Saint Valentine’s Day

We have to go back to the Roman Empire to discover the origins of Saint Valentine’s Day. At the time, on February 15th, the Romans celebrated Lupercus and Fauno who were the gods protecting the harvest and the cattle, as well as wishing prosperity and fertility. On the evening before the feast all the girls of marriageable age used to put a card with their name inside a jar. Every young man would draw out a name which he would have to pair with in the sense of dancing and singing together her for the whole of the celebrations Many, inevitably, fell in love and married.
On 496 A.D. Pope Gelasio cancelled this pagan rite replacing it with a day commemorating St. Valentine. Valentine had been a bishop who accepted marrying young couples even if they didn’t get the permission from the Emperor.
Saint Valentine himself, bishop and martyr is the patron of the city of Terni, Umbria.
Many anecdotes linked with Saint Valentines explain well the reason way he has been chosen later by the Church as the patron protector of lovers. An episode says that one day Valentine saw two lovers arguing next of his garden, therefore distracted by their voices, Valentines went up to them and gave a rose asking to hold it together without sting. The two lovers made peace and were so happy that wanted Valentine itself to celebrate their marriage. After them, many other couples went to St. Valentines intercede for their love. So he determined to dedicate the 14th of every month to receive pairs in love.

In Italy and Rome some events took place on Saint Valentine’s day, among them: “For Valentine’s Day Fall In Love With Art”, thanks to this initiative couples can enter state monuments and museums paying just one ticket.
Since this year Valentine’s Day falls in the middle of Carnival, the Roman Carnival organized a Grand Ball in Piazza del Popolo.
In Italy the single people’s day is celebrated as well. Several years ago a group of Italian single tired of being in the shadows for St. Valentine's day celebrations, have proclaimed their own saint and feast day: February 15th, Saint Faustino’s day.

Even though Saint Valentine, the patron of lovers, was an Italian bishop, in Italy there is not much celebration of Valentine's Day as in the United States.
The Pantheon Institute decided to celebrate it, offering to our students a light snack with heart-shaped biscuits and some drinks, we hope that our students appreciated it!

Let it Snow in Rome

When on Friday we looked out the window of the Pantheon Institute Office we were very surprised to see so many snowflakes falling: it was an unusual and amazing sight for us!!!

As you can guess, this weather was somehow unusual for Rome, that is usually blessed by a moderate climate. The Italian capital had not experienced the heavy snow falls for a long period of time, 1986 was reported to be the last heavy snowfall that has dropped in the city.
Our students had the opportunity to assist to a historic event on Friday—the first heavy snowfall in Rome in 24 years!!!

The snow caught Rome unprepared, as a matter of fact it caused some problems: some museums and historical sites, including Colosseum, were closed so as schools and public offices, cars without tire chains were ordered off the road, many houses were without electricity, thousands of people were trapped on trains throughout Italy.

Despite the many practical problems, the general delight of the citizens was palpable. People had snowball fights, snowboarded at the Circus Maximus, made snowmen in the piazzas and contemplated with renewed curiosity and appreciation the many ancient wonders of Rome under the snow.

Surely seeing a white and soft blanket covering the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, Spanish Steps, the Pantheon and Navona Square is a worthwhile experience, so our students are very lucky to be here in Rome now!!!

Welcome to spring semester students!

Spring semester has begun at the Pantheon Institute in a rather unusual day: January 6^th, the Epiphany, which is in Italy the day of “La Befana”, the Good Witch of Christmas who flies over the rooftops of Rome on her broom, and brings gifts to the good children: so the Befana brought us forty-three marvelous new students!

Since their arrival students have been attending orientation sessions, acclimating themselves to life in one of the most exciting cities in the world thanks to the great help of our Italian Professors Barbara and Maurizio, who showed the most important areas of Rome and gave them some useful tips on local life.

The Academic Orientation was on Friday, January 13^th , and Professor Sabatello introduced all our faculty and staff. There was the chance also to try a real Italian breakfast and the delicious Roman cornetti (croissants).

Besides the required academic courses, our students could choose among several interesting elective subjects, such as: Italian Culture, Art, Archeology and Digital Photography (more information on our website page: http://216.14.127.190/spring.php). They will also participate in several field trips, and have already gone to Villa Adriana and Ostia; soon they will visit beautiful Italian cities such as Florence, Venice and Pompeii.

