Paestum

Here comes a wild puzzle of different posts from different places. Sorry ’bout it.

After the dusty ruins of Pompeii, Paestum came as a nice vacation! We pulled up to the most picturesque, charming hotel I’ve ever seen. The rooms were carefully painted and I wish I had some pictures to show but I don’t because I suck. The hotel itself was a 5 minute walk from the beach so right after we all unpacked our things it was straight to the beach! I’m a Florida gal and where there’s a beach, I’m there. I’ve decided one of my favorite things is to visit different beaches in different places to note the similarities and differences.. one difference between a St. Pete beach in Florida and a Paestum beach in Italy is that there were maybe 10 men constantly circling back to our little group trying to sell us souvenirs. One similarity? The cloudless skies and perfect weather.

That first night we kind of all just kicked back and enjoyed our 5 euro bottles of wine and a couple of us played on the piano and sang — it was definitely a highlight of my trip. The next day we woke up and went to a museum that contained some artifacts from Pompeii’s ruins and some additional artifacts gathered from various spots. Like all museums, this place blew my mind. I never thought I would enjoy history until I visited another country that thrives on its past.

One of the more interesting things I learned about on this trip was the relationships between men and women, men and men, women and women. I know it’s incredibly naive and painfully ignorant but it rarely comes up in my mind that people 3000 years ago might have had a different approach on certain topics. And boyyyyy did those Italians have a different approach on things! So one of the things I found most incredible was the lack of taboo surrounding sex and partnership. Sex. Everyone did it, sometimes in public, and sometimes with multiple people. Sex to these guys was just a facet of life and they felt free and willing to talk about it, paint it, and sculpt it. Half of the things I looked at in both Pompeii and in Paestum was the different forms of art that demonstrated some kind of sexual significance.

This picture on the left above was probably a favorite of mine. Our tour guide explained that back in the day women were considered inferior (Surprise!) and they didn’t have much to bring to the table in terms of conversation. Men would then engage in a more intimate relationship with other men, whom they considered equals. Men were engaged in sexual and emotional relationships with other men and nobody batted an eyelash. Marriage was a partnership between men and women but not necessarily based on love — rather a mutual desire for children and well being. Past the bonds of a legal relationship, men were free to engage in intimate relationships outside of the marriage. This kind of thinking gave me a lot to chew on as I was there in Paestum. It made me laugh at our modernized idea of what “traditional marriage” looks like.

These were the ruins we visited that was a short bus ride from where we were staying! Not too much to say but that I loved being within touching distance of something so old and filled with so much history. It has been a very humbling experience that makes my 19 years on this earth look laughable in the face of thousands of years of men who have come before me.

 

The Vatican and Italian hospitals

[Written 5 days ago — I left my laptop in my dorm while I travelled to Nice, France so this is from a few days ago!]

Quick interruption from my excursion series to discuss the crazy day I had yesterday.

It all started 1500 years ago… Just kidding. But whenever the Vatican decided to open its doors for business is when my troubles began!

Yesterday we had our weekly excursion sponsored by the school and we were taken inside the Vatican museum and, more importantly, the Sistine chapel. It was scheduled to begin at 2 and in case nobody is keeping up with Rome’s weather forecast, 91 is the low this week. So there’s that. I had a busy night before so I was running on little to no sleep and I never remember to hydrate. I was going into this situation with a disadvantage to start with! I was exhausted, hot, and dehydrated and I, as of yesterday, have diagnosed myself with claustrophobia. The Vatican was looking pretty rough to me.

Once we finally made it in we were given tinny sounding earphones to listen to our guide and I immediately had to take them out, effectively ruining the chance to hear about the specifics of what I was looking out. However the art was incredible and just the size of the collections was mind boggling. My only regret was that I wish I could have gone on a different day because all I could think about was how hot, stuffy, and close I was to strangers.. Which only worsened as we watched a young woman in a white dress slip in a pile of someone else’s vomit in the middle of the tour. So I guess my day was pretty great in comparison.

I made it through the museum and when we walked into the Sistine chapel I saw an open seat and I went for it. Not only did I finally get to sit my butt down but I had the world’s greatest view. The room was phenomenal. I think with all great art, places, or ideas we tend to glorify the reality of the situation. I was both surprised and relieved to find that the Sistine chapel was relatively small compared to what I had envisioned but the art was absolutely breathtaking.. That being said — it was just a room. It wasn’t Harry potter where the staircases moved and the paintings could talk. It was easy to envision Michelangelo sitting there getting neck cramps as he rushed to paint the ceiling in time for the pope. It was remarkably human and the fact that such a beautiful room could come from a couple guys with paintbrushes was even cooler than Harry Potter magic.

