Rome is Burning (Sunday, October 16, 2011)


Carsten, Louise, and their 4 children flew in last night, getting here later than expected because of some protests in the city. They had to take a shuttle from the airport to the train station, then take a train from Rome to the outside town, Zagarolo, where we are staying. The shuttle to the train station took much longer than expected, because there were protests in Rome, with police everywhere and some cars burning in the streets.

We saw them this morning at breakfast after a long night’s sleep. Their new baby, Emil, is just adorable! He’s round and fat-cheeked and very good-natured. He also has 4 mothers, as sisters Sidsel (14), Anne (13) and Line (8) take over when they can. Who could be crabby with all that love?

The place we are staying this time, Olive Tree Hill, is a small olive grove with a bed and breakfast complex. The hosts, Ivano and Terhi, live in a house on the grounds, they have another building across the place where the rooms and common room are, and then they have what they call a chalet, a little cottage that we are renting. It has a nice master bedroom, one bath, and a living area with a small wall of kitchen, a table and chairs, and a double bed. It also apparently usually has a sofa or something that has been replaced with a twin cot. So our kids are definitely filling the room, but it’s all we need. The high points for them are the front porch, the acre+ of trees, and the 10 cats and 1 dog that lounge around the property. Perfect for us, because after all the city touring, they need some space to move around.

Ivano and Terhi are very kind, making sure we have what we need and shuttling any of their guests to the train station to make the short trek into Rome. Ivano also mentioned that he’d like to give us a briefing about seeing the area. Briefing may not be quite the correct word, as he passionately gave his views about the best and worst of touring Rome for more than an hour. But he gave us good advice.

Today we took a walk around ancient Rome. We toured the Trajan Market, which has been many things over history—a market, a public gathering place, government seat, temple, convent and military barracks. Some of it is still being excavated, but the main portion is used as a museum, and the structures hum with history. At the time we visited, they were taking down a design exhibit, so there were boxes everywhere and several of the little rooms served as frames for some sort of modern furniture design.

The whole motley crew.
We saw the Roman Forum, the Colosseum, and several other arches, pillars and monuments. Being Sunday, the main roads around those sites were closed, so we were able to walk freely without dodging the traffic the entire time. The morning had been very chilly, so we dressed in lots of layers and jeans, while our friends showed up in capris and short sleeves over tank tops. Thought they were crazy. Then it started to heat up. Natalie and I were stuck in long sleeves and jeans, while the other girls were running around in capris and tank tops. Major misstep. So we fixed it all be getting gelato, again, this time Natalie and I trying to channel Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday. Tomorrow we will wear cooler clothing!

The aftereffects of the protest last night were not pronounced, but we did see one burned-out car. Our hosts mentioned that they feel like the government likes to publicize any sort of violence, because most protests are peaceful and sincere, and the violence of certain parties diminishes the impact.

The train back to Zagarolo was quite full, but it was pretty quick, and Ivano and Terhi were there to drive us back upon arrival. What a lot of driving they must do! And we are so glad, because it makes it so easy to get to Rome.

Just before we left Rome we bought a bunch of groceries, and we went back to the house that Ivano had arranged for Carsten and Louise when they decided to meet us in Rome. It is perfect for our large group gathering. We made 2 kinds of pasta and a salad, and after eating, the kids communed with the television. Together, these children have watched television in English in both America and Denmark, Danish in Denmark, and now they are watching American shows in Italian. It’s such a multicultural bonding experience. At least, it gives them some common ground. It seems “Spongebob Squarepants” is funny in any language, whether Spongebob is yelling “Arrivadercci!” or if he is called “Svampebob Fiercant”—my newest addition to my very tiny Danish vocabulary. I’m not even sure if I’m spelling it right, but anyway.

It’s so good to catch up with them, and fun to see the youngest girls take up with each other as if they’ve been best friends all their lives.

Popular posts from this blog

Banff and Beyond (August 4 and 5)

Image
Tuesday morning came around and there were a few unspoken understandings in the air. First off, very few of us were interested in returning to our tents as the predictions for our upcoming stay at Glacier National Park showed nights in the 30s again. Also, there was still a wildfire at Glacier, and it was affecting the area just west of St Mary Campground, where we had reservations. The road going across the park was closed from St Mary to the top of the mountain pass, so our movement would be quite restricted. I ended up scouring VRBO, Homeaway and Airbnb for a place to rent somewhere near Glacier. There was one house available in our price range in Whitefish, Montana, about 30 minutes from the West Glacier entrance. We decided to rent it. I called the phone number, the woman who answered was very gracious, and our Wednesday-Saturday itinerary were the only open dates she had. Second, no one wanted to pack sandwiches today. Plus Katy had a bunch of canned goods and mac & che...
Read more

Little Earthquakes Everywhere

Image
This morning, just before 5 am, a 5.0 earthquake somewhere northeast of us made a Tokyo’s ground tremble. I happened to wake up to the bed shaking a bit; this is the fourth time I’ve felt one in my life. Three of those four times I’ve wondered what Brian could possibly be doing in his sleep—a constant leg twitch? a terrifying nightmare?— to cause our bed to shimmy this way. One of those times was three days ago in the middle of the night in the same hotel room, but it didn’t occur to me then what it was. This morning I heard the wall shift slightly as it was happening and it became clear. Japan has small earthquakes almost every day, so this should be no surprise, but of course my nighttime self is not the most reasonable version of me, so I lay in bed another half hour wondering what might come next. I am the family seismograph—everyone else slept through both tremors this week.  This echoes my function in our family in real life. When one of our children is going thr...
Read more

The Great Divide

Image
When I worked at World Missions, our communications guy told missionaries to avoid two cliches when creating their slide show presentations—pictures of sunsets and the words “land of contrasts.” I understand the temptation, because Guatemala is, indeed, a land of contrasts. There is a wealth of beauty and great deal of poverty. We have eaten wonderful food of all kinds; about 47% of children under 5 here are malnourished. We have seen and/or stayed in gorgeous hotels, houses and neighborhoods in awe-inspiring environments; the percentage of people in poverty is 59%. There are colorful markets filled with traditional arts and crafts, fine jewelers offering Guatemalan Jade, and sparkling modern malls that put our local mall to shame; the percentage of people in extreme poverty is around 25%. A land of contrasts. Yesterday, we visited Lake Atitlan. This stunning body of water is surrounded by volcanoes and other hills. Colorful towns and resorts are scattered around the lake, ov...
Read more