Sunday, December 14th

Today, we were going to visit the Colosseum, the Forum, Palatino, and the various fountains in Rome.

My group was responsible for the Colosseum and so we had to lead the way there. Fortunately, it was only one stop before the Circus Maximus and so we took the same route as the day before, but got off at the station named "Colosseo".

As soon as we got out, just like before, we were right in front of the Colosseum and it nearly hit us in the face. There was actually some sort of Santa Race going on in the street right in front of us. We weren't sure what that was all about, but a bunch of people dressed up in Santa costumes we congregating around a starting line. We weren't able to watch the race however, because we had a tour scheduled and we were almost late already.

We got in line to get into the Colosseum and we were able to use our archeaology cards, except a few people forgot theirs so we had a little trouble getting them through, but eventually everyone got in. Due to some kind of mix-up, we didn't actually have the tour guide that was scheduled on our itinerary and so my group was responsible for giving the tour. This didn't turn out so good since we had made our presentation over 2 months ago and we couldn't quite remember all of the facts as clearly as we had. Although I had brought all of my research with me, I didn't bring it on the trip to the Colosseum because I thought we were going to have the guide. But in any case, we walked through the Colosseum and took all of our pictures. I don't think it was that big of a deal that we weren't able to convey that much information because we only knew as much as we could read and it's not the same as having been to the Colosseum and learning about it while looking at it. And also, the Colosseum is such a famous structure that just about everybody knows at least something about it.

But after the Colosseum we were given a little time to ourselves for lunch and we were going to meet outside the Arch of Constantine and head over to the Forum and Palatino. I can't remember who I was with that afternoon, but we found a small Gelateria and had some ice cream and that was pretty much my lunch for the day. I always made sure to eat a large breakfast.

So we all met up around 2 and headed over to the Palatino. This is the place where the mythical Romulus is said to have founded Rome. The palace is located here and it's right next to the Forum. The Forum truthfully consists of a bunch of old marble ruins laying all over the place with a few columns still standing here and there. There really aren't too many whole structures left. And I really am not sure how they can figure out what pile of ruins is a basilica and what ruble is a temple. I think most of it is guesswork, but in any case, you're still looking at 2,000 year old ruins and it's still fairly impressive.

We spent a while in the forum and in the palace and our tour guides were very informative. There were a ton of buildings left and it was amazing that they remembered and were even able to identify as many as they could. But eventually, we were done for the day and we were given the evening to do whatever we wanted.

I can't quite remember what I did that night, but I'm pretty sure me and some other people wandered around for a bit. I think I want to the Trevi Fountain, which was very impressive, especially at night. But finally, I headed back to the hotel and turned in for the night.

Pictures:

From Rome '08

Saturday, December 13

Today we had a ton of stuff planned and we were going to be very busy.

The hotel had a complimentary breakfast every morning that was very, very nice. They had croissants and rolls, jelly and nutella, oranges, yogurt, corn flakes, and pretty much any kind of coffee-like drink you asked for (latte, cappacino, etc.).

So at 8:30 we met up on the 6th floor to set out on our day. The first thing we had on our agenda was the Circus Maximus. For each site that we visited, the group that researched that particular topic was responsible for telling us all about it while we were there, as well as guide us from our hotel to the site. So Group 3 got the pleasure of leading first. It was actually pretty simple: you just got on the Metro, switched from Line A to Line B at Termini, and then took it to Circo Massimo (I think that's what it was called).

We got there in no time at all, and as soon as we walked out of the subway, you were right in front of the Circus Maximus. I was always amazed at our integrated the old and the new was in Rome, such as how close the Metro was to these ancient structures. We walked around the Circus Maximus for a little while and took some pictures. There really isn't that much left to tell the truth. There are a couple crumbling stuctures still standing on the one side, but other than that, it's just a giant gravel track. I had expected a bit more such as some stands remaining or what have you. But nevertheless, it was still very impressive.

There was a hill on the one side of the Circus Maximus and me and a few others decided to climb to the top. From there you could get a really good view of Palatine Hill in the background and it was really a pretty vista.