That was obviously the highlight of my day because from there it all went downhill. As soon as I stood up I felt a sharp pain in my left butt cheek. Yup, that’s right. I go to Italy for a summer and one week in I get an infection on my butt. For the past few days it has been progressively worsening and, standing there in the Sistine chapel, I realized I had to get it taken care of because I was due to leave for France the following morning.

By the time I got back to our dorm I swear I thought I was going to pass out. I was already really overwhelmed by my thirst, the heat, and the anxiety of being boxed in by strangers for the whole day. I found my RA on call and it took about two minutes to realize none of the administrative staff was really going to be of huge help. I was to find my way to the hospital, navigate the Italian language, communicate my pain, figure out insurance.. At 9 pm at night alone in Rome. I was stressing.

I finally found an admin who could help me make the appointment and luckily they had specialists there who agreed to wait for me. I got in a taxi (I figured I could experiment with the buses another time) and found my way to a great private hospital with an English speaking staff. I just kind of followed the signs and there was not even a moment of waiting before I was swept up in an elevator and into a nice, well lit room with the two most handsome Italian men I have ever seen. My doctors. They look like they had just graduated college and they were casually referencing my trip abroad as if I wasn’t standing there because of my butt cheek dilemma. The moment I realized that these two male doctors was all I was getting, I had to laugh at the whole situation. Here are these two young men, no women nurses, and my left butt cheek is on fire at this point. But hey, when in Rome.

It was by far one of the most surreal experiences. I’m accustomed the the American manner of medical behavior.. A nice, 50 year old-ish nurse in the room to de-awkward the situation, a divider between me and the body part called into question, and doctors who didn’t insist on making jokes about my ass. At some point I gave up on all pretenses of dignity and just turned around and joked back with the doctors as I watched them inspect my butt. It was genuinely the highlight of my stress-ridden day.

I practically wept with joy when the doctor prescribed me with antibiotics and told me to come back In a week and it was the most independent I think I’ve felt in my entire life. Which was pretty cool.

Sorry for the longest post of my life but I feel like this warranted a big explanation. Today I head out to France and I will post some more about that in the coming days!

Pompeii

In my defense I am in Rome, Italy so at least I have a valid reason for not updating the blog! However at the request of my mother I am uploading my travel pictures on here because I absolutely hate Facebook albums. There is a big pressure to have great lighting and pretty hair. And let’s be honest.. I just got bangs so the pretty hair thing is out the window. So here are some pictures from my weekend trip! Our group from St. Johns and the University of Florida went on a 3 day excursion to Pompeii, Paestum, and Naples.   I think the easiest way to separate these pictures are just by places visited – So up first, Pompeii!

Please excuse the formatting on this. I’m not a professional blogger or even remotely competent when it comes to WordPress.. so please bear with me. LOOK HOW COOL THIS IS. We started off our weekend trip with Pompeii and it. was. amazing. I’d never heard the story of how Pompeii was preserved over thousands of years and it was simultaneously heartbreaking to hear of the horrific death of thousands of residents and amazing that nature could preserve the color and structure of tons of art despite the age.

We were fortunate enough to have a tour guide and as we were walking through this entire village that used to house 20,000 people I found it was relatively easy to envision the lives these people lived. It was crazy to be reminded that people still had relationships, “fast food” vendors, art, and an idea of what happiness was. It really made history “come alive” in a way I’ve never experienced and I absolutely loved it!

 

I mean look at this scenery! Absolutely breathtaking. I’ll be posting pictures sometime today or tomorrow from Paestum and Naples so stay tuned!

 

 

I’ve arrived(!!!!!)

After waking up at 6 a.m, taking a 2 hour flight to Chicago followed by a 9 hour flight to Italy.. I have arrived! 

I am so tired right now that every time I blink I get worried my eyes aren’t going to open up again. Today has been a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts! I think it didn’t really sink in that I had arrived in an entirely foreign country until I was left waiting at the baggage claim for 20 minutes, wondering if I had really lost all my clothes for the next 2 months. Luckily my bag arrived in an ungraceful fashion and I found 3 other girls from my program at the airport. 

