Daniel Lee, Latin, 2016

Latin in Rome: Daniel Lee

This summer I was given a Wilson grant to study Latin in Rome at a school called St. Stephen's. Coming to the program, I didn't know what to expect but in the end the trip was worth it. St. Stephen's campus was located in downtown Rome and was about a 15-minute walk from the Colosseum and a 5 minute walk to the Circus Maximus. When I arrived in Rome it rained for about 10 minutes but from then on out it was clear skies.

Each day would begin with breakfast at the school and from there I went to my first class, Roman topography. After that, would be lunch and then Latin class.  Latin class would then be followed by creative writing and the day would be finished with dinner and a night activity.

Trajan's Column

Topography class was basically a four hour walking tour of Rome every morning, and we could go anywhere with a small trip on the metro. My favorite site had to be the Triumphal arch of Constantine which was located right next to the Colosseum. One cool thing is that at the Colosseum I saw an MBA graduate who recognized me through my MBA all sports camp t-shirt. Another of my favorite places was the ruins of the old Roman forum and being able to see the Curia (Roman Senate house) and the various temples. It was amazing to be able to witness the structures that I had seen in textbooks. We also saw the Pantheon, which was amazing since it was at one point the world's largest unsupported dome. Inside the Pantheon, I saw the tomb of the Renaissance artist, Raphael. Apart from seeing ruins, my class would also visit museums. In just one of these museums, I was able to see a pot owned by Mithridates and the original statue of the She-Wolf. In another museum I saw a huge bronze statue of Marcus Aurelius on horseback. What's amazing was that this was all just the first part of my day.

Painting of the Famous Tale of the Horatii and Curiatii

Temple of Jupiter

An Image of a Roman Charioteer

Statue of Marcus Aurelius

In creative writing class, we would either write short stories or poems. In order to get some inspiration we visited the Protestant Cemetery in which John Keats is buried, which also happens to be a cat sanctuary. At the end of the grant, our class had composed a small anthology. Latin was also interesting because on the first day I was moved to the Italian class since it was only a beginners Latin course. Here, I was able to study Italian grammar and give short presentations of dialogues.

"Roman" Pyramid Near the Protestant Cemetery  

My favorite part the day was the nightly activity. I remember one night where we watched the Italian national soccer team face off against Spain on a projector in the dining hall. One night we went to see a ballet where the stage was set up among the ruins of the Baths of Caracalla, and another night we went to see a light show at the Forum of Augustus. Here, images of what the ruins would of looked like were projected. However, my favorite nights were Friday's since we would walk down to the Tiber and walk around a small festival where they were stands and vendors. It was like a weekly MBA carnival along the Tiber.

A Statue of Caesar near the Forum of Augustus

View of Sorrento

On the weekend between the first and second week, we went on a trip to Sorrento and Pompeii. At Pompeii, we saw the ruins of the Roman city and the gruesome remains of Roman people. It was fascinating to see a Roman city so well preserved. In Pompeii, we also saw a Roman villa with its wall frescoes still intact in full color. Then in Sorrento, we stayed at a hotel that was right near the beach. We were also able to walk the streets at night and luckily there was a cultural festival going on.

Tiles of House in Pompeii

In the final few days, we visited Vatican City. It was fascinating to see how large the Vatican was. The ceiling frescos and sculptures what's even more interesting is that I met another MBA graduate who knew me through my older brother. It just comes to show the global influence of MBA.

Ginger the Cat

Overall, having the opportunity to journey to Italy and see everything that I have studied for three years was overwhelming. In addition to touring Rome, I was able to meet some amazing people and an nice cat named Ginger. I would like to again thank the Wilson family for giving me the chance to travel to Italy and allowing me to discover that I wish to study Latin or Italian in college.

Our Group in Italy