Come on, Pantheon Institute!

Those who think that American kids cannot play soccer make a big mistake. Seven Pantheon Institute quality players challenged an Italian team to a soccer game on a beautiful spring day last Saturday. Everybody was anxious to play, so they arrived early at the soccer field, and had even time to make some pictures and sunbathe…

The Italian teacher Maurizio was also there to see his kids playing and was the team’s orchestrator, motivating and keeping them moving forward. Italy team proved to be a tough nut to crack, and yet the Pantheon Institute were constructive, and after a little while they took the lead with two goals.

American kids were more aggressive, and pressed much higher up the pitch, but unfortunately commitment was not enough, and the goals sparkled Italy into action,: at the end of the game, Italians took home a 3-2 scoreline, albeit with a touch of luck… Was it really important? The real winner was the wish of have fun!

Live music at Big Mama club!

Some students from the Pantheon Institute had the chance to see a live performance by the Burning Bright, the official Italian Doors tribute band, last night at Big Mama club in Trastevere. Open since 1984, Big Mama is considered as one of the best places to listen to live music in Rome.

The Burning Bright, led by a charismatic singer who really resembles Jim Morrison, played for over two hours and performed the Doors’ most famous songs for an enthusiastic and very loud public: among the others, Light My Fire, LA Woman, Touch Me and Riders on the Storm.

Essere o non essere, questo è il problema!

Some “brave” Pantheon Institute students agreed to come with us and see a play performed in Italian on Thursday night.

They had two options to choose from: “La Locandiera”, by the famous 18th century Venetian playwright Carlo Goldoni or “Hamlet”, the masterpiece by William Shakespeare.

The students promptly opted for the second possibility: knowing the story already, they said, it would be easier to understand the actors playing in Italian. But Shakespeare’s cues translated into another language aren’t exactly the easiest thing to hear for an English-speaking person. Nevertheless, our students tried very hard to understand what the different characters appearing on stage were telling each other and they managed to get most of the speeches performed by the actors.

Hamlet was put on stage by the “Teatro del Carretto” actors company; they performed a very interesting adaptation of this celebrated bloody melodrama on the theme of revenge.

This experience was also interesting from an architectural point of view: Teatro India, where the play was performed, is indeed located in the citadel of the former Mira Lanza factory, a large industrial site on the banks of the River Tiber in an extremely evocative part of the city. The great gasometer that visually dominates the theatre has come to be a contemporary monument and a symbol of twentieth century Rome associated with this building.

Do you speak English? Parli Italiano?

“Quando sei a Roma, vivi come i romani” (When you are in Rome, live as a Roman”): easy to say, but not always to do, especially if you live in Piazza Navona and spend most of your time between this charming square and Campo dè Fiori, and you feel that the city is in the hands of Japanese tourists…

This is why we decided to contact the University of Rome, “Roma tre”, and invited some Italians of the Department of Foreign Languages to meet our American students in the center at via del Pantheon in a safe, encouraging atmosphere.

Our marvellous Italian teachers, Barbara and Maurizio, were there to help to facillitate conversation, but after a little while, some good food and drinks, everybody started immediately to talk and practise their Italian and/or their English. No matter if someone said something wrong! It was even more fun!

At the end of the day, everybody was sorry to leave… but hopefully this was just the beginning of new friendships!!

8 March International Women's Day: a little history

Even in Ancient Rome a day dedicated to women was celebrated. March 8 was one of the first of the springtime festae, a day sacred to Ariadne, whom Thesius had abandoned on the Island of Naxos after promising to marry her if she helped him slay her father's pet Minotaur. Seduced and abandoned, she was a prototype for ancient Mediterranean womanhood.

On March 8th 1857, women of New York gathered to hold their first protest for improved work conditions and raised wages. March 8th 1908, another historical moment for women took place in New York, fifteen thousand women protested shorter hours, better pay and voting rights. Finally as of March 8th 1975, the United Nations declared this day an International Women’s Day.