For a few minutes we just kind of stood around.. discussing exactly how we planned on getting to our university. I, in typical Rachel fashion, had no idea where in the heck I was, geographically speaking, and at that point was just ready to splurge on a cab. However the others were amped and ready for a trip on the shuttle bus. So after walking back and forth (literally. We kept missing signs.) we navigated our way to the bus stop, where I was greeted with the most fashionable men I have ever seen. They made me feel like I was underdressed and sloppy in what I had previously considered a cute maxi dress and a scarf! Once on the shuttle I was tasked with the challenge of thrusting my 50 lb suitcase on a tiny rack.. I’m pretty sure a fair share of Italians got a sneak peek of what was under my maxi dress with that little move. Oops.

At that point some of the Italians were laughing and/or shaking their heads in disappointment at our group of 4 when one of my friends had tried to just hold onto her suitcase because it was just too gosh darn hard to move anywhere else. After holding up the ENTIRE shuttle we finally were off.. and I promptly passed out on the shuttle and missed all the scenery. Cool.

Anyways – My eyes are really starting to fight back now, so I will keep it brief. I was initially terrified. I was reminded of how much of a foreigner I am, how silly my “American” behaviors are, and even how loud I can be in a public setting. I have never been more aware of how quickly I am prone to laugh because I have never had such an audience before when I flashed my front teeth. Seriously, I went through a phase of guilt for being a relatively upbeat person.

Despite the exhaustion, blisters from hiking from the bus stop to our university, and the embarrassment of all my faux pas, I’M SO GLAD TO BE HERE. The group I’m with is an amazing mix of smart, sassy, and easy going girls and guys. We immediately hit it off and stopped by the market, gelato shop, and fruit stand. I unpacked, went to dinner, and just toured the place while I constantly had to remind myself that yes -ohmyactualgosh- I am in Rome. Holy cow. 

Here are pictures from day 1. I know. I’m bad at picture taking. It’s a work in progress.

Haiti Bound!

This was from the last time I was off to Haiti! It feels like so long ago but in reality it was only a little over a year ago that I was in my favorite place in the world.

This year I’m going to Jacmel and to be perfectly honest I’m a little nervous. There are a million things that could go wrong.. starting with the fact that my 3 siblings are going to be going with me to Haiti. That’s just asking for trouble. We’ll be staying under a tarp and we’ll be sleeping on mats, I’m not so sure how we’re getting water or what our agenda is going to look like.. and I want to point out the serious concern that it will be one of those rainy weeks in Haiti which will just contribute to the overall nerves of going on this trip.

For all the “What ifs” I am that much more excited to be taking this journey. I can’t wait to be back in the most beautiful country with beautiful people. I was absolutely floored the first time I went to Haiti and saw all the love that filled the people in the community I visited. Little boys would hold hands with one another, girls, women, and men alike had no taboos on just supporting one another through physical touch. The men and women I encountered were so generous with the few things they had to their name and they opened their doors and hearts to us. 

This year I will be helping to build a school and community center and I can’t wait to share my pictures and learn more about the organization we’ll be working with in Haiti! 

I’ll be back in 9 days so stay tuned!

Books for the Plane!

For the lovely plane ride I can’t seem to shut up about I’ve picked a couple of books I think would help me make it through the long haul.

      

I don’t even feel bad for admitting that Elizabeth Gilbert initially sparked my interest in travel and Italy. She definitely romanticized Italy and the other places she went to but hey, it’s her book. I know she received a lot of negative backlash for divorcing her husband and deciding to leave her conventional lifestyle in favor of her own happiness, but I loved her book and admire Gilbert for doing what she thought she needed to do. I’ve read this book once before but I think it’s only appropriate to re-read it en route to Italy.

I’ve read a little bit about House of Leaves. I don’t know too much about this book, only that it’s a cult favorite. It sounds like one of those books that , even if an uncomfortable read, will be captivating. Which is important on a 10 hour flight. I looked through some of the pages and it is by far the most unique writing style I’ve come across; the author uses footnotes within footnotes and breaks the page up in writing chunks.. I look forward to getting my hands on a copy.

I’m a shameless YA fan. I’m finishing up the Divergent trilogy and I have Allegiant lined up in my Kindle queue.. All I can say on this book is that it better end well because Tris deserves a happy ending.

So a horror, YA, and a memoir would be incomplete without a “self help” book. You’ve probably heard of the book “Lean In” by the author Sheryl Sandberg, the woman who kicks butt in the tech industry. She’s an advocate for women in the work place and writes about the challenges and hurdles women will face when entering into any career and she offers strategies for overcoming these obstacles. This is at the top of my list!

So those are the books I’m interested in reading either on the plane ride or in the weeks leading up to my trip. Do you have any book suggestions?

