Today (July 5th)

Ciao!  Today we had a bus trip all over the area around Naples to see ancient Roman sites.  We started off at the House of Publius Vedius Pollio, who was infamous for his cruelty in ancient Roman times.  Apparently, if a slave upset him (by breaking a glass, spilling a drink, etc.), he would condemn them to his man-eating eels in a nearby fishpond!  Here's a view from his house (which he willed to Augustus, the first emperor of Rome):

We next drove to the tomb of Vergil, who is the most well-known and loved poet of Rome (he wrote the Aeneid).  It was quite the pilgrimage climbing to the top of such a steep hill, but so worth it.  Here's a bust of my boy:

Then we went on to a museum with a beautiful view of the Bay of Naples.  Most of the museum, of course, was closed, but it was great to look out over the blue water and imagine what it used to look like.    The ancient city Baiae is partially submerged under water now, thanks to the volcanic activity of the area, so I think I'll have to come back some day and go snorkeling in the area.  Locke, you interested?

After lunch, we went to the nearby Baths of Baiae, whose remains are in pretty good shape.  My camera battery ran out, so no pictures for this stop, but it was a really cool site-- one of the best I've seen for a Roman bath complex.  Because of the volcanic activity in the area, there were several baths in the area over thermal springs, and this complex was quite extensive.

FINALLY, we made it to Cumae, where the Sibyl (prophetess) supposedly had her cave of prophecy.  This was where I gave my big presentation for the trip, so I described how the Sibyl came to be and what her role in Roman mythology was.  I think it went well, so yay for that!

Yesterday

Yesterday we spent the entire day in Pompeii.  We'll actually be going back again next Monday, so luckily we didn't have to see the whole site in one trip.  I had forgotten how huge the ruins were!  I was oohing and awwing over everything I saw, it was heaven.  The title of this program is "Houses of Mortals and Gods," so we of course spent most of our time looking at housing in Pompeii.  Here are a few fun pictures from Pompeii:

Michael walking across a typical Roman street (the stepping stones are so you don't have to step in all the waste--like urine, dirty water, etc.--getting washed down the street!)

A body cast next to artifacts in the old grainery

Sister Therese Maria (one of the sisters--can you believe she's leading this trip?!) talking about the House of the Faun in Pompeii

In the forum of Pompeii (Vesuvius is barely visible in the background... duh duh duuuuuuh)

So that is all I will share for now, sorry this is so much at once!  I'm basically writing much of this so I'll remember tomorrow what I've already done.  Here are a few parting pieces of information you may enjoy (or that may help you realize how awesome America is):

• Italy does not believe in AC.  Not in our hotel, not on our bus, and not in the cafeteria at Pompeii. Awesome.  I've never sweat so much in my life.
• Italians do not believe in 1-piece bathing suits.  It doesn't matter how many rolls you got, bikinis are the only acceptable form of swimwear...even if you're 80.
• All Italians ever eat is bread.  Bread for breakfast (with coffee of some sort), bread for lunch (with meat or cheese, but not both), and bread for dinner (with pasta and some kind of meat).  I may not like it by the end of this trip.

Miss you all!  Buena sera (good night)!

Today, for my first "official" day in Italy, I went with a group of about 15 other teachers to the island Capri.  Today is one of about 4 days that are free during the next 4 weeks, so we wanted to do something more touristy and relaxing.  Capri (which means "goats" in Latin) is a beautiful little island nearby, so we took a ferry at 8:30 this morning over and spent the day rambling around the cute streets and pebbley beach.  Although I've been to Capri (emphasis on the "a") before, I had not taken a sailboat around the island and seen the famous "Blue Grotto."  I was so excited do see something new, and here are some pictures of our trip around the island:

While not the most exciting picture, I love the story behind this cliff.  The emperor Trajan (who was the 2nd Roman emperor) built a palace on the top of this cliff and eventually moved here permanently and let his advisor rule in his place at Rome.  If, however, someone made him mad (and Tiberius was crazy, so this happened often), Tiberius would have that person shoved off the edge of this cliff!  The cliff in Italian is called "Tiberius' Jump."

The famous cliffs of Capri (we sailed under that tunnel to the right)

The "Blue Grotto," which receives its name from the electric blue color of the water.  And just a side-note, we almost got stuck in the grotto on our way out!  You have to take a small rowboat into the cave, because that entrance is so small that we literally were ducking our heads as our captain rowed us in.  Apparently right after we got into the cave, these high waves started rolling in so that the next boat nearly got smashed into the ceiling.  We had to wait for the waves to subside in order to row back out, but it was worth it.

We go to Pompeii tomorrow!

Made it to Italy!!!

