Submitted by Taylor Mazzarella on the 2017 winter session program in Italy sponsored by the Department of Psychology…
There’s something about being abroad. Something you can’t see or really get the sense of back home in the United States. Of course, there are times when walking through areas with historical preservation, like Washington, D.C. or Fort Worth, that you feel yourself walking back in time, but it’s never constant. When abroad, every step you take and everywhere you turn, a deep history is there.
Rome is a large city filled with history ranging farther back than one can possibly imagine. The entirety of its history isn’t even fully uncovered, as can be seen by the ruins constantly being explored and excavated by archaeologists.
What is truly enjoyable about the city is that you can wander around for hours and constantly run into something new. In one area, you’re by the Roman Forum. If you walk down the road, you finally reach La Vittoriana (a monument symbolizing the unification of the Italian states as one country). If you keep walking past that, you’ll stumble upon the Pantheon. It never ends.
Even when you go back and re-explore something you’ve already seen, there are small details you missed the first time. For example, if you look hard enough, you can find some of the original ceiling tiles of the Colosseum or perhaps you find a smirk playing on the lips of a statue, that you originally thought was a neutral expression.
I must admit, however, this first week in Rome was not as enjoyable as I had hoped it would be. We did explore and appreciate the art and architectural brilliance the city has to offer. I was able to re-experience many things, as I had arrived in the city earlier with a friend and had done much of the tourist attractions beforehand.
Soon after the rest of the group’s arrival, we were greeted with an unexpected visitor: a stomach virus that swiftly made it to each of us. For much of the first week, we were all sick, in our rooms or weakly exploring the city. As a result, I felt I couldn’t enjoy my time as much as I could have.
Although this “plague,” as we have named it, set a dim light on this first experience, in an odd way, it brought us all closer together.
We may have wished for a better beginning, but we would’ve still grown close and familiar with each other. We now have a somewhat amusing story to look back on and joke about in the future.
I look forward to returning to Rome for our last week of the program, to better explore and experience all the city has to offer.