The Dreaded Plane

When I was younger I always claimed the window seat. I loved pressing my forehead against the plastic sheet that made up the window and I would watch the clouds fly by until my breath fogged up my vision. I was a kid that was fascinated by the terminal – I loved seeing all the different kinds of people. The women who looked so chic and professional; the men who wore pajama bottoms; the kids who looked friendly and approachable. The terminal was like a playground. I loved the takeoff, the landing, the flying, heck – I even loved using the tiny little bathroom.

I don’t know that it’s necessarily an unexpected thing to no longer have the same enjoyment of flying as I used to. I think after it became a source of transportation for me, instead of the destination, it lost a little bit of the thrill. I’m coming up on a roughly 10 hour flight in about a month. And I need all the thrill I can get to survive this one.

Rather than research Rome or surrounding European countries, I have spent the last week looking up survival tips for long flights. My number one concern is that it will be smack in the middle of the day which will probably lead me to be more wired than tired, and more irate than drowsy. I’m a student.. in college.. which means I’m on a budget. I can only dream of flying first class but, alas, it wasn’t meant to be. For half a day I am going to be wedged between two strangers with not enough leg room. However I’m determined to stay practical and positive!

Here are a couple tips I’ve read online for flying across the world:

1. We’ve all heard it, but it bears repeating: Don’t wear jeans. Or tight tanks. Or tight shoes. Or just about anything that has a button on it. I am the hunt for some long, comfortable pants that aren’t so baggy that I’m drowning in them, and aren’t too tight that I questioned that last cupcake I ate.
2. Layers, Layers, Layers. One of the worst feelings in the world is being too cold or too hot. Worse is when you are stuck feeling like that for 10+ hours! I’ll probably end up bringing a cardigan over a t-shirt over a tank.. Hopefully that’s not too excessive?
3. Compression socks. You, like me, might be wondering who puts any kind of word like “compression” in front of socks. After tireless research (Ahem. A google search) I learned that compression socks are just a fancy name for keepin’ yo feet happy. That’s all I really needed to hear. I added those to my never-ending online shopping cart.
4. Moisturizer and hydration is apparently a thing. After I went on an 8-ish hour flight to San Francisco I felt sick, dry, and dirty. After looking into it I realized it’s because I wasn’t looking after my poor skin and I was drinking next to no water on the flight. Definitely filling up a bottle before I hop on the flight.
5. Finally – This is probably the only time in my entire life I will be forced to sit down with no where to go. Knowing me I will still find a way to procrastinate but how great would it be to get a jump start on some of my course work so I can focus on Rome the minute I get there?

So there were my 5 takeaway tips from what I’ve read online. Granted I am a student with no professional travel experience, so feel free to disregard everything I’ve written.

Do you have any travel tips?

Haiti Preperation

So.. my blog is called Rome and Adventures. It’s a little tricky because if I could I would talk about Haiti all the time and it would be called Haiti and Adventures. However I’m spending 3 months in Europe and only 1 week in Haiti *sobs*.

But for 9 days, my focus will be solely on my mission in Jacmel, Haiti, which is building a school and a community center! This year I’m so excited to visit a different part of Haiti and I look forward to meeting people with a different mentality and lifestyle than those located in the mountains. Having previously been to Haiti, this time I have a clear idea of what the week is going to look like.

Hot. Long skirts. Adorable children. Amazing new friends. Hot.

So the biggest challenge for me, as an American college student, is my obsession with running shorts and jeans. In Haiti a very different part of the culture compared to America is the women’s manner of dress – particularly the knee length skirts that most women wear. This year the skirts will be particularly challenging since I’m going in May, one of the hottest times in Haiti. However it’s always fun to immerse myself in the culture, if briefly, and it’s definitely a memorable experience trying to paint, build, and run in these incredibly long skirts the Haitian women wear.

Another factor to consider when traveling to Haiti is the different diseases and infections I never have to consider while in America. The first time I got shots I (foolishly) committed to getting them over with in one afternoon. I think I got 4 shots in the same arm and that night, at the only pre-departure meeting available, I was so feverish I didn’t hear a word that was being said about our travel plans/itinerary. Luckily those shots have a lasting impact and I’m good for the next 6 years. However I do have to take malaria pills and it has been one of the more annoying things to try and coordinate with my university’s clinic, home pharmacy, and health care to get the prescriptions and proper medication to treat that specific disease.

Have I mentioned how excited I am to be going to Haiti? Because of how my college schedule works out, I don’t overlap with high school spring break anymore so I wasn’t sure I’d be able to go to Haiti for a little while, or at least until next Summer. This plan just kind of fell into my lap and my 3 siblings and brother’s best friend are all coming on this trip and I’m just so excited to share this experience with my family.

