Ciao amici,
Saturday: Sunny, 63° F
My sinus infection that I've had for three weeks (literally) moved into my ear, I guess. I've been trying to use pseudoefedrina (as the Italians call it) to clear it all out/loosen it up - which helps, but it's still just crappin' up my head. Maybe I will go to the doctor soon. Maybe...
Here are the way cool details about where I live!
This is the gate I enter into ... Vicolo de Santa Maria in Cappella, 6. The church straight ahead was built in 1009, and is unaccessible because they have been digging/excavating inside for some reason. The building smack behind that is where my apartment is, on the third floor. You'll also notice a long wall that connects the front-most portion of the building on the far right, along side the church, and up to the wing of my apartment -- there is a rooftop terrace-type area that we like to go on at night.
This is the columnade/logia that I walk along to get to my apartment -- the sun is shining nicely through the private courtyard. There is a Clementine tree which we are welcome to steal well-seeded fruits from. The courtyard is a very nice area - we just can't really go into it (especially at night).
This is the view of the courtyard from the entry/lobby/foyer room out of the elevator just outside the apartment.
This is the dining/living/common room. The cleaning lady had just come. Can you tell?
Photo of the teeeeeny tiny kitchen. Jeremy, in the foreground, is my roommate. He is as sarcastic and cynical as I am. We are hosting a contest this semester to see who is the most sarcastic and cynical. Whoever wins can just go to hell.
Another view of the teeeeeeny tiny kitchen. No dishwasher. No microwave. What kind of kitchen is this? Shiiiit....
This is my room. There's a ton of my laundry everywhere (don't look at my underwear!11!11!!!_LOLLLZZZ) drying because there are no dryers. The room is actually a lot larger than what it appears. But it is very loud because outside of my window ....
...is an insanely busy road. As you can tell from the picture, these vehicles move by so fast, they appear as just a blur. Be careful when you try and cross the street!There are other nice views from my apartment, like from my dining/living/common room:
I LOVE all of the antennas! Do you recognize the building on the left? It's my header image at the top of my blog.Sooo... that's where I live. Jealous? Yeah. I thought so.
Here are the way cool details about where I go to school!
This is outside the studio, see the huge ass door? Well, there is a smaller door inside the bigger door which you use. It has a big key, too.
This is my studio. It is one of six studio rooms. Two are larger, two are this size, and two are shorter and a different small shape.
Here's a view of a different studio.
This is the lecture hall/room. We get way boring two hour art history lectures in here.
This is the view outside my studio. There is a crazy little fountain that is leaning on one side and it spills water over onto the cobblestone. How silly is that? Also, this area is the Jewish Ghetto - there are two schools, an elementary and high school. It is funny to see all of the high school kids in their crazy expensive clothes looking all hip hoppity cool and with the times with spiky hair and really huge sun glasses (don't be surprised if I come home looking like this)So. That is where I go to school everyday. Jealous? Yeah... I thought so.
Our first studio charrette is to transect the 1748 Nolli map of Rome against the modern city. The enormous map was divided into 24 sections, and in groups of two, we tread through the city in order to find what 250 year old streets and city conditions on the Nolli map still exist or how they have changed today. It was a llooonnggg walk.
The Nolli map. My section is 21, which is an eastern sliver of the city. See the angel figure in front of the building in the bottom right of the map? That's part of my section.So, given the conditions of the Nolli map, or, Rome in 1748, it is interesting to see how the city has expanded since then, and what roads/areas/monuments which existed in the past have either disappeared, become less important, or are inaccessible. We need to continue our research, and devote more time into taking apart the information we found, but much of our walk consisted in finding 'things'. We found 6+ metro tickets, an origami boat made from an advertisement, and a half-filled out library card application. It will be fun to see how we relate our itinerary, as seen in the map above, to the objects we found.
Ciao aimici,
awe·some [aw-suh m]
–adjective
səm- inspiring awe: an awesome sight.
- showing or characterized by sight.
- Slang. very impressive: That new white convertible is totally awesome.
