My Role at the Centro

So Wednesdays are internship and homework days, so not a whole lot of exciting things going on. For the internship, we're researching a collection in order to create an exhibit at a museum in Rome. We got to see the museum today, and while there was some neat stuff, none of it was revolutionary and warrants me uploading the photos on here. Thus, this is a text post.

I thought I would discuss the social dynamic of our 35 student group a little bit. This is always a precarious topic, as I never now who's reading, but I feel fairly confident that nothing I say will be offensive...but we'll see. So I stacked the deck before this program. Knowing that I would be here in the fall, I researched opportunities in the summer (go back and read the posts if you are unsure what I'm talking about) that would let me have a run at Rome before the real fun began. I know the city fairly well, much better than anyone in this program, and possibly better than the professors. One way or another, I'm comfortable in this city (not complacent, complacency is bad) and know how it runs. Thus, I seek to steal away some of my classmates experiences. These include getting lost, getting confused, settling for McDonald's because we miss dinner and getting pickpocketed. My goal, when we go out, is to avoid none of these things happen, so I come off as overprotective sometimes. Thus, I've earned the nickname Mama Duck, with all of the others being the baby ducks. I'm somewhat of the leader in the group, and I'm always alert and watching the group's back. Large groups of Americans traveling along back alleyways on a Friday night? Best believe I'm expecting trouble and watching every shadow from the moment we enter to the moment we leave the city. I've installed the policy that no girls walk home by themselves from the bars, meaning that one guy has to always be with them. Basically, I want to keep all the stories of this semester about all the fun people had, not a terrible experience that will be funny 10 years after the original occurrence. Thus, I'm Mama Duck, the planner, the leader, the protector. Not a bad gig, and at least when you're making the decisions, you know that they won't be bad ones. I was also chosen to be an RA for the semester here, so I report directly to Franco, the director of the program, and act as a go between him and the students. Finally, all the lunch ladies know me by name now, and they know that any extra food is to be brought to my place, and that as long as I'm at a meal, no food will go to waste. It's only been a couple weeks, but I'm already feeling quite thrilled with how the social game is being played. I've got friends, I've got respect and I'm making memories and connections that will last a lifetime. Hopefully this sunny streak will continue.