WE FIGHT: Motivation Speech!

This blog is dedicated to all of those people, especially my graduate school friends and classmates who are feeling down or worried about their abilities in graduate school.  I know what you are thinking, who is she to make a speech like this, well the answer is I am just a lowly servant of God, who feels like this needs to be said, heard and shared with all of you.  

At this point in our lives as graduate students, we are preparing for midterms, many of us our questioning our abilities to succeed  we are concerned about our writing abilities, our reading comprehension skills, our lack of sleep and how that can be detrimental to our studies.  Well this is what I have to say, speaking to much of my own experience as a student.  

I understand how all of these things, stated above can affect a person. In undergrad I had a religious sister as a professor in the Theology department.  She was on my case from day one. For four years I took every theology class I could with her, why?  you may ask.  Because I was told she was one of the best.  What did I get in return?  I got disappointing statement after disappointing statements for this that and the other thing.  Her main concern was that my writing was not up to par.  When I told her that I was planning on attending graduate school and by my junior year I was convinced that I was going to the University of Dayton, despite the fact that I had yet applied or been accepted, she told me that I was not graduate student worthy, and surely if I was going to attend the University of Dayton I would have to step up to the plate and work harder on my writing.  Despite the fact that I pulled all A's and a couple of B's in all of the classes I took with this sister, she still did not believe I was good enough for graduate school.  This was very disheartening. 

However, despite her negativity and rudeness towards me, I asked her to write a recommendation for me for the University of Dayton.  This was a bold and strategic move for me to make, I was fearful of asking her to write me one, because despite how nice of a sister she really was outside of the classroom, I knew what she really thought of my abilities inside the classroom and I was worried of how she would portray me in a recommendation.  Low and behold with or without her recommendation and that of Father John Bakle, S.M. I still got into the University of Dayton.

Let it be known that I am not a 4.0 student, I am average to say the least.  School does not come easy to me, it never has.  Since our first assignment was due in grad school I have been struggling.  Despite my obvious and overstated struggles with writing, my reading comprehension is not strong either.  However, despite all else I am still plugging away at UD.  And I am here to stay. Going into Ohio Dominican University where I did my undergraduate work, I had the same attitude that I had coming to the University of Dayton.  My attitude was this:  I wanted to prove wrong all of the people in my life that have wronged me, many of which told me telling that I am not good enough.  One particular person once told me, when I was just a little girl, that I when I grow up, I would be so stupid, that I would be a bum and live on the streets in a cardboard box.  The other half of my attitude is a more positive approach.  I have always wanted to make my family and friends proud and show that I am worth all of the support they have been giving me all of these years, some from the very beginning of my life, others just recently within the past couple of years and yet some just from less than a year ago, yet, I want to thank all of these people by showing them that I was worth the trouble, by my success in graduate school.

This is said tongue and cheek because graduate school is difficult.  It has its challenges:  the late nights; early mornings finishing readings and writing assignments;  feeling like a failure; worrying that I will not finish an assignment on time; crying and whining when things get hard; by celebrating  the good times by going out to happy hour with new friends and classmates; and drinking yet another cup of coffee because I am so tired that I can barely keep my eye lids open, because the muscles need rest too, but I cannot go to bed, because I still have that book to read for Wednesday or that paper to read for Monday.  

In the meantime, I feel physically, emotionally and spiritually exhausted.  All I can do to stay sane is to ask God for the strength and know that his will be done.  My brain sometimes feels like it has been stretched way to far to understand things that are far too complex for my small and simple mind.  


Yet we will do this, we will make it through graduate school, we will not fail, despite what others may say; especially when their words are disheartening, like sister telling me that my writing is poor or that I am not good enough for graduate school.  There is nothing wrong with being a simple-minded, poor writer who reaches out for help.  Not everyone is born gifted.  Sometimes I think we need to remind ourselves that we are not all gifted and despite how easy it is to wish we were somebody else, we need to realize that God made us to be ourselves; if he did not think we could do it, than why did he create us, or rather why did he give us this opportunity?  It is people like us that have to work harder, the people that are not naturally gifted, that will succeed because we know what it is to work, we know what is to work hard for what we want and what we will eventually acquire. We will succeed because we worked our asses of for it.  So if you are down, blue, worried, scared, stressed, among many other things, hold your head up high and tell yourself you are good enough, with or without good writing, with or without the gifted abilities.  And do you not know that you will be FINE and everything will be FINE in the end?  This is something that Father John says to me all of the time, Katie you will be FINE!  You and I will SUCCEED let God's will be done!  


Ciao, KT

What If God Was One Of Us?

