What a Legacy to leave.

I was waiting all week for Saturday’s seminar, since history is my favorite subject I was really excited to get inside the classroom and learn something new. The seminar was to brush up on our Roman history and also for us to turn in our Roman history timelines. Mr. Dundov started out the class by showing us a colosseum that he had on his wall in the classroom and then he asked us which country we thought it was in. The colosseum he showed us was located in Croatia where he was from and it looked just like the colosseum in Rome. It instantly made me wonder if the Romans had built that colosseum and if they did build that colosseum how many more did they build and where? What else did they contribute to countries around them and what influences did they have on them? I had so many questions and there was only three hours until the class was over.

Photo Cred :  Alamy 

I just want to say that Mr. Dundov was amazing! He made it so interesting to listen to him talk and he was very interactive with us. His computer would freeze a lot in between slides so he would go around the room asking us all why we wanted to go to Rome. He even let us have a little gallery walk with all of our timelines out to see all the great work. Then it was time to get down to business Mr. Dundov started off by telling us how Rome was founded according to the myth of Romulus and Remus. Romulus and Remus were two brothers who were raised by a wolf Romulus kills Remus and then finds Rome and names it after himself. We then learned that there were many civilizations that lived in Rome but it the Etruscan's who later became the Romans made the most impact on Rome with their writing, religion and architecture. The Roman Empire was under a republic type of government which was ruled by the Patricians (rich) and the Plebeians (poor). In the governments infrastructure there were two Consuls who were the rulers of Rome, the senate who were representatives for the patricians, and then the tribal assembly who were the representatives for the plebeians. When Julius Caesar went from being a consul to an emperor that’s when Rome switched from being a republic to a monarchy. Then we learned about the twelve tables which were the first written laws that provided political and social rights for the plebeians (citizens). In my sophomore history class I learned that The United States was influenced a lot by the twelve tables when it came to writing the bill of rights. It’s interesting to know that the Romans are still a huge influence on us today. If it weren't for their advances in engineering we wouldn't have everyday necessities like; sewage systems, dams, cement roads, and aqueducts. These are all things that we use every day and they are important for our daily life. So much information to take in but, Mr. Dundov was so lively in the way he was explaining it that it was actually really fun to listen to him.

Photo Cred : Google Images 

What interested me the most about the seminar is when we started talking about the role Christianity had in Roman history. Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. I found it ironic that the Romans would forcibly spread Christianity throughout the Roman Empire after they were the ones that crucified Jesus Christ. Mr. Dundov explained that because the Roman Empire consisted of so many countries they need to unify them all in some way. Christianity preached that if you lived a hard life on earth but worshipped God when you die you will be rewarded by entering the kingdom of heaven. The Romans used this as an incentive to get all the countries to assimilate to Roman rule by promising them that when they died they would be rewarded by entering the kingdom of heaven where there is eternal peace. Mr. Dundov said that they even started to sell tickets to heaven to ensure citizens they had a spot in heaven when they died. Being that I am Roman Catholic it makes me feel more connected knowing the history of my religion. 

 Many things became clear to me, after Mr. Dundov’s seminar,  that were confusing while doing the research for my timeline The legacy of the Roman Empire lives and continues on because we still use their advances in architecture, engineering, technology, politics, religion, and language. That is quite a legacy to leave behind if you ask me. I gained another great experience with this scholarship process.

-Courtney Bucknor

Archewhat?

            The seminar class on Saturday was a review of Roman history that I had learned during my sophomore year. Even though some of the information was repetitive, I was still fascinated of the successful accomplishments throughout the span of the empire. Romans accomplished so many advancements in architecture. I was interested of the fact that Romans took on old-fashioned methods of building structures and created more advanced and beautiful buildings. Roman advances in technology include the actual invention of concrete, roads, roman arches, and aqueducts.

            The Romans used concrete to have strong buildings that would last for an extended amount of time. Concrete was used to build the Colosseum, which explains why it is still standing today. Concrete enabled the Romans were able to create domes that rests on top of buildings. Concrete helped to create multi-storied buildings with different weights of concrete. It was also used to make buildings and roads for the military and citizens to travel easier, faster. Romans were able to have better communication with other empires around them as the roads grew to other lands.

