Correspondance Romano
Originally posted July 14, 2005. See above for further entries.
Note: Below is a selection of emails from a summer spent studying at RISD's Palazzo Cenci. For a number of reasons I've been thinking about Rome lately, so absent the ability to visit this summer I've dug up these letters. Upon returning from that trip I summarized my time in this post but should note that I've since grown quite fond of the place.
Mon, 3 Jun 2002
From: bryan boyer To: > can you send me the checklist by tuesday. - Durable map of berlin, preferably something that has a light lamination to it. - Erasable pen That's it. I am exploding with allergies. -bryan
Fri, 14 Jun 2002
From: bryan boyer To: Rome is buttery; rich and thick in color and variety, different around every turn; heavy and dense. Actually, because the same passage ways are shared by people, scooters, and cars I think Rome feels far more dense than even Tokyo. The city is laid out with seemingly no order and it's easy to get lost in little back streets. It's also very small, causing me to miss my destination quite a few times because I thought I hadn't walked far enough when in actuality I had walked past it. I miss you. -bryan
From: bryan boyer To: I sat by the window on the way back from Ostia, which was a mistake because it was unbearably hot. Italy has these weird pine trees that are really tall and mostly just trunk. They're topped with a wide, flat poof of pine needles and look like Dr. Seuss trees. I finished one roll of holga shots. -bryan
Tue, 18 Jun 2002
From: bryan boyer To: > you write funny little notes. Am I dying? this is what i had to ask myself yesterday. Went to the vatican in the morning and fell asleep when i got back around 1:00pm. Was haunted by terrible dreams and vague body pains for the next 18 hours before finally waking up this morning. I am unsure of my condition but believe it to be allergy related. Looking into finding an english speaking doctor tomorrow. You would love it, everyone has these fancy cameras and pose when we're on site as if they're taking Really Important Pictures. I wonder how many of them could tell me what SLR means. -bryan
From: bryan boyer To: Rome is hot and claustraphobic. The architecture program has been pretty interesting so far. Half of the students are from RISD and the other half are from various other schools around the US and the world. We did one pin up with interpretations of the site in any format and one of the girls started her presentation with a poem. She didn't call it that outright, but that's what she wanted it to be. (My sneaking suspicion of her inner-poet was confirtmed this morning when I heard that she enjoyed a toni morrison lecture last night) This girl, ********, is particularly obnoxious and loves to use phrases like "random but not so random," going so far as to correct you and re-insert the extra four words if you snip it to "random" when discussing her project. This morning I woke up at 6:00am and went to breakfast. I had to draw a picture of an orange sitting in a cup when I temporarily forgot the word for orange juice. It would be an interesting thing to try, ordering in foreign countries only with drawings and collecting the results. I keep wanting to say "vorrei una caffe sil-vous-plait." give *** my best. -bryan
Wed, 19 Jun 2002
From: bryan boyer To: I am being drafted into service as a bartender but italy has no limes, only salami. -bryan
From: bryan boyer To: In many ways Rome is the mother of all problem spaces. Pretty much any architectural or civic problem one could imagine has been addressed here except, I should point out, the issue of dog poo + cobble stones. The hours are nice; I wake up early, cruise around, nap in the afternoon, and then work again at night. It would be even better if I could get more cold water. I usually drink my water at room temperture, but in heat like this all I want are a few ice cubes showing their battle scars in my glass-- melting, melting, melting. One thing that struck me yesterday while waiting for a bus, and this may be related to having watched Airplane so many times as a child, is that Rome is, in a lot of ways, the most Hollywood-set kind of place I've ever visited. I spot a nun, now a friar, now a Father walking this way and that. They wear baseball caps, carry breifcases, talk about airplane reservations, and generally wheel around town like normal citizens. Every time I see one of them I stop in my tracks and think, "oh, there's the pope. lucky me." It's never the Pope. Someday I'm going to spot everyone's favorite religious raison. The facilities here for EHP are amazing. I can see why people have complete culture shock when they return to the states because, honestly, this is some sort of academic Olympia. It's perfect. The library works on the fucking honor system. I mean, come on. There are no locks on the bedroom doors; there are flowers and trees in the courtyard; wine flows like wine; and while you do have to do real actual work for the academic half of this whole episode, it's kind of just incidental, just a way to get you outside and thinking about the place you're in: the world's largest magnet of Cured Pork Products and Olives. -bryan