    So readers today I decided to write a Blog after a long summer away from blogging.  As you can see as the title indicates I propose to you, "What If God Was One Of Us?"  Please do not take this title in its Theological meaning.  Yes, I am a Theology Major as most of you know but this is not the purpose of my blog today.  I am actually stealing this idea from one of my favorite television shows from when I was a child and thanks to my best friend and suit mate at college I have been reunited with, Joan of Arcadia. 

    I do not want to bore you of the details of this television show, but the concept of it is very cute, unfortunately it did not go beyond two seasons.  What a tragedy, yes, believe me I know.  Basically there is this normal, family that becomes not so normal when the oldest son, previous to the show was in a car accident which paralyzes him from the waist down.  His father goes from being a detective to an unsuccessful Police Chief when he does not hide the dirty secrets of the Mayor and whom ever else.  The mother is one of the school secretaries.  The other boy in the family is a complete geek, a genius when it comes to Math and Science and cannot get a girlfriend to save his life.  Then there is Joan the star of the show and the reason for my blog today.  

    Let's just say this average family went from being average to extremely weird within one 365 degree turn of events.  Not all pertaining to her big brothers injury either.  Joan is special, well maybe she does not realize it at first.  But soon she begins to understand.  

    God begins appearing in Joan's life.  Only at first she does not know its God.  As time progresses it is easier for the viewer and for Joan to know when God is appearing to her and giving her the next task at hand to accomplish, which teaches Joan yet another life lesson.  

    However, I would like to break off an idea from the show and play with the idea of, "What if God was one of Us?"  I get this idea, because in the show, God appears as being just an "average Joe" he transforms into a human body and appears to be someone else, whether he is a little girl at a local playground, or an electrician or a school teacher.  This is true in a sense that Jesus is one of us.  He was conceived of the Virgin Mary and became Man, there is the Theology for you!  Then later, when he was around 30 years old, he was crucified, died and was buried and rose on the third day, ascending into heaven.  

    Could it be then that Jesus (God) really is one of us?  Has he physically ever came into our lives posing as someone else?  It surely gives us something to think about does it not?  We believe that God is with us always;  we are never alone; God is always by our side.  So could God be doing to us what he does in the show, Joan of Arcadia?  

    This whole idea brings me to a Spiritual exercise I once took part of led by my now, Mentor Sister...imagine yourself in a shopping center/mall and you can buy whatever you desire.  Once you have yourself totally wrapped up into shopping, buying whatever it is you like, you see Jesus.  You are led to think about what Jesus looks like, what Jesus says to you, what Jesus does.  Jesus reaches out and gives you a hug.  How do you react to this?  

What do you think about, "What if God was One of Us?"

Ciao, KT

Roma Day 11 (May 26, 2011)

Bitter Sweet

Today is our last day in Roma.  It really is bitter sweet.  I have been slightly home sick for a couple of days now.  I really just miss my family, a lot.  My Mom (Grandma) and Dad (Grandpa) and of course my girls, Katrina (my dog) Mya (Mom's dog) and Tabitha (the family cat).  I even miss my crazy pocket pet, Degu, Leo. 

Rome has been really good to us these past eleven days.  We have not run into any major problems, the weather has been great; it has only rained three of the eleven days for an hour each time.  Other than that it has been nice and cool in the morning and night and hot in the sun during the day.  I have a nice farmers tan going on too, which is always nice!  

The Jewish Quarter(The Jewish Ghetto) 

 The word "ghetto" is an Italian word first used in Venice in the 1600's.  The word was used to describe the place where the Jews lived.  "Ghetto" came from gettare, "to cast."

Our last class today took place in the Jewish Quarter, the ghetto, as its known as here in Roma.  The Jewish Ghetto was built in 1555 along the flooding banks of the Tiber River.  The ghetto was the forced home for nearly 300 years between the counter-reformation, 16th century, and the Italian unification, 1870.  Most of the old ghetto has been torn down, however there are still visible traces of the ghetto and also newer apartments are still standing and used in this area.  

Pope John Paul II was the first Pope to ever try and heal and reconcile with the Jewish Community.  He acknowledged that the Church should have intervened during the holocaust to defend the Jews.  Pope John Paul II was also the first Pope to ever enter a synagogue.   

Dear Friends,

I hope that you have enjoyed keeping up with us on our pilgrimage here in Roma.  Hopefully one day you to can make your own journey; maybe you will be lucky and I will be your tour guide.  Who knows?  Only God knows what is held in your future.  I plan on returning one day.  Hopefully more than once.  There is so much for me to see here.  I hope the next time I return my family will be with me however, because it will make the trip even more memorable for me.  

