PAPAL CONCLAVE 2013

So as I'm sure many of you have seen, THE POPE WAS ELECTED YESTERDAY! And I was there to witness it all!!! So here's the low down from your inside source...

I had class until 5:30 pm, and the smoke was scheduled to arise around 7 pm. I wasn't really thinking about going, because I was expecting black smoke, but no matter which smoke it was I wanted to see some kind. Luckily, the metro stop I take to get back to my apartment is the same metro stop for the Vatican.  So I met one of my roommates at the stop and we headed over to St. Peter's Square.

We got there around 6:15 pm, and there were so many people! The normal entrance to the square wasn't open, so we had to go around through a crowd and some police officers. They had to check our bags which was pointless because they looked for like one second, and I had all my school stuff with me.

We made our way into the square, and there were a ton of people, but it wasn't all packed and crazy as you would imagine. It was raining and everyone had umbrellas, so it was a little violent with umbrellas hitting you everywhere. Even the nuns were pushing their way around.

Everyone and their umbrellas. 

There were people all over the world who had come to witness this event. So many different flags from each country. I saw an American flag, and a Filipino flag of course. There were actually a lot of Americans there than I realized.

We waited about 45 minutes, and at 7 pm there was still no smoke yet. I couldn't see the actual chimney, because I couldn't really get to the right side, so I watched the projection on the screen. Honestly I was just expecting to see black smoke, and then I would come back the next day. With everyone's umbrellas in the way I could barely even see the screen, then I start hearing gasps and cheers.I couldn't see, until my roommate told me the smoke was white! I started jumping to see it, and in fact it was!! Everyone was cheering and all of a sudden decided to all run forward towards St. Peter's. With that happening, I could finally see the actually chimney with the smoke coming out of it!

White smoke from the Sistine!

I could not believe it!! It was so unexpected! I don't know why but I got really excited, more excited than I expected to be. I would post a video I have, but it's literally me just saying "Oh my gosh!" about a hundred times. I was really excited. It was just so crazy to actually be there! It still hasn't really hit me.

After the excitement died down, we waited another 45 minutes or so for the new Pope to come out, since no one knew who was chosen. And it finally stopped raining, which was perfect. Then the Cardinal Camerlengo came out to announce "Habemus Papam!" we have a Pope! When he announced that he was from Argentina, everyone in the crowd was a little surprised.

Here's a little video from the announcement (sorry my camera was shaky):

All of the cardinals came out on the balconies, and then Pope Francesco came out!! More cheering and chanting "Papa Francesco"! Except the crowd wasn't as crazy as I expected. It wasn't like Angels and Demons. I think everyone was more excited when the white smoke came out than when the actual Pope came out.

Papa Francesco!

 I didn't understand what he was saying since he spoke in Italian, but during the prayer the whole crowd was completely silent. Literally the only sound you could hear was a car honk far in the distance. It was incredible being within thousands of people, and not one sound.

Pope and the Cardinals

He spoke for 15 or 20 more minutes, and then thanked the crowd, said goodnight, and went back inside. After that, it was a little chaotic trying to leave. Okay more like VERY chaotic. The only exit was the way we came in, which isn't very big for the thousands that filled the square. The sides were fenced off and people started jumping them to exit. That was basically our only way out so we moved to the fences with the crowd. It was literally body to body, slowly moving for people to jump over. The only thing I could compare it to was Titanic when people were trying to push through the gates or trying to jump off of the ship. It's a terrible thing to compare to, but that's literally how I felt.

Just part of the crowd.

After jumping the fence I thought I was home free. No. The usual entrance to the Vatican was blocked by police, so we had to get to another exit from the main wall. It was even worse body contact. I could probably just be held up by the people around me, since we were squished so tight. Just imagine the worse crowd you've ever been in, and multiply it times 100.

Finally when we got outside the wall I could breath and walk normally! Thank goodness I live walking distance from the Vatican, because we just took side streets to get back. And I'm positive the metro would have been deadly.

Walking back I was still in shock that I had just experienced this historic and holy event. In coming to Rome, I never would have thought to experience all of this! It is seriously such a blessing. And the fact that I got to learn all about the conclave in my class while witnessing it was just awesome. This was definitely a once in a lifetime experience, and one that I will never forget.

Papal Conclave March 13, 2013

Toscana

So this past weekend I went on an overnight trip to Toscana (aka Tuscany), which was organized by my school. In my program 2 trips are included, and this was the first one I chose. Everything was already paid for, which was so nice! I only spent 2 euro, which was the cost of a cappuccino and a post card that I bought.

