Classes

Boungiorno (Salvete to my Latin friends) 

Well considering I have been in classes for over a week now, I guess a description of them is overdue. Mondays I have 3 classes starting at 10 30 and going pretty much straight through till 3 30.

My first class is Latin. There are only 2 other girls in the class, so it is very small. The professor is this young Italian man who did his graduate work in England and when he is speaking English he occasionally goes into a British accent. It is very cute, but it does get a little confusing every now and then. Right now we're reading Cupid and Psyche by Apuleius which is pretty fun. Very once upon a time. Halfway through the semester we're going to switch to poetry. He is thinking either Ovid or Virgil.

Next I have Roman History which is HUGE. A lot of Study Abroad students wind up taking this class, so most of them aren't Classics or History majors. I can tell it is going to be interesting, but it hasn't gotten so yet. Just a lot of the basics and contexts which I already knew.

Then I have Italian which is slowly turning out to be the bane of my existence. I really do not like languages (Latin was a fluke thing) and I really dislike language 101 classes. My teacher is very confusing and doesn't make anything clear and forgets she hasn't taught us how to conjugate verbs and get surprised when we can't write sentences. I sort of wish I had dropped it during the add/drop period, but I am in Italy - I should try to learn a little Italian. It is already sort of helping. (Mi chiamo Claudia. No, non sono Italiana, sono Americana. Sono di New York etc.)

Then on Tuesdays I don't have class till 5 15 and I only have Literature and Society in Rome. I really like the class a lot. It is filled with Classics majors which is new for me. There are a few that talk a lot (I normally wind up being one of them - yes I am obnoxious in class) and they give really interesting perspectives on the topics. I love the professor. He is this old American scholar type, who has traveled the world and seen and read everything. I want to make him pocket-sized and take him home with me.

Wednesday is the same as Monday, but Thursday I have Ancient Rome and its Monuments before Lit & Society. I LOVE that class. I added it after dropping Cities, Towns, and Villas a different on-site class, and I am so glad I did. The professor is awesome. She is a younger woman from the States, and while the class was walking from the Theater of Marcellus to the Circus Maximus we started talking. She is really smart and we sort of bonded.

All in all the classes are a little easier than what I am used to, but I am so happy taking what is essentially an entire semester of Classics courses. I would be lying if I said it hasn't tempted me with the idea of going to grad school for Classics...The overlap between them all is so cool. The work I do for one class really benefits all of them.

I guess that is all I have to say for now, I have about 4 pages of Latin to translate and a book of Livy to read. The post about my trip might have to wait till tomorrow.

Ciao/Valete