Keihly and I went to an aqueduct park today ... it was a bit of a hike, but it was worth it. We did a short tour of a few things on the way: we walked past the circus maximus. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but the sand-path against grassy knolls was certainly not it. It is apparent where the Romans would do their carriot races, and it was apparent where the stadium seating was, but it is interesting to me that none of what was there ... is there anymore (does that make sense?). It's all grass and dirt. It is nice, though, to find random green space like this within the dense winding streets of Rome.
We followed the circus maximus through and across a twentybazillion lane wide street and up against palatine hill and arrived at the coliseum (obviously firefox's spell checker doesn't like the ancient way of spelling "colosseum" ...and, note to myself, that was a really nerdy statement). It was funny that somehow I missed the fact that this colossal monument was in front of us until we were about a quarter of the way past.
"Oh wow, we're at the colosseum, huh?" I stupidly ejaculated.
In response, Keihly rudely interjected: "uhmmm, yes, how did you miss that??"
Guess I deserved that. Anyway, I commented how the colosseum has a cross engraved in a marble panel that was obviously attached to the structure far after it was originally constructed. Isn't it interesting how many, many of these ancient structures/monuments were intruded/taken over and sacred-ized. (gee, I think by now everyone reading this thinks I have an elementary education based on my obvious observations and stupid vocabulary. I like trying to sound smart. Give me a break.)
Alright! so -- we walked like seven miles to get to this metro stop, which I secretly suspect there was an easier way to get to, but I wasn't going to doubt our route because Keihly, being a girl, was sooooo proud of herself because she actually found directions to get to this crazy in the middle of nowhere place. I wasn't going to take away from her pride, even after she tried to make us walk in the wrong direction... like three times. No, maybe twice. Or four times? This is all really besides the point. We walked far to get to this metro stop. It was a really nice metro stop. It was at .... uhmmm... Menzoni...mezoni ... mezonlili... Nanzoni. Nancy. K. we got onto the train, got off, and started to walk toward something I was stunned by. Off in the distance was this obvious chunk of ancient aqueduct with three or four arch/bays in silhouette.
(and, that last paragraph will be the only one that funny) We approached the ruins and guessed its access as we turned down a road (where, interestingly, people were getting trained on motorcycles. Luckily, no one was hurt). Through a short arcade of another aqueduct, we arrived to a vast green space with various segments of what was once the brilliant, extravagant, monumental technology which supplied water to ... somewhere (that sentence bombed). I couldn't help but experience the pride and the challenge that was put before the builders and what planning and precision was required in the planning of this infrastructure. Brilliant.
We continued walking through the beaten paths and avoided three dogs, about seven joggers, and one elderly man on a vespa. I guess you can take those things anywhere? Even on historical/reserve land. After passing a flock of sheep (not really a metaphor for anything, we actually saw a ton of sheep) we discovered a longer, more in-tact stretch of the aqueduct. This area was even more stunning, as the termination of the aqueduct seemed to intersect a light of top-heavy african-esque trees (see the pictures, you will agree).
I must admit, "When in Rome" has come up a few times, not really in appropriate manners, but this, I think, is a situation where I can honestly apply it. When in Rome, you can drive vespas on dirt paths through ancient aqueduct ruins, AND, beside these ancient ruins, what more deserving thing could be placed other than a golf course. Brilliant! I'll keep adding to this list of When in Rome's as I see fit.
(When in Rome, you can walk into oncoming traffic and the traffic magically stops, rather than just hitting you)
Keihly and I sat on top of some ruined brick at the base of one of the arches. The sun was beaming at us and the temperature was about 60 degrees (warmer than negative one degree at home! Take that, Iowa!). It was nice to see many people out jogging, riding their bike, and walking there dog. Many families were entertaining their kids with an afternoon stroll against a two thousand year old stone arcade. Everywhere I looked just felt so picturesque - like a painting that was perfectly orchestrated, carefully thought-out, and every aesthetic detail perfectly pronounced. The site was so beautiful. How can you top that? How about mountains in the distance?
I sat on a mount, coughed and sniffled (I am still sick) and drew some sketches while taking a moment here and there to snap a photo. Gorgeous. It was well worth the numerous miles we probably walked to get to the site. And I must give props to Keihly -- she did the research online, and actually DID get us to the site!
Today is my niece's first birthday. I am sending her my happy birthday wishes from across the globe!
