When I began my spring semester in Rome, I definitely did not expect to be doing school work from a desk in New Jersey! However, with all of the corona-related events that have unfolded in the last month, the desk in my bedroom is the last of my access to the Eternal City.
This semester, I am taking the following courses: Christian Faith and Reason, Intercultural Awareness and Exploration: Home Away From Home, Christian Art and Architecture, Caput Mundi, and Elementary Italian.
I had Italian for two hours on Monday and Tuesday, Christian Faith and Reason for three hours on Monday, and Intercultural Awareness (a 1-credit class) for three hours on Wednesday. Both Christian Art and Architecture and Caput Mundi were on-site classes in Rome. On Thursdays, I left the convent around 7:30 AM every day to arrive for Christian Art’s 9 AM start time at various locations around the city, caught lunch at a bistro before heading to another location for Caput Mundi from 2:30 PM to 5:30 PM, then headed back to the convent for dinner.
For on-site classes, I was fortunate enough to have access to the Roman Forum (ruins of the marketplace of Ancient Rome), the Vatican, the Capitoline Museum, the Catacombs of Priscilla, and many beautiful Christian churches, such as St. Peter’s Basilica, Basilica of St. John Lateran, and Basilica San Clemente to name a few. Although my Thursdays were very long and tiring, I miss experiencing so much of Rome’s history and art. Unforunately, I never got to go to the Sistene Chapel, which I was looking forward to more than anything. We were meant to see the Sistene Chapel on the last day of Christian Art. My professor, a world-renowned art historian has invited us to contact her if we students ever return to Rome, and she will take us on a tour.
Now, my classes are online, like most every university in the country. I attend Zoom class on Wednesday for Christian Art and on Thursday for Italian, but the rest of my classes are completely outside work that we turn in online. Fortunately, Christian Faith and Reason has not changed. Most of our work was outside of the time we met in Rome. Intercultural Awareness has shifted to help us navigate re-entry in the United States and to help us adjust to online classes. I also attend to pre-recorded lectures for Caput Mundi. Most of my classes consist of the same amount of work, and I still have finals in a couple weeks. I am likely spending less time in class than before, but there is plenty of work to do.
As always, I look forward for the end of the semester! Of course, I am not sure what the world will look like at the end of this month. The end of the semester may not have the same release that it usually does because of the stay-at-home order and social distancing recommendations. I am not sure when my family will put the boat in the water because the marina is closed, and I am not sure when I will finally get to see my friends. I am not sure whether I will have a job this summer at the restaurant I worked at last year because of the world-wide situation right now.
Still, I am hopeful that things may look up soon. I know that as long as I see it through, everything will turn out okay, even if everything is crazy right now. The most important thing right now is doing my best to keep my family safe and healthy and reaching out to friends through social media.
Hopefully, you are healthy and hopeful, too.
In my next post, I will be reminiscing on the cooking class I took in Rome!
Duquesne Study Abroad Rome 2020 