We will be returning late, tomorrow, May 27th around 9:45pm.  Till I see you again, CIAO!  

Thank you all for reading my blog.  I will be praying for you all. 

 

 One last horah in Roma, 1 Euro shots! 

 

Roma Day Ten (May 25, 2011)

The Best Day in Roma!

Today was the day I have been waiting for this entire trip.  Going to Vatican City for a Papal Audience.  Seeing the Pope in person is not something everyone gets to do in their lifetime.  I am one of the lucky ducks that could!  "Visiting" the Pope in person can happen in two ways, one on Sunday's at noon when the Pope gives the crowd a blessing from his apartment window.  We saw this happen when we came out of the Basilica Sunday and we were all bunched up like sardines.  The other way is to get tickets, that are free, but mandatory for a seated section in the square, for a Wednesday when the Pope gives a more formal visit to everyone.  I am in the second category.  

This morning my class gathered in the hotel lobby at 7am to begin heading to the Vatican.  Once we arrived we had to clear security in order to get into the square because its Wednesday, but oddly and sadly the security was pretty lax.  The detectors would go off right and left and no one did anything about it; it was like an honor system.  Scary thought, because when Pope Benedict XVI arrived, he was not in his bullet-proof Pope-mobile, he had the cap off.  I for one do not want to see any repeat shootings of the Pope like what happened to Blessed Pope John Paul II.  


Luckily for us, our seats were in a pretty good location.  We were able to get within 10 feet of the Pope, as he was driving in.  He actually drives through the crowds.  Okay not really, those of us who have reserved seats, those sections are barricaded before the Pope comes out and he rides around the isles.  As they drive through, he smiles, waves, and blesses everyone.  This was a perfect opportunity for pictures.  See below!

Needless to say the Papal audience was the best part of my Pilgrimage to Rome.  It is an experience that I will cherish forever.  It is one thing to watch the Pope on television, but its a whole another world when you are in person.  After the Pope has made his grand entrance and is driven through the crowd, the Pope takes his seat at the front under a canopied platform.  This is when arch-bishops speaking in their 

native languages, come up one by one 
presenting us, the crowd to the Pope.  When our school, Ohio Dominican University, was called out we all went ballistic.  We all jumped up and starting screaming and waving our arms, making ourselves known to Pope Benedict.  Then we got the little wave and blessing from him!  Other groups stood up and some even sang a song for him.  When this happened the crowds went silent and the Pope listened intently and patiently until they were finished and then he waved at them.  Pope Benedict made it a point to look and wave at every group that cheered. This was a long process because there were around 8 different languages to be addressed by an arch-bishop and then the Pope also addressed them in their spoken language.  It was amazing to here him speak in so many different tongues, it really shows how educated he is, not that this was in question however.  Just think he does this every week! Except in July and August, when he speaks at his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, 25 miles from Rome. 

After all of the groups are announced and the Pope has addressed each of them.  We are led by the Pope to say the Our Father in Latin, then the Pope blesses all of the people present and their religious items they have brought.  Yes, the picture above is me, with everything I brought to be blessed by the Pope.  Do not worry, I know what you are thinking, but not all of these rosaries are mine.  Two of the rosaries are owned by friends from church, a few are Mom's (Grandma's) and a few are my Dad's (Grandpa's) and okay, the rest are mine; do not judge me!  


? Did you know that when Pope Benedict XVI was called to be the next Pope, Bishop of Rome, in 2005 that he became the 265th pope?  At this time he introduced himself as "a simple, humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord."  Also did you know that Benedict did not want to be pope?  He felt that he was not worthy to be the next Chair of Peter, after much contemplation and prayer, he knew that the Trinity wanted this.  


Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI, was born in Bavaria, a small town in the year of 1927.  He lived a life under Nazi rule and later on as a teenager he was drafted into the army.  During World War II he saw Jews taken to death camps and soon left his post.  


Following the war he finished studying Theology and became a voice of liberal Catholicism, serving as an adviser for the Second Vatican Counsel (1962-1965).  Pope John Paul II appointed Ratzinger to many positions and he became Pope John Paul II's closest adviser.  


Ratzinger chose the name of "Benedict" to recall both Pope Benedict XV, who tried very hard to bring Europeans together after World War I and the original St. Benedict (480-543) the monk who symbolizes Europe's Christian roots.  