Ciao amici,
I've been busy with my drawing charrette this week. Each day we spend 3+ hours somewhere in Rome drawing. Today we did an in-studio exercise where we work on duplicating existing work. This is beneficial for us because we are fine-tuning our precision by studying something static which we can reference/measure in any way. Once we're good at that, hopefully (very much hopefully) we'll have more precision when drawing out in the field. (On the left... I think... is a picture of us slaving away at our desks in studio. Kind-of an interesting atmosphere, if you like being chained to your desk and slave driven to finish studio work. Ha! I'm only kidding...)
Sorry for the EXTREMELY crappy photos below, but here are some quick shots of what I've done. It's kind-of funny for me to look at the picture of the actual thing, and compare it to what I was able to puke up. Now I see how I screwed up! Don't laugh .... By the end of the semester I'll be sooooo much better at sketching - we have many many more weeks of intense drawing like this.
That's a statue of St Peter in a church we visited yesterday. I don't really know much more details. Shame on me.
Okay, so this is the example of embarrassing work. The back in the figure is way-off in my gesture drawing. I did this really fast, though -- just moved around the sketch very quickly. I probably did that in ... 5 to 10 minutes. Yeah, I know that some proportions are off, but you know what? Let's see you do it better. Jerk.So ... please allow me to wrap up some random thoughts that I've been meaning to put into my blog this week, but haven't had a chance to yet.
My hands smell like garlic and so does my sweat. Garlic helps you sleep ... alone.They have a lot of mini coopers here, and surprisingly they are some of the largest cars on the street, no joke.
And with that, I've seen three SUV's and one pick-up truck on the road.
And also continually, I want to buy a smart car. They're everywhere! These babies have an 8.7 gal gas tank, and get 31 mpg city/45 mpg hwy -- AND they'll be available for purchase in the US THIS YEAR. Plus, they cost ~$11K - $14K Just hope you don't get in a car accident with a stupid SUV.
Enough for now... I guess.
Ciao amici-
+011 “get me out of the country!”
39 “get me to Italy!”
339 8590184 “get me to Steve Sanda!”
Ciao amici,
Visit number one to the Vatican occurred today. Everything was so rich, I wasn't able to soak anything in... I didn't do any research on what I was about to see, so I didn't appreciate it as much as a should (or will). I plan to return ... sometime soon.
I made some panoramas of various parts of St. Peter's:
Approach into St. Peter's square. It was sunny off and on, but everything was wet. This probably seems bigger when there are oodles of visitors.
Interior of the Basilica is stunning and very ornate--very beautiful. This is looking in the transept toward the canopy, the nave is to the right. The altar canopy here is baroque, and there are different symbols which reflect the values and significance of the papacy.
Another view of the altar canopy and the transept looking from the nave.
Can anyone guess what not-supposed-to-be-photographed-room this is?I know this is brief, but I cannot spend every waking moment at studio just to get onto the internet, I will be doing much of the "studio-ing" very soon...
AND - see the rest of my pictures from the Vatican in this facebook album
Ciao amici,
The past two days have been interesting ...
Yesterday I caught up with Keihly and a few guys from my apartment and we followed Trestevre south to a marketplace. Have you ever been to a market in a Chinatown type setting? Well, rather than Chinese being the dominant language, Italian was spoken (obviously). There were small metal type boxes that opened up and were arranged in four rows creating two aisles. Fresh fruits, vegetables, cheeses, meats, and clothes (yeah, go figure) were all on display for purchase. It was a very fast paced (but not too fast) environment. After walking around two or three times, I built the courage to order seven potatoes, three oranges, and a half-kilo of these foot long sugar snap peas. Everything there was incredibly inexpensive and we are sure to return! In the tram on the way back someone with an accordion and a crappy bass (like the big cello kind) got on and started to entertain us all. I think they played "Somewhere out there" but I wasn't too sure. (Ironically, I saw them the next day at a completely different location and minus the tram).
