Lost....emotional and physical impact

There's no feeling quite like landing in a completely foreign country with only two cell phone device between four people for contacting one another...Last weekend me and three of my good Temple friends went on a three day trip to Barcelona. Due to last minute bookings, we ended up staying in two separate hostels. Shortly after checking into our hostel my friend Julie and I ventured off to locate our two guy friends who were staying a few miles away from us. We received a text with their address, but when we arrived to the general location we couldn't find their exact street number. Finally after about fifteen minutes of meandering around the vacinity we found it, at which point I experienced a satisfactory sigh of relief. During those fifteen minutes my mind wad in panic mood...I have trouble getting my cool when I'm overly anxious or nervous. My heart was racing and knowing that Barcelona is one of the top pick-pocketing destinations in the world I found myself constantly looking over my shoulder to make sure nobody caught me off guard. Needless to say panicing is the worst reaction to have, but nonetheless I always find myself flustered in situations like this when I loose my bearings. This is definately something I need to work on...

Drifting....through Trastevere

I never realized that this quaint little neighborhood was in such close proximity of the touristy/historical district of Rome (close to the "Wedding Cake," Ruins, Colosseum). Residing across from the oldest bridge in Rome situated at the edge of Campo De Fiori, which leads up to the Tiber River, Trastevere embodies so much character within its borders. In thinking back to our class discussion about how much of our private space has been transformed into the public domain, I tuned into all of the familiar sounds that exist in a community. I overheard the sound of a baby crying. As I passed by an entry way I could make out the sounds of pots and pans raddling inferring that it was a kitchen. A window was open and as I walked by I caught myself eavesdropping into someone's conversation, much of which I couldn't make out because I'm still working on my Italian comprehension skills. I took a deep breathe as I drifted and I could smell the familiar scent of cologne that apparently is popular here because I've smelled that same fragrance (that of which I have no name for) on many different occasions in Rome. The aroma of a freshly prepared meal drifted my way as I passed by several restaurants. The pictures above sum up what I took away from my experience in Trastevere as I walked along Vicolo Del Buco, Via Della Lungaretta, and Piazza Della Gensola.The gold emblem on the door intrigued me because it illustrates how much religion/faith is an important component of these people's lives. It is ingrained in their culture and way of life. As I was crossing the bridge into Trastevere I came across a man sitting on the side of the road jamming away on his saxophone. For me, the music completed this picturesque scene...it was enchanting. So many hidden treasures lie buried within the alleyways of Trestevere, which tell us so much about the lifestyle/ and mentality of this community...paintings (like the abstract image above), children playing, advertisements, the ringing of the church bell, a homeless woman cleansing her clothes in the drinking fountain, draping laundry, blooming flowers, old newspapers dropped in the street... During my walk through the streets of Trestevere I looked for artifacts to help document this area. My collection included newspaper clippings (interestingly enough the page was folded to the puzzle game section...I noticed while in Capri this weekend a woman lying on the beach also invested in the puzzles in the newspaper paying no mind to her boyfriend lying next to her who was trying to distrat her by stroking her leg), reminents of the buildings, cigarette boxes (I concluded that pretty much everyone smokes here in Italy, making me a minority), and flyers/dvertisements.

