Rain Rain Rain

Laura twirling in front of the pantheon

I'm terribly sorry that I didn't post yesterday. I don't even remember what happened yesterday. Oh yes, it was a lot of paperwriting. And juggling. Oh YES now I remember! I presented on Eastern European immigrants. Well, there isn't much to say about that except that it happened and now I'm done.


Amy barefoot in the rain.

Now, onto more interesting matters, namely, rain. It was my first rain in Rome. And boy, did it rain. It didn't just rain. It poured. Some of my friends were absolutely ecstatic to get a taste of Seattle here in Rome. In fact, their enthusiasm bordered insanity as some points. But it was all good.

We also saw St. Peter's Bascilica in the Vatican today. I actually like it more in the rain. It is more gloomy, and makes the interior more tangible and real. When it's sunny and all the gold is shining, I find it incomprehensible. The clouds made St. Peter's bascillica more real.

Some cool facts: part of the cross Jesus was crucified on is in the Bascilica. In addition to the cross, part of the spear Christ was stabbed with as he was on the cross is also in the bascillica. There's a lot of cool stuff there.

Pigeons and Swordfish

I think I could sum up the interesting portion of my day using two images: pigeons and swordfish:

Pigeons


We went to the church of Santa Maria today, a church supposedly dedicated to the virgin Mary. However, given all the family emblems and family imagery, it looked more like a church built for the glorification of its commisioners. In the front of the church was a fountain with a bunch of pigeons drinking, bathing, and striking all sorts of funny poses. This was one of them.

Swordfish

After seeing a giant fountain on the top of a hill, I ended up wandering around Rome on my own again. I found this awesome swordfish near the campo and took a shot. It felt so out of place in the campo--a spiny, dark, solemn figure amid florid joy and ignorance.

Most of my time was devoted to writing up a presentation. I'm actually very excited to share all the stories I've collected in the past week from various immigrants. The stories are fascinating; everyone has something to share.

Oh, and I went for a run at around 10 pm with Jenn, which was refreshing. It's nice to finally burn off some of the gelato I've been eating.