Authorities don't agree how or why, but the custom started in Italy -- some sources say in Rome in 1946 -- of men giving their wives, mothers, daughters, and other women friends sprigs of bright yellow Mimosa flowers on March 8. Women have since also started to give Mimosa to each other. The flowers are intended as a sign of respect for the women and also an expression of solidarity with the women in their support for oppressed women worldwide.

What is it that we women were so desperately trying to obtain? We wanted to be equal to men: to work, be entrepreneurs, deal with financial problems, etc. We have achieved all that we sought after. Are we happy now?

Alas, women can never be completely satisfied. We are too smart for our own good. Today we lack the most important element of life – TIME! We are so busy with that which we sought so hard to achieve. Today we must deal with our work and financial status, but no one took away our inherited responsibility for our family and children….

Don't give up! Happy Women's day to all!!

Pantheon Institute Photo Contest

Taking pictures is a passion…and it becomes a real pleasure if the subjects to photograph are the Colosseum, the Pantheon and St. Peter’s. Rome is no doubt the ideal city for those who love immortalizing breathtaking views with their camera.

And do you think there is a better occasion for taking pictures to keep all lifelong than a study abroad experience? This is just the reason why the Pantheon Institute decided to run a photo competition for its students: the best three pictures of this month will get a free brunch at the restaurant Gustolab at via dè Filippini, 4 - just off Piazza Navona.

We received a lot of pictures, one more beautiful than the other…Our students are really talented and, with their pictures, they managed to get the poetry that hides behind every sight, even the simplest ones! It wasn’t an easy choice for us, but all of the students will have the chance to win the next competition that will end on March 30th and whose theme will be "people in Rome and in Italy". The winning picture will get a very nice prize…

Do you want to know which pictures have won this month’s competition?
Check out the “photo of the month” page in the “current students” section of our website: http://www.pantheon-institute.com/current.php?id=31

La Cena (The Dinner)

As most of us know, Italians don’t take cooking lightly. It’s practically sacred. No Lean Cuisines or Tater tots will suffice for a meal over here. Though you’ll come across a few McDonald’s, they are only found in the most touristy of places, because really it’s all about slow food in this country. The kitchen is more like an art studio, and there’s a right way to do everything. Don’t forget to salt the water when you make the pasta, oh and al dente per favore.

To know the secrets, it’s best to learn from a real Italian, rather than the menu at Olive Garden (eww.) The other night, we had the opportunity to do just that. Our marvelous Student Service Assistant Simona paid us a visit in our apartment at Piazza Navona to help us make a real Roman meal.

A handful of us went to the supermercato earlier in the day to collect the items we needed for the following menu: Pasta alla Carbonara, Insalata con pere, noci, e Parmigiano (pears, walnuts and parmesan) and Tiramisu. Though at first we had some difficulty locating the ladyfingers for the Tiramisu, we managed to purchase everything we needed with each participant’s contribution of 5 Euro, and we even grabbed a couple bottles of vino! Success.

The night began with the preparation of Tiramisu, so that it could spend some time in the fridge before we devoured it. It was a bit of a process, and everyone took a turn at doing things like making the caffe’, whipping the egg whites, folding the mixture, dipping the lady fingers, and slowly building the masterpiece.

Then, on to the salad. We carefully chopped the pears, sliced the cheese, cleaned the lettuce, and cracked the walnuts, mixing it all together into two huge bowls of green goodness.

And finally, la pasta alla carbonara, a Roman specialty consisting of rigatoni, egg, black pepper, pecorino, and pancetta (or zucchini and onion for us vegetarians.) Back to the cutting board to chop the zucchini and onion. The tiny cubes of pancetta were thrown on the fire, followed by the veggies. So close we could taste it! While we waited for the pasta to cook, we opened the first bottle of vino and made a little toast to our evening. Luckily we had our Italian friends around to make certain that we had achieved true al dente perfection. Finally we mixed in the egg and Voila!

Thank goodness for our common area with its long table to seat all of us, which we adorned with candles to set the mood. With a hearty Buon Appetito our meal began and we gladly enjoyed the fruits of our labor in the company of friends.