I Don’t Always Go to Church, But When I Do, I Attend Mass at the Vatican

Let me just give you all a quick recap of my weekend (10/10-10/12) in Brussels, Belgium:

1.  There were beautiful buildings:

The Grand Place

Brugge

In Downtown Brussels

More of Downtown Brussels

Brussels Stock Exchange

2.  Scenic landscapes:

In Brugge

More of Brugge

Swans in Brugge

Currently my phone’s wallpaper (also in Brugge).

More of Brugge

A river in Brugge

3.  Delicious food:

Chicken shawerma is a gift from the gods.

Belgian chocolate at its finest.

Waffles were a MUST.

Of course, Belgian beer. DIVINE.

4.  Things that didn’t really fit any of the previous three labels”

A Hummer with a licence plate that reads “FRESH.”

The Atomium: built in 1958 for the World’s Fair in Brussels, this man-made marvel was constructed to represent a unit cell of an iron crystal, when we all believed atomic energy would save the world.

The Manneken Pis. Yes, you guessed it. He’s peeing.

Cool comics trip posters are all over the city. If you click on this picture, you’ll see that the poster has cartoons drawn by the creator of “The Smurfs” (who are also pictured at the bottom left corner).

5.  And great friends to share the fun with:

🙂

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So this past weekend (10/17-10/19) I stayed in Rome and explored the city a little more.

I was walking through Trastevere on Saturday evening with my friends, ready to have dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant Chi Lin, when we stumbled upon a memorial service being held for the victims who were forcibly removed from Italy by the Nazis in World War II.  Talk about trying to find something to do that night.

My picture and video don’t really give the event any justice, so I’ll just try to describe it to you.  We were at Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere people-watching from the central fountain when a flock of more than 200 people assembled in the center of the square, with about 20 of those people holding up banners that had the name of one concentration/extermination camp on it.  Another 50 people were carrying large lit candles above their heads, while someone in the center of this giant assembly read into a microphone a eulogy for the victims of the Nazi efforts.  More and more people gathered by the minute, listening in on what was being said about the Holocaust and the impact it still has on Rome today, especially in its famous

Jewish Ghetto.  From what I was able to understand, family members of some of the victims were in the audience, paying homage to their lost relatives.  I don’t think I understood the actual number of Jewish people in Rome until I witnessed this memorial; I knew there was a large Jewish community in the Jewish Ghetto, but the actual numbers never really formulated an image in my mind until I saw the immense group of people standing together on the 71st anniversary of the Nazi strike on Italy.  After the eulogy was read, the hundreds of people begin marching along the tiny streets of Trastevere, carrying their bright, burning candles up high into the night.

After having visited the Dachau Concentration Camp in Germany a few weeks ago, I’ve grown a greater understanding of the horrors and consequences of the Nazi regime in Europe, but after having listened in and viewed the memorial services for victims of the Holocaust here in Rome, I’ve come to better understand to what extent the Nazi’s power and influence had on all of Europe, extending all the way down to central-southern Italy.

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On Sunday, I did what anyone in Italy would do: I attended mass at the Vatican.

So glad that pigeon was in my picture.

This is my third time attending mass at the Vatican, but this was the first time I got to attend it outside WITH THE POPE.  I’ve gone inside St. Peter’s Basilica and sat down for the services there, and I’ve stood outside and watched/listened to the services shown on the jumbo screens, but this is the first time that I get to see Papa Francesco holding mass out in the open for everyone to see.  Now, I have my faith and whatnot, but I don’t go to church as much as I “should”, but my mom always told me that you carry your faith inside, not on your sleeves for people to see because it isn’t something you’re supposed to flaunt around.  With that being said, I was probably on the same page as thousands of other spectators in the square who were there mainly to just be in the presence of such an influential man, not so much to actually assist mass.  Anyway, hundreds upon thousands of people milled around Piazza San Pietro that day to watch and listen to what Papa Francesco spoke about, withstanding high temperatures and limited standing room.