Internal Map

For my internal map I chose to map my internal thoughts because I feel like my mind is constantly wondering and I found this to be a good way for someone looking at me from the outside to get a good sense of my feelings and emotions. My textual map follows a very sequential order...much like a calendar. However, each of my thoughts are linked to a taping of my audio self where you can hear me verbalizing my thoughts. This connection, for me creates a stronger impact for the listener because it creates two modes of communication-verbal and textual. When you can hear what you are reading you pick up on a lot more of the material....Along the top right hand side of the page you can access my audio portion.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007
“hmmm what to do what to do for this project.”
~ I’m contemplating ideas for this internal map project.
“ok good I have my metro pass finally.”
~ I’ve wanted to buy the 30 euro metro pass for the month of June, and was afraid
they might sell out. Luckily I was able to purchase one in the Cipro metro stop by our
residencia.
“Why can’t I access my checking account? This is bad. I don’t know how much I’ve spent.”
~I tried withdrawing money before departing for Barcelona and the ATM wouldn’t let me. I
also tried at the airport and failed. I became really concerned because I used my debit
card once before at an ATM and it worked. I couldn’t understand what was wrong.
“How is he here already? I never met a guy who arrives on time.”
~I went on a date with a guy from Roma. He said he would arrive at 11pm and it was 10:59
when he called. I had to scramble to get ready. I never met a guy who is ever right on
time.
“Oh good I have more than I thought…I must have only withdrawn once.”
~I thought I had surpassed my daily budget, but much to my surprise when my mother
found out how much I have in my checking I discovered that I had spent far less than I
thought.
“Wow this view is amazing.”
~Gab, the guy I went on a date with, took me up the side of a mountain to see a spectacular
view of Roma’s skyline.
“Aww he’s so cute, but I’m only here for four more weeks.”
~I was really impressed with Gab’s demeanor. He seems very charming, but than I must
remind myself that this is only a vacation and that in four weeks this fairytale must sadly
come to an end.
“I have to be up in four hours. What was I thinking?”
~Gab and I sat outside talking until 3 am. I regretted staying out so late with him
because I knew I would have class the next day at 9am, and thought about how
difficult it was going to be to get up at that hour.

Thursday, May 31, 2007
“Ten more minutes…no wait I have to get up. I don’t want to make Jay and Brandon wait for me. Why did I stay out so late last night?”
~This was the morning after I had gone out with Gab. I was really tired when my alarm
went off, and I wanted to sleep a little longer. But I knew if I laid there I would probably
fall back to sleep and be late for class.
“Time check….30 more minutes??? How much more can he possibly say about this Basilica?”
~We had an onsite visit to the Mausoleum of Costantina/Basilica di Sant’ Agnese. We spent
nearly an hour and a half there. I became annoyed listening to our professor explain every
detail of every inch of wall. I was so exhausted from the night before I just wanted to go
back to bed.
“Barcelona in two hours!”
~We planned a trip to Barcelona this weekend. I was counting down the time until we left.
“I must learn to speak Spanish again.”
~In Barcelona as you know they speak a Spanish dialect, so when I arrived in the airport I
caught myself thinking Italian and realized to communicate with the people here I would
have to divert back to when I learned Spanish.
“Oh my god, what am I going to do if I can’t get my ATM to work?”
~I was still in frenzy because I wasn’t sure if I would be able to access my checking
account in Barcelona and I knew I was running low on cash.
“You have got to be kidding me. We are sleeping in a cubby hole."
~When we booked our hostel online it seemed so inviting, but once we arrived we realized
we got what we paid for….literally a room the size of my closet. Only one person could fit
in the room to change at a time. “
“Crap we must have just missed them. If only I had left five minutes earlier.”
~Once we unpacked, Julie and I had made plans to meet up with our two friends Chris and
Lindsay at the metro station. Unfortunately, we were running about fifteen minutes
behind schedule so we ended up not getting in touch with our friends until the following
day since we had no way of contacting them. (Only two of us brought our cell phones with
us, and I didn’t have Chris’s cell number.)
“Great no more lights. I guess I’m stuck in the dark until they get back.”
~ Julie and I met up at Brandon and Jay’s apartment our first night in Barcelona. I was
exhausted so I stayed in their apartment while the two of them and Julie walked around
Barcelona at 2am. The lighting fixtures were set up in their apartment to go out when
they locked the front door (we were unaware of this), so when the three of them left
with the keys I was left in the dark. I ended up just going to sleep.

