Angela had wanted to go to Rome since she was thirteen and had first seen a picture of the Coliseum while she was Googling romantic vacation spots for her future honeymoon. She had known that for her life to be complete she would have to visit this city of wonders. She spent her freshman computer class searching out the highest quality snapshots of St. Peter’s and the Tiber instead of practicing typing, and at night she read traveler’s blogs instead of The Lord of the Flies. She knew that to insure a return to Rome you had to throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain and that the Mouth of Truth bit off the hand of any who answered a question falsely. She enjoyed spending her free time looking this up, and would often call her friends with new information she had recently discovered buried deeply inside an obscure website or travel directory.
Angela’s senior year was spent searching online college websites, looking for the college which ran the most programs to the Eternal City. She ranked her choices based on the quality, length and cost of their different study abroad sessions, and finally made her choice for the University of Washington because they had at least three different programs that traveled to Rome on a yearly basis and several others that ran special tours on occasion. She was sure that she would qualify for at least one of them in her time as an undergraduate.
So she spent her freshman year wandering around the dorms, working hard to get into the different departments that would allow her the chance to go to Rome. She focused most on the Honors Department, as they offered not only one but two programs a year. In her spare time she made facebook friends who were also interested in Rome and looked up the Spanish Steps and the Piazza de Popolo on Google earth, spending hours playing with the 360◦ views that allowed you to see the monuments from all angles. She avidly watched every episode of the HBO series, Rome, and read Ovid, Dante and Virgil off the University of Virginia’s online book reserve. She checked online daily, waiting for her prized programs to offer the chance for her to study in Rome. Finally she received the email she had been waiting for for years, “Winter Study Abroad in Rome Opportunity.” For a moment Angela just stared at the screen, tears of joy and excitement welling up in her bright blue eyes. She flicked a curly brown tendril out of her eye and immediately messaged her best friend, Rose. She and Rose had entertained dreams of studying abroad together since they first sat next to each other in European History in ninth grade.
RomeIsCallingMyName says:
Hi Rose! guess what??? the honors department is accepting applications to study art history in Rome this week!
PrettyAsAFlower says:
Really? When did they post the app?
RomeIsCallingMyName says:
five minutes ago
PrettyAsAFlower says:
Wow, you noticed already? Lol
PrettyAsAFlower says:
You need to get out more.
PrettyAsAFlower says:
have you applied yet?
RomeIsCallingMyName says:
I’m loading the app right now.
RomeIsCallingMyName says:
isn’t this exciting?
PrettyAsAFlower says:
When is it?
RomeIsCallingMyName says:
winter quarter
PrettyAsAFlower says:
Damn it!
RomeIsCallingMyName says:
what?
PrettyAsAFlower says:
I have to continue the o-chem series, I cant go then
RomeIsCallingMyName says:
what?
RomeIsCallingMyName says:
but you have to go!
PrettyAsAFlower says:
I cant, if I get behind I wont be able to major in bio chem, and you know I want to go on to med school. I can go in a couple of years, or in the summer, but not this winter
RomeIsCallingMyName says:
sigh. well fine. be that way
PrettyAsAFlower says:
Sorry
RomeIsCallingMyName says:
its ok. I g2g, the files done loading. Wish me luck!
PrettyAsAFlower says:
good luck. ttyl!
Angela closed the conversation and eagerly filled out the application and returned it. A few weeks later she received notification that she had made it through the first round of applicants. She joyously posted a note on the facebook group “Io Amo Roma,” announcing her hopes of being able to travel to their adored city and received fifteen jealous and encouraging posts in the next two days wishing her luck.
Three weeks later she walked out of the conference room in Mary Gates Hall, confident that she had kicked ass in her interview. She had been able to talk for fifteen minutes about the amazing sights to see and things to do in Rome. She had expounded on her excitement at the prospect of shopping during Saldi, which ran throughout January (she had learned this tidbit from shopping online at the United Colors of Bennington last January). She pointed out that studying art history in Rome would be a once in a lifetime opportunity because Rome housed an amazing collection of famous art, from Michelangelo to Bernini to Caravaggio (which she had researched thoroughly last August when she had looked up different Roman art sites after a bad case of sunburn sent her back to her computer for the rest of the week). She felt that the program director, Laura, had been gracious and amazed at her enthusiasm and extensive knowledge, so it was no surprise when she received the email a week later. The subject line was the most exciting one Angela had ever seen: Welcome to Rome!
Fall Quarter seemed to fly by to Angela. Every day she did not spend preparing herself for Rome and gloating to Rose online was a day wasted, in her mind. She didn’t notice which classes she took and she only did her homework as a break from surfing the web. When winter break finally rolled around she could barely contain her excitement. She packed her bags a full five days in advance and nervously rechecked her airline bookings online, faintly worried that something would go wrong and her flight would be canceled. But the first of January came and saw her snoozing lightly against the window of a British Air jet.
Two thrilling days later saw her rolling her stuffed suitcases through the Campo di Fiori to the UW Rome Center, where she got her keys. She hurriedly lugged her suitcase up the six flights of stairs to her apartment and ran back down to sign in and gloat to all of her friends. And that is where you can find her today, moving between the first and third floors of the Rome center, waving her computer about hoping to catch the wavering wireless network. Day and night she chats with Rose and her other friends back home, constantly telling them about all the amazing ruins and paintings she has seen. She sends out mass emails to her family and more distant friends, and she experiments with Skype and Messenger Live to see which allows her the best conversation clarity so she can describe her experiences in person. She also writes daily to her Facebook friends, friends who are hanging jealously on her every word, wishing fervently that they could have been the ones who were experiencing Rome the way Angela is getting to. After all, she is living her dream.
2 comments:
Kristine--
I enjoyed reading this piece, since you are basically writing about anyone who could be on our program. I especially liked the instant messenger dialogue--I thought this was hilarious and really brought out the satirical aspects of your story.
My only critique is that it felt more like a story than a satire. Parts were amusing, but it didn't feel like you were angry about something and wanted to critique it. The most satirical aspects of your piece was everything related to Angela being on the interent, so perhaps you could make even more fun of the fact that she is so obsessed with her computer. Maybe she spends more time on her computer in Rome than she does going around and looking at the sights?
Katie
Kristine, like Katie, I too had problems with this one seeming more like a story instead of a satire. I can see places where you are sort of poking fun at your main character due to her obsession with the internet and her fixation on all the cliche tourist attractions. However, I really like Katie's suggestion. You could use irony to make more of a satire and have your character, who's been obsessed with going to Rome, spend more time on her computer in the Rome Center than actually seeing the city. I can feel you alluding to this, but I think you could elaborate on this even more some how.
You must have had a fun time writing this one...changing the names around,etc. And I think we can definitely empathize with this character :)
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