That Sunday, Papa Francesco beatified Papa Paolo VI, so that kind of explains the ginormous crowd.  Former pope, Papa Benedicto XVI was there too, but I couldn’t really see him on the jumbo screen.  Soon after the beatification ceremony concluded, normal mass was full underway, with papal staff handing out communion bread (hostia) to people in the crowd; I received one!  The pope gave a final blessing towards the end, something that ended along the lines of, “…buon pranzo e arrivaderci (good lunch and good bye)!”  The crowd erupted in applause, some people in tears, at the sound of his last words for that Sunday’s mass.  According to one of my professors, people in Italy (and around the world) LOVE Papa Francesco, simply because he came from humble backgrounds and continues to be humble during his papacy.  That same professor likes to think of him as a little cartoon character because he’s so “cute and funny,” which I can attest to!  The way people react to his words, whether they’re somber notes or small quips that get a giggle out of you, really show how much the people embrace him and welcome him into their religious lives.  The last mass I attended at the Vatican dealt with the topic of family, and even just listening to a few of the pope’s words on family (how we should embrace them more than ever) caused a little bit of humidity in my eyes, but we don’t have to go into detail about that now!  I think that’s my favorite part about mass at the Vatican; watching people’s reactions to Papa Francesco and watching them grow fonder of him by the minute.

This trip to the Vatican ended in the way I’ve been hoping for it to end since my first trip here earlier in the semester: THE POPE RODE AROUND IN HIS POPEMOBILE (IL PAPAMOBILE)!!!

The pope drove around in his Papamobile for about 20 minutes, circling the people around piazza and waving enthusiastically in all directions.  I’m not sure how fast his little car goes, but he looked like lightning speeding down the cobblestones of the square.  The crowd would roar with cheers every time he got a little closer to their section.  It was the greatest thing I’ve seen in Rome, thus far.

Having Fun Out-site of the Classroom

Great way to end my night:

I was riding the tram back to my house from this new restaurant my friend introduced me to (CHICKEN HUT: the Italian version of KFC, BUT BETTER)

CHICKEN HUT. Yes, I purposely typed its name in CAPS so you could read it and say it with as much gusto and energy as I do.

when a drunken guy hops on.  I was sitting next to a window by myself, in a section of four seats (each pair of seats facing each other) and he plops onto the seat in front of me.  I jumped in my seat a bit because I was staring out the window and he startled me; first his words hit me because he was completely slurring his sentences, then his stench came after.  I needed one more stop until I got home, so I figured I’d be OK by myself until then, when all of a sudden he starts punching the wall next to him.  I literally, and I mean literally, jumped out of my seat and scurried as far away from him as possible.  By this time, everyone who was left on the bus, which wasn’t many because my stop is the second-to-last stop on the tram, just stared at him in horror as his fist started bleeding, but because of his extremely inebriated state, he didn’t notice how badly hurt his hand was getting from his heavy blows to the wall.  Lucky for me, my stop finally arrived and I ran out the door; I looked over my shoulder and saw that the guy had finally stopped punching the wall and was mildly unconscious, blood splattered against the wall and his sleeve.  Sweet dreams for me.

But anyway, aside from tonight’s random ending, I’ve had a great Week 3 and 4 at school, not to mention an awesome trip to Brussels, Belgium this past weekend (which I’ll discuss in my next blogpost), so let’s get this show on the road! 🙂

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So the main reason I chose to do the “Rome Through the Ages” program through EAP was because of the fact that some of our class lectures would be held outdoors in the actual sites that we would be discussing throughout the semester, and I finally got to experience three site visits this past week!

Last Monday for my Ancient Roman Civilization class, we had our lecture out in the open space of Circo Massimo, where we had a pretty in-depth lecture on the founding of Rome, since this site is the supposed landing ground of the reed basket carrying the founding brothers of Rome, Romulus and Remus.  That day was blistering hot, but the fact that we were sitting out in the open space of this former public space of entertainment and daily life really resonated through the class because when would we ever have the chance to physically be at the archaeological site our class would be discussing if we were back at our respective universities learning out of a book or a PowerPoint?