Ratzinger is also a very successful writer in his spare time.  One of the best of his works I have read was Jesus of Nazareth From the Baptism in the Jordan to Transfiguration of which its sequel, Jesus of Nazareth Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection recently came out.  This Jesus of Nazareth is a series Pope Benedict has been working on in his spare time.  He makes the statement in the epilogue of the first book that he writes this as a scholarly Theologian, as Joseph Ratzinger, not Pope Benedict XVI.  Another great read is, Light of the World: The Pope, The Church and The Signs Of The Times by Peter Seewald and Pope Benedict XVI.  This is yet another wonderful read where a journalist and writer, Seewald asks Pope Benedict a series of questions, including gay marriage, married priests, the unfortunate priest scandals and other questions from these modern times that need to be addressed and understood.  In this book, Pope Benedict XVI speaks with intent of being the leader of the Church.  If you are looking for a book that is a little more down to earth, this would be the book for you. since it is not quite as hard as a read as the Jesus of Nazareth series.   

Our last day in Roma is tomorrow.  Till then!

Ciao,


KT

Roma Day Nine (May 24, 2011)

FREE DAY TO EXPLORE ROME

Today was a very nice peaceful day.  Our class was given the day off to do whatever we wished in Rome.  My roommates and I decided to begin our day after sleeping in.  We didn't head out to the streets till about 1pm.  We started by going a different way then we ever have before, purposelessly trying to get ourselves lost in Rome for two reasons.  One, when you get lost, you tend to find new places that you would never find any other way.  Two, getting lost is a good way of learning how to navigate Rome with our Roma maps, which is actually one of our class objectives!  

At one point in time, as we were making our way back to the city of Rome, we found ourselves next to the Rose Garden.   This was quite a hike from our hotel.  We were almost to Ostia Anica where we took the Metro train to, earlier in the week.  One we realized this we made the attempt to find St. Paul's Church.  We navigated towards it and followed the street signs and before long, we hit a dead end.  There was an elderly Italian woman whom we asked if she knew where the church was, but she assured us it was too far to walk, so we decided to walk back into Rome. 

Once we were back in a familiar area we went to the Trevi Fountain.  All week we have been waiting to see it at night, we were told it was so beautiful at night, but we had not yet made it over yet.  Along the way we stopped at many shops, mainly just up class shops and of course a few more touristy shops for trinkets and such.   

At this time it was only around 6pm and none of us were hungry yet, however we did want something.  So, we headed for the coffee shop by the Colosseum for a Granite.  A granite is a type of coffee drink; it has whipped cream and smooth frozen iced coffee.  We all agreed it was like heaven in a cup.  After getting our fix we headed back over to Trevi Fountain and claimed our seat for the next three hours or so until we were hungry.

*My roommates, Amber (left) and Shafonna (right) at the Trevi Fountain!  

If I recall it was after 10pm by the time we decided to go get food.  In Rome, this is actually pretty normal.  The Romans work from sun up to around 12:30-1:00pm and then everything closes and they don't reopen until around 3pm.  During this time, they go home, have lunch and rest.  Then they go back to work until around 7pm, which is around the time they eat dinner here.  

Let me say one thing about dinner.  I ordered the wrong meal.  I thought I really wanted to try Carbonara.  Which is pasta in a rich sauce consisting of raw egg, percutto (ham) and cheese.  I found out later that just like steaks some restaurants can cook it correctly and others cannot.  Apparently this nice, high class, restaurant was either having a bad night, rushed our meals, because they were hopping, or just cannot cook this dish properly, from my understanding of how it is to be cooked and served.  Needless to say the first couple of bites my pasta was very good, but after that, I was like oh, this was a very bad idea.  So, I had an upset stomach when I went to bed.  All is good though, because the papal audience is in less than eight hours. 

 

Ciao, KT

Roma Day Eight (May 23, 2011)

Final week and days in Rome.

Oh, the agony! Okay so since my readers don't know why I continue to use the phrase, "oh the agony" let me tell you what its all about. Here in Rome, this statue (below) in Piazza Novana, was created by an artist who had a tiff with the Catholic Church which is right in front of it.

 

   

My roomies liked the way I explained the story, about the statue. How the artist, purposively made the statue to show that he was disgusted with the Catholic Church across the way. In doing so, the statues face is looking away and is slightly covered by his hand in the air. By doing so, the artist depicts how he disapproves and therefore the statue, is full of agony. Then I said, "oh the agony," and they thought it was hilarious.  

Now one of my many nick names is, agony. 

Besides visiting Piazza Novana AGAIN, today. We also went to a couple local Churches, including the Pantheon, and the Basilica of Saint Maria sopra Minerva, a Dominican Church.