After the Circus Maximus, we marched on over to the Theater Marcellus. I don't think there were any Metro stations near it so we walked. It wasn't too far and on the way we were able to see a bunch of old ruins here and there, although we didn't really know what they were.

When we got to the Theater, I was a little unimpressed by it. There were only a few arches left of the theater, and you could only see them from the one side. The modern Romans had actually built apartments right into the theater. Sitting right on top of these 2,000 year old arches, we modern windows and balconies. Like I said before, I was amazed at how integrated the new and the old was.

At this point, our group got a little split up and we wandered here and there so I didn't really get any information on the Theater Marcellus.

Our next stop were the Baths of Caracalla. When we first got there, we were a little confused: we saw an arch that said Baths of Caracalla, but when we walked through, there was a track inside with high jump and pole vault and all that stuff. We could definitely tell that we were in the wrong place, especially from all the dirty looks we were getting from the people that were practicing. So we backtracked a bit and eventually found the real baths.

At the entrance we obtained our "Archeaology Cards" which granted us access to several different sites around Rome. So we walked around a bit and took some pictures, and let me tell you, these baths were enormous. It was just amazing how large something as simple as a public bath could be. The arches that were still left had to be at least a couple hundred feet tall. And everything that was left was only made of brick, it's just unbelievable to imagine that everything would have been sheathed in marble at one point.

After we were done with the Baths of Caracalla, we made our way to the Pantheon. Unfortunately, there weren't any Metro stations near by and the best way to get there was by foot. We wandered through the twisting streets for a while and we finally go there after a while. I have to say, I think that the Pantheon is one of the most amazing structures still left from Ancient Rome. Because the church technically owns it, they have preserved and refurbished it over the years and it looks very much like it would have when it was built in 125 AD.

My group was responsible for talking about the Pantheon and so we split up, each of us taking a small group of people and explaining the various facts about this ancient structure. After that, we just wandered around and took some pictures. Unfortunately, I ended up taking too many pictures and lost everyone else. Luckily, the professors hadn't left that, so I stuck with them for the rest of the day.

So I followed the professors for the rest of the day and we ended up going to the Piazza Navona. Here they had some sort of festival going on for Christmas. I think somebody said that it lasts about 3 weeks in December and then the first week of January, but in any case, they had all these booths set up with candy and games and everything you could think of. They even had a merry-go-round in the middle. So we wandered around there for a bit, looking at the various items they were selling. In the center of the Piazza though, they had a giant fountain with a huge Egyptian Obelisk in the center. I don't really know why, but for whatever reason, this was my favorite fountain. I liked it even better than the famous Trevi Fountain.

Eventually, we headed back to the hotel and there I was able to find everyone else again. A couple of us wandered around Rome for a bit that night, going to the Spanish Steps and what not. But we didn't really do anything significant and eventually turned in for the night.

Pictures:

From Rome '08

Friday, December 12

We landed in Roma at about 10 in the morning. Apparently, Molly had flown in from somewhere else and had already landed at the airport and so we were supposed to meet her near the baggage. Well, something went wrong and needless to say we never found her, but we could let that little hiccup ruin our trip, so we pressed onward.

Once we got all our baggage, we had to go through with our passports. If you ask me, the security was a little lacking. I don't even think the Italian official looked at where I was from, he simply opened it up, stamped some random page and then asked for the next person. After that we had to purchase a train ticket that would take us to the center of the city and then buy a Metro pas which would allow us to take the subway to our hotel. Of course no one spoke Italian very well so it took a while to purchase all of our tickets, but eventually we got them and boarded the train. The train was rather crowded when we got on, a few of us, including myself, had to stand for the half hour ride in.

On the train ride, we were able to call Molly and found out that she had been waiting at a different baggage claim or something. So we told her how to get a train ticket and metro pas and how to get to the hotel and that we'd meet her later that afternoon.

So the train dropped us off at the Termini, which is where the two subway lines, A and B, cross, and from there we boarded the subway to our hotel. It was incredibly crowded in the Termini, there were people everywhere. The subway dropped us off relatively close to our hotel, and from there we were able to walk and drag our luggage.