The Pantheon Institute student services staff organized also the first extra-curricular activities, among them a bowling night: some of the students went with Elisa to the bowling alley and spent there a nice evening! Other interesting and enjoying activities will follow, among them cooking class, meetings with Italian students, nights at the theater and concerts.

With Rome as a background, no way to get bored: and the Pantheon Institute will make its best to make also this semester a great experience for all our students!!!

Keep in touch Pantheon Institute!!!

November 3rd was the first day of my internship at the Pantheon Institute. I was pretty anxious that day, because it was the first time I tried this kind of experience and, as every time you under take a new activity you are riddle with doubts. I was especially worried about my English. I hadn’t practiced it for ages and I didn’t feel confident at all, but no excuse, this time I had to try it! Today, when the experience is about to end, I can say that my early concerns have turned now into the feeling that time has run too fast here. But let’s start from the beginning!

During my stay at the Pantheon Institute I had to carry out different tasks, such as checking the information on the student handbook, filing, writing brochures of tourist information. Leafing through the pages of travel guides and navigate through the tourist websites, I found out about amazing places in my country I knew very little about before doing this research. Now I am an expert in beaches, local food and public transportation of the places I made a study on, and I am ready to take up a career as a tourist guide. Joking apart, that was a very pleasant task to carry out. By the way, I apologize for any language mistake you could come across reading the brochures!

The language tandem with American students was a very nice experience too. Organizing the event and joining it was really fun. It gave me the opportunity to practice the language and, least but not last, to meet American guys!

Another thing I was asked to do, was that of making sure that the discounts to local partners offered by the Pantheon Institute to the students, were still valid. That meant having to walk for hours through the shops of Trastevere, as a tourist in my own city. What’s better? I have always loved my city, especially Trastevere.

Living it in the early morning, when the air smells of freshly baked bread, old men meet for their coffee and newspaper, and you wander through the alleyways and the ancient buildings, made me feel so good and inspired! Not to speak about the feeling I used to have at the beginning, every time I walked out the door of the school and found myself surrounded by music and foreign voices speaking out loud. I felt I was on holiday in my own town!

If I had to describe this experience in just one word, I would say “journey”. A journey through Italy while writing the tourist brochures; a journey through the ancient Rome; and a journey through my “English world”, realizing thanks to the several jobs I did here as an intern, what I know and what I still need to improve at a linguistic level. And in this short journey I have been together with very nice people who have warmly welcomed me since the very beginning of the training, making the job easier than I thought it to be. Defenitively a positive experience! Keep in touch Pantheon Institute!!!

Come ti chiami? What's your name?

When you are studying a foreign language it is very important to practice it with native people, but it is not so easy to meet them, but not here at the Pantheon Institute! Some Italian students were invited to meet our students and practice together Italian and English.

It is not the first time that the Pantheon Institute has organized an event like this and after the successful experiences of last years, we decided to repeat this experience again.

The Italian students were from “Roma Tre” University, studying Foreign Languages, so the Italian and the American guys had the same objective: practice a foreign language and, why not, make new friends!

After a short introduction by Linda, the Student Service Coordinator, the American and the Italian students started immediately to chat and it didn’t matter if they made some mistakes, also because a language exchange does not include fixed rules, people can talk about whatever they want!

They spent a couple of hours together and they also had a light buffet. At the end they exchanged their contacts, so they could keep in touch and continue practicing Italian or English.

We hope to repeat these meetings between Italian and American students also in the next semesters because this is a great opportunity for our students, not only to practice the language they are studying, but also to learn more about Italian culture and customs from Italian young people.

Autumn

The changing of seasons is one of the reasons I am thankful to be from the Midwest City of Chicago. Winter brings the holiday cheer, spring offers fresh hope, summer warms everyone, and then there is autumn-the season of change.

Since I have lived in Southern California for the past three years for school, I have missed the fall season so much. I took the crisp air, apple picking, colored trees, and falling leaves for granted. Being abroad in Rome, I had no idea what to expect of the weather during this season.

