Communists, Commitment, & Common Sense Pt.1

Last Friday I suddenly found myself in the midst of a communist parade. A man wrapped in an "Alternative Communists" flag was in the back of a truck dancing to Madonna's "Express Yourself." I've got to hand it to the Italians. They look for an excuse to picket like frat boys look for an excuse to party. You never know what the next peaceful march blocking your bus route might be. I guess I should thank the protesters for keeping me in shape. Every two weeks I walk an extra mile to avoid some sort of rally...

The day after communist day was good ol' St. Paddy's day (happy birthday, Dad!), and we went from communist red to Irish green. Had it not been for the 70 degree weather, it could have been Christmas. In America you expect everyone to pretend to be Irish, but in a city full of Romanians, Indians, Chinese, Gypsies, and Italians, I was amazed to see a whole motherload of red-headed revelers. I learned later we had been blessed by authentic rowdy Irish merrymaking as Ireland crushed Italy in a 51-24 Six Nations victory here in Rome earlier that day. (As if they didn't realize Italy has been hoarding the wooden spoon for years. [Italy has, however, won two games this year!])

While many Romans were out drinking themselves delirious, many others were cozy in their beds resting up for the annual marathon through the city (another excuse to cancel my bus route). I told Drew that I've never had much interest in running a marathon, but I may have changed my mind. In the States marathons begin at the crack of down to avoid disrupting traffic for the most part of a day. In Italy, disrupting traffic is a national pastime, so the race doesn't start until 9. During the course of the race you visit the Vatican City, Piazza del Popolo, the Colosseum, and many other "must sees" in Rome. Shoot, if you guys want to visit next March, we can do all of Rome in a few hours!

I have to teach a class now, so I'm off. I'll get to your girl story requests in the next post!