The final week of classes. Seriously, where has the time gone? I have mixed feelings about leaving. I miss home and being able to readily communicate with my family and my friends. But I love living in this place surrounded by such a rich history. I definitely love the idea of living in a foreign country, where I need to learn a new language and use it to survive, to feed myself, to do things. In practice, it didn’t quite work out that way. I think the program could’ve been designed to have more Italian integration. I also think I could’ve made more of an effort to study Italian and practice it. Next time.
I love living above Piazza Navona. It makes for some really great people watching. And I’ve also been able to discern the tourist trends. During the summer months, until about the end of October, there were tons of tourists. The Piazza was packed. November started the rainy season, and tourists dropped off considerably. The Piazza was great to walk through. Only the artists were set up, trying to sell their paintings. In the evening, the Piazza became more populated, but it was still nowhere near the amount of people as before. Last weekend, actually the day after Thanksgiving, they started setting up the famous Christmas Market. Now, it’s not technically supposed to open until December 8th (national holiday), but some of the vendors have been open and people have been shopping. I thought the density of people would stay about the same, but this weekend has taught me differently! The Piazza has filled again. I look down and see a sea of black coats, animal balloons, Santa, a merry-go-round, and lots of open vendors. And I might venture to say there are more Italians than tourists. And while some of the restaurants that ring the Piazza have closed, the open ones have put up lights and Christmas boughs. And the bands have started playing Christmas tunes. How could I forget the Christmas season is here?
This is the first time I’ve ever lived in a city, and I have mixed feelings. I am able to walk everywhere, which I love. But there are tons of cars and tourists in this city which makes it feel crowded and dense. And there are a lot of injured homeless people. It’s sad. I recognize many of them, because they stay within the same general area, and I walk past them almost every day. Churches have them at their door- extended cups shoved in my face. There is this one man who has clubbed feet and can’t walk, so he moves around on a skateboard, near the Pantheon. Some kneel with outstretched hands on the ground, their bodies and faces covered entirely in cloth.
Fall brings in the starlings. There are always pigeons, but for about a month between October and November the starlings take over. Around dusk they come out in swarms and dance in the sky and chatter. It’s beautiful how they harmonize their movement. Pedestrians need to watch out though! Fall also brings the rain. Lots and lots of rain. Every day, sometimes all day long. Makes me yearn for the hot days of September, especially when the heat doesn’t work in our building (like right now). It’s pretty drafty. And all the rain has filled up the Tiber. I went out walking the other night along the river and was shocked to see the steps disappear into the water! The sidewalk at the bottom has been covered by swirling pools of water. One of the reasons the bridges have circular openings in them here is so that when it floods, there is less bridge mass to contest the water and it can flow more freely. Functional and aesthetic. Cool, right? There is (or should be) a reason for every design decision.
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