Roma!

I am by a nature a very shy and timid person. Coming to Rome was a huge step out of my comfort zone and I am amazed that I actually made it here. The idea of spending two months in Rome, when I do not know Italian and am not known to be one to just jump into something new, really freaked me out. I have always seen myself as a passive observer of life and just sort of let life do its own thing while I watched and participated at a minimal level.  As soon as I stepped off the plane, I realized that I would not be able to just observe, but that I have to interact with the people and culture to fully appreciate it. Since I have been here, I have come out of my shell a little and am still emerging more each day (I can now say some words in Italian!). I am still very shy, but I have realized that when you are in a foreign country you can’t afford to be shy.

I was very excited to see the Coliseum and the Forum. However, when I actually went to these places I was disappointed. The idea that the Coliseum was 2000+ years old and still standing made it seem like it would be amazing. I didn’t think about how time would have affected the architecture of the Coliseum. The tour guide mentioned how that the original marble slabs, statues, etc. were removed and recycled during the Medieval period. And being a history major I knew that, but when I saw what it looked like now I wished that it was in its original grandeur so I could appreciate it better. The size and age of the Coliseum are impressive, but besides that I just was not too impressed.

The Roman Forum was also disappointing in that during the tour we weren’t really able to see anything. We stood in one place while our guide talked. I would have actually liked to walk around as she talked about the history of the Forum. There was interesting information that I learned about the Forum (and I learned some information that I didn't know), but I just wish that I could have been able to connect the information to the surroundings. It was difficult to stand there and listen and try to see the buildings that she was talking about. The one thing that I found exciting about the Forum was all the excavation that is still going on today. At one point I was going to be an archeology major and seeing the active excavation made me become interested in archeology again.

The Classical period of the Roman Empire is one of my favorite times to study about in history, but to be honest, I don’t believe that visiting the Coliseum and the Forum really affected me in any other way except that I can say that I was actually there. I did not feel the excitement when I was actually in these places despite the historical significance of the Coliseum and the Forum. I felt more excitement studying these places from a book. I wanted, and expected, to feel like I was insignificant compared to the ruins of the great Roman Empire, but I didn't feel that way at all.