Day 7: Rome

Gelato flavors tried: tuttobosco, pistachio, peach, hazelnut, cantaloupe, pink grapefruit, chocolate fondant, caramel
Favorite so far: pink grapefruit

Yesterday morning, we took the bus to the Joel Nafuma Refugee Center, where some students are volunteering to teach English. It's located in the basement of St. Paul's Within the Walls, an American Anglican church. However, the refugee center disregards religion completely in its aid to refugees. Father Michael, who runs the church and the refugee center, talked to us about his experiences building up the center over the past 18 years. Joel Nafuma is the only day center for refugees in the whole city of Rome, which is surprising given the size of the city. We went down into the center and saw the center itself: young men from Afghanistan, Sudan, Iraq, and other war-torn regions, playing ping-pong and foosball and watching a movie. They were all decently dressed: Joel Nafuma provides them with used clothing from donations. It was really heartwarming to see that there are people who care and places where refugees can take shelter. I think that those of us who are volunteering will have a great experience and hear some extraordinary things in their interactions with the refugees.

(The Roman buses are quite exciting. You have to force yourself onto the bus quickly before it pulls away, and riders are packed on. You have to push your way to the ticket validation machine to validate your ticket so that if someone checks it you don't get fined.)

In the afternoon, we had our first class on Islam and Italian Cities. We talked about what things surprised us about Rome, and about the current state of affairs in Italian politics and economics. We're starting with an overview of Roman history so that we have some context for looking at the influence of Islam.

We made dinner again (chicken with potatoes, green beans, and mustard sauce) and then headed back to the Rome Center to watch a movie with our class, The Front Window. It's an Italian film about a woman in a midlife crisis, and about an old man and his past (love and concentration camps). It was very moving and sad, yet happy at the same time. Afterwards, we went to Geolitti for gelato to celebrate Emily's birthday!

This morning was very slow. We didn't have class until 2, so I lazed around, did some reading, went out and did some shopping. We're beginning to feel like locals. At 2, we went to Augustus' Ara Pacis (Altar of Peace) and then to the Pantheon - a fairly short class! We watched the USA vs. Algeria soccer game and the US won! Which means they continue on in the World Cup! Tonight we're cooking fish for the first time. Hopefully it won't stink up the apartment.

Signing off.