6 July - Synagogues and Jewish Ghetto

With a new day beginning, it was time to leave behind our vacation-from-a-vacation mindset and tackle our third week of class. This day began slightly different from our usual 9:30am start times, but like always it was a warm and sunny morning. One noticeable difference, at least for me in my morning routine, was my lack of an alarm to wake me up. My phone was the unfortunate victim of the common Florence pickpocketer, but I was still able to get up with Emily's help. Tuesday also marked the beginning of my caffe latte addiction (at least while I'm in Italy); I'd been able to put off drinking coffee for the past few weeks, but now I'm hooked.

Class was switched up a little bit today with Kathie's class beginning at 10:10am for our museum tour at the Great Synagogue of Rome, the largest in this city. Unfortunately, for security reasons photographs were not allowed inside the museum and synagogue. I only got in a shot of Kristin entering through the gates and the guys waiting outside. When we got inside for our debriefing in a smaller prayer room and while we were in the synagogue, the guys had to wear yamakas (I really wish I'd been able to take a picture of them to show). The synagogue was beautiful. One distinct aspect that I remember is the square dome with its colorful rainbow patterning from the inside which symbolized peace. While tour was very informative, I wish we had had more time to explore the exhibits ourselves.

Then it was off to tour the Jewish Ghetto. Before this tour, we'd learned that it was such a small space and everyone was cramped in and were actually spilling into the streets during the day. I hadn't really thought or even pictured what this would actually look like. However, when our guide showed us the border map of the Ghetto and when we had gotten the chance to walk the boundaries, it really drove home the space restrictions that the Jews had to live with. (Left) This was a shot of a space that used to be a doorway but was filled in and is now just a window. I also couldn't imagine having to live with gates and curfews.

We next had Resat's class where we we had our discussion on the last half of Trickster's Travelers. One question that really stuck with me that Resat posed is: Do we ever stop using our "tricks" as we assimilate into society?

After taking a small break, we came back to listen to Resat's Faculty Lecture Series : "When Civilizations Meet: Mediterranean over the Centuries". He covered the history of the region and how the levels contact and interaction have changed over the years. Some of the interactions that people have had in this diverse region include exchanges in ideas/perspectives, ways of life and instruments, as well as the clashing of differences and conflicts. Again, questions of identity and assimilation arose as he concluded his lecture.

With the lecture's conclusion, my stomach grumbled for dinner. Earlier Bennett had planned to cook steamed fish, but he had encountered obstacles such as the lack of a steamer. However, with some clever thinking and resourcefulness, we came up with our own modified version of a steamer. I now eagerly awaited dinner to be cooked and served. His endeavor paid off and dinner was successful. It was a simple recipe consisting of just lightly seasoned perch and a simple soy and green onion dressing over rice. Delicious! It satisfied my asian food craving for the week.

There was supposed to be a movie after, but that was cancelled because it conflicted with Opera plans. A group had gone to see "E'lisir d'Amore" performed at the Cortile Auditorium in the Palazzo Pio X. It had taken place in a small court yard. The lead female, according to Molly's opinion, was very very good. I'm glad they had a great time and were able to experience an opera in Rome.