Circo Massimo

Wednesday was pretty jam-packed with site visits; I was running around the city faster than the locals.  For the same Ancient Civ class, we took another trip outside of the classroom and into the area known as the “Jewish Ghetto.”  Our site visit mainly consisted of a walking tour down the  Triumphal Route, which was the route used whenever leaders were victorious in war, in politics, or other important events.  We walked through the largest synagogue in Rome, past the deliciously smelling Austrian bakeries (which, by the way, sold exquisite cinnamon rolls), and into the ruins of Teatro di Marcello, Temple of Venus, Temple of Hercules Victor,  Temple to Juno, Temple of Portunus, Temple to Bellona, Temple to Apollo Medicus, and the Sacred Area of Largo Argentina.  Each one of these buildings held a specific purpose, whether it was to hold senate meetings to discuss significant changes in the Roman citizens’ lives or to honor a certain god or goddess whenever the state needed an extra push of good luck for an upcoming harvest or war.  We also discussed the varying architectural styles that went into each building, which have Greek and Etruscan influences, as well as original Roman designs, too.  Walking through these ruins with a professor by your side made the tour ten times better because you were actually learning historical facts that you wouldn’t learn in a fluffed-up tour hosted by a so-called expert on Roman history.

Temple of Hercules Victor, a typical Greek, marble complex.

Temple of Portunus, a typical Roman-style structure.

Teatro di Marcello, with a piece of the Temple to Apollo Medicus on the right side.

After this class was over, my classmates and I scrambled on over to the Vatican Museum, which was the location of our next site visit for our next class, Art Crime and Cultural Heritage Preservation.  This is actually the first semester that this class is offered because it’s a brand new course, and I’m really excited to take this class because it discusses the topics of looting, destruction, and reselling of antiquities around the world, which is actually a hot topic right now (I know you’ve all heard about George Clooney’s new wife, Amal Alamuddin?  Well, she’s actually a human rights lawyer CURRENTLY working with the Greek government in the possible repatriation of the Parthenon marbles, which are currently held at the British Museum.  Take that, pop culture!)  Anyway, this class included a site visit into the Vatican Museum, the world’s largest museum of antiquities, which I was very excited about!

Some of our class 🙂

Laocoön and His Sons, typical sculpture that has key traits from the Hellenistic Period, which include groups of figures, young and old people, and fleeting moments in time.

Antinous, my favorite person that I’ve learned about, thus far. He was Emperor Hadrian’s supposed lover. Hadrian loved him so much that he had Antinous’ face carved into the likeness of gods, such as Dionysus and Zeus, making him the most depicted figure of the Ancient Roman world.

Much fun walking through the Hall of Maps! 🙂

After walking for about an hour after our class had finished, we FINALLY made it into the Sistine Chapel and found this beauty!

Sadly, some of the halls that my professor really wanted us to go through were closed off that day, so our lesson didn’t go quite as planned, but it was still interesting and fun, especially being able to see at all of the statues and sculptures we’ve been discussing for the past two weeks, in person!  Hopefully I’ll be able to pay another visit into this gigantic museum before the quarter’s over, because I definitely want to explore the closed off halls and other corridors that I didn’t get a chance to go into.

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Now, as you’ve already seen by my previous posts, this semester isn’t simply about studying Italian history and culture; it’s about experiencing it too!  So I took up the challenge and enrolled myself into an Italian cooking class.  BEWARE: delicious food up ahead.

Of course, what Italian dinner doesn’t have a bunch of courses in it?  For only 10€, we made a six course meal, and it was DIVINE!  I’ve already accepted the fact that I’m an eater, not a cooker, when it comes to food, but going to a cooking class makes me really curious to know how the other half lives, the other half being those that can cook real, delicious meals, not just cut up random things and bring them to a boil.  It was a different experience to make use of a fully-stocked, professional kitchen; I sort of felt like I was on the Food Network counting down the minutes to an episode of Iron Chef America.  Under the supervision of an American chef and an Italian baker, we got down to the nitty gritty.

Behind the scenes of our cooking class.

The hunger lingers in the air.

All of us being good Sous chefs as we help prepare the Bucatini all’amatriciana.

