Sarah's Tale of Two Cites

My apologies for the delay since my last blog. I left the cord to my camera (the one with the USB plug on the other end) at my friend Vicky's house in Paris after Christmas, so I haven't been able to upload pictures. Vicky was kind enough to mail the cord back to me, but the French postal service was so kind as to lose it for me (*insert much hatred here*). I'm still in denial, thinking that my package could arrive any day now. But really, it's been almost a month since she sent it to me from Paris. I should accept that it is gone forever and move on. But there are pictures waiting to be uploaded and to be shared with the world. Thus, my hatred for La Poste, as it is known, shall endure through the ages. In the meantime, I do have some fantastic stories to share (the pictures will have to come later). So here they are...

ROME:

On January 23, I got on a plane in Girona, Spain, and left to go to Rome! Some of my friends from Oregon were planning a weekend layover in Rome on their way to Tanzania, and I decided to join them. Never having been to Rome before, I was finally given a good excuse to go! It was so good to be around familiar faces again, and to feel a little less of the "Token American." We were everything that I hate about tourists: speaking loudly in English, poorly navigating the host language, bothering locals about which bus line to take to such-and-such tourist destination, stopping every five seconds to check the map... It was great. And I loved every minute of it.

On Friday, we took advantage of the lack of rain, and walked up Palantine Hill after walking around the Coliseum, breathless, saying things like, "Ooooh...Ahhh..." "Woooow", and "Can you believe all the stuff that went on there?" Our walking tour led us to what we believed to be a back entrance into another one of Rome's many hills...instead, it led us straight into the private property of someone's backyard. Oops. Finally recognizing our mistake, we apologized and quickly backed out.

We then ventured to the ancient ruins of a Byzantine-era chapel, now buried underneath a Catholic church. Our tour guide told us that they were the oldest ruins in all of Rome...although our tip might have influenced that extra tidbit.

On Saturday, we set out for our real touristy activities, despite the heavy rain. We were all poorly dressed for our sight-seeing (they, after all, had packed for African weather!). We signed up for a tour of the Coliseum, and learned all about the gladiatorial "games" there and the many people and animals that were slaughtered within the walls where we were standing.

By the time our tour of the Coliseum was over, we were all soaked and ready to go back to the hotel. We changed into dry clothes, warmed up a bit, donned our umbrellas, and began heading for Vatican City. Since we arrived there late in the day, we had to rush through in order to see everything and get our 14 euros worth (although my student card got me in for 8 euros...tee hee hee!).

Although we followed the signs for the Sistine Chapel, we were led through a maze of other rooms first. Each room was filled from floor to ceiling with piece after piece of artwork. Even the ceilings in most cases were covered in frescos! We saw everything, from original artwork of the Renaissance to modern artwork to sculptures and mosaics. It was stunning all of it, but exhausting at the same time. My mind could hardly focus! And then we got to the Sistine Chapel...and it was nothing what I expected it to be. There was art all over! And the famous work by Michelangelo was stunning. Some of the paintings were disturbing, and some were hopeful. My friend Wayne and I stood in the middle of the room, with both of our chins up in the air, staring at all the pictures. If we could have taken pictures in the room, I'm sure it would have been a funny shot.

After the Sistine Chapel, we went through St. Peter's Basilica -- a massive church filled with relics and sculptures and Latin engravings.

On Sunday morning, we visited the catacombs a long-ish bus ride on the outskirts of Rome. Here is where members of the early Christian church would hide underground during times of persecution -- where they would bury their dead in shallow graves in the wall, and where they would also worship. It was an amazing place (and, quite literally, a maze).

I left on Sunday afternoon, but the rest of the group stayed until Monday. I had a hurricane -- I mean, work -- to get back to. Well, actually, we did have a near-hurricane while I was gone (184 km/hour in my town!). What a perfect weekend to be out of town!

PARIS:

Just three days after getting back from Rome, I packed up again and went to Paris, this time for business. We had our required Fulbright mid-year meeting, and I was scheduled to speak with the other four Fulbright ETAs about teaching in priority-level schools. The other Fulbright scholars were there, too, and shared about the progress they were making on their individual projects. I'm sure it is like this every year, but everyone's projects were so varied and interesting that it was easy to get enraptured with each presentation. There was everything, from studying a museum in the Louvre to studying hip-hop music in the French banlieues to studying the color-changing powers of carbon nanotubes to studying addiction disorders. The weekend reminded me of why I love higher education so much, and how I love being challenged by colleagues.

The best part was WHERE we gave our presentations. You may have never heard of the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, but you can bet that the French have. It's the most prestigious university in the country -- akin, let's say, to the graduate schools at Harvard or Princeton or Yale. A big deal, nonetheless. And I got to give my presentation there!

The bad part about Paris was that I brought a cold back with me. I haven't been too sick, but it's been the first case of the sniffles that I've had since I've been here. And that's good, considering that I was sick the whole time I lived in Poitiers. I've been drinking lots of tea and watching movies in bed, so I feel a lot better now.

And that's good, considering what is next: Mom's visit in only three days!!