Passports and Postal Workers.

I hate government bureaucracy. Two days ago Molly and I spent hours getting together all the necessary paperwork for me to renew my passport. I was 15 when I got my first one for Ireland, so I need a new one to apply for my student visa. So I fill out the paperwork, get my photo taken, and I head to the post office. Let me just point out that there was no one there. The one other man in line was already being helped and the parking lot was entirely empty. Despite the fact that the old lady had nothing to do and I was entirely prepared, Big Brother commands that anyone who was a minor when they got their first passport has to have an appointment to get a new one. Fine. When is the next available appointment? I now have to drive out to Middle of Nowhere, NC on May 27 for my appointment at that post office and pay an extra 60 dollars to have the thing expedited so I can apply for my student visa on time. So I reiterate: I hate government bureaucracy.

On a lighter note, I realized I haven't posted a link to the program I'm doing. So here it is: International Studies Abroad, Fall 2011 in Rome. I'm so excited. I'm going to Rome and no evil little postal lady can stop me!

A little Wilde

I leave Rice one week from tomorrow...

And here I set my face toward home,
For all my pilgrimage is done,
Although, methinks, yon blood-red sun
Marshals the way to Holy Rome.

- Oscar Wilde, Rome Unvisited

Classes

When thinking about studying abroad, I occasionally gloss over the "study" part. But it'll be interesting to attend a more normal (read less insanely difficult) university than Rice. The destination is the American University of Rome, where I recently registered for classes for Fall 2011. Here is my schedule:

Tuesdays and Thursdays:
Classical Political Philosophy, 9am-10:30am

A survey of seminal thinkers from classical antiquity (Herodotus, Thucydides, Plato, Xenophon, Aristotle, Cicero) who articulated responses to the fundamental questions of classical politics and political philosophy, such as: What is justice? What is law? What is (civic) virtue? What is the best regime and political order? Themes and issues include: Justice and War; political necessity and rhetoric; the Rule of Law and international relations in antiquity; ancient imperialism and tyranny; the types of government and causes of revolution; the virtue of the good citizen and the question of the best regime; Roman republicanism and the threat of Caesarism. The purpose of the course is to familiarize students with the classical tradition of political philosophy as the origin of – and alternative to – modern political thought. 

History of Modern Italy, 10:35am-12pm

This is an introductory course for all majors; it provides substantive knowledge about the history of Italy from the Napoleonic period to the present day. The study concentrates on the centuries of political fragmentation and the efforts to develop an effective political system. In this respect, the course offers insights for the comparative study of different ‘paths to modernity’ in Western Europe. 

Introduction to Italian Language and Culture, 2:05pm-3:30pm

Open to students with no previous training in Italian, the course introduces features of the Italian language needed for interaction in everyday 

practical situations, such as the caffè, restaurant, accommodation and in shops. The course satisfies a limited number of immediate needs 

necessary for survival in the target language culture. Cultural topics, such as Italian gestures, the Italian family, the working world, religion, and 

women in Italy, will also be studied in order to familiarize the student with certain aspects of contemporary Italian society and culture.

Wednesdays:
Italian Sketchbook: Images of Rome, 9am-1pm

Italian Sketchbook is an introductory course in drawing. On-site classes will provide landscape views, architectural forms, paintings and 

three-dimensional sculpture as subject matter, using pencil, pen, charcoal and sanguigna as drawing techniques. The course includes art historical introductions to sites, individual drawing projects and a written component related to the experience of sketching on location. The aim is to develop confidence and visual awareness in creating representations of the vast selection of art works that Rome has to offer. 

Field Trip Weekend Classes:
Mystery Paintings

Art historians have spent centuries trying to decipher paintings whose exact meanings have been lost to Modern man.  Learning this visual 

vocabulary of allegory and symbol allows us to interpret and decode masterpieces, which are renowned for their beauty and skill, but whose true meaning has remained elusive.  Great works of art speak in universal truths about the human condition, about love, fear, death, jealousy, and faith. This course will introduce students to this phenomenon of “mystery paintings” and, in the process, it will explain why the mysteries are present to begin with, and what this tells us about ourselves. 

Brussells: Internationalorganizational Relations

The trip takes two very different looks at international relations; before leaving, there will be a class introducing  the basic structure of the IGOs 

visited. On the first day of the trip students see the formal side and visit two key international organizations, the European Commission and NATO. They are given briefings on topical issues facing the organizations and the responses which are being formulated to address the issues. There are informal meetings representatives of Brussels' political organizations, from some of the many parties present at the IGOs. On the second day, they visit some of the key political sites in the city and the museum and battlefield of Waterloo. There is a final classroom session to draw conclusions from the trip. 

*Note the lack of classes on Mondays and Fridays. Why hello there, four day weekends. 

Still at Rice...

Houston is such a tease. The weather, warm and breezy. The humidity, tolerable. The amount of time I get to enjoy it, minimal. That's right, it's finals time at Rice University. Duck and cover, folks. Tomorrow is the last day of classes, followed by two study days. After that, one full week of the highest quality panic and stress this side of the Mississippi. Personally, I have the pleasure of taking four finals, two of which will effectively kick my ass. BUT ALL IS NOT LOST. Because I know no matter how poorly I do on my finals (and I'm exaggerating here; my grades will be perfectly fine), I know that in 4 months and 8 days, I will be on a plane to the Eternal City. (Provided I renew my passport, apply for my visa, receive my visa, turn in all my paperwork and actually catch my flight.) Cheers to motivation!

Benvenuti!

Name: from rome with love

Purpose: To keep my family and friends up to speed on everything Rome, from pre-departure until my return to the great state of Carolina del Norte. 

Content: Thoughts, goings-on, raves, rantings, opinions, photographs, struggles to differentiate Italian from Spanish, and a whole lot of whatnot.