The Adventures of The End of March - old friends in new places, corn nuts, and an insight into the Jewish religion

Hey everybody! I'll accept criticism for the distance between blog updates, but I'll respond with, not equal, but slightly less force when saying I dont know if anybody is reading if I dont get any comments. How do you feel about that? Valid? Not valid? I'm gonna run with it.

I got an entire week to update on now. I left everyone last Sunday after an entertaining, mojo-revigorating weekend hanging around Rome. I pick up now, Tuesday morning trudging through another 9-5 workday in the library (its actually only 9-1, and I can sit on my computer the entire time), with March passing by, April saying hello, spring looking delicious, and summer 2010 teasingly close. Life is good, and I find myself wondering constantly if I'm actually living real life. I feel like life can almost never be this good again, and I mean that in a positive way not in a my-life-sucks kind of way. I'm living in Rome, I basically don't have school, I have two of the easiest jobs ever and am making money, I can travel around Europe every weekend, I allow myself to spend all my money without feeling guilty, I can stay up late and sleep in, the weather is already high 60s, and I feel as liberated as ever. Once school and even summer work starts up again, there will be nowhere near as much time to just relax and life will be much more hectic. Part of me is ready for that, I'm having a hard time sitting around alot and just enjoying it; I keep trying to find things to do to fill my time, but then I realize I have a month left of the easiest livin' ever and I should just exist in it.

Theres less than a month left of school, and I dont enjoy thinking about this experience ending, but for the first time I feel like I'm ready to come home. I've started thinking about family and friends more and the summer life, and maybe thats just what I'm idealizing, but either way I was not thinking about it often until now (maybe cause mom and dad answer my phone calls once a month). I've finally started booking my end of the semester trip - I'll be spending a couple days in the French Riviera with my friends studying there until they finish exams and we can fly out. Then we are probably going to try and hit Prague and Budapest and hopefully Krakow/Auschwitz or Bratislava, and then hike through the Alps into Italy and camp for 4 days. I'm happy I'm ending it on a big long trip, for several reasons. One, its going to be good closure, I wouldnt be able to just pack my bag and get on the plane after my exams and feel fulfilled. Two, after living without a central home for two weeks I'll be dying to settle down and I'll be craving the comfort of loved ones badly. Three, did you see that itinerary, its going to be amazing.

So I was in Rome again this weekend but I'll run through some of the details of the week that led up to it. I went to one of the big local markets for the first time. Markets are one of the most visually pleasing experiences, with fresh fruits/veggies/meats/cheeses/breads/dried goods lining vendors by the row. There were wine vendors with homemade wine in massive jugs and you gave them your own container and they filled it. I went in search of dried corn kernels (Damon, aka corn nuts) because I felt like destroying my jaw and having something to snack on at school. Magically, I found them in a little crevice, and with some salt on those babies, man they're the best snack ever. And if you dont wanna listen to someone? Just eat corn nuts, loudest/crunchiest food ever.

I was supposed to see a Doors cover band at Big Mama, that blues club I keep referring to, but I digressed and stayed in to prep my fantasy baseball draft, still regretting that a little bit (Beez I know youll lay into me for this one). I did see a band that did a Beatles vs. Rolling Stones night on Friday and they were incredible, by far the tightest sounding cover band I've ever heard, it was a totally jamming show. My friend Alli from home, studying in France, was visiting Rome with her boyfriend and we met up Wednesday night downtown and chatted and wandered the city for a few hours. It was really nice to see someone from home and chat for a while and show them some sights. Theres alot of tour groups here, like high school and college and such, because its around spring break time for most people. Also, tourist season in general is officially underway. Its pretty annoying, but I guess I'm a tourist so I cant complain. All the attractions are always packed and you cant even walk and its just not as peaceful anyway, and its so over the top that you cant even hang and people watch.

At dinner on Thursday, the school held a small Seder dinner, the meal kicking off Jewish Passover, but most people that signed up didnt show so some friends and I got to tag along. It was really interesting, considering I knew nothing about the Jewish religion and this specific holiday, and especially because I had just visited Jerusalem and Bethlehem which were continuously mentioned. I found myself being able to buy into the Jewish religion much easier than the Catholic religion. Its much more grounded, more like stories of normal people who worked to change something they didnt like. When you take a step back from the Catholic religion, its pretty fantastical and is kind of alot to fully buy into. Its like Jewish is the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, somewhat down to earth and believable, and then Jonny Depp comes in and the remake (which I love) things go crazy and it is off the wall and that is more like the Catholic religion. It was just so interesting to hear the story of their people, eat their food, and relate to it all now that I had visited their holy lands.