Our hotel was called the Cinquantatre and it was this little tiny place squeezed in between two buildings. Although it looked very small on the outside, it was very, very nice and had plenty of room for all of us. I was very impressed at how nice it was, I didn't think we would get anything like that at all. Once we all got settled in, we had the rest of the day to really wander around and do whatever we wanted.

A few of us were starving so we decided to find somewhere to eat. Abby, Phil, Brian, Michelle, and myself wandered around for a little bit looking for a good place. Eventually, we settled on a small Ristorante on the sidewalk. It was really nothing more than a glass box and was a sort of extenstion of the restaurant onto the sidewalk. But the food was really good and we had a nice meal.

For the rest of the day, we pretty much wandered around for a little bit. We came across some churches that I will never remember the name of and some fountains. We also found the Spanish Steps which were really close to our hotel, so we hung out there for little bit, meandering through all the little shops that were around it.

Eventually, we went back to the hotel and turned in for the night. I played some card games and such with some people up on the 6th floor for a bit, but after a while, jetlag got the best of me and I had to go to sleep.

Pictures:

From Rome '08

Thursday, December 11

Well it was finally time for the trip everyone was waiting for, Rome.

I woke up at around 5 am, about 3 hours earlier than I had planned. That always happens when I get nervous for some big trip or vacation. But luckily this gave me a little extra time for packing. Since I live in Cleveland and the dorms were going to be locked up by the time we got back from Rome, I had to make sure to pack everything I would need for the trip and all of the things I would need at home over the rest of Winter break.

Like I said, I live in Cleveland, and since I'm a freshman, I didn't have a car, so I had to find a ride to the airport that morning. Luckily, Abby was able to offer me a ride so that worked out very well. The trip to the airport didn't go so well. Before we left, OneStop had called Abby and said that she had to stop in before she left because the needed to confirm something. After that was done, we were running just a little late, but then we got on the highway. Traffic was significantly worse than we had planned for. It took us way longer to get to the airport than we thought and so of course by the time we got there, we were the last ones there and everyone was just sitting right inside the terminal waiting for us. A great way to start off a trip.

Going through the aiport and security was no problem. I can't remember anything eventful happening on the way. We grabbed a little food before our flight left at 1:30 and played a couple card games to pass the time. Eventually, we boarded the plane and it was time to leave. It was a relatively short flight to Atlanta, where we'd be making our connection to Rome.

We had a short layover which wasn't too bad, and again, boarded our next flight without a problem. The flight to Rome wasn't too horrible, a little bit of turbulence here and there, but nothing too bad. It was about a 9 or 10 hours flight and I slept most of the way.

By the time we landed in Roma, it was Friday...

PBL 2 - Reflection

The second time around, I think our group did much, much better in our presentation.

I believe that it really started with our brainstorming process. For the first PBL we pretty much jumped straight to PowerPoint as a means of making our presentation. We completely overlooked any alternatives that we may have been able to use. This time around, however, we made sure to carefully and deliberately think of different mediums that we could use. We listed all of our ideas, no matter how outrageous they might have seemed, and then began our selection process to choose our final presentation format. I really think that this made a big difference.

We ended up choosing to do a skit in which to present our ideas, since our PBL was that we were to establish a committee. As we progressed, our "skit idea" started to change a bit. Because our first presentations were so long, we were going to have to stick closer to our 20 minute time limit. Since we were going to do a skit, we came up with the idea of taping it, this way it would ensure that we stayed within the time constraints as well as allows to cut and edit our best performers and eliminate a lot of stage fright that presenting in front of your peers can induce.

This eventually evolved into our final taped skit/live report which can be viewed below. For this we decided to combine pre-recorded footage with a live "field reporter" that would interact with the video. This way, we were able to keep the presentation moving rather than just have the audience watch a single video the whole time.

In the end, the presentation was much, much better. I felt we were able to convey many of the important facts pertaining to the Pantheon as well as present them in an entertaining fashion. The one thing that I feel our presentation lacked was pictures. I felt that people would get a better idea of the Pantheon if they saw some pictures of what we talked about in our presentation. We able include some pictures, but not quite as many as I think could have been helpful. But yes, I think the final result was a success.

The Pantheon - Part 1

The Pantheon - Part 2