Overall reflection of the trip

No words can accurately describe the effect this trip has had on me. I enjoyed seeing the landmarks of Ancient Rome and various other tourist spots, but honestly, just spending time with everyday Rome taught me the most. Rome isn't just a city comprised of structural antiquities; it's a thriving city and should be viewed as such.

Removing my self from my comfort zone and into the culture of another country was very rewarding. I learned more about my way of life than I every would in the States.

Such a place of beauty and art cannot be fully appreciated in eight days. There are many things of which I am uncertain, but I am certain that someday, I will return to Rome.

Day Eight

On my free day, some friends and I took a train to Tivoli to see Hadrian's Villa. Wow, what a beautiful place, Tivoli. Even if we had not made it to Hadrian's Villa, I could not call the trip a failure. I learned so much more about ancient and modern Roman life being away from the big city and tourist sections. Even Hadrian's Villa was not that occupied with tourists. Hadrian, I must say, knew how to live...and build. His villa, covering more than 300 acres, sat beautifully in the foothills of the mountains. what a tranquil place. Someday, I will go back and spend much more time there.

Day Seven

Although not as complete as Pompeii, Ostia Antiqua still had much to offer. Here, I could really get up close to the ruins...as in walk through them, on them, and over them. Most memorably was the toilets. Its funny to think that Roman life two thousand years ago was not all that different from modern life. Thinking about how far we've come, have we really gained all that much?

Day Six

Florence, although not as showy as Rome, was still a very nice place with plenty of things to see. Life in Florence seemed to slow down from the hustle and bustle of the capitol city. It was much easier to walk there than it was in Rome. As a result, I spent more time soaking in the scenery than looking for oncoming cars. It was just peaceful and refreshing. I wish we could have spent more time there. I suppose I'll just have to go back!

Day Five

The Villa Borghese (now the Borghese Museum) is a wonderful building filled with priceless works of art. However, I found my self admiring the ceilings most of the time. It was a truly beautiful building, but the building itself overpowered the various sculptures and paintings. It was nonetheless a beautiful venue.

Day Four

The infamous city of Pompeii. I immensely enjoyed our short time there. It was amazing to walk in a ancient city in its entirety. I actually felt like I had gone back in time and was walking the lively streets of Pompeii. It was truly a beautiful place.

Day Three

The Coliseum, arguably Rome's most famous landmark. Its magnificence towers over the streets like some ancient guardian. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting this quintessential tourist spot. I still marvel at the advanced technology that the Ancient Romans possessed. Their culture, politics, and urban planning was outstanding. A great example of this is the Roman Forum, situated right next to Coliseum. The Roman Forum was a beautiful place to really feel like an Ancient Roman. The very center of Roman life, politics, and commerce.

Day Two

Day two was the first day of tourism, and it was great. The first stop was the Circus Maximus. I was amazed at how large it is, or was, because only the depression of the structure was all that was left. Yet, the ambiance of the park was still amazing, although there was nothing there to indicate the enormity of the structure.

We then went to the Baths of Caracalla. I have seen pictures of this place, but I never understood the enormity of it. Even though in ruins, this place still had an imposing stature. I could not and cannot fathom such large structure devoted to personal hygiene. Of all the archaeological sights, this is my favorite.

After a nice lunch and getting lost, I made my way to the Pantheon; the very building that inspired my love of classical architecture. The simple yet ingenious design of the dome revolutionized architecture. Something so old yet so modern. Amazing.

Day One

Day one wasn't a very active day. Everyone was tired from the flight and we were all fighting jet lag, so everyone did their own thing. After getting settled into my room (302), I and some of my class mates just walked the streets of Rome. We got lost a few times, but what better way to see Rome. Everywhere I turned there was some grandiose building or monument; it was amazing. The Roman scenery was just what I needed to make the eight hour flight worth it...that and the thirteen and a half hours of sleep I got that night.

So...what's real?

For our second PBL (as seen below this post) we had to create an exhibit (I think) for the Carthaginian Scrolls (which don't exist) for the Museum of Religious Antiquities in Bangkok (which , like the scrolls, doesn't exist either). OK... At the beginning, the group was, needless to say, a little overwhelmed and confused. We then decided our main goal was to draw parallels between Ancient Rome and America, from its history to, unfortunately, its fall. What started out as a confusing project quickly became a little clearer. Using our C-map (as shown above), we decided to make a documentary, one similar to the History Channel or National Geographic. The group members all portrayed experts and professors for interviews that we incorporated into our documentary. One group member put everything together and let me tell you. All I could say was wow! This was a great example where the whole was greater than the sum of the parts. We had all seen our interviews and various pictures we collected for the documentary, but the finished product amazed us all.

The Second PBL

PBL- By Ming Ho Dong, Thanh Van Nguyen, Soorahami Nastioupourri

The Museum of Religious Antiquities in Bangkok would like to exhibit the Carthaginian Scrolls and the museum is looking for teams of skilled communicators knowledgeable in History, Religion, Architecture and Engineering, to create the exhibit.

The scrolls were discovered eleven years ago in the Catacombs of Rome, by three Argentinean archeologists. It was believed that the two well-preserved, but hitherto unknown, scrolls date from the early days of the Catholic Church. The scrolls were carbon-dated and it appeared they were written about 380 AD, just after Rome was sacked by the Vandals. The Roman Empire collapsed shortly thereafter.

The scrolls discuss in detail the many excesses of the Romans, concluding that their communal bathing habits and centrally-heated homes led to a moral laxness that the church needed to eradicate. The scrolls lay out a plan to eliminate all vestiges of Roman engineering and ingenuity from areas under its control.

From the historical record, we know that after the Fall of the Roman Empire, which many modern historians do attribute to a moral laxness and softening of will, Europe was plunged into a millennium-long dark age. The civilized world’s focus shifted to the Arab world where the arts and sciences flourished.

Many archeologists and historians believe that these scrolls are forgeries. They claim that they were created less than 15 years ago, to “show” that the Fall of the American Empire, and the movement of science and the arts to Asia, was due in large part to the US government becoming a Theocracy in 2015, banning research in biology, medicine and cosmology.

The awesome game board for the first PBL. She did a great job with it.