The Pantheon was one of the best Roman built buildings, wonders, I have seen since I have been in Rome. Besides the Vatican's Sistine Chapel of course! Okay so the Pantheon, is completely built upon perfect architectural correctness; Geometry. Yes, math. Back in the Roman days they did not have the technology that we have now that could do all of the number crunching and picture drawings as, some how, they do now. The Pantheon, is perfectly spherical. Which is a wonder, yes?  

Unfortunately my picture here, really does it no justice. Hopefully you can see what I mean about it being spherical?

The Dome of the Pantheon

?  Did you know that originally the Pantheon was built for the Pagans. It was a Roman Temple, used to worship all of the Pagan gods. Later on it was consecrated and became a Catholic Church and still is today. 

This is the main altar in the Pantheon.  Most of our group went to Mass here.  The altar is so beautiful! 

The famous Fra Angelico, Dominican is also laid to rest in the Dominican Church, Saint Maria sopra Minerva. 

The Dominican Church, Saint Maria sopra Minerva (literally, "Saint Mary About Minerva") holds parts of Saint Catherine of Siena's body; relics. The rest of her body, are found in Siena, Italy her home town.

Relics are: A piece of someone who has been pronounced by the church as a saint. There are three classes of relics. A first class relic is an item directly associated with Jesus or his life (manger, cross, nail), or a physical remain of a saint (hair or bone). A second class relic an item used or worn by a saint (clothes, rosary, etc). A third class relic is any object that has touched a first or second class relic (many times a piece of clothes).

? Did you know?  Relics have been used since the beginning of Christianity as a means to become closer to God. In the Middle Ages one could have a relic in his or her home and venerate a saint without having to travel hundreds of miles to go to a church or chapel.

Ciao,

KT

Roma Day Seven (May 22, 2011)

Mass at St. Peter's Basilica

Today a small group us left early this morning to walk to the other side of Rome, to the Vatican to go to Mass at St. Peter's Basilica. We figured if we left early enough, we may make it before the crowds get too bad. We were right, ten minutes is about all we stood in line to go through security.

*From left to right: Shafonna, Amber, Katie (Me), Andy and Kelsi.

On our way towards the entrance to the Basilica we saw that many people were being turned away because they were not properly dressed to enter the Basilica. Proper, modest dress entire, excludes, shorts, bare shoulders and low cut shirts. These rules apply to both men and women. Sandals are allowed however, which was opposite of what we were told previously. Also, it is no longer mandatory for woman to cover their head. I am not sure when this mandatory was done away with, but I imagine that it came with the changes from the Vatican II counsel, which made many revisions of the Sacred Liturgy. Actually, it was more going back to tradition, rather than revisions for modern times.

As I mentioned before, sandals are now acceptable to be worn in the Basilica. This would have been a good thing to know for when I packed two weeks ago. Of course, many of us feel that what we were told was out dated information and we would have been fine packing t-shits, modest shorts and such. However, we were told to bring modest, summer semi-casual dress clothes. Making many of us, even me, very uncomfortable through out the long hot days. It is one thing to have to be uncomfortable every day, but to think you are wearing, many of the times, your church clothes, walking around in 80 degree plus weather. Then by the end of the day you are soaked. Many of us have been washing our clothes out in the sink before wearing them again, because we refuse to be smelly. There is an inside joke on that subject, but I don't think I will publicly announce that one. If you want to know what I am talking about, well, ask me, about the gentleman on the bus.

*This is actually not stained glass, it is an alabaster window, by Bernini. It is directly behind the main altar, against the back wall. Where Mass is said on a daily bases when the Pope himself is not saying Mass.

Mass at the Basilica was a really beautiful service. There were about 30 priests, a cardinal and maybe about 10 bishops celebrating. The Mass was said in Latin and this was the 10:30am Mass with the beautiful Latin Choir. There were a few times when Spanish, Italian and English was included however. For me, following along in the Latin was not that difficult. We did each receive a really nice booklet with the Lain on one side and Italian, Spanish and English on the other. However, since I am fairly familiar with a Catholic Mass, it was not to hard for me to follow along and know what was going on, This is actually the second time I have been to a Catholic Mass celebrated in a foreign language.

The first time I was at a foreign Mass it was when I was in El Salvador, March 2010. I actually think, for me, Spanish was much harder to follow along with for me than the Latin. The Latin seemed to be fairly simple to me. The only thing I really noticed trouble with was the pronunciations of the words.

Did you know that the Kyrie, (Kyrie eleison, Christ eleison, Kyrie eleison = Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy) is sometimes sung in the Latin form at our English celebration Masses? I thought this was extremely interesting, because even though we are in the process of going back to the Latin translations of the Mass, therefore some of our words are changing, the Kyrie does not really change. We just sometimes say it in English and other times in Latin.

