Never a Dull Moment

Hey y'all...I've had several interesting things happen to me, both good and bad. I suppose I should start with the bad. Don't be concerned, it wasn't that big of a deal...I just caught some boys trying to pickpocket me this morning. They were actually very skillful too, the little boogers. I was wearing my backpack because I was going to class (I carry my archaeological guide to Rome, plus pen and paper to take notes), and I usually keep it in front of me when I'm on the crowded bus and metro to prevent anyone from stealing stuff, but since I was just walking down a wide sidewalk I went ahead and put it behind me. This boy materializes out of nowhere and asks me what time it is, and while I'm trying to convince him that I really don't have a watch, I feel something and turn around to find another boy unzipping my backpack. They ran away as soon as they knew they were caught, of course. I wanted to yell at them, but all my Italian left me, and even in English I was pretty much speechless anyway. Fortunately for me, I'm not stupid enough to keep anything valuable in the outside compartments of my backpack, so they didn't take anything. I did have my wallet in the backpack, but I keep it in the compartment closest to my body, plus it's in my purse, so there's no way anyone can get to it (even me) without doing some serious rummaging around. All the same, though, I'm doubly paranoid now.

But I'll be alright. As long as you are careful, as I *usually* am, you can escape the bane of the pickpockets. Don't worry guys, I'll be extra careful.

I have better news from last night. I went to church and had an absolute blast. As promised, here's a picture of the hole-in-the-wall entrance, sandwiched between two shops:


And, for good measure, the plaque on the outside of the door. The times and pastor's name have changed by now, but anyway...

And here's a picture of me with Katie (left) and Maria (right). Katie is the student intern for the summer...she's from Indiana but goes to school in Kentucky. She swears she doesn't have a Southern accent, but drawls while doing so. Lol. Maria is from Jamaica (so she has that supercool Jamaican accent), but she's been living in New York City for several years and then Rome for the past two years, getting her MBA. Today she's flying back to Jamaica for good. I'm kind of sad that I only got to know her for a few days.

So anyway, I went to church last night at 7:00 for prayer meeting, and afterward made plans with Katie and a guy named Reinato to go out Friday night. Reinato is Italian, but he's going to college in the States. He's here in Rome right now to visit his family. He says he didn't really know much English until right before he left for college...but I'm not sure I believe him. He doesn't have any trace of an accent when he speaks English; he just sounds like an American. It's unbelievable, really. He seems very cool, and he says Katie and I have to experience Rome's nightlife, so he's going to take us out to some fun place (we don't know where yet) and then make sure we get back home safely. That's always the biggest concern for us girls, especially late at night when the buses stop running. But anyway, I'm rambling...

After visiting for a while at church, Pastor Dave and Kathy (his wife) asked if we would like to join them in handing out clothes and toiletries to some Afghani refugees that are camped out next to the bus station. We said sure, and hopped on the bus with some other people to go help out. On the way, I met this great little lady (from the church group) named Zaheidi (Zi for short). She is currently working on getting her doctorate in Classical Archaeology, so we had a lot to talk about ("You like the Roman Republic? I'm more of an Imperial chick, myself..."). But we didn't just talk about Classics stuff, we ended up chatting about everything, from our plans for the future, to relationships, to our families, to what God's doing in our lives, etc. She is absolutely wonderful. I will make a point of getting a picture of her, too. And her husband Kahim is really cool, too. He looks a lot like my college pastor...in fact, it's uncanny how much he looks like him. But I'm rambling again.

When we got to the place where the refugees stay, we started handing out what we had, and it was really fun. Most of them are from Afghanistan, and mostly they're young men, working in Italy and sending the money back to their families. They were very grateful and generally sweet, although it was an adventure communicating with them, since they speak only a little Italian and even less English. I was trying to talk to a group of them in Italian, and eventually they had to round up somebody who could ask me in English, "Where you from?" They were excited about the fact that I was from Texas (for some reason), and when I told them my name they started chattering about Jennifer Lopez. It was pretty funny. We handed out lots of toothbrushes, shampoo, soap, and clothes, and then stayed around talking to them for a while, while Kathy gave out tracts and Bibles in various languages. Then we all headed home, although when we got to the bus stops at Piazza Venezia we all stood around visiting for a long time. Maria took me under her wing and made sure I got on the right bus that would take me home. By the time I got back to the apartment, it was midnight and all my roomies were asleep already. Lol I'm usually the one conked out at ten. It was great, though. Again I say, this church is the absolute highlight of this trip. At some point I'd love to sit down with Kathy and ask her about how it got started, and how she and Pastor Dave decided to come, and what particular challenges come up in such a unique ministry. I haven't had a chance, though, because I keep meeting all these other really cool people. It's a good problem to have!

This morning, after not really sleeping enough (it was so worth it, though), I went with my class to the National Museum of Rome. I think they make these museums too big: I feel desperate looking at all the stuff we're just walking by, but by the time we get to the end of our selected items for discussion, I've expired and can't handle anymore. The Vatican Museum is of course the worst when it comes to that...but this museum is pretty packed with amazing stuff, too. Here's a statue of Apollo...he's pretty famous:



And a detail from one of the jillions of Imperial age mosaics they have on display:

The coolest part, though, was too dark for a no-flash picture. They have the original wall paintings from the triclinium, or dining room, of the villa Augstus' wife Livia inhabited. They took them and displayed them in a room the exact same size and shape, and the effect was incredible. The paintings are depicting a lush green landscape, and the colors have been preserved really well, so it is an amazing riot of color. And they're from the 1st century BC! Talk about wow factor. I may have been kind of sleepy, but that was an eye-opener, and no mistake. There were of course jillions of other paintings, frescoes, mosaics, and sculptures...so much so that I couldn't take them all in. It was awesome.

After that...pizza! I took a picture of my lunch because I realized it might help when describing Italian pizza to Americans. You won't find pepperoni or Canadian bacon or even "Italian sausage" here. They're big on vegetables, and a lot of times the pizza doesn't have tomato sauce. So my lunch this morning was pizza with crust, some cheese, then large thin slices of eggplant, with fresh tomatoes and black olives and whatever that green leafy stuff is, on top:


Molto bene. There are lots of other choices when it comes to toppings, of course, and you can get meat sometimes. It's usually prosciutto (cured ham). You can also get margherita pizza, which is pretty close to American cheese pizza, although the crust and sauce and cheese are all slightly different. It's good, too. I am so not tired of pizza. :)

Alright, enough rambling for today. Now I am going home to put up my feet. Love you all!