Preface: In preparing to write my last article of this series, I tried to find some conclusion for the term, something deep- something that would give meaning to my four months abroad. Well, let’s say that there is nothing that I can write which will adequately express what the Rome term has meant to me, and you definitely would find it dull to read, so please enjoy this article instead.
As my 4A term in Rome winds to an end, I have to sit back and reflect on what on earth just happened to me. In the spirit of the megalomaniacal Imperial Rome, I have decided not to reflect on what I may miss about this city, but rather, what this city will miss when my class leaves in the upcoming weeks. Between filling our favourite restaurants, our regular patronage at the art store, our Canadiana shopping lists, and our unusual behavior in the street, I am confident that the Architecture Class of 2010 is going to leave a void in Rome.
The first way in which we will be missed is at the Chinese restaurant. It might sound ridiculous that we go out for Chinese food in Italy, but pasta and risotto get boring pretty fast, and when you’re looking for budget food- fried rice is a cheap and filling meal. Our patronage has often resulted in three or four tables worth of students in a room of twenty tables, most of which are unoccupied. Not only do we bring in business, but we have also been known to act as translators between English-speaking patrons and the Chinese staff. Needless to say, our friends at this restaurant have started to give us discounts on the already inexpensive meals. I am sure that the staff will notice when the friendly multicultural students disappear from their dining room, and our bellies are no longer being filled with the most scrumptious dumplings in Rome.
Aside from being regulars at restaurants, we have also become frequent shoppers at the local art supply store. With our timid ‘scuzie’s and ‘permesso’s we have inched around towers of markers or paints and climbed up and down frighteningly steep and narrow stairs to find the best paper for drawings, the best cardstock for models, and of course the much coveted rolls of trace paper. Soon enough the staff of the art supply store will no longer have to play charades with us, trying to find a way to explain what we want without knowing the word in Italian, and the patronage of the art supply store won’t have to leave in a huff because all the staff are busy playing charades.After being away from Canada for a while, it’s safe to say that everyone misses at least some type of food from back home. Most of these things are not stocked on the shelves of the local grocery store, or if they are, then they are so outrageously priced that you convince yourself you can do without for four months. But there are always the homesick days when that six euro 150ml bottle of maple syrup can turn your bummer of a morning into something so much sweeter. Every smirking cashier who has rung up one of these little bottles of gold and seen the glint in our eyes probably thought that we were nuts, and even if we are, they’ll still miss the ecstatic Canadian kids and our coveted imported syrup!
Finally, likely the biggest gap left in Rome when we leave will be our presence in the neighbourhood of Trastevere. Most of us live in the area right around the school which is in the heart of the area of Trastevere, known as the “real Rome” which is a residential community and had a limited number of tourists. The vast majority of the conversation one overhears on the street and in the shops is in Italian, and so when 55 English-speaking students are dropped into this neighbourhood, the locals start to notice. We get some pretty strange and angry stares walking to school and chatting in English, so I am sure that if nobody else, at least the regular homeless pan-handlers on our routes to studio will take note when we stop coming by.
But, never fear, these holes that will be left when my class leaves will not be vacant for long. Rome will welcome the Architecture Class of 2011 in just eight more months and soon all the vacancies left by our homecoming will be happily filled. The cycle continues and the annual migration of the Waterloo Architecture Students adds one more layer to the ever-changing population of the Eternal City.
Arrivederci Roma! Alla prossima, Waterloo!
‘When in Rome…’
Note: This article is hosted here for archival purposes only. It does not necessarily represent the values of the Iron Warrior or Waterloo Engineering Society in the present day.
Fifth Installment: Ciao Roma!
Preface: In preparing to write my last article of this series, I tried to find some conclusion for the term, something deep- something that would give meaning to my four months abroad. Well, let’s say that there is nothing that I can write which will adequately express what the Rome term has meant to me, and you definitely would find it dull to read, so please enjoy this article instead.
As my 4A term in Rome winds to an end, I have to sit back and reflect on what on earth just happened to me. In the spirit of the megalomaniacal Imperial Rome, I have decided not to reflect on what I may miss about this city, but rather, what this city will miss when my class leaves in the upcoming weeks. Between filling our favourite restaurants, our regular patronage at the art store, our Canadiana shopping lists, and our unusual behavior in the street, I am confident that the Architecture Class of 2010 is going to leave a void in Rome.
The first way in which we will be missed is at the Chinese restaurant. It might sound ridiculous that we go out for Chinese food in Italy, but pasta and risotto get boring pretty fast, and when you’re looking for budget food- fried rice is a cheap and filling meal. Our patronage has often resulted in three or four tables worth of students in a room of twenty tables, most of which are unoccupied. Not only do we bring in business, but we have also been known to act as translators between English-speaking patrons and the Chinese staff. Needless to say, our friends at this restaurant have started to give us discounts on the already inexpensive meals. I am sure that the staff will notice when the friendly multicultural students disappear from their dining room, and our bellies are no longer being filled with the most scrumptious dumplings in Rome.
Aside from being regulars at restaurants, we have also become frequent shoppers at the local art supply store. With our timid ‘scuzie’s and ‘permesso’s we have inched around towers of markers or paints and climbed up and down frighteningly steep and narrow stairs to find the best paper for drawings, the best cardstock for models, and of course the much coveted rolls of trace paper. Soon enough the staff of the art supply store will no longer have to play charades with us, trying to find a way to explain what we want without knowing the word in Italian, and the patronage of the art supply store won’t have to leave in a huff because all the staff are busy playing charades.
After being away from Canada for a while, it’s safe to say that everyone misses at least some type of food from back home. Most of these things are not stocked on the shelves of the local grocery store, or if they are, then they are so outrageously priced that you convince yourself you can do without for four months. But there are always the homesick days when that six euro 150ml bottle of maple syrup can turn your bummer of a morning into something so much sweeter. Every smirking cashier who has rung up one of these little bottles of gold and seen the glint in our eyes probably thought that we were nuts, and even if we are, they’ll still miss the ecstatic Canadian kids and our coveted imported syrup!
Finally, likely the biggest gap left in Rome when we leave will be our presence in the neighbourhood of Trastevere. Most of us live in the area right around the school which is in the heart of the area of Trastevere, known as the “real Rome” which is a residential community and had a limited number of tourists. The vast majority of the conversation one overhears on the street and in the shops is in Italian, and so when 55 English-speaking students are dropped into this neighbourhood, the locals start to notice. We get some pretty strange and angry stares walking to school and chatting in English, so I am sure that if nobody else, at least the regular homeless pan-handlers on our routes to studio will take note when we stop coming by.
But, never fear, these holes that will be left when my class leaves will not be vacant for long. Rome will welcome the Architecture Class of 2011 in just eight more months and soon all the vacancies left by our homecoming will be happily filled. The cycle continues and the annual migration of the Waterloo Architecture Students adds one more layer to the ever-changing population of the Eternal City.
Arrivederci Roma! Alla prossima, Waterloo!
Leave a Reply