I have been in Rome for about 4 days. This cradle of human history is a technicolor awakening to an Oregonian who has lived in the trees her whole life. The seemingly infinite carvings of stone, statuary embellishment, and grandeur of it all express the immensity of time in this place. After just a couple days of my immersion, I understood that the “Eternal City” envelops a history that spans beyond what the modern human can really understand. The monuments hold for millennia, and the human lives flit by them instantaneously. As one stands among the buses and swarms, one also gazes upon epitomal domes alongside crumbling reinforced marble columns of the Ancients, all in one frame. Stationary, visible, celebrated history juxtaposes the trillions of human stories that have always flown around these monuments, forgotten.

This is my first impression of the city that is to be my home for the next four months. As I explore the cobblestone streets and wander between creamy and rosy buildings, I find myself enamored with the density of it all. Anything could happen here, and everything has happened here. I know with time, my understanding of Rome will develop, as well as my idea of what it means for me to be here, but on the first day, I had a feeling that I wanted to stay. The city is a vile that holds a preserved concentrate of Western civilization, and however small, I get to add the fragrance of my experience to the ever-evolving manifestation that is Roma.