Tomorrow I’d like to discuss the tragedy that is a 12 hour plane ride. So stay tuned for that riveting information.

The Details

So approximately 3 days ago I learned about all the different reasons this summer is going to be better than the one summer I spent hanging out in my backyard or the summers spent babysitting 10 different families and walking 3 high-energy dogs. 

I went to my pre-departure session my school requires us to attend and I heard from two guys who had gone to Rome in previous semesters and spoke with an advisor who oversees our program. For starters – the drinking age in Rome is 18. I’m not saying this because I’m one of the kids in college who already drink and am looking forward to the easy access.. the reality is that I’m terrified of breaking laws and I’m so excited to go somewhere that has “suggestions” as opposed to stringent rules and regulations. I’m looking forward to being able to enjoy a glass of wine and feel adult-esque for the next 3 months.

Another thing that sounded a lot like a Lizzie McGuire movie was the fact that I will be taking Italian 1 and am being encouraged to go out and actually apply my newfound language ability in the streets of Rome. This is simultaneously terrifying and exciting. I’ve never actually learned a language, unless you count the one year of spanish I took, which I don’t. I don’t know the first thing about learning a language and the farthest I’ve got in preparing for Italian is going through lesson 1 in Rosetta Stone. So this is probably going to be both the hardest and most rewarding challenge of this trip. 

My geek moment came when we received our official schedules for the classes we are enrolled in. I’m taking Survey of Art and Architecture, Italian 1, and Principles of Management. The way it’s set up is that I will be taking Management online through my home university and I will take the other two through the school I’m attending in Rome. The first one will be Italian and will be for the first 6 weeks. Then it switches to Survey of Art and Architecture, at which point the city becomes my new classroom! I cannot begin to express my excitement for my art class. At the beginning of this year my mentor through the Catholic Church had me read a book that analyzed a painting of the prodigal son parable in the Bible. For the first time in my life I was prompted to consider art as a form of education in and of itself and I am so grateful for this opportunity to learn more about the historical art and architecture that is everywhere in Italy! 

The last thing that has gotten me the most excited about this upcoming journey was meeting my peers that would be traveling with me. The program is small, with under 15 students participating. I anticipate getting to know these girls and guys better and from what I’ve heard from my brother’s abroad experience in spain and my friends who have traveled elsewhere, it’s the new relationships that make these trips so memorable!

Tomorrow I hope to write a little bit more about Haiti because as a part of this summer’s travel plans, I’m going to Haiti from May 3-11. When I first traveled to Haiti I realized how incredibly important it is to me to expose myself to cultures vastly different from the western comfort I’m accustomed to. For the past two years I’ve visited a small mountainous village called St. Suzanne and this year I’m excited to visit Jacmel! 

 

From the Beginning!

I imagine most students who study abroad and intend on keeping a travel journal start a few days beforehand or even on the plane to their destination (my brother).

However I figured if I’m going to do this blog right – unlike all the other blogs I’ve tried to maintain – I should get into the habit of writing frequently now, while I’m still in a familiar environment.

So I’ll start from the beginning.. On May 8, 1995.. Just kidding. But that is my birthday, if anyone wants to send presents.

So I’m a Freshman at the University of Florida and a soon to be study abroad student. I am an Information Systems major which is like the coolest major there is and you should totally wikipedia it because it’s really great. I knew in August that I wanted to study abroad in Rome and before I could psych myself out and convince myself why it wasn’t a good idea (money, age, experience, potential homesickness) I took the plunge and paid my deposit.

I was born and raised Catholic but somewhere along the way I stopped identifying myself as a Catholic until about 2 years ago when I returned from Haiti (That would take a whole seperate blog to talk about) and now the church is a huge part of my life. The biggest factor in deciding to study in Rome this summer was the sheer amount of history of the church located in Rome. Not to mention there’s this super cool guy running our church now and how cool is it going to be to witness the masses he performs?

To wrap this historic blog post up I’ll just give a brief overview of what I hope to get out of this summer from studying in Rome. I want to travel around Europe on the weekends, drink Italian wine with new friends, run a 5k around Rome, potentially fall in love with an Italian and never return, learn Italian, get lost, and pass my 3 classes in the midst of all the excitement!

This blog is probally going to attract one audience, my mother. And maybe my sister if I’m really lucky.. So hi Mom and Kara. But if you’re not one of those two, my name is Rachel and I’d love to share some of my travel adventures with you!