Well for starters, I have experienced the hottest climate of my life. From August through November I have been able to still wear shorts, sandals, or even a sundress. The other day it was pouring rain, and I was ecstatic to be using an umbrella while wearing a raincoat and boots. But, by the end of day, the sun was out, and baking all under its rays. The climate in Rome has been consistently warm for the past three months. But, I realized something marvelous about the weather.

Even though it may be hot here, the leaves may not change, or maybe I can’t find a pumpkin pie at the supermarket, one thing is for sure. Autumn is still in the air, for change is always consistent.

Change is scary, vulnerable, and sometimes life altering. The study abroad experience is a drastic change. One moves for at least a four-month period of time to live in a foreign country. There are many reasons a student chooses to study abroad. The motives can vary drastically. Some see it as a season of European travel, while others desire to stay in one city and long to capture every aspect of it. I chose Rome because I saw a rich cultural opportunity beneath it, one that would be rewarding for the rest of my life. Italy is where my mother’s family is from, and therefore I saw it also as a chance to learn the language and understand more of my cultural heritage. It’s a personal choice.

No matter where one studies, what one’s major is, or whom one comes with. The experience is personally rewarding, challenging, and constantly shifting. Thus far, I have encountered autumn within myself. Despite the weather, I have been living a season of change.

Living with people I have never met in my senior year of college is strange; but I have learned in a deeper way that friendships can be formed among a group who come from different backgrounds, beliefs, and perspectives. Living in an ancient city filled with religious relics, rich history, and lasting architecture has taught me to appreciate how the world has changed through time. Living in a place where the Italian language surrounds me, has stretched me and shown me new aspects of communication. Lastly, living in a foreign culture where time is not of the essence has revealed a new way of living in the moment.

For me, studying in Rome has not been a season of discovering who I am. Rather, it has been one of learning to appreciate new perspectives, one of growth in my personal beliefs, and finally, one of choosing to embrace autumn.

Bailamos! by Olivia Dickow

I have no rhythm. Even though I was born Italian, I have never felt this trait was inherited unto me. Well, my thoughts on dancing were about to change when the Pantheon Institute organized a thrilling event. They invited students to come to a Latin dance session. Due to my immediate insecurity, I obviously ignored the sign up sheet. However, my roommate had other plans and made sure my name was written.

A few minutes before heading to the school for this dance sensation, my roommates and I panicked as to what we were to wear. What was the proper attire for Latin dancing? Should we wear leggings, a casual dress, and black heels? Or should we wear sweat pants, white t-shirt, and gym shoes? In the frazzle of the moment, we chose the more fancy option.

When we arrived at the gym, we realized we should have chosen the later more casual apparel. For our Brazilian guy instructor named, Reyna, was in workout clothes and already sweating. His welcoming presence and no comprehension for the English language, got the six of us there so pumped for this incredible experience. We walked into the dance room, and realized from the beginning that Latin dance actually encompassed many diverse unexpected genres.

With dance music already playing, we started laughing when our instructor began to lead us into zumba dancing. Obviously, this has become one of the most popular aerobic dances in the States. But, apparently, it was just as popular in Italy. As I tried to mimic my instructor’s moves, while glancing in the mirrors at my friends, I could not take myself seriously. Honestly, I

did not even care.

After our Shakira number, we did the vampira dance. It included basic zumba moves, but with vampire poses throughout random pauses during the song. I just wished someone had gotten those faces on camera. After complete and utter success as actresses, Reyna set the new mood for our second portion to the class.

He passed out purple, blue, yellow, and orange boa scarves. He put on his sparkling white glittery fedora hat, and then turned out the lights. The burlesque atmosphere got us jumpy, excited, and all together hyper. He put on the Christina Aguilera hit from her latest movie, Burlesque, and we let loose under the spinning cosmic lights. This evening just got better by the minute.

Sweaty, barefoot, and utterly energized, I did not want the class to end. As we all shook off embarrassment, worries of the day, and those extra calories from the pizza overload, we just had such a grand time together. Dancing in Italy, laughing with new made friends from the program, and posing for pictures with Reyna, was an evening well spent. I no longer care that I don’t have rhythm. I just want to go back and experience it all over again.