Rome Adventures

Rome, the city with a lot of broken things, and then some really big
fancy stuff. Officially, it seems to be known as the eternal city, but
my goodness, a great deal of it is falling away, and fast!

Joking aside, I really need to do more reading about Western Culture
and our history. I should have done more reading about Roman history,
in particular, before coming to Rome. I keep finding myself asking
people questions that I probably should know the answer to or being
surprise by things that to most are probably common knowledge.

Case number one:

I was in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican and looking up at the
ceiling where all the most famous Michelangelo paintings are. While
looking around I realized that I had no idea what the paintings were
about (mostly), but I noticed a Japanese man sitting next to me
reading a Japanese guidebook that I could see described all the famous
ones, so I leaned over and asked him about the big famous picture in
the middle. Who were those two and what were they doing? He laughed
and laughed and said, "That's god making Adam..." Yup, the most famous
Michelangelo and I had to ask...

Case number two:

I'm all excited. I am at the Colosseum. I'm standing outside and
thinking, wow, this is a place I have heard of before and know a tiny
bit about. I was so eager to get in. I bought my ticket and quickly
climbed the steps to see inside. But to my surprise, it's mostly
broken. It's ruins. Ya I know it's almost 2000 years old, but I
thought there was more still intact than that. No central floor left.
No stands. What was I thinking?

I thought, well, it is old and big so maybe that is to be expected,
just how did I miss that in history class? I guess I slept through a
lot in school.

But, being the eternal optimist, I had high hopes for the Circo
Massimo. It looks so big and restored on all the maps (drawings,
remember), and then of course there's my images from the movie Ben
Hur. I eagerly climbed the Palatine Hill to get a good look. Um, Circo
Massimo is now mostly a large parking lot looking space with very
little to remind you of its former glory....

Oops.

Then there is the big stuff, the fountains, the monuments, the
churches. Where did the money come from? Everything is huge, extremely
ornate (to the point of garishness sometimes), and made of substances
that are pretty hard to find these days. Again, their old, but still,
the Vatican, for example, must have cost more than the GDPs of all the
African countries combined! The upkeep alone these days must as well.
I guess it is an independent entity (not a country per say but
almost), but where does the money come from?

Ah Rome... So interesting, but I gotta do some more research before I
head out tomorrow!

Change in Plans

I've left Uganda. I'm in the plane about to land in Amsterdam where I
am to spend 8 or 9 hours wandering before catching an evening flight
to Rome where I will be for a few days. But in his welcome speech, the
pilot says, "Welcome to Amsterdam. It's minus 2 degrees and...."

Minus 2?! I haven't been in less than 20 degrees in more than 8
months. What was I thinking?

I couldn't do it. As soon as I got off the plane I immediately went to
the airline counter and asked when the next flight to Rome was. Two
hours. I paid the change fee and took it. At least Rome was a BIT
warmer at 7 degrees. YIKES!

But 7 was definitely colder than I could handle. I went walking
wearing almost everything I brought with me and still found myself
hopping into galleries, cafes or whatever looked warm every hour so I
could stop shivering.

Ya, Canadian, right?

It was also funny in the airport waiting for the flight to Italy. I
had brought some peanuts with me in my bag from Uganda (called g-nuts
in Uganda, because peanuts grow in the ground). I pulled them out and
started eating them, making quite the mess actually (partially because
they had burst in my bag and fell all over). These two guys from Ghana
looked over and saw me. They laughed, came over and asked, "You've
been in Africa, haven't you? No one here eats g-nuts, and definitely
not like that..."

We all laughed, and then spent the next two hours sharing my g-nuts
and pointing out the differences between African countries and the
west. We laughed, for example, that the airport itself was bigger,
newer, more modern than most African capital cities. How there were
over 100 gates here and in Entebbe, for example, there were two, and
seldom both are full.

Culture shock with new friends. Much more fun.

Coming to a close

The rain is pouring down. The sky is filled with lightening. The sound
of thunder is booming all over the valley. I am sitting by candle
light in my grass-thatched hut writing in my journal in these last few
days of my stay in Uganda. I leave in 3 days.

I just came back from a run through the forest. The smell of
eucalyptus permeating the air. Ladies hurried home with loads of
produce on their heads, trying to reach a covered area before the
impending storm.

The thunder clouds were getting closer.

I can't help but feel a bit of sadness about leaving this. I am happy
to move on to the next adventure in my life, but I also know I will
think of my time here in Uganda, often. The people mostly. The ones
who let me get close and who took the time to get to know me, beyond
my white skin and strange, foreign behaviours. The ones who took me
below the surface and showed me the hidden areas of Ugandan life. The
ones who made me feel at home. The ones I looked forward to returning
to after trips away to other areas of the country.

I never thought Uganda would steal my heart like it has, but then
again I think most places do without me noticing it. They sneak up and
get under your skin. In this part of the world you have to be careful
though because it can literally get up under your skin (there are lots
of weird and wonderful parasites that burrow into you). Maybe that
comes from living locally in a place instead of travelling.

Interestingly, I have learned that I am not a good traveller. I like
to like to stay places, get to know people. Learn. Share. Be a part of
something. I don't want to sound arrogant and overprivileged either
though. I feel so lucky to be born into a life that permits me to
travel. I think, though, I will work harder to limit travel and
instead try and stay places longer.

I think it is because I like feeling an area, tasting it, breathing
it, rather than passing quickly. It's hard to get to know people if
you move that way, and I think the people are who I am coming to be
with, more so than the place. Their what I remember most.

So to all the wonderful people I have met and shared time with here in
Uganda and other parts of East Africa, thank you. You know who you are.

...and I look forward to coming back soon, if you'll permit me.