First of all, I always thought Tuscany was a town in Italy, it turns out it is actually a region. Just like Rome is in the region of Lazio. So we visited several towns within Toscana.

We took a train to Chiusi, where we were welcomed by a private bus, which was very luxurious. It took us to Cantina Tanagatta, which was a precious little winery run by an Italian family in the gorgeous countryside. We toured their wine cellar where the wines are made, and got to see the steel and wooden barrels the wine is stored in, which are massive! They explained the process of wine-making, and how they use certain wood for the barrels, which I never really thought about.

Steel barrels 

Then they served us lunch, which was incredible! We started with some bread and cheese. And then we had hand-made pasta. It was called Pici all’aglione, which is a really thick pasta, and some kind of heavenly red sauce. Throughout the meal we tried 3 of their wines. If I could remember the names I would tell you, but all I know is that they were red. I haven't been a fan of red wine since I first tasted it, but these ones weren't bad. One was kind of dry, and a little too wood-flavor for my liking. I'm not an expert so I can't describe the taste in some fancy wine terms.

Cantina Tanagatta

After lunch we drove to St. Antimo Abbey, which is an old church nestled in the hills. Then made our way to Montalcino, which was a small town. We just kind of wandered around, and it was such an ideal little Italian town that you would imagine, including the narrow streets and old buildings. So calm and quiet. And even a man came out of his house to say ciao. You definitely don't see that in Rome. There was also an old fort there, and the views were incredible!

St. Antimo 

Fort at Montalcino

After that we went to our hotel, which was in Pienza. It was a four star hotel, which was amazing to stay at instead of a hostel. Also a decent bed is always lovely. I ended up rooming with 2 other girls who go to a different LDM campus in Tuscania (which is not Tuscany, by the way).

Our hotel

Dinner was served at the hotel, which was possibly even better than lunch. We had a 3 course meal, starting with home-made ravioli. So tasty. Then some spinach-stuffed chicken with potatoes. And for dessert this amazingly warm chocolate cake with a kind of chocolate sauce/pudding oozing out of it. It was heavenly.

The next day we had a tour guide with us through several towns. We first toured Pienza, which was where we were staying. It is a town from the Middle Ages, and there is even an old Papal Palace there. It had your typical narrow streets, and of course, more views of the Tuscan countryside, which I could not get over how gorgeous they are.

After Pienza we took a drive to Bagno Vignoni, another town. It had a hot spring, and a stream falling into it. The water was pretty warm. The main center of the town was a giant pool. It was a town previously ruled by Lorenzo De'Medici (Lawrence the Great), which is also the name of my school.

Natural Hot Spring

The main piazza

The last town we went to was Montepulciano. It's another old, small town with more amazing landscape views. We walked to the top of town, and right before we reached the opening our advisor said, "Have you seen the movie New Moon?" Umm...DUH! It turns out it was filmed in that square at the end where the clock tower is. I was seriously so excited, but I had to hide it, because no one else was. It was so unexpected, and of course I took a million pictures of it. I wish I could have taken more with me in them, but I felt bad for asking this girl who already took 3 for me. But that was basically the only exciting thing in that town. And the funny thing is I took pictures of a different clock tower in another town to show my family as a joke. And then I actually see the real one! It was crazy.

The Clock Tower!

I'm waiting in the doorway. 

We had lunch at Pulcino Farm, which is a restaurant/winery/farm. We had the same type of pasta with a different sauce, and with some meats and cheese. For dessert they had fresh biscottis, which were soft, and extremely delicious. They dip their biscottis in a dessert wine, which is a little funky. But I tried it a few times.

The whole region of Toscana was the epitome of Italy that I have always imagined. Even just going through the hills, the scenery was incredible, and I could not get enough of it. If you ever have a chance to take a trip through the Tuscan countryside, do it. Also listening to Ed Sheeran isn't a bad idea while doing so. Out of all of the places I've been so far this was definitely my favorite. My love for Toscana was equal (or possibly greater) to my love for Rome. It was so picturesque, and calm and quiet living. Hopefully someday I can have a vacation home there, or at least find someone who has one.

So gorgeous!

First Italian Movie Experience

Last night we decided to go to the movies, and it was quite an experience.

