As the semester comes to an end, bittersweet feelings are beginning to set in amongst us students here at Temple Rome. Some of us are excited to get back to our lives in America while others are yearning for more time to live here in the Eternal city. On top of the feelings of going home, we are in the midst of final exam period, which definitely puts a damper on everything. Even though its getting down to crunch time, there are still many exciting events that have recently taken place. Here is a bit about a few of them:
1. Thanksgiving was a great 4-day weekend for us students. Although the holiday doesn’t exist in Italy, we all had our own ways of making it happen here with what we had. Lots of students took advantage of the extra time to travel, while others like myself, stayed behind and enjoyed the company of my new friends. A bunch of us got together and decided to have a Thanksgiving feast – including a turkey that one of my friends found at the local market. We all made and/or purchased some dishes and came together with a buffet of food. I was in charge of drinks and dessert – which was perfect for me because I’m not the greatest cook and I was able to buy pre-made dishes. I got soda and wine along with apple pie, chocolate pie, and some gelato. It was a great time spent being thankful for everything we have and are experiencing as well as some good eatin’!
2. Temple Rome hosted a Jam Session which was basically a talent show featuring our fellow classmates. The student lounge was transformed into a rock star stage and I enjoyed seeing the many talents that my classmates shared. There was everything from singing to poetry to dancing to playing instruments to even someone who performed a Chinese-dialect rap. It was lots of fun!
3. Another event that has happened recently is Salsa Dancing night. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to participate due to my schedule, but I talked to a few people who said it was a lot of fun. I was able to snag some pictures of the event to share here on the blog. I think the pictures show the excitement and fun that everyone had!
4. Another loose end that I wanted to write about is the Porta Portese Market. This is an extremely long block of market stands that sell everything imaginable from shoes to boots to clothes to…well, you name it and I’m sure you can find it there. I didn’t buy anything but I’m glad I got to experience the Roman way of bargain buying.
5. Finally, we just had the end of the semester student art show. It was really neat to see everyone’s artwork that they have been working so hard on all semester long. Some of the pieces I have had the pleasure of seeing as works in progress throughout the semester. The only studio course I had this semester was printmaking, so I was fortunate to have three of my prints featured in the show. All of the work showed everyone’s artistic talents and it was a great success.
Now we have one more week left and there Is lots to do before the end comes! I have some finals to get through but after that I hope to soak up the last bits of Rome before heading home!