Waiting for our food to cook.

Behold, salsa verde con pecorino Romano (goat cheese).

Pecorino Romano

Then, you add some of the pasta water from the pasta you’re cooking on the side somewhere.  Mix the cheese and pasta VERY WELL.

You throw in some pasta and black pepper and mix it up REALLY QUICKLY.  Pronto!  Cacio e pepe.

Wine is a must.

I forgot to document the process of this, but it’s basically heaven in a bowl. Bucatini all’amatriciana.

My first ever TIRAMISU. Everything I hoped and dreamed of.

I completely, 100% encourage EVERYONE to try out a cooking class once in their lives, whether it’s back home or somewhere abroad, because if you don’t want to spend a euro or two on some tacky souvenir or a cheesy T-shirt that says, “My grandma when to Rome and all she got me was this damn shirt,” that you’re never going to wear, use those euros instead on a deliciously fun cooking lesson that will continue to bring you joy (and satisfaction) for many, many times to come once you’re back home.  Then you can always remember your awesome trip while you prepare yourself an exquisite bowl of cacio e pepe with a glass of vino.

I’ll be back again this week (hopefully, after I finish my Italian midterm tomorrow) to comment on my trip to Brussels! 🙂

Waking up on a Bus in the Middle of the Bavarian Countryside

I finally traveled outside of Italy this past weekend, and let me tell you, it was the greatest thing ever.

I don’t mean that in the sense that I couldn’t wait to get out of Rome, or Italy in general, but I was so excited to finally get some traveling done during the semester and I was very glad to start off with Germany.

Good morning, Austria.

We took a 12-hour bus ride, which I would NOT recommend even to the savviest of travelers, into Munich to celebrate this year’s Oktoberfest.  I was anticipating this trip from the moment that I bought my ticket to Italy back in May; I went to a smaller, LA-version of Oktoberfest with my family a few years ago and I always wanted to experience the real thing.  And the real thing, did I experience.

Willkommen zum Oktoberfest!

Inside one of the massive beer tents! There’s about 14 beer tents at the whole festival, fitting anywhere from 1,000 to 8,000 people, inside and out.

Draft horses lugging around a trolley full of beer barrels.

Oktoberfest was something for the books.  You walk into the giant fairgrounds and are immediately greeted with the smell of schnitzels, bread, and gingerbread cookies.  Think of the smell of hot dogs from back home, but ten times stronger.  Little wooden wagons line up the main walkway selling a variety of food, souvenirs, and other typical German fare.  I got myself a schnitzel and I received a longer-than-a-foot sausage inside of a regular-sized bun.  I died of happiness because I really missed meaty food.  Although I love Italian food for its pasta, pizza, panini, and everything in between, it’s become apparent that Italy isn’t a land of meaty goodness; it’s more of a veggie-friendly place, depending on where you go.  Pasta is served as the primo corso because it’s the main protagonist of the dinner, leaving meaty food as second.  Germany is the complete opposite–meat rules their world, especially pork.  I dug in.  I ate chicken, that schnitzel, another schnitzel, and a pretzel.  ALL WERE DIVINE.

Said pretzel and chicken.

Also lining the main walkway of the fairgrounds, known as Theresienwiese (named after Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen, for whom the festival was originally meant for), are giant buildings that look like cabins but are called tents.  These tents house various German brew houses that serves gallons upon gallons of authentic German beer.  Before I continue, I just want to clear up that I love Italian wine and everything–its taste, its classiness, the way it perfectly compliments certain pasta dishes–but my beverage of choice next to an ice cold Coke is beer, and I came to Germany with the intent of trying their famous brews.  I visited the Lowenbrau tent down the Theresienwiese and ordered myself a stein the size of my forearm.*  The beer was delicious, especially pairing it with the greasiness of the half-chicken and the thickness of that giant pretzel in my hand in the picture above.**  It was everything my heart desired when I imagined myself in Munich.

Now the ambiance in the tent is on a whole other level.