Friday, June 1, 2007
“I thought it would be hotter.”
~Our first day in Barcelona seemed chilly and we were debating whether or not we should
go to the beach.
“Eww my feet are filthy.”
~From walking around in the allies of Barcelona in flip flops my feet were getting really
dirty. In order to keep Barcelona fairly clean the people hose out the streets with water
so, when you walk there are puddles everywhere in the allies.
“I was wrong this is perfect. The breeze is nice.”
~When we laid out on the beach the weather turned out to be fitting. The sun was out, but
with the breeze blowing it wasn’t too hot. We ended up sunbathing/napping for a few
hours.
"I can’t believe I just ate a pork hamburger.”
~After partying at “Cat Walk” (an ocean front club) until 6am (the way the people of Barcelona party) we decided to stop and get a bit to eat at a popular restaurant. We ordered cheeseburgers and couldn’t figure out why they tasted so strange until we discovered that they were actually made of pork not beef.
“Hardly anyone is goodlooking here. I want to go back to Roma.”
~Although there was a lot more diversity in Barcelona, the guys weren’t as handsome as the Italians you find in Roma.
“What am I still doing up at this hour?”
~The second night in Barcelona we ended up pulling an all nighter because we didn’t really
want to sleep in our hostel (since our room smelled like mildew). It was 7am and the sun
was rising and at that moment I realized I hadn’t sleep in nearly 24 hours.
“First Gab, now Michael. How ironic is it that I just saw the skyline of Roma and now Barcelona.”
~I met a 21-hour-old Spanish student from Barcelona the night we went to Catwalk. I told
him it was our first time in Barcelona so he offered to take me to see the skyline of city.
Ironically, I had just seen the skyline of Roma a few nights prior. Julie, chuckled, and said
to me, “What are you going to see the skyline of every city we go to visit?”
“I’m not going to be able to function on two hours of sleep.”
~After staying up all night, minus the two hour nap I took in our hostel before checking out, I realized I was turning into a walking zombie. We decided to go pass out on the beach for a few hours before checking out the shops on Las Rambas.
“I’m getting so tan. This is nuts.”
~After laying on the beach, I realized my tan lines were so define I could
clearly see the outline of my swimsuit on my skin. I guess this would explain why many
women in Barcelona lay out topless (to avoid the tanlines).

Saturday, June 2, 2007
“I’m still hungry. How did they get more tapas and not our table?”
~Our hostel arranged an event where we got to sample tapas, drink sangria, and watch a Flamenco performance. Each table sampled about eight different types of tapas, but there wasn’t enough food to fill me up. I saw that the table across from us got a second serving, and wondered why everyone else didn’t get more, but I didn’t verbalize anything.
“This sangria reminds me of that juice I had at Taz’s party.”
~I’m not a big fan of sangria. The taste reminded me of drink called “skippy,” which we used to play beer bong with at my friend Taz’s party. The taste didn’t really agree with my stomach. After taking a sample of the sangria I ended up settling for water instead.
"Umm I hope we’re going the right way because Jay has the map and he’s definitely out of sight.”
~We decided to take a bike tour of Barcelona, and afterwards we were in a hurry to get back so that we could go to the beach one last time before dinner. So we got separated from the boys in our group and tried to retrace our steps from memory because Jay and Brandon had a copy of the only map we brought with us. Luckily, Julie led the way and we found our way back without any problems at all.
"I’m burning up. Maybe I should test the water.”
~We laid out on the beach again because Julie and I were so exhausted from pulling two all- nighters in a row. I couldn’t fall asleep though, because the sun was really hot today. I thought about going in the water, but I overheard one of the ladies sitting next to us say that the water was freezing so I opted not to.
“No freakin’ way…is that really who I think it is? Crap what is her name?”
~While I was sitting in the lobby of our hostel I saw a familiar face walk in and sit down by one of the computers. I racked my brain trying to remember how I knew this girl. I recalled meeting her at my orientation in Chapel Hill, NC last summer when I worked for SOBE. We spoke for a few minutes and I finally got the balls to tell her I forgot her name, and when she said Allison it all came back to me. We hadn’t spoken in nearly a year, so it was great to catch up and how ironic it was that she happened to be staying at the same hostel, at the same time, in the same country as me. What a small world.

