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'La Dolce Vita': Rome Preview

Time keeps passing progressively slower as the time ticks away till I depart for Rome (now only a week away). How else is time suppose to go by when the trip of your lifetime awaits you? Up until a week ago, I thought of my trip to Rome casually, pausing occasionally to think of churches and architecture, the eons of history in this ancient city, and opportunities to seek new adventures in the vein of increasing my own individuality. But again, about a week ago, those thoughts came to a screeching halt.

These nice ideas of the fanciful dream-like coma that Rome would induce me with were trampled with the over complicated, terrifying actuality of the responsibility I was spear-heading with this experience in Rome. Packing, flights, apartments, details, details and more DETAILS overcame my thoughts. I felt trapped. But, I happened upon a quote that dug me out of the sink hole of these commanding concerns.

A trip to Books-A-Million found me wandering the travel section hoping to find something to read about Rome. Most of these books were cheesy--as if you need to buy a book to tell you to go to St. Peter's and see the Pope--but that is another story. However, one book's introduction read similarly to this, "relax in Rome and experience 'la dolce vita'—the sweet life." And man, were those the words I wanted to read. Of course, leave it to me to over-analyze and complicate this trip (very American of me). It seemed in that moment that the millennia of Italian history, culture, art, literature, and lifestyle were teaching me their first lesson. Relax. Be truly present in 'la dolce vita' and those worries will go away. 'La dolce vita'—we all need some of that.

I depart for Rome on Monday, May 30th. I haven't flown since I was a small child and my unexciting self has never left the country, so yeah, nerves are pretty high. In my favor however, I am flying with familiar faces, particularly Brock, roommate extraordinaire, and Mallory, my cousin. Together, I believe 14 hours of travel will pose no obstacle in our adventures. I recently shaved, opting for the clean shaven look, so my chances of being randomly selected for a frisking by a TSA agent decreased dramatically. Classes on Microeconomics and Art History are on my course load for my several weeks in Rome, both of which promise to open my eyes to the Italian lifestyle. A weekend trip to Florence by train assures a jam-packed weekend of art, architecture, and exploration.

I will be staying in an apartment in Trastevere, a portion of town across the Tiber River. Trastevere is described “like a faded postcard, a little worn around the edges but still charming.” Although this is also a perfect description of a college student after finals week, Trastevere promises to be a beautiful and exciting place to live. In fact, our apartment is less than a quarter mile (should I use metric units because I'm describing something in Europe?) from the Ponte Sisto, a bridge built in the early days of the Renaissance on the foundations of an ancient Roman bridge. On my journey to class in the mornings, I get to traverse (get it because the portion of town is Trastevere!) across this bridge. Upon reaching the other side, the University of Arkansas Rome Center is only a short walk down the Via Giulia, a historic street known to be the “main drag” of Renaissance Rome.

I get to be an active participant in the continual impact of these monuments on the history of Rome. By walking along them, my impressions will give new perspectives, albeit an outside perspective, but nonetheless a new and exciting window through you and I can experience Rome. The mind can only contain so much when it thinks about who, in the long history of the Ponte Sisto and Via Giulia, could have possibly traveled through them. The popes, the artists, the merchants, the emperors, the barbaric tribesmen, and even the average day to day men and women traveling to put food on the table at home, also contributing to the annals of history. What were their stories? How does my life compare or contrast? How does my point of view change how I see the reality of their stories? These sound like very academic question, but in the final analysis, aren’t these the questions we should be asking every day? I can find a dynamic role in the playing out of history and feel the palpable nature of the reality that is Italian history—how beautiful is that.

Expect a post within the first couple days of my arriving in Rome. I’m sure I will have much to say on ‘la dolce vita.’

Until next time,
Jacob

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