I had to arrive at studio at about 2PM so we could start our drawing
class. We walked over to the Roman Forum and drew (drawed? drewed? was drawing? made lots of pretty lines which represented?) some really old stuff. See the picture to the right. Or to the left. Or is it above? It has columns ... ? Drawing this was pretty fun because everyone -- no matter from where -- was interested to see what we (as a group of about 12, I think) were drawing. I was on the end so I think I got a lot of attention as people were walking toward us. And, obviously, I am the best drawer and the best looking so I was strategically placed there to make everyone else look better. We moved off to the coliseum and sketched there, but then it started to rain. Sad.
After studio we went to the grocery store, which wasn't as complicated as I thought it would be. Or maybe it should have been more complicated but I was too stupid to know that it was? Or to think that it wasn't? Surprisingly, Barrilla brand noodles are popular in the stores here. From my understanding, this is the same company with a factory in Ames, IA. Thus, when I saw roommates of mine had purchased noodles from this particular company, I harassed them endlessly. At any rate, I purchased the necessary ingredients for cooking a meal for my "group" in the apartment. There are 13 of us living together, so there are three groups that will cook dinners together on weeknights. This is the part that will make my brother proud .. I think? I hope? Jenny - pay attention to at least this part and tell Robert about it. I was the third and final round to cook in the kitchen (it's a small kitchen, really only two people can be in it at once). For the meal, I prepared: really awesome not-from-Iowa fettuccine with a provolone (need suggestions on better cheese for sauce) and Parmesan cheese sauce with slices of chicken breast. With that, balsamic-mashed potatoes topped with a few foot-long crisp, fresh sugar snap peas purchased earlier in the day. It was very delicious. Much enjoyable. The potatoes looked like cookie dough.
So then, after finally falling asleep at 230 in the morning (did I mention my apartment is right on a very very extremely uber busy street with non stop traffic that flows through the single-pane windows and reverberates off of my hard plaster walls? No? Well, my apartment is right on a very very extremely uber busy street with non-stop traffic that flows through the single-pane windows and reverberates off of my hard plaster walls. It makes it difficult to sleep) I woke up late Friday morning. I was SUPPOSED to get up at 730AM, and be at our first day (well, "introduction" day) of class. INSTEAD, I woke up at 949AM and got to studio finally at about 1030AM. My roommate was late with me, so it wasn't so bad.
Here comes the fun story: for drawing today we went to the Pantheon. For those of you don't know much about the Pantheon, unfortunately, neither do I. Read this. I do know it was a shrine/temple/something for 'all of the gods' and thus the design of it somehow reinforces that. The diameter of the dome equals the height of the structure. In essence, a perfect sphere can fit within the space inside. A circle (or sphere) is composed of completely equal parts and is perfect in every way, and thus is 'of the gods'. The coffered ceiling (square panels sunken in) adds an interesting dimension to the interior of the dome, and the oculus in the center omits the only light into the space. It was built in 125 A.D. Now that's old!
See my photos so far on my facebook album, open to the public (ie, you don't need a facebook profile)
ohh my goodness ... I am late for dinner! Tomorrow I am going to the Vatican. I will post pictures of my apartment, too.
Ciao amici,
I've never really had a "blog" before, so I don't really know how to write in one. Should it be like my diary? or like I'm just telling a story? I'll probably just mix it up a bit.
And another problem, as you might imagine my story telling vocabulary might differer between speaking to my parents or speaking to my roommate, for example. If my posts seem bland, I am sorry, but if it seems a bit rich, I mean ... why are you surprised?
Now to Roma!
There is a seven hour time difference between Rome and Central Time. Right now it is about 7:45PM which is about 12:45PM in the U.S. An easy way to think about the time difference is that I am always in the future ... ooOOooOOOOoOoOOOooo ---freaky, I know. It's the same day, though... just in the future part of the day.
So, for those of you who are way cool and have webcams, it seems to me that the best time to video chat with me would be mid-day (noon-ish?) in your schedule. At this point (7PM in my time, noon- yours) I will be done with studio and somehow for some reason it is too early for dinner. Currently I cannot video chat from my apartment because we don't have internet yet (otherwise later times might be more convenient).
ALSO -- I plan on getting a telephone of the cellular nature. It is pay-as-you-go type deal but don't expect me to call you... I will ask that y'all in the U.S. with your fancy Wal-Marts grab a calling card and give me a jingle. I'll send out my cell number when I get it.