Fri, 21 Jun 2002
From: bryan boyer To: There are two things which I see everywhere on the streets of Rome: underwear and dog balls. This city is littered with dogs, most of them small and cute, but the rare large dogs are not neutered and have large genitals. The Italians love lingere possibly as much as they love canine genitals. Everywhere there are underwear shops. Most of them have the manequins turned with their asses to the window, displaying some line-thin thong or other cotton-blend invader. Most of the underwear is rendered not sexy by the lucite manequins they're displayed on and the usually unkempt display window they're housed in, but this doesn't keep me from wondering why the hell there are so many shops. Who is wearing all of this underwear? -bryan
From: bryan boyer To: Italy is about all of these things: cured meats, standing up to drink your coffee, stiffling heat, mid-day naps, skulls in churches, hot men in suits on scooters, Ananas, and cheap groceries. Italian food gets boring after a while no matter how much better it is here then in the US. Frankly, I just don't want to eat a whole plate of the same thing. Lunch food, on the other hand, is quite inventive and fun to order. The pizza places all cook their pizzas in a big rectangle. When ordering you direct the person behind the counter, who is holding a pair of scissors, where to cut. They cut a long strip and then cut the strip into some managable chunks, slap it on a plate, and you're on your way. Sandwiches are almost always pre-made, ready for your selection. I also enjoy making use of the grocery store which is a block away and the markets which are a bit further but have better produce. The fruit here, by the way, does not have the shelf life of that in California. Either this is good because it means they have fewer chemicals, or bad because it means most of my strawberries are moldy before I get a chance to eat them. -bryan
Mon, 24 Jun 2002
From: bryan boyer To: The sky is alight with summer showers and everyone has just raced outside to feel it on their skin. While cooking dinner, the kitchen window framed a rather startling view across the courtyard: a palette of ochres, yellows, and terra cotta made alive by darkened skies preparing for rain. As soon as the first thunder rang, everyone was raciong down the wide stone steps to see what Roman rain is like. It only rains a few days a month here, and it hasn't rained yet, so this was kind of a big event for the people of the Cenci. The surprise of rain may have had something to do with the drinks we had before this whole thing happened. A round of strong caiphrinias may have had something to do with the level of excitement created by this natural event. The thunder is what inspired everyone to run downstairs, but the lightning is what I like most, you know. I stood watching it, only visible in the smalle crack between a few buildings, that sliver of sky lighting up blue and purple. -bryan
Tue, 25 Jun 2002
From: bryan boyer To: The cookies I just bought say: "Ancora un piu stelle Ancora un pie buoni" which translates as: Add a little bit of stars, Add a little bit of goodness. -bryan
Thu, 27 Jun 2002
From: bryan boyer To: I just got back from a walk all around rome. Every other night or so I try to take a walk through a part of the city I haven't been to yet. I just leave my door and start walking until I get tired. Then I sit down and write some notes before heading back. On the way back to my dorm this time I found a gelato place, so I ordered ananas & anguria, pineapple and watermelon, my two favorite fruits. Watermelon gelato is rare here, this was the first time I've seen it. It was a perfect combination of flavors, the watermelon giving a cool feeling and the pineapple adding just enough tang to make it exciting. -bryan
Mon, 1 Jul 2002
From: bryan boyer To: > The ******* boys visit NYC. They're funny and quite nice. I met them during my wild days in the valley, riding it out in KP incubator space. They came to our "parties" which were just free food and bad jokes about soap and XML... Anyway, the ******* guys live with their mom, or parents, and run the whole thing out of the garage. it was all just a joke. and then people liked it. -bryan
From: bryan boyer To: I am sweating graphite. I feel gross.
Fri, 19 Jul 2002
From: bryan boyer To: Via mare. By the sea. I wouldnt be surprised if they mean it literally, putting each package in its own little innertube and setting it adrift, alone to navigate the straights of Gibralter and make it to the eastern seaboard. Hopefully, however, they will put it on a boat and shepard it back. One month supposedly. I am scared. -bryan