In conclusion today, let me give you all a heads up when you come to the Basilica for Mass. During the procession for communion, the ushers unleash the hounds. What I mean is the crowd is not directed in any formal way to communion. It is complete ciaos. My group was towards the back and when we realized how every one just darts into line, we joined them to find everyone packed like sardines into three lines. This is when you want to use your book bag lock and have your wallet locked up in your bag because you will have kids and crazy adults who like to fiddle with your bag. Can you believe it? You are at a Holy Catholic ceremony and people are still out to steal from you, and in the Basilica of all places. Once you receive communion, coming back to your seat again is no orderly process. You just begin pushing your way through the crowd still processing towards the altar behind you, as you were before, to receive communion. Complete ciaos.

However, the ciaos wa

s worth it. The Mass was beautiful and this was actually my first Mass I have ever attended in Latin! I love it. I cannot wait to begin taking Latin as my second language this Fall. Till next time, ciao!

Roma Day Six (May 21, 2011)

Another Exhausting Day in Roma

It is hard for me to believe that we are in our sixth day here in Roma. We have been go-go-go ever since we arrived, but yet there is still so much to see and do. I am looking forward to going to Mass, at the Basilica tomorrow. That is the plan at least, unless the line is really long. Then I guess we will go to Mass at the Pantheon. My professors said that they actually shut down the Pantheon to visitors for respect, so Mass can proceed without interruptions. This sounds really cool, but ultimately I want to go to Mass at the Basilica, of course!

Today we adventured back into many of the popular touristy places. We had a tour guide today, so it was a little frustrating to us when the same places were being shown to us again, and in so much depth that it was putting us to sleep. It was the little places that to us do not seem to be the most important pieces of our trip that were being dragged out. So to the more important part of what we did today.

The Colosseum



The Colosseum, is a 2,000 year old Roman built stadium. In the ancient days this is where the gladiators would have fights. The Colosseum was built in 80 A.D. when the Roman Empire was at its peek. Only a third of the Colosseum still exists due to many earthquakes and during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, it was used to get easy pre-cut stones for other buildings. For this reason it is referred to as the "Swiss cheese" because with all of the holes in the building it looks like a block of Swiss cheese.



*If you look closely you can see the holes in the concrete, which gives the Colosseum its nick name, "Swiss Cheese".

The Colosseum could fit as many as 50,000 people and with 80 exists throughout it could empty in less than 15 minutes. Entertainment in the Colosseum was free, this was a way for the Emperor to gain favor from the people; or even to win them over.

The games began with dog fights, or female gladiators, or even a dwarf take on a one legged man. Then the main event would begin, the Gladiators. The Gladiators, would not only fight each other not only to rank up, but to prepare them for battle. Sometimes the Gladiators would even fight animals and animals would fight animals as well. The stadium celebrated its grand opening by having a 100 day festival in which 2,000 men and 9,000 animals were killed. The stadium workers went around and sprayed perfume to help mask blood odor. If a gladiator fell helpless to the ground the opponent would approach the emperors box and ask "shall he live or die" and based on the fight the emperor would make his decision by a thumbs up or down.



*This picture gives you an idea of what the audience would have seen while watching the fights.

Roma Day Five (May 20, 2011)

THE VATICAN

*This picture of the late Pope John Paul II, now Blessed, was skyscraper size inside the walls of the Vatican City, in the square.

Today we adventured into Vatican City to go on a Scavi Tour, see St. Peters Basilica and some of us went on to the Vatican Museum which includes seeing the Sistine Chapel.

The Scavi Tour, was truly a once in a life time chance to go under the Basilica; which was full of ruins dating back t0 4 B.C. The Scavi "Excavations" is only available by reservations, and is limited to 300 people a day; in groups of 12-15 people at a time. And very few tours are in English.

The Necropolis was found once Christianity was recognized in 313, by the Christian Emperor Constantine. At this time, he had the "Old St. Peter's" built and it lasted 1,200 years (AD 329-1500). St. Peter's Basilica was built over Saint Peter's grave, the very first Pope and Bishop of Rome. It is believed by faith that Saint Peter's remains, mainly bones, are still in the Necropolis. We actually saw from a distance where he is laid to rest. Tradition has it that in about 65 A.D. when Saint Peter came to Rome, to spread the message of love, he was crucified. By choice he was crucified upside down because he did not feel worthy to be crucified in the same way of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

The remains of Saint Peter have been un touched for over 2,000 years. Their is no proof that it is Saint Peter, however, the bones in the tomb appear to be those of a man of the correct age and physical likeness of peter, that were described in ancient accounts. There is no plan to ever tamper with the remains. There is no way of finding definite scientific proof. But as we know, Christians do not need proof, because we have faith!

