Aestiva Romae Latinitas

ADVENTUS MEUS (My Arrival)

Well, I'm here...Rome, the Eternal City. Getting away was extremely hectic (with my late packing and my trying to finish grading final exams, I didn't sleep the night before I left), but the trip itself was relatively smooth. I arrived in Rome about mid-day on Sunday, June 4. Disaster was averted when a man in Fiumicino Airport alerted me to the fact that my passport had fallen out of my back pocket. Pretty stupid move, eh? From the airport, a twenty-five minute train ride and a five-minute cab ride took me to the apartment that will be my home for the next two months.

DOMICILIUM MEUM (My Place)

The apartment - on Vicolo del Leopardo, a charming street in Trastevere - is fantastic. It didn't take long for me to realize how lucky I am to have gotten this place. The place itself is perfectly functional - a studio apartment with cooking facilities and a bathroom - and is on the third floor of a building that dates back to 1600. I am a two-minute walk from Piazza di Santa Maria, THE center of Trastevere (so far, I have twice planned to meet up with people in Rome, and both times we met in this piazza). Trastevere itself is great and very well located in Rome, within walking distance of most of what I'd like to see.

QUAE FECI (What I've done)

My first three days were mostly spent working (yes, I still haven't finished calculating grades and writing comments for my students) and wandering about trying to get my bearings and to find everything I'll need. I've found a Chinese restaurant and an Indian restaurant, which I plan to visit when I finally want something other than pizza/panini/pasta. Because I plan to cook many of my meals, I looked for and found a supermarket where I'll be able to buy everything I need, including eggs and bacon, which is NOT what the Italians eat for breakfast. I found a movie theater, but most movies here have been dubbed in Italian. I guess I'll have to wait to see The DaVinci Code. I found an horalogia where I got the battery in my watch replaced and a barbershop where I'll be able to get an occasional shave. So much for the necessities. Soon, I hope, I'll have the time and energy to venture out to see some of the good stuff. In addition to all of this, I've also sat through the first two of forty-eight classes. They have been great.

MAGISTER MEUS (My Teacher)

Reginald Foster, my teacher, has so far lived up to my expectations and his very interesting reputation. This guy is amazing: incredibly generous, incredibly energetic, and incredibly knowledgable in Latin. There are perhaps only ten people (if that) in the world who can speak extemporaneously in Latin as well as Reggie. He is truly a marvel. For those interested, HERE is a "wiki" page on Reggie.

For those who are REALLY interested, HERE is an excellent and quite funny article about him, about forty pages long, that was originally published in American Scholar, and more recently as a chapter in a book called _The Future of the Past_. This article really captures Reggie's spirit.

His class has so-far (all two days of it) been outrageous, inspiring, and educational. It's also been quite funny. I've started keeping a list of some of his comments (Reggie-isms). Here are a few of them:

"Do you know, or should I ask an orangatan?"
"Computers are melting our brains...well, your brains; I don't have a computer."
"English is the worst language in the world, as you know."
"I have nothing against Vergil, though I hate him."

Reggie is an incredibly inspirational guy, and I'm really excited to be studying with him.

CONDISCIPULI MEI (My Classmates)

There are about forty or forty-five students in all, mostly graduate students with a few middle and high school teachers and general Latin enthusiasts thrown in. People have come from all over - China, India, Poland, Spain, Australia, Holland, England, Germany, Switzerland, Romania, and America. These are bright and interesting people, humbling and inspiring. There are several students from Yale, both graduate and undergraduate, ALL of whom say they HATE it there!! Some speak four or five languages. There are several Medievalists, several priests, not a few Classicists. All are enthusiastic about Latin, and I'm looking forward to getting to know them better. I went to dinner with about ten other students tonight (well, last night seeing as it's very, very early in the morning) and had a really good time.

COGITATIONES ULTIMAE (Final Thoughts)

I guess I have about two or three weeks before the place is completely flooded with tourists. I'll have to make an effort to see some of the more popular sites before this happens. I haven't even crossed the Tiber yet - "That's pretty lame," as one of Reggie's former students put it when I told him - but I'm looking forward to seeing some good stuff soon. I've just got to finish up my work. Unfortunately, I got my first homework assignment this morning, so it seems as though I'll never have nothing to do.

I saw a news blurb today that said that the European Community is panicking about the strength of the Euro...and this when the Dollar-to-Euro exchange rate is a pathetically crappy $1.40 to one...thanks George Bush!

I've a bunch more to say, but it will have to wait for now. I'm going to bed...