When in Rome, you do as the Romans do. And we did, and it was amazing.
First, we left our temporary Grecian abode and headed off to the airport, (which has now become routine for us, I feel like an expert at TSA) and flew for a really short period of time into the gorgeous city of Rome. We were greeted by our hilarious tour guide, who knew practically everyone and stopped to say hello to all of them, and jumped in a bus (which has also become routine for us and I feel like an expert at sleeping against a window). We headed off to the Colloseum, passing by breathtaking pieces of architecture and arches that I’ve only seen in history books.
When you walk off the bus, the words you immediately hear are “Water? Water. Water. One euro. Selfie stick. Selfie stick? Selfie. Selfie.” You’re enchanted by the wonder that is history, standing by Roman architecture and the blaring words you hear are “selfie stick”. You also see multitudes of them in all different forms all over the place, but hey, that’s tourism and we’re tourists.
The Collosseum was a grand tangible manifestation of the classical education I’ve grown up with. So many epic stories behind it, but also such a gruesome, sinful past acquitted with it. We then trotted past more and more magnificent ancient buildings. It felt as if you were living a film. We got to see where Julius’ Caesar’s ashes were buried and walk through the Roman forum. That’s another thing that blew my mind. Along with having stood where Paul preached, we walked where Julius Caesar walked! Of whom, I learned from our guide, was not known as a famous hero, or really cared about, until Shakespeare wrote a play about him.
Finally, after walking through the birthplace of speech and debate (where I fan-girled just like a speechie and former debater would), we came across the actually location that Cicero gave the famous speech against Cataline. Having a whole former Latin class present, plus the actual Latin teacher on the trip, how could we not put our Latin knowledge and oratorical skills into actual practice? With a little prompting, we quoted a little “quo usque tandem, abutere Catalina patientia nostra” and cheered a little “vivit” on the scene, surprising our tourist passerbyes.
After switching tour guides, we ended our day in mountains and mountains of delicious Italian food, next to pictures of my favorite movie, Roman Holiday. They kept asking us, after seeing our half-eaten plates if we didn’t like the food, (mind you, majority of us are teenage girls and they gave us like 5 courses) to which we uncomfortably tried to reassure that we did and we tried as hard as we could to finish. Then we ended our day at our hotel and fell asleep in exhaustion, but contentment.
If you’d ask me the country I’ve liked the most so far, I’d answer with a quote from Roman Holiday said by the iconic Audrey Hepburn,
“Rome! By all means, Rome. I will cherish my visit here in memory as long as I live.”
Rachel Leong, 12th grade
Grand Tour 2015: The Latin students surprised our tour guide by delivering part of Cicero's "In Catilinam" in front of the Rostra location of the Roman Forum. To see the video visit the TCS facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/Trinity-Christian-School-115252308531173/timeline/?ref=ts
First, we left our temporary Grecian abode and headed off to the airport, (which has now become routine for us, I feel like an expert at TSA) and flew for a really short period of time into the gorgeous city of Rome. We were greeted by our hilarious tour guide, who knew practically everyone and stopped to say hello to all of them, and jumped in a bus (which has also become routine for us and I feel like an expert at sleeping against a window). We headed off to the Colloseum, passing by breathtaking pieces of architecture and arches that I’ve only seen in history books.
When you walk off the bus, the words you immediately hear are “Water? Water. Water. One euro. Selfie stick. Selfie stick? Selfie. Selfie.” You’re enchanted by the wonder that is history, standing by Roman architecture and the blaring words you hear are “selfie stick”. You also see multitudes of them in all different forms all over the place, but hey, that’s tourism and we’re tourists.
The Collosseum was a grand tangible manifestation of the classical education I’ve grown up with. So many epic stories behind it, but also such a gruesome, sinful past acquitted with it. We then trotted past more and more magnificent ancient buildings. It felt as if you were living a film. We got to see where Julius’ Caesar’s ashes were buried and walk through the Roman forum. That’s another thing that blew my mind. Along with having stood where Paul preached, we walked where Julius Caesar walked! Of whom, I learned from our guide, was not known as a famous hero, or really cared about, until Shakespeare wrote a play about him.
Finally, after walking through the birthplace of speech and debate (where I fan-girled just like a speechie and former debater would), we came across the actually location that Cicero gave the famous speech against Cataline. Having a whole former Latin class present, plus the actual Latin teacher on the trip, how could we not put our Latin knowledge and oratorical skills into actual practice? With a little prompting, we quoted a little “quo usque tandem, abutere Catalina patientia nostra” and cheered a little “vivit” on the scene, surprising our tourist passerbyes.
After switching tour guides, we ended our day in mountains and mountains of delicious Italian food, next to pictures of my favorite movie, Roman Holiday. They kept asking us, after seeing our half-eaten plates if we didn’t like the food, (mind you, majority of us are teenage girls and they gave us like 5 courses) to which we uncomfortably tried to reassure that we did and we tried as hard as we could to finish. Then we ended our day at our hotel and fell asleep in exhaustion, but contentment.
If you’d ask me the country I’ve liked the most so far, I’d answer with a quote from Roman Holiday said by the iconic Audrey Hepburn,
“Rome! By all means, Rome. I will cherish my visit here in memory as long as I live.”
Rachel Leong, 12th grade
Grand Tour 2015: The Latin students surprised our tour guide by delivering part of Cicero's "In Catilinam" in front of the Rostra location of the Roman Forum. To see the video visit the TCS facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/Trinity-Christian-School-115252308531173/timeline/?ref=ts