I'll post the next installment of my Rome story tomorrow, but I feel like I need to tell polar-vortex-crazed America a bit about the weather here in Vladimir. We had a warm start to the winter, with temperatures in the 20s and 30s Fahrenheit. The locals really hated that weather; everyone was pining for some real Russian winter.

We we got some real Russian winter. The temperature plummeted about two weeks ago, and the forecast for the next week calls for highs around 0F and lows down to -13F. It's also been sunny, which makes the whole frozen world amazingly beautiful. All the trees are laced with brilliantly white frost, and the snow creaks underfoot. You have to bundle up so you don't freeze (and your nose freezes up almost instantly at -10F), but walking in this frigid weather is a lot nicer than when everything is slushy and slippery.

The awesome thing about Russia is that people love winter. I get so tired of everyone moaning about winter and snow and cold in America. Ya, it's cold--it's winter in Cleveland. Get out and enjoy it. Winter isn't summer, but why can't people appreciate it for what it is? The freezing temperatures aren't stopping anyone from getting out: I'm going ice skating with one of my classes tomorrow at an outdoor rink. The high tomorrow? Eight degrees Fahrenheit, which will actually feel kind of warm compared to what it has been. So, America, quit freaking out. Russian news has been poking fun at the media spectacle that is the polar vortex; America's looking pretty ridiculous right now. Put on a scarf and relax.

Here's a few pictures of my neighborhood that I snapped on my way to the gym in the past week. I will admit that getting out of my warm bed for the 15-minute walk to the gym in -5F weather has been a bit of a challenge.

I set aside my next day in Rome for visiting the Vatican. I had already been on St. Peter's Square on Christmas Eve, but it was time to see all of what the world's smallest state has to offer. I started with a tour of the scavi under St. Peter's. It is an excavation that was begun in the early twentieth century to determine whether St. Peter's bones really were located under the eponymous cathedral. The excavations exposed the Roman street level of two thousand years ago and show an ancient necropolis--a city of tombs that exists under the floor of St. Peter's. Walking the same streets as ancient Romans and thinking of the thousands of people above my head in the church who had no idea what was underneath them was fascinating. And sure enough I saw the tomb that is believed to contain the bones of St. Peter. I'm not very religious, but to think that I saw the resting place of one of the world's most influential people is spiritual enough. 

I then went into St. Peter's Basilica, which was quite an experience. I was able to skip the monstrous line because I went on the scavi tour. We of course studied St. Peter's in my architecture class, so I marveled at things I had only before seen in photographs. What a place. 

I then got an amazing lunch of cacio e pepe (according to Anthony Bourdain, that's the most traditional Roman lunch pasta) and a roasted chicken, which was hands down the best piece of poultry I've ever eaten, all topped off with a decanter of chianti. It was the second big, expensive meal that I allowed myself, and it was worth every euro cent. 

My next stop was the Vatican museum. Somehow I missed out on the giant line that everyone seems to experience there; I just walked right in. The place was crowded with people of every nationality, and I can understand why--what a museum! I have to be a little sacrilegious, though: I didn't really appreciate the Sistine Chapel. Maybe it was because the famed room was packed to the gills with tourists, but I didn't feel any sort of overwhelming power or beauty. I liked the sculptures and mosaics in other parts of the museum a lot more.   

It's time for the next installment in my Rome travel series. December 27 was a busy day for me. I started off by going to the Catacomb of Priscilla, which is located outside of the historical center of the city. I took the subway there and found the entrance to the catacombs. I was lucky: There was an American family just getting ready to tour the catacombs, so I joined their group. What a spooky place! The bodies have been removed, but the labyrinth of tomb-lined passages carved into the soft volcanic rock was impressive enough. The catacombs feature some of the earliest known Christian artwork--it's amazing to think that people made that place almost 2,000 years ago.

After the tour, I got a lunch of artichoke pizza from a little pizzeria. The lady there spoke no English, but we figured everything out through a combination of sign language and my extremely skeletal Italian (I was able to figure out that she asked me if I wanted my pizza warmed up, to which I replied "si si"). Then I headed back to my hostel and asked the receptionist the best way to get to Hadrian's Villa. I studied that site in an architecture class, and I really wanted to go there. After getting directions, I took the subway to a suburban bus station. At the bus station I looked for a bus to Tivoli and got on the first one that pulled up. I asked the driver (in Italian) if the bus went to Hadrian's Villa, to which he replied "si" and then a lot of other things I couldn't understand, so I sat down and enjoyed the ride into the Italian countryside.

