Americans we’re used to eating a few hours earlier, so we beat the rush of people who crowded around to wait in line for a table starting at around 8 pm. The Gelato place next door - Frigidarium - was also absolutely amazing. I got a small cup of vanilla with a chocolate shell on it.
After we finished, we went back to watch the remaining portion of the Easter Vigil, which was streamed live on screens outside of the church. There, we talked to two Swiss guards that told us that if we came early enough the next day (Easter), we could try and get seats for the Easter service, even if we didn’t have tickets. So, that night we went to bed early.
The service the next day was set to start at 10 am, but we were in line by around 8 am. Surprisingly, we had no trouble getting a seat very close to the front. A good portion of the group I went on the trip with were Catholic, so I was happy to see them so excited to see the mass live. There were people from all over the world who’d taken time out of their very busy schedules for the annual event. Quite a once in a lifetime experience.
The crowd outside of the church on the evening of the Easter Vigil
A walk through the lovely streets of Rome
Yay for the first new basic profile picture of the quarter
The crowd going wild as Pope Francis is paraded through the crowd on Easter Sunday
But of course, nothing tops off Easter like a great meal. We went to an authentic Roman place and had their special Easter meal, which left me full for the rest of the day.
The rest of the night was spent doing your typical tourist things in Rome - whether it was throwing a coin into the Trevi Fountain or going to the Coliseum.
The first part was the apertivo - the appetizer...though for a while we thought this was the full meal.
From Frigidarium - quite possibly the best gelato I've ever had
Program Retreat
We came back the next day just in time for the Stanford retreat to Castello Vicchiomaggio.
We got a guided visit of the Castle, Vineyard and Cellars, and had a lovely lunch there. It was so good to see the whole group again, and it reminded me again that there were so many interesting people that I’d have the opportunity to get to know.
Classes
Monday marked the last day of our orientation, which meant that classes began on Tuesday. Of course, classes are never completely fun, but they have a different feel at Stanford in Florence vs. on campus. For one, I’m very excited to be learning Italian, though of course it’s a gradual process. But, it’s been very nice being able to at least say a few things to my host family over dinner vs. just sitting around and smiling.
A class I’m currently shopping is called Growing Up American and Growing Up Italian. The class focuses on the differences in the cultural cycles between the two. Though the first class was very high level rather than specific, it got me thinking about how so much of who we are is shaped just by the birth lottery - where we’re born.
“ We are produced by the past and we live immersed in the past.”
This was on one of the first lecture slides of the class. American culture for example, very much focuses on individual success and standing out, while many other cultures value fitting in and group identities more. The class will involve us going out and doing typical things in Italy, from shopping to mailing a letter, to help us understand the differences in our cultures and what causes them.
On Wednesday, I had my first class on the High Renaissance with Timothy Verdon, the class that everyone told me to take. Verdon was an art historian who got his Ph.D. at Yale and has been a Roman Catholic priest in Florence since 1994. He’s insanely well connected among the churches and museums here, and obviously very well informed about all its pieces. We’re lucky to have him.
Last but not least, I also shopped a drawing class. I was happy to learn that the class was intended for absolute beginners. Our first day, we went to the Academy museum and were just told to sketch a few of the pieces. Our professor, Filippo Rossi, came around and gave everyone individual feedback. We’ll have our first workshop on Monday, and I’m pretty excited. I think it’ll be really cool to see how I progress in my 120 page sketchbook. I'll also try to post the things I learn about drawing in my learnings section every workshop!
The two classes I have yet to start are Bioethics, which counts for my Science and Technology concentration for Public Policy, and also my cooking class.
A day trip to Lucca
A few of us wanted to go just an hour up to Lucca. It’s known for it’s Renaissance walls that circle its center and also its beautiful tree-lined pathways. It was a very low key trip where we checked out a famous bakery, the famous Roman amphitheater, and then just hung out at a large meadow and got to know each other better.
First glitch of my Italy trip - somehow my memory card got wiped. Currently trying to retrieve my pictures somehow, but of course, no trip is absolutely perfect.
*Update* Photos recovered, yay! Enjoy -
Tomorrow will be dedicated to a time of rest and just exploring Florence. It’s very hard to resist the urge to just keep spending every second of every day seeing something new, but I’ve come to really appreciate the value of quiet time and reflecting. After all, there’s no point of rushing through things if you can’t take time to enjoy them, and if you aren’t truly happy.