Almost everyone is dressed in the typical get-up: lederhosen or drindl.  There’s a band in the center of the tent that plays traditional German songs all throughout the day, pumping up the crowd and encouraging them to join along in the chants.  I didn’t know any word to any song, until the band stopped playing and 80’s rock ballads started playing (“Livin’ On A Prayer” by Bon Jovi).  Everyone stands up on their benches, steins in hand, and sings at the top of their lungs while thousands of others do the same, so tents roars with screams and shouts of German melodies.  It was actually really cool to be part of all the chaos and fun, especially because others would encourage you to join them even if they knew you didn’t know any of the songs.  Once everyone sits back down at their tables, people start clinking their steins with one another and saying, “PROST!” which is their version of “Cheers!”

Finding seats is really difficult, especially if you don’t get there early enough to hunt out a table or if you’re in a very large group that won’t be easy to accommodate, but if you can’t find a table of your own, most people are more than glad to scoot in a little more and give you a slice of their table.  My friend Tiffany and I did that on multiple occasions and wounded up meeting great people from around the world!

Italians from Milan!

Americans from Texas!

Germans from Munich and a doctor from Slovakia!

There were also really interesting rides at Oktoberfest, including a giant slide that looks like it came straight out of an old film clip about Coney Island.  Unfortunately, I didn’t make time to go on any of them 😦 but that just leaves me with the task of coming back. 🙂

Old-school haunted house

The ride I was talking about.

We enjoyed the food, beer, people, and fun of Oktoberfest for two days, but on the third day we decided to see a more serious side of Germany.

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We took a train and two buses to get from Munich to Dachau and visited the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site.  It’s the location of the first concentration camp used during the years of the Nazi regime in Europe and the only one in operation during the full twelve years of their rule.  I’m not exactly sure how to phrase my excitement about visiting this site, since it’s a bit insensitive to say that I was even remotely happy about going to visit it; rather, I think I’ll say that I had anticipated this visit because of the impact that the location had during World War II and all of the history that it still holds.

The remains of the railroad tracks that brought the prisoners into the camp.

Arbeit macht frei (“work will set you free”)

The center of the camp.

Living quarters

The main administrative building, now used as an interactive timeline museum display.

I don’t know what I expected to see or find as I entered the concentration camp, but many feelings overwhelmed me as I walked through the chilling remains of a super productive prison.  People all around the memorial site walked in silence, possibly because each one of them had the same impressions of the camp: such atrocities occurred here for so long before the unlawfully kept prisoners were liberated.  A deep sense of fear and astonishment hung in the air as we moved from building to building, plaque to display, taking in all of the information left behind for future generations to learn from and stray away from.  Although most of the camp displays are replicas or refurbished versions of the original camp, the same understanding is grasped by just walked around the place and trying to even make some sort of connection with the thousands of people that died there.  I walked into one of the buildings that was used as the sleeping quarters and although the beds were replicas of the real ones, I totally got the impression that the memorial site was trying to display: no human was meant to live and die this way.

Electric wires run along the side walls, deterring prisoners from escaping the camp.

We walked through the rest of the camp in just enough time to capture everything it had left to offer.  The camp was eventually liberated by the 20th Armored Division of the US 7th Army on April 29, 1945, so some prisoners were able to leave this horrible place, but all the others that never made it out alive still keep the place alive with their memory and caution to future generations.

The road of poplar trees leading into many of the prisoners’ final destination.

“Never again”

“May the example of those who were exterminated here between 1933-1945 because they resisted Nazism help to unite the living for the defense of peace and freedom and in respect for their fellow men.”

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*Apparently, one stein is equivalent to four regular cups of beer, however, although the stein amounts to four cups, the potency of the beer is much stronger than American beers back home, so everyone advises you to take your time with your drinks as to not overdo it.

**Also, as I previously mentioned in an earlier post, Italians like to drink their wine as part of their meal, not so much as a means of getting their night started.  In Germany, the rules are a little different; some Germans we met at some of the tents told us to savor the beer, feel all of the tastes and flavors that go into the drink.  On the other hand, some said, “CHUG CHUG CHUG!” and threw all the other philosophy out the window.  So you can decide the fate of your delicious draft.