After 24 hours of traveling, we have finally arrived in Stabia (a town near Mount Vesuvius).  Here is the view from my hotel room taken 1 hour ago:

Mount Vesuvius is looming in the foggy background to the far right (but I don't think you can actually see it).  Because the street was so small leading to our hotel, we had to walk the last half mile to here with baggage in tow.  I almost regret bringing so many books, but not really.

I don't have anything interesting to report, so here are some more pictures.  Tomorrow we have a free day, and then Monday we start our hard-core touring of the area!  Miss you all!

Mount Vesuvius

Vince (whose wife is expecting their first baby in September!), Katelynn (who lives in DC), and Jill (my roommate for the whole 5 weeks & who lives in LA)

Still in Baltimore, but I thought I would post a little update and some interesting facts for the day.

Update 1:  I cannot move my head to the left.  The beds in our dorm are so terrible that I honestly am not able to fully move my head!  So I'm now that awkward girl who walks around with her head tilted to the right all day long.

Update 2:  I have taken 15 pages of typed notes and 4 pages of hand-written notes since I've gotten here.  We're had 3 full days now of lectures, and it's been weird being the student.  I won't bore you with all of the details, but I've learned some pretty cool things:

• Julius Caesar never wanted to be king.  While he's often blamed for being this super ambitious man, he never seems to want to be a monarch.  He just wanted to be more powerful than anyone else and to do things his way.  Oopps.
• hostis is the Latin word for "enemy," and we get 2 very different English words from it: hostile and host.  I was always confused about this, but here's why:  originally hostis meant "guest," then it came to mean "foreigner," and then it came to mean "enemy" in Latin.  This shows an interesting cultural attitude change for the Romans, who originally would treat all foreigners as their "guests," but as they became more powerful they thought of them in a more negative way.
• During his reign, the emperor Nero (now known for playing the lyre while Rome built and killing lots of Christians) built a massive bronze statue of himself that was called the "Colossus of Nero." When it was moved later to build the Flavian Amphitheater in its spot, it took 24 elephants (!) to move it.  Now the Flavian Amphitheater is known to us at the "Colosseum" as a reminder of the statue whose spot it stole.

Now go impress your boss at your next cocktail party with those fun facts.

The Flavian Amphitheater, aka "Colosseum"

I made it to Baltimore!

Before we go to Italy on Friday, we are spending a week in Baltimore at the College of Notre Dame (a small Catholic college close to Loyola and Johns Hopkins).  It's our chance to get preliminary information and to do research at their library before we leave.

I have now met each of the 24 other participants, and I've been surprised by the variety of people.  About half of us are Latin teachers, and the rest are English, history, math, and science high school teachers.  The average age seems younger than I thought it would be, probably late 20's early 30's, so it's been nice talking with younger teachers and sharing our stories.  There are 2 sisters who are running our program, Sister Theresa and Sister Therese Marie, who are the sweetest ladies and are both professors at Notre Dame.  I'll get a picture of them as soon as I can!

For the program, we each have to fulfill 4 major requirements (besides the obvious of attending everything, etc.).  First, we have to do a presentation (about 20 min.) to the group on a topic of our choice- mine is the Sybil of Cumae (more details later).  Second, we have to lead a Latin translation session OR a discussion session on some aspect of Roman culture.  Third, we have to present a house in Pompeii while we are on sight.  And fourth, we have to prepare a final project by the end of our session that we can distribute and share with the other teachers.  I'm not sure yet what my final project will be, but I may do something on Roman prophets or divination.  I want to come up with some really cool lesson plan to do in the fall.  What do you think?

Veni, vidi, bloggi?  That's right, I just ruined Caesar for you.

Ever since my first trip to Italy in the 10th grade, I have been in love with Italy.  I have been to Italy 3 times since then, and this summer I will be back for more!  I have received a grant from the National Endowment for Humanities (NEH) to spend 4 weeks in Pompeii and Rome with a group of 24 other teachers, and our goal is to create interesting lesson plans that will bring Rome back to our students.  Hopefully this blog will be my way of sharing this experience with you (family and friends)!  Enjoy!

Just a little history for you: five years ago I spent about 5 weeks of my summer in Rome.  I had received the Richter Scholarship from Wake Forest University to research women in Roman religion, though I spent more time sight-seeing than real research.  My future husband, Locke, came over on his first trip to Europe for a week, and then my sister, Kate, accompanied me for about 3 weeks.   Here are a few pictures from that trip:

Me and Kate with the owner of the best pizzeria in Rome- Pizzeria da Baffeto

Inside the Papal Palace in the Vatican

Me and Locke in front of the 4 Rivers Fountain (by Bernini) in Piazza Navona
(which, interestingly enough, used to be the location of an ancient Roman racetrack, thus the oval shape)

Let the journey begin!