There were a mix of Italian and American movies, or some American movies with translated Italian titles. I wasn't really sure if they played them in English with Italian subtitles, or fully dubbed in Italian.

I chose Gangster Squad, because it was one of the few with the English title, and sometimes you just need a little Ryan Gosling. It cost 8.50 Euro, which is about 10 US dollars.

There were actually a lot of people at the theater; it seemed like a very social place. The concession stand had crepes and cappuccinos, which was kind of funny. When you buy candy you buy the size of a cup, and then you fill it with the candy you want from this little stand.

There's a board at the entrance of all the theaters that had the number of each theater. There is a red and green light, and when the light is green, you can enter your movie theater. The individual theaters were actually pretty small compared to going to AMC. And the screen isn't the entire wall in front of you.

And we also found out that your seats are assigned. At first we sat wherever, but then people were looking at their tickets to find where to sit. So we had to move. There are actually row and seat numbers, which is completely different than what I'm used to.

My seat was H 11. 

I was stilling hoping the movie was in English, but I had a slight feeling it wouldn't be, especially since the previews were American movies dubbed in Italian. Unfortunately, Gangster Squad was dubbed in Italian. Thank goodness they were good actors, because that's the only way I could get a general idea of what was happening in the movie. And Ryan Gosling is always good to look at, especially in a suit (okay I'll stop gushing now). I could understand a few words, but really had no idea. And it was weird to hear other voices coming from those actors' mouths.

And then right in the middle of the movie they just stop it for a short intermission. And there's a bathroom in our theater and a lady selling more snacks. And once it's over the movie just started where it left off. It caught me a little off guard.

It was quite an interesting experience. I might need to watch it again in English to understand what exactly happened. So now I just need to make sure I find a movie in English.

Yes Ryan, it is. ;)

Anzio

Friday I took a day trip to Anzio, which is a coastal town outside of Rome.

We took the regional train from Rome, and it took about an hour to get there, not too bad. When we got there, I was a little surprised, because it really looked like nothing. Just a residential area next to the ocean. We realized we got off of the train one stop early, but we found our way to the town center.

It was such a cute little place, very beach-y, and it had a fishing port. It was pretty empty though, and a lot of places were closed. It's not tourist season so maybe that's why. We ate lunch at a small restaurant, and I really just wanted some seafood, since I was by the ocean. The cheapest thing was pizza, so I decided to get that with anchovies on it. I've never had anchovies, and it seems like a normal thing to put on pizza over here. So I decided to try it, because I might as well if I'm at this fishing port town. Definitely not what I expected. The texture of them was...interesting, to say the least. So I just had to take the rest off. But it was an 'A' for effort.

After that we just walked around the beach and near the shore. There were some cliffs, and we climbed some rocks. Unfortunately it was a little overcast, so the sun wasn't out. But the fact that I was on the coast of Italy, right by the Mediterranean Sea, was just a crazy realization.

And apparently there was an old military base there, so there are remains of forts and things. Including a lighthouse. 

It was nice to get out of the city for the day and see some other areas of Italy that you wouldn't think of. Especially since Anzio was so calm and quite, so much more different than Rome. I really enjoyed this day trip and hopefully there will be more to come!

St. Peter's Necropolis and Lastly The Pope

Last Thursday for my Religion and Culture class we had a field trip to St. Peter's Necropolis, which is underneath the basilica in the Vatican. Coincidentally it was the Pope's last day before he resigned.

The necropolis is the tombs that were excavated under the basilica. You have to book your visit, which our professor did  3 months ago. We entered from the side of the basilica, and had to go through the Swiss guards. We had a tour guide, but it was kind of hard to remember everything he said, because we saw so much! And there's is so much history down there! The basilica was actually built over the necropolis, which used to be ground level. I walked along the paths people had walked thousands of years ago!

It was pretty deep underground with really narrow hallways, and it was a little humid down there. It was so crazy to see all of these old tombs, and some of them so detailed. There were mosaics, and even marble caskets with intricate carvings to explain who was inside. There was a chapel underneath, with vents from above looking into St. Peter's Basilica. 

At the end of the tour we were brought to one section where a series of bones were found, easily matching the description of Peter. It is up to speculation if the bones are actually Peter's. The guide didn't say the bones were, but he didn't say they weren't. Even the possibility to see where he is buried is amazing. It was just a crazy realization to be standing in that place, knowing what is still there from the past. I'm not a big history buff, but I definitely appreciate seeing all of these historical monuments.

Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures, so here's some from the internet so you can get an idea of what it looks like. 

Supposedly Peter's Burial

The chapel inside. 

Our tour ended just before 5 pm, which was the time that the Pope was going to fly out of the Vatican on a helicopter. My professor started running out, and then our whole class started running out to see it. That was the only running I have done by the way. The bells started ringing and the square was packed with everyone searching for the helicopter, while it was being projected on the big screens in front. When it was finally in view everyone started cheering and clapping.

There he goes!

The square is packed!

The screen projected his short journey to his summer residence on the coast of Italy. It was such a historical day, and I still can't believe I was there to experience it. And being there worked out so perfectly. Being in the moment, I feel like none of this will hit me until I go home.

The Pope's Last Blessing

 So I'm sure you've heard that the Pope has resigned. Which is crazy, since that hasn't happened in 600 years! Last Sunday was his last blessing, so I obviously had to go. I mean, how many times are you going to see the Pope and be blessed by him while in Rome?! And right before he resigns!

We got to St. Peter's Square 2 hours before it actually started, because there were going to be a lot of people there. For his blessing, he comes out in the window of his apartment, which is the building to the right of St. Peter's Basilica. 

There were newcasters and camera crews everywhere! On our way to the square a lady stopped us and asked if she could interview of us for some kind of news. So I thought hey why not? Bad decision. First of all, I was not expecting hard-hitting questions. She asked questions like "Do you think the Pope's resignation is a sign for change in the church?" and "What is your opinion on the allegations of Cardinal Mahony, and do you think he should be allowed to be a part of the election?" I'll admit that I'm not the most informed person in the world, so I really had no detailed answer to these questions. Honestly, I don't even remember how I answered them, because I pulled it out of thin air, and made myself look like a dumb American. So hopefully they don't use that footage, or I'll probably see it on some montage of "Study Abroad Students Say the Darndest Things". I've had nightmares about it. 

Me being interviewed

So after that disaster occurred, we had to wait 2 hours for the Pope to come out of his window. There were so many people, but it wasn't like some crazy mosh pit. Everyone had flags from where they were from, and I saw one small American flag! 

The crowd

A guy was handing out free flags. Viva il Papa!

People also had some huge signs to hold up for him to see. Then people started chanting, which was actually kind of funny. There was a typical "Ben-e-dict-o!" (followed by 5 claps). Or my favorite was them chanting in the tune of "We Will Rock You". But instead of "we will, we will, rock you", it was "ben-e, ben-e, dicto". 

Pope Benedict XVI

When he came out it was so crazy! Everyone was cheering! And I couldn't believe I was actually seeing the Pope right now. He spoke for about 15 or 20 minutes. His blessing was either in Italian or Latin. Either way, I didn't understand it. But at the end he did greetings in several languages, and i caught the English one on video!

It turns out about 100,000 people were there. Overall it was a pretty awesome experience! And totally worth the 2 hour wait! I still can't wrap my head around the fact that I am experiencing all of this!

I'm by the fountain by his right arm. 

School Activities (not academic)

So it's been way too long since I last posted, and there are so many things to catch up on!

A few weeks ago my school had a wine tasting, which was interesting. We learned at a very basic level to smell and taste wine.I'm not acquired to it, so I'll be honest and say I did not like it, especially red. I think I'd rather just drink grape juice. But wine is a large part of Italian culture that they drink with food, not just to chug. We have a whole class dedicated to wine culture, which I was unable to take since Chapman does not support it. But I'm okay with that. And who knew there are thousands of types of grapes? I sure didn't.

Last week we had an Italian craft beer tasting. We learned the difference between craft beer and regular beer. The only difference is the yeast and fermentation process. I'm not really a huge fan of beer since my first, but there was one that I actually really liked. Of course it was the one with only 5% alcohol. So that means I can drink more of it right? Just kidding. It had a fruity taste, and it apparently tastes good with pizza. So maybe I'll have to try that.

This is the one. It's called Isaac. 

Another night we had a school outing to Trastevere, which is a district in Rome. It's a really nice, expensive neighborhood, and a lot more quiet than the center of Rome. We went to an apertivo, which is in a sense like a Happy Hour, I guess you could say. It's a very social affair. Our school payed for us, so I'm not even sure how much it was, but you get one drink, and then a little buffet of food. It was so good! It was nice to just chill and sit around a table talking to other people.

Santa Maria Piazza in Trastevere