Art, Food, and Shoes.

Very busy day today. Jennie and I didn’t have a (working) alarm clock, so we slept in. Whoops. Didn’t miss anything, though.
We had a tour in the morning until mid-day. It turns out we’re just a few blocks away from the Pantheon, so that’s good news. Also every shoe store is like a museum.
I had my first real language barrier experiences today. Some people are very kind and helpful, while some will resent my lingual shortcomings. For the most part my Italian is okay – enough to get by – but then I’ll order gelato and won’t know how to say “scoop.” Where in most situations I may be able to find an alternative, under the pressure of an impatient Italian it is much more difficult to think of anything besides silly gestures.
The food is, of course, dangerous. Everything is so much better than I’m used to. Our simple, cheap and quick pasta dinner tonight was unbelievable. Just such a difference in the amount you can taste. I’m sure this is no news to anybody. It’s Italy. Duh.
They had a showing of two short movies that previous EHP students made about it. One was from 1972 and was really goofy – something about motorcycles and tough guys with moustaches. The other was from the late ‘’90’s and was a beautiful and lighthearted animation about a submarine and a fountain and soccer playing nuns, etc.
After that we went to this art installation thing. It was kind of cheesy, but really pretty. Just lots and lots of lights on the ground in this big flat area where there used to be chariot races. It was really nice to look at, but it’s the kind of thing that makes me question art. I mean, yes we would all like to be able to make the ground look like stars, but just because some guy has the millions to pay for it doesn’t make him a brilliant artist. Watching them all shift color was cool, though.



Isn't it kind of beautiful?