Sunday, June 3, 2007
“Wow I’m up to five hours for two days.”
~In Barcelona I only slept two hours our last two nights there. But I was able to sleep three more hours between our flight home and the metro ride to our residence.
“I’m freezing. Why does it have to be pouring?”
~When we arrived back in Roma and stepped off the plane we realized it was pouring outside. When we left Barcelona it had been sunny with clear skies. I only had a white halter top on and a light jean jacket so my arms were freezing.
“I’ve only been back in Roma for a few hours and I’m already satisfied.”
~Julie and I saw at least five good looking guys on the metro ride home, which was more than we saw in all of Barcelona our first day there. Our last night in Barcelona was somewhat of a different story…we wondered where all the handsome guys had been hiding out all this time.
“There’s nothing to eat and I’m starving.”
~When we got back to our residence we realized we hadn’t gone grocery shopping before we left so our fridge was empty and of course I was starving. I had to settle for two grilled cheese sandwiches and a handful of chocolates.
“Hey I found the converter for the blow dryer.”
~When we were packing for Barcelona, Julie and I were freaking out because we couldn’t find the converter for the hairdryer, which would mean we wouldn’t be able to use any of our hair appliances in Barcelona (curling iron, hair dryer, and hair straightner). Luckily, when we got back to our residence our third roommate had found the converter lying behind her toothpaste on the bathroom sink.
“Sleepy time.”
~After cooking myself lunch, I immediately passed out on my bed for six hours.


Below is a link to my External Map on "My Maps". In thinking about this whole concept we have been discussing about connecting people with place and space I decided to annotate my experiences, which rolled into one makes up the components of my external self, in a map. Thus the viewer is able to associate each of my images with a specific geographical place/location. This connection gives the images a sense of depth because the viewer knows exactly where they have to go to relive my experiences. However, still my experiences remain unique to me because the exact time and place in which I was at when I came into contact with these people and places can never be relived again. The reason I chose people and places to describe my exterior self is because as my friends will tell you it is evident from my reactions, which can be viably seen on my face and in my gestures, that I am truly a people person. I am by no means reserved. I love interacting with others because I find that my best memories were shared with the presence of others. Likewise I have a strong appreciation for beauty, in even it's most simplistic form.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=101497390752046699205.000001131f8203a22fd9a&ll=41.904561,12.
484374&spn=0.007586,0.014591&z=16&om=1

Transitions from private to public realms and viceversa...

It's interesting to see how easily our private lives have been invaded by society when we are least aware of it because of how quickly we tune everything out around us. The two men talking on the phone both in the car and at the phone booth did not take notice to my presence because they were too wrapped up in conversation, however, I still felt guilty for essentially eavesdropping on their personal lives. I felt sort of uneasy knowing that these two men have no idea that they were ever photographed by me because it makes me wonder how often people are watching my every move. I remember one time I was sitting in a restaurant with a girlfriend of mine watching a woman try to parallel park her car while in the process hitting both cars parked in front and in back of her. We chuckled to ourselves...because somehow it made it all the more funny knowing that the woman in the car didn't know that we saw how terrible of a driver she was. Same case scenerio occurs all the time. It's a very scary thought. The image of the mirror was interesting to me because I personally am affected by it. The security guards have the ability to watch my every move from the moment I enter and leave the residence with the reflections of this mirror. However, when I'm in the comfort of my own home I don't ever have to worry about whether I stumble up my driveway or something else that is embarassing because there's no camera or mirror capturing my every move. On the reverse end of things, the park benches show how what was once public is now private. Now I presume that only certain people, perhaps those living in or visiting the establishment built here. I never saw a park bench enclosed...usually they are meant strictly for public purposes. I'm accustomed to seeing finer furnishings within an enclosement.

Invisible Cities...

My impression of invisible cities are aspects within a city that often times go unnoticed. So far I feel like my stay in Roma has been consumed with the array of beauty that exists in the landscape and architectural design,the unique cultural/social trends, and the Italian language. So I chose to take the more simple route in depicting what I think of when I hear invisible cities. I feel like it's the little things that most often get overlooked. I wanted to be able to shed some light on these invisiable cities that exist in our everyday encounters.

Two dogs (interesting how they are opposite one another in color) stare out the window of a parked car. They didn't make any noise, which was surprising to me because I've rarely seen a dog that doesn't bark when people are around. Much to my astonishment out of all of the dogs I've seen roaming the streets with their owners (which is very common I'm finding) only a select few have made the slightest sound. I was beginning to wonder if the people in this city have their dogs ingest some sort of relaxation medication haha. The only reason I happened to notice these two intriguing set of eyes was because I caught the motion of their heads hanging out the window.