The new Basilica as we know it today, began to be built in 1506 and it took more than a century to be completed. It has the largest interior of any Christian Church in the world. It is built directly on top of the "Old St. Peter's", on Vatican hill, which was built by Constantine, in 4 B.C, dedicated to Saint Peter, one of Jesus' closest and original twelve apostles. The scavi (excavations) have been going on and continue to be worked on since World War II.

Unfortunately for you, my readers, I am unable to show you pictures from the Scavi tour. Photography was forbidden. However, this tragedy does not keep me from giving you a visual!

Imagine, walking into the gated and secured Vatican. You are being waved through past the Swiss Guard. Then you are met up by an Italian woman who greets you. She tells you to follow her and so you do. You are lead a little deeper inside the Vatican gates. You take a right turn into a building that has a key pad, password access, and a sliding glass door opens and let you though. The entrance at this point is very clean and white. There are a few ancient tombs next to you, and even a few wooden displays of the "Old St. Peter's". The tour guide announces that once we begin heading down stairs, the air is going to get humid, musty and maybe a little uncomfortable to breathe. But she does assure you that if you have any problems while you are in the Necropolis do not hesitate to speak up.

The tour guide begins walking further. Then you begin to walk down stairs. Once at the bottom of the steps, another glass, sliding door, opens before your eyes and a very narrow and short entry way appears. You are now concerned about fitting through, about getting closter phobic and the air you are breathing is unclean and breathing becomes difficult as though you suffer from Asthma. All you think about was the day before, at the ancient ruins of Ostia Antica, from the old rocks, that made every step make you wince in pain. Like so all you are thinking about how nice it would be to sit down, rather than stand. Your feet are just throbbing and now have a heart beat, if this was not enough, your breathing is impaired and you are hot, as though you were in an ancient Roman Bath. As much as you are wanting to learn about the scavi it is so difficult to concentrate with your impairments. Okay, the Attention Deficit Brain goes back into focus on the tour guide.

Walking though very narrow naves, you see the ancient Roman bricks, to your right and to your left. Your first stop once down into the ruins, is at a small tomb. The tour guide begins explaining about how this particular tomb was constructed with marble, which means he or she came from a wealthy family. Following this, she read the inscription on the tomb, which was something that explained his or her life, or advise, or a message for the parents left behind. After this, a private room was explained. A family owned or bought a particular room so that the remains, either in a tomb or cremated remains may be laid to rest. In these rooms, the floors were either marble, or sometimes mosaic. Both significant because either would be expensive. The mosaic floor in particular was not only expensive but also timely to piece together.

The tour continues on, your feet are better off being chopped away from the rest of your body by now. Not only are you standing, but the floor under you is old and uneven. You cannot even lean up against the walls because it is forbidden. You come to one tomb in particular that at first you believe it is the same as all of the others you have seen. But instead you find out that the tomb is unknown whether to be a Christian or a Pagan do to the inscriptions on the tomb actually have both Christian and Pagan origins. The tour guide tells you that it is possible that it was once one and then the tomb was reused and then made into the other. Creepy thought and a little disturbing as well. How gross that would be to open a tomb, with a decaying body of someone else. Yuck!

Towards the end of the tour you tour guide tells you slowly the air will begin to be easier to breathe. The group is slowly working its way up to higher ground. Up a step or two every once in a while. Going room to room, under the Basilica. All you can think about still, is I cannot wait to get lunch, sit down, and drink. I am so dehydrating right now. Before I know it they will be adding me to the tombs down here.

One of the last rooms you are in before entering the crypt, where many of the Popes are laid to rest, is a small room, very confining with 14 people, plus the tour guide, and a little window off to the right. The tour guide tells you that as you leave out of this room, step here, about a foot away from the window and look into the left corner. While you look into this corner you see a small hole, with a light shinning. This small hole, is known to be the burial place of where Saint Peter, one of the twelve apostles and the first Pope, Bishop of Rome, is. Directly above that place is where the original altar of the "Old Saint Peter's" was and the altar of only which the Pope, Bishop of Rome, may celebrate Holy Mass. It is at this time, for once after 90 minutes of tortuous air and pain, that you begin to feel overwhelmed and amazed. You are not only in the Vatican. You are in the scavi a place where only 300 people a day can go and very few hear the tour in English, and you see where Saint Peter's bones are.