My other friend from home but studying in France, Kristin, was visiting this weekend with one of her friends and it was a great time. Everything we did together was luckily all stuff I hadnt done yet around the city. Friday we explored the Roman Forum, Colosseum, and Palatine Hill. Saturday we went to the market and got a lunch of fresh meat/cheese/bread/wine and went to the Borghese gardens and relaxed and ate our picnic. Sunday we went to mass in St. Peters Square for Palm Sunday and went to the catachombs down the Appian Way. I'll run through each of the events for everyone:

The Colosseum events were literally just a massive party. People would grill, apply makeup, get hammered, fight, pass out, and gamble in the stands where they would hang out all day before and after the events. I knew the Colosseum was made for the poor proliferate by the government so that they wouldnt get into as much trouble on the streets, but I'm always amazed at how advanced the Romans were to be able to cook and such like a modern day tailgate while waiting for the fights. There was a traveling exhibit that had model armor and diagrams of the paths beneath the floor and that was mind-blowing. The fact that they built this amazing ampitheatre to entertain their citizens is one thing, but they were so bad-ass that they went further: lets make a maze beneath the floor, trap doors where people can fall and animals can come up through, lets fill it with water and hold naval battles. Everything they did was above and beyond, apparently they felt in no way limited by the fact that they existed 2000 years ago.

The Borghese gardens are one place I've been dying to get to all semester, and now that I went, I honestly felt sad that I had wasted so much time and not been hanging out there longer. Its just a massive park with tons of different areas - statues, fountains, old Horse racing areas, all different types of trees, the city zoo, a modern art museum, other wild museums. There are food vendors, bike and roller blade vendors, people relaxing everywhere. I kept getting the most fantastic nostalgic thoughts because I so purely felt like I had been there before, and I realized it felt exactly like a combo of all the Irondequoit parks - Charlotte, Seneca Park, Maplewood, Durand. We had that totally authentic Italian lunch while lounging on one of the hills in the sun and just chatted the afternoon away. Talk about getting ready for some summertime.

Mass is not held in St. Peter's every Sunday, I thought it was going to be, so it was a huge deal for Palm Sunday. We got tickets through JFRC and got there early in the morning to get pretty good seats in the upper half. It was about a 3 hour mass, but thats alright because I napped for about half of it - come on, they went through the entire Passion in Italian, I had no idea what was going on. But when it came to hymns and singing I joined in, and its crazy to realize everyone there, thousands of people, are singing the same thing at the same time for the same reason, thats pretty powerful. The square was absolutely packed but they still distributed Communion to everyone, and when he did his procession out, I was about 2 feet from the Pope. A sunny mass outdoors in St. Peter's Square on Palm Sunday - one thing to cross off my bucket list. Afterwards we visited the Roman catachombs. There are a few around the city but we went to this one on suggestion from my art history teacher. To get there, it was fairly far outside the city, we walked down the Appian Way, which was the main road running through ancient Rome. It was really cool, and my friend and I are going back next weekend to explore alot of the area and the side roads off it. Catachombs are underground cemeteries which is where they used to bury the dead, this one held about 500,000 people.

So I'd say you're pretty much caught up. It was a great week and weekend. Relaxing but productive. I crossed alot off my list of things left to do in Rome and now its almost complete with only a few things to do here and there when I get the time. Now that its nice, I'll be making a much larger effort to get out and about. I'll be going to Big Mama multiple nights a week for some great blues music. I'll be heading to Borghese to relax and read my book whenever possible. I'll probably wander through the historic center a couple more times but now with the crowds its not as nice. I want to try and get to a Roma soccer game. The last month is going to fly by with trying to take everything in one final time.

I'm going to Cinque Terre this weekend with my friend Chris. Its an area up on the northern Italian coast where five coastal towns are built right into the rocks and you can hike between the five. The views are going to be awesome, the hiking even better, the little towns intriguing, and the adventure immeasurable. Both of us are way too curious and imaginative, and we said we actually will have to pace ourseleves or else every single trail we see we will have to do it and we'll tire ourselves out. We have a hostel Friday night but not Saturday, so we'll be looking for a place to pass out for the night on the mountain or the beach. I'm liking the sounds of that.

I'll check back in when I get home from that, probably next Monday. I hope everyone has a happy Easter and enjoys it with their families. I'll be there in spirit! Someone (Nickbo or Jon) take down an extra chocolate bunny for me, preferably peanut butter filled, although a Krackel or caramel filled would do the trick as well.

Friends (my names Forest Gump, my friends call me...Forest Gump), family (this is crazy Herb, bringing him in this late...we're a family!), and loved ones that dont fall under either of those categories, I send my love and best wishes for good times. Drink a glass of wine for me!

Zach

PS - Damon and Inna, I hope the shower went great and you guys are getting ready for the arrival of Avery Jordan! Give her a shimmy so she knows I'm saying hello.

Roman Forum

Colosseum

Packed St. Peter's Square

Hanging in the Catacombs