Clearly the driver of this vehicle must either be a pet lover, or a woman. haha. I can't imagine a man putting a stuffed animal on his dashboard....it just doesn't sound very masculine. I chose this image because again when your walking down the street you don't typically have the incentive to look inside every car...but yet this stuffed animal says alot about the owner. From the gestures I've received from most Italian women, I wouldn't picture them to be so sentimental, which is kind of the impression this stuffed animal conveyed to me about the owner. Most women here come across as very aloof. In fact, I was kind of hoping the owner might have walked by while I was snapping the picture.

This photograph caught my eye because I found it intriguing that rather than tossing this piece of paper/trash on the ground (as most Italians seem to do since trash cans aren't very easily accessible here) he or she chose to stuff it behind this pipe. Was it put there with the intention of trying to conceal it? Was this person trying to be crafty? or maybe there wasn't any meaning behind it at all. In either case, it's not the typical place you would find a piece of paper.

Here I chose to take a picture of the reminents of a bird. First of all, I feel like birds themselves often go unnoticed in this city because although I hear them chirping in the wee hours of the morning I rarely see them flying or perhaps I'm just not looking hard enough. But in Philadelphia I feel like I'm practically dodging pigeons because they seem to "own" the streets of North Philadelphia. So I found this feather interesting because to me its like a trace of the never before seen...haha not quite. But you get my point.

Technology in Roma...

I found it interesting to track some of the, what I call, "foreign" technology I have discovered in Roma. By foreign I mean in some cases totally unique/original to anything I have ever seen before and in other cases I'm intrigued by how engraved this technology is into the culture here. It's part of their way of life.

This camera I discovered at our residencia just reminds me of this discussion we have been having on "public vs private." This image is a perfect example of how we live our lives in the public realm more often than we think. While it serves a useful purpose of protection, it also is in a sense a technique of spyware...your every move is captured on tape. It makes me feel violated when I think about it because I feel like the meaning of the word privacy is quickly fading until eventually the private realm will be nonexistent.


When I first looked at this technological advancement I was uncertain exactly of what it was. Come to find out, it's a wheelchair accessible system. It's interesting because you would never see something like this in the U.S. with so many buttons and so ackwardly shaped. It just goes to show how much more advanced our country is.




Although we have vespas in the U.S. they definately aren't as prevalent as they are here in Roma. I find this to be ironic because in most cases the U.S. is ahead of other countries with technology. I feel like Vespas are just now starting to become popular in the U.S. In Philadelphia students are just beginning to purchase them over cars. Here Vespas are clearly more practical since the streets are so narrow making it easy to navigate through the city.

I found this image to be especially intriguing because first of all although they have stop lights here, they aren't as heavily enforced as in the U.S. I once witnessed intentionally run a read light and in the process almost collide into an oncoming train. Also I've found that green does not actually mean walk here...it means "walk at your own risk"..because cars don't always stop and yield to padestrians. It's also interesting because to signal when people can cross the street they have these people in the stop light as seen to the left. In the U.S. it's different...we have the audio sound of the chirping bird that you press or sometimes a separate flashing light.

What I carry with me...
A trillion pens ...lie stashed within the front pocket of my bookbag at all times. I seem to have an obsession with writing utensils because I have the worst short term memory, so I' m constantly misplacing my pens. To compensate, I'm always purchasing more and grabbing a handful of all the free-bees I come across. But, since I have a habit of chewing on the ends of my pens half of my collection has become useless. But rather than throwing them away I end up tossing them back into my bag, which only creates more of a headache for myself.I end up having to repeatedly perform "trial and error" everytime I try to write with one.

This habit might very well mislead people into thinking that I'm a very unorganized person, when in fact I rely almost entirely on my weekly planner. My trip in Roma has been a perfect example of this. I made it a point the second night I was here to sit down with my roommate Julie and plan out the dates for each of our trips over the course of this summer abroad period. Although we've made some adjustments here and there our friend Brandon is amazed at how well we are on top of things. From Venice, to Capri, to Barcelona we have arranged a trip for every weekend so that we can make the most of our time and experience here. I am anxious to begin our first journey to Ostia this weekend where we plan to soak up the sun by day and party on the sandy shores by night ...and the party won't stop until seven in the morning. Admist all this bliss I will be thinking to myself life can't get any better than this.