The Beginning...

It has been a bit of an awkward start to this semester...for some reason knowing your way around a foreign city while 250 of your peers don't is more awkward than I had ever thought. But, the semester has stepped off and I couldn't be more pleased. Orientation was fun--I only had to do the fun stuff: Pizza Party, and Todi--and lead a walking tour. My classes thus far (two of four) has been great. I have two Gadeyne classes again this semester, Classical Mythology, as well as High Renaissance Art History.

There are, of course, a few downsides: There are about 35 Penn State students here. There are almost none last semester. Now, don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Penn State, per se, but I'm not thrilled with having to take classes with 35 "Public Relations" majors whose smile never leaves their faces. One of Gadeyne's classes has 35 people in it. Ugh. There are two feelings welling up inside of me: (1) As a future professor, I am overly pleased that so many people are interested in Classics (of 35, only 3 are Classics majors); (2) As a Classics student who is very passionate about the subject matter, and especially since it is with a professor I love, I resent having to have twenty Penn State "Finance" "Economics" or "Public Relations" majors who are only taking this particular course as a filler between the beer-binges they have until 4 am in the apartment right below mine in the Residence. I'm sorry, but on the evening of your first day of the new semester in a foreign country, if you're still going to a club to party 'til 5am, getting so smashed you have to call a friend to figure out where you are, or to walk you home because you're scared of the city (my roommate, with whom I have no qualms, was the nice guy who went out with some girls last night--begrudgingly--because they were afraid to go out by themselves), there is a problem. I think I'm just missing last semester when all the party kids (from Duke and Brown) whose parents had bought them houses so they didn't have to live with us commonfolk in the residence, who spent their free time talking about the fact that their trust-funds did not give out enough money per month for them to do the traveling they wanted to do therefore they would have to come back over the summer or skip next semester to do the travellling they thought they could do.

But I digress in non-flattering ways.

But this semester looks like it is shaping up to be good (at least with the people I care most about making memories with).

Updates soon...but for right now it looks like Spring Break is to Athens (again), and other parts of Greece (Thesoloniki, Delphi (to see the oracular temple), and possibly Istanbul). The only problem facing us the the continued decline of the Dollar to the Euro (it's projected to get as bad as 1.6 USD to the Euro...damn over-spending airhead in office, among other things)!! So, let's hope for a solution to that problem (already some friends of mine have decided they will be Spring Breaking in Egypt, which they don't not want to do, but which they chose solely because it doesn't use the Euro).

Oh, and here's my schedule for this semester (just in case anyone wishes to call, please add 6 hours to your time to make sure we don't conflict):
Classical Mythology: MW: 1500-1630
Ancient City/Rome: MW: 1800-1930
High Renaissance: T: 1800-1930; W: 900-1200
Late Antique/Byzantine Art: W: 1630-1800; R: 900-1200

Much Love,
RomanTraveller

p.s. In case any of you did not get my e-mail (it seems, from the many e-mails that got bounced back to me that I need to update my address book): I realized over break that I had not officially invited y'all to come visit me while here. Please, consider yourself invited; but please let me know if you are thinking of coming since three of my four classes have weekend excursions planned and I don't want to be out of town while you are here! ~RT