What an amazing experience. And the day is not even close to be over yet. Heck, there is still five more days to be in Rome, to experience Rome. I haven't even began to cover the "boot" Italy yet!

Saint Peter's Basilica

*This grand altar is the main altar, found inside the Basilica.

Since we were on the scavi tour we had an automatic entrance into Saint Peter's by passing once again all of the crowds of people awaiting to go through security. The down fall to this was all I had with me was my small pocket camera and my wallet. I will share some of my better pictures with you. But like all things pictures are not good as the real thing. The Basilica was overly crowded with people. It was extremely hard to get the priceless pictures I was hoping for.

*All wood confessional found in the Basilica. Still used daily; penitents must kneel are wood, however.

Vatican Museum and the SISTINE CHAPEL

I do not think I really need to say much about the Vatican Museum. The Museum holds many priceless pieces from the ancient world especially from Michelangelo and Raphael. Their work was absolutely beautiful. Of course I am not much for art work but I can always appreciate, more than anything else, except photography, the Renaissance period.

The Sistine Chapel was beyond words to explain how amazing it was. Minus the small things, such as the guards constantly screaming at people, who were rude. There were many regulations in the Sistine Chapel such as, no talking, no cell phones, no photography and no video and once you enter you are not allowed to be on the altar steps, even to sit. Being Catholic I understood the significance of being respectful, because we were in a Holy place, we were in a Chapel, but unfortunately some people are just so disrespectful. As I have said before, this would be something you have to see in person in order to appreciate how amazing it really is. Pictures in books does no justice to the beautiful work of Michelangelo. His paintings in the Sistine Chapel literally pop off the walls, as if they were three dimensional; like a pop up book. The awe and excitement to see such a beautiful well preserved, world renowned Chapel was amazing. There is no other word I can think of the explain what I saw today.

Roma Day Four (May 19, 2011)

Ostia Antica (45 minutes outside of Rome)

Today we ventured out of Rome to visit a city full of ancient ruins, Ostia Antica, dates back all the way to as early at 4 B.C. (Before Christ). During our tour, we saw an uncountable number archaeological excavations. In additional to this we had many presentations today. One was about Roman funerals and burials, Roman Theaters, Roman Bath Houses. My presentation was on the roman bath houses. Going into this trip, I had no idea what a ' Roman bath house' was.

*Picture above: Is a ruin of a sarcophagus found in the city of Ostia Anitica.

Ancient Roman Bath Houses (Modern Day Community Center)

Ancient Roman Bath Houses were elaborate gardens, stadiums for sport, libraries and arcades where Romans caught up on the latest gossip.

*This picture is taken of a ruin of the Roman Bath House in Ostia Anitica. The floor is made in mosaic. Mosaic is hundreds of small pieces of ceramic like materials. It takes countless hours to assemble.

In ancient times a Roman would enter a bath house, usually on a regular basis, depending on finances maybe even everyday. Once they enter they strip off their clothes and hand them to an attendant and begin the bathing process.

First they would go into a hot chamber to encourage sweating, this was place was called a Sudatoria. After being in a Sudatoria for around 20-30 minutes. They then would go into a larger room with hot tubs of water, which were called Calidariums. After going through the heating process, an ancient version of a skin cleanser would be massage into the visitors body.

Then a Roman would enter the Tepidarium a room with moderate heat. This way they gradually work down their body heat, to ensure they don't put their body into shock, before they enter the Frigidarium, which was ice cold water.

Originally, the bath houses were open for men and woman to use simultaneously, but later they mandated that woman must bathe before the men. However, the other areas of the bath house were co-ed areas.



*This picture shows the different kinds of building materials used by the ancient Romans. The black block is actually made mostly from coal. The red bricks, as we know them, are actually Roman bricks. Romans bricks are traditionally skinny in width and trianglular.

FACTS

-Water had to be constantly heated. 640 kilometers (or approximately 397.44) miles of aqueducts in order to keep a constant flow of water in the bath house

-Roman Baths were not free, but they were inexpensive

-existed since 2nd Century B.C.

-A Romans work day began at sunrise and was being completed at around noon; this was about the time the bath house were being occupied

-Children were not permitted

-The Baths of Carcalla, the 2nd largest bath complex in ancient Rome, were built between 212 and 219 A.D. By Emperor Marcus Aurelious Antoninus, known by his nickname, Carcalla.



*These stones above are acutally found all throughout the city of Ostia Antica.

The are fairly large compared to the ones we are used to here in Rome. They were quite slipperly and hard to walk on because they were very uneven. I personally spent more time, looking down at my feet, than looking around at the ruins today. I was constanstly rolling my ankles.