Carnevale

Carnevale is the day before Ash Wednesday, the last day to "celebrate" before the season of Lent begins. I am happy to see that at school Carnevale is still a bigger festivity among the kids than Halloween. (Although, each year I have been here in Rome, there seems to be more and more things happening on October 31st!)

Here are a few pictures from the Carnevale celebration at Ambrit Rome International School. This is a Grade 1 class in their costumes.

The children from the Early Childhood division of the school parade through the atrium while older students stand above on the balconies throwing streamers.

Happy San Valentino

Today is Valentine's Day. I didn't make it to the Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin to see the skull of St. Valentine.
But we did go to the Trattoria da Valentino for lunch after church.
In the evening we went to a performance of Bothanica by MOMIX. Fantastic!

A Snowy Day

Today it snowed in Rome. Yes, it really snowed. As my kids, Emily and Peter, returned to work at their schools in Jersey City and New York City after having two snow days, we went to to school in the snow!

Let the Games Begin

Tonight I joined Canadians at the Enoteca Antica, a wine bar near the Spanish Steps, to celebrate tomorrow's opening of the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games.

Here I am with Lisa and Grace, on my left and right,

Canadian colleagues from school.

An International School

I teach at Ambrit Rome International School. This year we have the flags of 75 nations hanging in the atrium, representing the birthplaces of our student body. The kids are really proud to see their flag on display. It is also a wonderful experience to be interacting with students and parents from around the world.

Holding Things Together

From Wikipedia:
Duct tape is a vinyl, fabric-reinforced, multi-purpose pressure sensitive tape with a soft and tacky pressure sensitive adhesive . . . Duct tape was originally developed during World War II in 1942 as a water resistant sealing tape for ammunition cases. This is when it was first created, as duck tape, due to the revolutionary waterproof features; it is still commonly referred to by this name . . . Duct tape, in its guise as "racer's tape", has been used in motorsports for more than 40 years to repair fiberglass bodywork.

I saw this car on my way to the bus stop. It's being held together with packing tape. Maybe you can't get duct tape in Italy.

SPQR: Fontana delle Anfore

Today on my way home, while passing through Piazza dell'Emporio, I noticed SPQR on the Fontana della Anfore.
This fountain was completed in 1927 by Pietro Lombardi after he won a competition the city of Rome had in the 1920s for new neighborhood fountains. This fountain is in Testaccio, below the Aventine Hill near the Tiber River
These cobblestones are around the base of the fountain. Two weeks ago I fell while crossing the Piazza. The result was an injured knee that took me to the emergency room. Nothing was broken, but I had to stay home from work and rest my leg for seven days.

SPQR are the first letters of the words in the Latin phrase Senatus Populusque Romanus, "The Senate and the People of Rome." It originally referred to the government of the ancient Roman Republic, and used as an official signature of the government, appearing on coins, civic inscriptions, and on the standards of the Roman legions. Today, SPQR is the motto of the city of Rome and appears in the city's coat of arms, the city's civic buildings, manhole covers, billboards and, of course, fountains.