            Arches were made of stone, brick, or concrete. They were made of a mixture of lime and volcanic sand that was able to support strong structures. The arches supported the small constructions, such as storerooms and roofs of buildings. They were able to build massive structures, such as aqueducts, which provided water to cities. The Arch of Trajan is a famous arch monument made to celebrate Emperor Trajan across the Via Appia, at its entrance in the city. Arches allowed enormous structures like the Colosseum to have enough support to not crumble and stay standing.

            Roman history is interesting in that Romans made huge advancements in building monuments. Romans invented new methods of building structures that made it a lot simpler for people to communicate and live easier lives through the invention of roads. It was interesting to learn how modern buildings are used with traditional inventions of Romans.

(from Google images)

                                                                                                                                        Kiarra Sims-Jean

Two different worlds, But one in the same

It was interesting to see how much Rome has been through and how much it has influenced our country. Even after all of the research I did for my timeline, there is still so much to learn.

Before this seminar, I hadn’t realized how much Rome has truly influenced America. Our government is shaped after their Roman Republic (509 BCE - 27 BCE). Their people were represented by the Senate and Tribal Assembly, much like how our people are represented by our government. Also, a lot of our architecture and engineering are based on Ancient Roman ideas.  For example, aqueducts, our sewage systems, dams, cement and arches were all ideas of the Romans.

I have already known that the colosseum was a place of violent entertainment. However, what I didn’t know was that people would spend every last cent of their hard earned money just to obtain a seat at the colosseum to watch the violence. I used to believe it was solely the richer people going to see this entertainment, but after this seminar, I learned that this was a stress reliever for any Roman that needed it.

Photo Credit: Linda Alchin

Even though our entertainment today in our country is not as violent as it was in Rome, entertainment then and now still has many similarities. Our entertainment is still pretty violent. For instance, boxing, UFC and even football. Think about it: Two grown men put together in a ring, fighting until one is unconscious. Also, as Mr. Dundov said, “If you strip it [football] down to it’s bare components, you have a man…trying to hit another man as hard as humanly possible, because the harder you hit him, the more the crowd cheers.” 

He went on further to say that in our society today, there are still many forms of barbarism. It is so common, that we fail to notice it. This is very similar to how the Romans lived, but the only difference is that today, people don’t die at the end of the match. Even though this is a huge difference, it is still so amazing to see how two completely different worlds can be so similar.

~Aurea Colston

THE ANCIENT CITY

My name is Ma’Kaylah Walker. I am applying to The Context Travel Program because I think it will be an excellent experience for me to learn about the rich cultural history of Rome. I am very interested in learning about other cultures and I know that spending time actually seeing, touching and exploring a place is the best way to learn about a culture. I am looking forward to visiting Underground Rome: The Hidden City Walk. It seems very interesting that this part of the city was covered up but still exists for people to tour and learn about Rome’s history. While researching about Rome’s history I found the most interesting period to me is the founding of the city.  I enjoyed researching when Rome was founded because the legend of how Rome began is intriguing and it’s political institution piqued my interest.

There is a legend about how the city of Rome was founded by twin brothers, Romulus and Remus. My favorite version of the legend says that the twins were the descendants of the original emperor of Alba Longa.  Romulus and Remus were born to the emperor’s daughter Silvia.  Their father was Mars, the God of War.  He did not want the twins and put them in the river when they born.  The twins were found by a she-wolf until a shepherd found them and took Romulus and Remus as his sons. The shepherd and his wife raised the children. When Remus and Romulus became adults the shepherd told them who they really were. Romulus and Remus would eventually overthrow their great-uncle Amulius who had taken the throne from their grandfather.  Their grandfather was returned to the throne.  Romulus and Remus decided to establish their own city and eventually Rome was founded.

