All Roads

Moved into the University Rome center yesterday afternoon after an adventure getting there from the airport with no directions. Incidentally, I'm a lot better at that great old game, "Guess what this gesture means", and my pidgin Italian is getting better.
Settling into my apartment. In the Piazza outside my window, I can hear the faint strains of what I'm almost certain is the theme from "The Godfather", although it could also be "Stairway to Heaven."
It hasn't quite struck me that I am actually, after months of preparation, in Rome. Turning down narrow cobbled streets, we literally stumble over Roman ruins, Medieval squares, or hidden fountains with marble statues. I live overlooking a plaza where, every morning at 4 am, they begin setting up the market for the next day, unloading trucks of fresh fruit and vegetables, cured meats and spices, fake purses, and fresh cut flowers. Normally, I prepare for travel manically, reading everything I can on the history and culture ahead of time in order to have some precedent, and idea of what I'm seeing. Due to finals and life getting in the way, I didn't have much time to research ahead, and I'm currently relying on what I remember from high school humanities classes, a surprising amount. So far, it's been an interesting and rewarding experience. Without expectations bred from careful research, I'm enjoying things at a slower pace. Things are surprising, enlightening.

This has been floating around in my head for the past week, far before I left it behind.