Final Thoughts and Reflections: Kevin Wang

61 Things Different in Italy

1. Stronger and thicker railings on highways- many layers and levels
2. More level roofs
3. Barren landscape
4. Wild plants
5. Trees- skinny trunk and mushroom at top
6. Motorcycles everywhere
7. Vineyards and farms everywhere
8. Littering abundant
9. Flowering tall and skinny plants beside highway, not just grass
10. SOS stations on highway
11. People drive so closely, especially motorcycles weaving in and out
12. Can’t go to churches without shoulders covered and long pants
13. Less car crashes
14. Plastic guards above metal railings
15. Shutters on outside of window
16. Inflaters between railings between highways and exits
17. Cage walls blocking cars from getting off bridge
18. Very clear sky always
19. Cool breeze all the time
20. Taller skinnier electric towers with points at top
21. Hay in cubes
22. Hotel shutters like garage doors with holes
23. Small breakfast with no eggs, only sliced meat
24. Lunch at 2:00
25. Dinner at 9:00
26. Not much diversity of restaurants (only Italian)
27. Simplicity: small groups playing at restaurants
28. Simplicity: Dishes cooked with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and basil
29. Popular vegetarian dish: omelette
30. Not customary to wear shorts
31. Domestic products, not from China
32. Kissing only for very close friends
33. Agip is main gas station
34. Basil on everything
35. Road in cities not gravel; cobblestones or white concrete instead
36. Trees either really tall and skinny or short and fat
37. Very dry
38. Pizza not always with tomato sauce or cheese
39. Electric outlet is 3 holes, 220 V
40. Soda made with real sugar
41. Smaller car with manual transmission
42. Drinking age is 16
43. Water is expensive so not as much showering
44. Mineral and gas water
45. More stray animals
46. People open windows here and without air conditioning
47. Women are not overly skinny or overly fat- medium size
48. Men- old are fat, young are extremely skinny and fit
49. Nutella is our peanut butter (abundant)
50. Not many brochures and must be bought if there are
51. Open sword and ancient weapon shops (crossbows, bows, etc.)
52. No squirrels
53. Toilet tank is high above toilet
54. Fanta actually tastes like carbonated squeezed orange juice
55. Ice cream melts much quicker and is creamier
56. A lot of street vendors and shops, not many official gift shops
57. Meals (especially dinner) should take about 2 hours
58. Pistachio is predominant!
59. Bread is much harder
60. Italians much quieter than Americans

Essay on the purpose and design of the Latin language

On my recent trip to Rome, Italy, I encountered an enlightening realization of the purpose of the Latin language. Latin does not serve a practical purpose (e.g. To survive medical school or help one ace the SAT) but simply exists as a stockpile of knowledge for humanity to revel in. Just as learning is not used for getting a good grade or being accepted into the Ivies, Latin must not be used to serve any purpose other than for satisfying man’s search for knowledge. The night before I left Rome, Dr. David Sweet, the dean of the Classics graduate school at the University of Dallas, told students in the Latin in Rome summer course to “soak in everything that comes your way”. This advice essentially describes the thing we call education. The passion to learn for the sake of learning cannot be more applicable than to the study of Latin. In the following writings, I hope to expose the intricacy, intellect, and true glory of Latin, the allegedly “dead” language.

Latin was ornately mastered by the ancient Roman writers to such an extent that not only were ideas expressed through description and content, but also through form and design. The literary devices I have studied in Latin class (e.g. Juxtaposition, chiasmus, tmesis, etc.) were widely employed by authors like Vergil, Horace, and Cicero, but are almost nonexistent in the modern world of texting, IM, and email. Today, language has been devalued, reduced to a tool used to convey ideas as quickly and efficiently as possible. This unfortunate deficiency can be attributed to the inflexible nature of English, which has evolved from Latin in such a way to express thoughts more clearly and concisely. Because of Latin’s vague nature, words could be arranged to express the content through form, as long as a few rules were adhered to. Today, though, with more clarity, we are no longer writing for the sake of writing, but for getting homework assignments done as quickly as possible with as few words as possible. Additionally, many educators have increasingly become stronger proponents of brevity, and frequently mark complex sentences as run-ons, when in fact a student has merely attempted to glorify the English language. While in Rome, I studied a section of Tacitus’ Annals explaining the advent of the principate. In this passage, the numerous causes for Caesar Augustus’ rise to power were covered in one immense sentence spanning 8 lines in my Latin in Rome textbook. Would this sentence be considered “run-on” simply based on the assertion that it is too long? Furthermore, the form conveys meaning. The length of this sentence suggests the continuous flow of history and the smooth and explainable transition from the Republic to the Principate. I also studied Vergil’s Georgics, which we see today as a handbook for farmers. In fact, Vergil most likely did not intend for this work, written in verse, to serve any practical purpose. The extensive vocabulary and the fact that the work was written as a poem suggest that Vergil did not write Georgics for lowly plebs and farmers, but simply for himself and to satisfy his own hunger for literature. This passionate and unconditional love of academia was what drove writers of Latin.

After reading so many Classical works during my Latin studies inside and outside of school, I now see that these works are truly the greatest writings, composed by the greatest minds in history. The ability to scrutinize deep into the psychological foundations of the world while using the form of the Latin language itself to convey powerful messages illustrates the power of the ancient minds of Plato, Cicero, and others. Thus, the purpose of studying Latin: to read and absorb the knowledge of ancient supernaturals. Although there only seem to be endless homework assignments and tests at the current stage of my education, these are the bare essentials to preparing me for the day when I can pick up Cicero’s De Republica and read it in full glory of the language of the greats. Thus, the ability to read Latin is not as much a skill as it is a privilege; a privilege to read the thoughts of the Classical minds and to experience the beauty of the mother of Western languages.

* I would like to thank the Wilson family and MBA for making this trip a reality. Without the Language grant opportunity, I would not have known about the wonderful Latin in Rome program, and without years of study, I would never have been exposed to the prowess of the Latin language.

*You can view some more of my pictures at http://latininromepictures.shutterfly.com/pictures