Politics of Ancient Rome interest me because I see similarities between their government then and United States government now. The Romans did not have a constitution but their levels of government were similar to our current executive, legislative, and judicial branches government. The Roman government has served as a layout for the American government.

The legends and government of Ancient Rome are only two of the many reasons I am interested in learning about Roman history. The myths and legends tell stories that date back to the beginning of Rome. It is amazing how Ancient Roman tactics and politics are still being used in the modern day world today.  I look forward to learning more about these two topics and all of the other interesting facts about Rome.

BY Ma'Kaylah Walker

Yesterday's Entertainment Today's History

This Saturday’s seminar was a brush up on Roman History for me and the day our timelines were due. Rome has so much history that it is hard for me to just choose one topic that interested me the most.  But the one that was the most interesting is the Colosseum. It is highly overlooked because it’s so famous in Rome and a very monumental tourist attraction. The Romans built the Colosseum over two thousand years ago and not just in Rome but in other countries they conquered. Romans built colosseums in Spain, Portugal, Libya, Turkey, Romania, and Croatia.

The Colosseums were built for pure entertainment and a way to escape the hardship of daily Roman life. Some Romans weren’t rich enough to go to the Colosseums often so they spent whatever money they had saved up to attend these bloody spectacles. The richer Romans called the “Patricians,” sat in the front so they could get the best seats possible. The lower classes called the “Plebians,” sat in the back or as we now call it the “Nose Bleed” section. The emperor would sit in a box style seating with his royal court and enjoy the sight of death as if a game. In any weather the fight went on, an oversized sail attached to poles at the top of the Colosseum would cover the Romans from rain and harsh sun.

The Colosseum was built with over hundreds of trap doors containing live animals ready to set loose and attack a traitor or gladiator. The people pushing the buttons open the trap doors would rile up the animals to make them angry and attack whoever they set their eyes on. The emperor would often put traitors or people who broke Roman law in the colosseum and watch them parish by whatever trap door opened.  Very few gladiators won against their fate inside the colosseums walls and claimed glory. I can’t imagine being a gladiator and fighting for my life and dying just for glory.  When they beat any lion, tiger, or some vicious animal the winner would win money and fame. Romans found entertainment in watching men die and fight for their lives. But much hasn’t changed in modern times. Today Americans watch men punch each other as hard as they can in boxing and knock each other as hard as one can in football.

 The Roman Colosseum still stands today and people can even take tours inside the amphitheatre. Many movies have been made explaining the lives of gladiators fighting in the Colosseum like the hit movie Gladiator with Russell Crowe. If I get the chance to go to Rome I know that seeing the Colosseum will be an eye opening experience to see something built over two thousand years ago.

The colosseum is where emperors ordered fights to start and traitors to be killed in public to make an example. A place where poor Romans would save up their money to escape their life’s for a while. The Roman Colosseum a place for more than just death, a place where people could escape their own reality to watch someone else’s end. 

By: Myriah Catalano  

  

source: google images  http://www.raceandhistory.com/Europe/images/colo1.jpg

            

RoMe and Me: The TYTTS Style

 

Salvete! Everyone my name is Roynell Anderson and I’m a junior at Sacramento Charter High School. As my three years at Sacramento High School, I have been the team manager and assistant coach for the Sacramento High School girl varsity basketball team. As my three years working as an assistant coach, I have to take many responsibilities into my own hand. I am a student that likes to learn more or new material about a new country or anything that I didn’t know. Sometimes I see myself as a fish looking for water. If a fish don’t get water then it will die. Sometimes, I think that if I don’t have any new knowledge, then I will be like the fish without water; dead. I am also a caring and respectful person that loves to make new friends and go to fun events like sport events and many more.                                                 
I applied for Context Travel because as me being a student that likes to learn new material and the history of countries or cities that I have never been to, I think that Context Travel will be a good opportunity for me to see how Rome is different from Sacramento and how lucky Sacramento has it compare to other cities that probably can’t get the same opportunity that Sacramento or American can get from other countries. Also, I believe that Context Travel can really transform me through travel.