I didn't exactly know when to get off the bus, but I knew that the ride would take about an hour. So I watched the road signs carefully and saw a sign for Hadrian's Villa and got off the bus. Fortunately I was in exactly the right place. The grounds of the villa are immense and very beautiful, and I recognized lots of places I studied in my class. It must have been quite a sight to see two thousand years ago when Hadrian was throwing big parties in the giant bathhouses and ballrooms. I managed to see most of the villa complex, but I had to leave somewhat early because it was getting dark. Also, for a while I was the only person around, which was sort of eerie.

I walked back to the main road, a bit unsure about how to get back to Rome and whether the neighborhood I was in is safe after dark. There were lots of people just hanging out, and, after having been in Russia for so long, my instincts were telling me that it would not be good if people found out that I was a foreigner. I think I was being paranoid, but I wanted to get back to tourist-packed Rome. A bus pulled up after not too long, and its destination sign said Rome, so I got on. Fortunately it was the right bus and took me back to that same subway station. The weird thing is that I didn't pay for the bus to or back from Tivoli. No one ever asked, and there wasn't any sign of a way to buy tickets. Everyone just got on and off the bus without paying, so I figured I was okay. I guess I saved eight Euros that way--not too shabby.

Classes have started again here at the American Home, so I've been a bit busier. I'll get a the next installment of my Rome trip story up in the next day or two--I promise! It has been great to get back to teaching; the winter vacation started to get a bit long (we were off from teaching for almost 25 days). After my last class on Tuesday I had met all my groups for the new semester, and, although students can really put on a nice face and fool you on the first day, it seems like I have some great groups this semester. One of the coolest things about my job is that I get to meet tons of new people every semester, and, because I teach the lowest level, I'm usually the first American any of my students have met.

It's really rewarding see my students' faces and hear them talking after the first class: They are exhilarated that they could understand (more or less) an American speaking for 90 minutes, thrilled to use English, and excited to begin something new. I know that feeling because I had it too when I was really studying Russian--the I exuberance I felt as I was leaving a conversation class, Russian conversation table at a local cafe, or a screening of a Russian movie. I understood something! I talked! I met a native speaker and could talk with him! It's uplifting to see that same joy in the eyes of my students. It's what keeps me here and teaching.   

On December 26, I planned to see Castel St. Angelo, which is what I did. The walk to the Castel took me through most of the ancient center of Rome, so I made plenty of stops along the way. I ducked into a little deli to get out of the rain (it rained for about an hour that day), and I got an amazing panini with prosciutto and did some people watching. Italians are such fun people to be around: There was a stream old locals in and out of this little deli, and everyone was joking and greeting each other. If only I could understand Italian! 

Castel St. Angelo was originally built to be the tomb for emperor Hadrian in the second century A.D., and, in the great Roman style of reuse, it was turned into a fortress in the fifth century and a castle in the fifteenth century. The place is a hulking monstrosity that is obviously very old. You enter the complex and ascend a spiral ramp that was used by funeral processions carrying the caskets of Roman emperors. After wending your way through rooms, including Hadrian's burial chamber, you emerge onto a veranda that encircles the structure and gives a great view of Rome. From there, you can go up one more story and see a papal apartment and a treasury room that held the riches of the papal state. One of the coolest things about the fortress is that it is connected to the Vatican by an elevated walkway, allowing popes to flee to safety when Rome was under siege, which I guess was a pretty regular event. 

I did some more sightseeing after the Castel, and then went back to my hostel. I was having dinner at the nearby pizzeria when I noticed a tiny Asian women struggling to open her bottle of Coke. I offered to help, which started a conversation between us. She was only in town for a day and was staying at my hostel, and she wanted my advice on the best way to see the highlights of Rome that evening. She had a route plotted on her tourist map, but I could see she had no idea how to get around, so I offered to walk with her to see Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, and the Trevi Fountain. It was fun to show someone around, although I felt bad that she would only get to see those few sights, missing out on so, so much of Rome's beauty and history. One day in Rome is just not enough!