One of the Last

Usually when someone hears "It's the last day of class," shouts of joy can be heard from the next town. But not here. No one wanted to hear Dr. Anderson's final lecture because we all knew it meant the end of a trip- the end of something that never can or will be repeated again. Our last day was spent at churches, catacombs, and ancient monuments alike, all of them ebbing and flowing from one to the next like they were built just for the sake of our classes. We began in the Catacombs of Priscilla, an underground labrynth stretching 8 miles long and holding 400 thousand bodies (incidentally, very few were left in the catacombs after excavation). We got to see Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the most important churches in Rome for pilgrimages. According to legend, the basilica plan was shown to the builder in the form of snowfall the next morning. Thus, every August 5, snow magically appears on the steps of Maria Maggiore. Bernini is buried here, which makes it that much more of an interesting place. But, I still stand by my thought that one you've seen six weeks of churches, you've seen them all. Sure, they're all beautiful and shiny, but give me dirt and tell me to dig it any day. We ended our day on the Janiculum hill, where the best overlooks of the city can be found. And it was there that Dr. Anderson read aloud a Latin poem about the city that brought everyone to tears. Okay, well, almost everyone.

And starting tomorrow, we get to use all of the knowledge we've accumulated over the past six weeks and take finals. Hence, ciao for now- studying is necessary!