            All of the information that I learn about Rome was festinating but there was only one chapter that caught my mind and I thought it was an important topic to talk about or write about. The chapter that impressed me the most was Ancient Rome. Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that began growing on the ideas that the Italians as early as the 8^th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and created on the city of Rome. I found out that the ancient roman used Latin as there primary source of speaking. This is great for me to learn about because the Romans had to found a new way to talk to each other and Latin was that language. It’s also great that the Romans know Latin because Latin has some great words that sound different. For Example, the word Salvete mean Hi in Latin and it’s always good to learn new words that sound different from what you are familiar to.                                                

ROME

Two of the humanities that I found great about the Ancient Rome were the way they cooked and how they use catholic as they religion. The ancient Romans eats breakfast at dawn and eat no dinner, they only eat again at noon for there second breakfast and eat supper in the evening. This was important to me because it was good to see how Rome is different from USA and how different its going to be if I go to Rome and have to eat by there rules. I think that it’s good that Rome have different time to eat because some people don’t like to dinner or eat at the time they are forced to eat at. The second material that I found important is that the ancient Romans used catholic as there religion. This is great for me to learn because I am a Christian and I want to see how Christianity and Catholicism are similar and different. I will also like to see how a catholic church is run and learn new material about Catholics and their religion.

Being at Sac High has given a lot of opportunity to try out new clubs and shows how being in Context Travel can change your life. Before I started working on my timeline for Context Travel, I didn’t know that much about Rome. After me doing the timeline, I found out new and important material that will help me in Rome. This opportunity is one in a lifetime opportunity and I hope I can get a chance to show off my knowledge of what I learned about Rome.

-Roynell Anderson

 

 

 

Michael ? ... NO! it's MICHELANGELO!

Ciao! My name is Courtney Bucknor and I am a Senior at Sacramento Charter High School. This is my second time applying for the Context Travel Rome Scholarship. I want to start by saying that I am very excited to be given a second chance at applying and competing in this scholarship.  I am applying for this scholarship because one of the things that I want to do in life is travel abroad. Rome has always been at the top of my bucket list. I yearn to travel abroad and see what the world has to offer. Although I want to see beyond the state of California that is not the main reason why I am applying for this scholarship. I have a passion for art and history and Rome is one of the oldest civilizations on earth, what better place to start my journey of learning? Last year my motivation and inspiration came from my study in Rome from past history classes but after everything I learned from this scholarship process my passion to go to Rome grew even more. If I am chosen to receive this scholarship what I look forward to the most is experiencing the culture. I love to visit places and see how different people are and the pride they have in where they come from, that’s what I can’t wait to experience.

Myself and the rest of the applicants attended the first seminar of the competition on Monday. We walked into W-5 and saw wonderful Mrs. Everett setting up to teach the blog writing class. After we all were settled in we skyped in Petulia from Rome. We got to ask her some questions about how she got started in Context Travel, Why she loved to travel? and what was her relation to Sac High? It was nice to get her advice about traveling and nice to see that even though her job makes her travel so much and it can be exhausting her love and passion for her job makes it all worth while. It was inspiring to me knowing that could be me someday. After asking more questions we said our goodbyes to Petulia. Mrs. Everett then carried on with the rest of the seminar. She explained to us how to make our blogs stand out so that people will keep wanting to come back to the blog and read them and most importantly to CHECK OUR GRAMMAR she made that very clear to us. After explaining some more tips on how to write a good blog she sent us all on our way to go and write our first blog and finish up our timelines.

When I was researching for my timeline I was really intrigued when I started to research about the Italian renaissance. I loved how the Italian renaissance was a rebirth after the fall of such a powerful empire. This time period is most remembered by the art that was created. The Italian renaissance gave birth to amazing artists, poets and writers. The most well known artist during this time period is Michelangelo who was the architect behind St. Peter’s Basilica.  I spent a lot of time being side tracked and just googling some of the art that was created during this time. It fascinated me that the Italian renaissance resurrected pride in the people after the fall of the roman empire. That is what was my favorite thing about my timeline.

- Courtney Bucknor