Estne sero nunc dicere me paenitere?

As the famous Justinus Castor once said, “estne sero nunc  dicere me paenitere?”. For those of you who only speak lingua barbarica (English), this is a translation of the song ‘Sorry’, sung by our beloved Justin Bieber. (The actual quote is, “is it too late now for me to say sorry?”. And Castor means beaver in Latin.) After taking a diagnostic exam and being placed into groups, the activity of translating this phrase thus commenced the first day of class. And what a first day it was, filled with all kinds of Latin. The day ended with something called sub arboribus. Although we were only in a room dubbed Magna Aula, and not beneath the trees as its title suggests, sub arboribus is a conversational hour entirely in Latin. For our first session, we played a type of speed-dating bingo, entirely in Latin, in order to get to know more of our companions. Here are some of the phrases we used!

Quid est nomen tibi? Nomen mihi est Isabel in lingua barbarica sed Aurelia in linga latine.                                                                                                                                                  What is your name? My name is Isabel in the barbaric language but Aurelia in Latin.

Ubi habitas? Habito in Magna Rapida, Michiganense.                                                         Where do you live? I live in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Ubi studes? Studio apud Universitatem Michiganensem.                                                      Where do you study? I study at the University of Michigan.

Quid placet tibi? Mihi placet legere, ludere cum felicibus meis, et comedere nicem dulcem.                                                                                                                                            What do you like to do? I like to read, play with my cats, and eat ice cream.

Now you know some fun Latin phrases!

The major class day was yesterday and today we had our first sight visit and guest lecturer. It was quite a thrilling adventure!! We had to find the meeting spot near the Arch of Constantine by 9am, which was right next to the Colosseum. We decided to take public transportation, walking seemed too strenuous so early in the morning, and still managed to have an equally strenuous experience of squashing door-to-door on the metro. The only other place where I’ve seen so many people in a metro is Shanghai, China. No joke. It was packed. The exit out of the Colosseum metro stop was worth all the risk, however. You walk up the stairs, and ecce! The Colosseum! 

Ibi, feriamus in umbris antiquis arcuaturae Constantini  et legimus verba in latine (there, we chilled in the ancient shadows of Constantine’s arch and read words in Latin). It was great.

For those who don’t know, the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine are located right next to Palentine Hill, one of the 7 hills of Rome. Our mission for the morning was to explore Palentine Hill and read some Latin at its peak. We learned a brief history of the Palentine and how it and its occupants changed throughout time, which was pretty fascinating to hear on the hill itself. We then waltzed through the Farnese Gardens, with its hedge mazes reminding me of the gardens at Versailles. At its edge, we were able to gaze upon the Roman Forum and the other hills of Rome. It was an absolutely spectacular view, definitely one of my favorite so far. It was also pretty exciting because I recognized the name Farnese from the Borgias, a wonderful show on Netflix. 

Partial view from the Farnese Gardens

If you turn around from this spectacular view and head back across the gardens, you come to the peak of the Palentine and that’s where we sat in small groups and read some more Latin. My group read about Augustus, whose house was probably located on the spot where we were sitting. We learned about how he wore plain clothes, shoes that were a little higher (probably because he was a little short), never not kept fancy clothes at his house (yes, the double negative is actually real), and how he enjoyed eating day-old bread and figs. Yes, Augustus, only the most powerful and arguably most influential and praised man in the Roman Empire. He, who called himself First Citizen only, enjoyed eating day-old bread!! He would have loved the 50 cent bread from Jimmy Johns.

We were cut loose after about an hour and I, along with a few new friends, wandered around Domitian’s place, its museum, and then exited through the Roman Forum. It was an extremely hot day with lots of sun so we were exhausted! We headed back to the classroom/apartment area, passing by the Vittoriano, or so called the Wedding Cake, built by Mussolini to honor the unification of Italy. Or at least, I think that’s why. 

I caved and bought a baguette sandwich from a cafe, because why not. When in Rome,s right? With a brief siesta to rest our minds, we spent class reading some mythology for tomorrow’s adventure! Its our first day trip and we will be going to a secret location about 2 hours south of Rome. There, we will see the original burial site of Cicero and the famous statues of Polyphemus and Scylla! We will also be going to the beach and I can’t wait.

We did an especially challenging but super fun exercise with the Polyphemus myth. We first read the Latin and then had to close our texts and one by one, recreate the story in Latin from memory. It was sort of hard but such a good exercise! Our teacher asked us questions in Latin, which both prompted the myth and our responses. For those of you who don’t know the myth of Polyphemus and Odysseus, look it up, it’s hilarious!

After class we listened to a guest lecturer, a professor from Columbia University in NYC. Her name is Katharina Volk and she’s written lots of books on the Roman Republic and Empire. Our talk today focused on how Roman philosophy may have influenced lives and political events at the end of the Republic, particularly concerning Cato the Younger. It was a truly fascinating lecture! She said that most scholars discount Roman philosophy because they thing most of it is just copied from Greek philosophy and that Romans were only good for killing and conquering. She argues that Roman philosophy was actually quite sophisticated and had a personality of its own, exemplified by Cato the Younger in particular. She argued that he attempted to embody the philosophy of stoicism, although not perfectly, and that it may explain some of his strange and even outrageous behavior throughout his political career. It was really interesting and it was so cool to see someone who is so passionate about topics such as this.

There was also a huge thunderstorm in the midst of this talk with thunder that actually shook the room and the projector screen! It definitely added the perfect atmosphere for such an electrifying talk.

Valete, omnes! Ero litore cras et in mare innato!