Pompeii...

Firat off, for those wo don't know Pompeii was covered by volcanic ash circa 33 b.c.e. and was rediscovered in like 1710 super well preserved as the epitome of a roman town. Famous for the dead people caught in mid gasp. We had a guided tour their on friday that was amazing. THe professor teaches classics here in rome and knows his stuff inside out. He showed us all the important aspects of the town and all kinds of hidden treasures. Also, you think you know how aquaducts work?? you dont. I did get a scare, i drank a bunch of water out of a fountain before finding out if it was safe (it was) I'll post some pictures but i'm about to give up even taking them. They dont do any justice to what i'm seeing. Pompeii was huge, i thought it was gonig to be like the size of a football stadium but it was more like the size of La Plata, MD. It was so well preserved you could read graffiti on the walls. The dead "bodies" are actually in reverse. They found holes where the human body had decayed and filled it with plaster and thats what you see. THe guide/professor was really interested in explaining how Rome would conquer an area like pompeii and then impose its will through the ruling elite who would do everything they could to act roman and impose roman culture. It was an excellent lesson in power structures. They have a huge ampitheater too, not as big as the colusium but not to far off either. Pompeii was so full of wild dogs it looked like Russia. Originally i thought i would do pompeii in an hour and then we werer all going to head off to Capri for the weekend, but i ended up skipping breakfast, lunch, and dinner walking around there. Also i have worn all the tread off my sandles already. Half our group broke off and went to Capri early, mike, david and I stayed and then found our own way on the italian metro to Sorrento and then grabbed a ferry to Capri.
Its pretty easy to get around here. There was a very real liklihood in Capri I would need to find my own way home to Rome and I had absolutely zero fear or stress about doing it (in the end everyone came with me to the blue grotto, more on that later) Now although it is easy to get around here, it is not THAT easy. Everything in this country works...but not well. Its like running underwater i feel, you can do it but its much harder than it needs to be. Not just because of language bariers, but also because nothing runs on time and everyone has an "i'll do it later" mentality. Its nice to know you can be 45 min late for the ferry and still catch it. THe italians are very friendly and helpful.In Sorrento we saw some big player for the Milan football team, i didnt care much but it happeneed. I apologize for the haphazard way i write these blogs; i'm sorry they are so full of typos and random thoughts. But, I do them quick whenever i can grab a spot of internet, which is usually not very long. RIGHT NOW i am drinking a glass of wine, eating some pasta sausage i made, while using the computer on the windowsill over looking a busy cafe....not bad for 12:15am. There are apparently 3 laundrymats in Rome, one is 2 blocks away but we cant find it/it may no longer exist. I may have to go john travolta in saturday night fever in the next few days.  I would post about my capri adventure tonight, except that i was unprepared for class today and so am going to get chewed out hard on wednesday for it. I over heard the professors, they intend to make an example out of me    ...I intend to make an example out of them. I pulled a solid 8 hours of studying today so we'll see how that plan goes on weds, i'll let you know. Ciao!