Besides the great weather and the myriad things we learned about life in early Pompey, TWO other things added special excitement to the trip:
Our Guide was stupendous!
He reminded me that I had visited
Pompey as an excited fourth-grader.
He reminded me that I had visited
Pompey as an excited fourth-grader.
I think his name was Giovanni. . .something like that. That I can't remember his name precisely drives me crazy. Makes me feel unappreciative, when of ALL things, I appreciated him immensely. I'm guessing he may have been late-forties/early fifties. His appearance was striking: not quite six feet tall, slender and energetic, he presented himself simply dressed in soft denim trousers, a trim sport-jacket, and a blue oxford-cloth shirt. Black socks. His shoes were shined. Imagine: a sport-jacket with leather patches on the elbows. How American-Professorial-Chic, is that? Giovanni was an especially wonderful guide.
Indeed, Giovanni looked like a polished American college professor. He spoke perfect English. He was superbly knowledgeable and smoothly literate. I give him extra points for the many times he drew attention to and explained unique features of family homes in Pompey -- beginning his explanations with English words drawn from Latin core words. Astonishing language proficiency. Amo, Amas, Amat. . .I fell instantly in love with him. . .well, in LIKE with him at least.
He won my confidence almost immediately. I had been a Latin scholar in college. I had taught English for about seven years at the beginning of my life as an educator. How could he have known that I had taught my English students vocabulary beginning precisely as he did (in Pompey), with Latin words at the core of the English words I was teaching? Imagine: it was just my good luck to encounter a "word-nut" on my first visit to Pompey.
He had all the characteristics of a wonderful teacher: superb mastery of his subject matter, wonderful fluency with English. And not the least, he seemed to delight in us -- his students -- as well. He approached us with great warmth and interest. As he told us in the beginning, the tour was designed to show us all the relevant aspects of Pompey: how the people lived. How they died. What their homes teach us about their particular style of living. How they died in one belching pyroclastic blast that rolled down the sides of Vesuvius and overwhelmed them. How they were buried under a torrent of falling ash. How they have been brought back to seeming life.
One of the most interesting -- if ghoulish -- aspects of the tour was the display of three victims of the Vesuvius eruptions: a pregnant woman, a tall man, and a spraddle-legged dog. Constantine gave us a detailed explanation of how these victims were found and "resurrected" from their entombment. When a "death-mound" was discovered, workers made a small entry near the top of the mound, and plaster was injected. When the plaster solidified, the "victim" was dug from its mound, just as if it had been a carefully manufactured casting. I had to wonder, though, if the skeletal remains were caught up inside the casting, and remained there pointing every which way. Perhaps. The bones weren't visible, though. Hmmmmnnnn!?
The second aspect I experienced while at Pompey was strangest of all. As a fourth-grader, my teacher was well-married and wealthy. Her retired husband traveled with her all over the United States and the larger world during her summer vacations. "Missus Hershman" and her husband brought back from their travels a huge array of authentic artifacts from countless places. These artifacts became the basis of many fascinating lessons about other cultures.
You wanna see and handle very carefully an ancient Hopi water-jug? Or perhaps an exquisitely woven Navajo wheat-basket? How about a rock allegedly carried away from the plain on which stands the Stonehenge? Never mind: Missus Hershman enriched her lessons with myriad personal snapshots and other authentic items gathered from scores of archeological sites. Even as a widely-UNtraveled fourth-grader, I had to wonder how Missus Hershman and her husband escaped prosecution and incarceration. How had they "collected" these items, and at what cost? I have to imagine that in that simpler time, they were able to buy and pay for many of MissusH's trove of teaching artifacts.
Here was a woman who literally "stole" her students' interest and made history live.
Her lessons on early Rome and Pompey were like countless others she assembled on our National Parks and other sites of historical interest across Europe and America. You may believe it or not, but her lesson on Pompey, its gorgeous mosaics, its authentic living quarters, its footpaths and byways -- all this led to my studying Latin for four years in high school, and four more years in college. Never underestimate the power of a teacher. . .especially one who has become herself a deeply committed learner.
ANYWAY: Giovianni was a riveting teacher, and while he did not fully realize it, he had Missus Hershman and her devoted student, Robby, along with him as well.
Visit Pompey someday. Be lucky enough to have Giovanni as your guide.
Indeed, Giovanni looked like a polished American college professor. He spoke perfect English. He was superbly knowledgeable and smoothly literate. I give him extra points for the many times he drew attention to and explained unique features of family homes in Pompey -- beginning his explanations with English words drawn from Latin core words. Astonishing language proficiency. Amo, Amas, Amat. . .I fell instantly in love with him. . .well, in LIKE with him at least.
He won my confidence almost immediately. I had been a Latin scholar in college. I had taught English for about seven years at the beginning of my life as an educator. How could he have known that I had taught my English students vocabulary beginning precisely as he did (in Pompey), with Latin words at the core of the English words I was teaching? Imagine: it was just my good luck to encounter a "word-nut" on my first visit to Pompey.
He had all the characteristics of a wonderful teacher: superb mastery of his subject matter, wonderful fluency with English. And not the least, he seemed to delight in us -- his students -- as well. He approached us with great warmth and interest. As he told us in the beginning, the tour was designed to show us all the relevant aspects of Pompey: how the people lived. How they died. What their homes teach us about their particular style of living. How they died in one belching pyroclastic blast that rolled down the sides of Vesuvius and overwhelmed them. How they were buried under a torrent of falling ash. How they have been brought back to seeming life.
One of the most interesting -- if ghoulish -- aspects of the tour was the display of three victims of the Vesuvius eruptions: a pregnant woman, a tall man, and a spraddle-legged dog. Constantine gave us a detailed explanation of how these victims were found and "resurrected" from their entombment. When a "death-mound" was discovered, workers made a small entry near the top of the mound, and plaster was injected. When the plaster solidified, the "victim" was dug from its mound, just as if it had been a carefully manufactured casting. I had to wonder, though, if the skeletal remains were caught up inside the casting, and remained there pointing every which way. Perhaps. The bones weren't visible, though. Hmmmmnnnn!?
The second aspect I experienced while at Pompey was strangest of all. As a fourth-grader, my teacher was well-married and wealthy. Her retired husband traveled with her all over the United States and the larger world during her summer vacations. "Missus Hershman" and her husband brought back from their travels a huge array of authentic artifacts from countless places. These artifacts became the basis of many fascinating lessons about other cultures.
You wanna see and handle very carefully an ancient Hopi water-jug? Or perhaps an exquisitely woven Navajo wheat-basket? How about a rock allegedly carried away from the plain on which stands the Stonehenge? Never mind: Missus Hershman enriched her lessons with myriad personal snapshots and other authentic items gathered from scores of archeological sites. Even as a widely-UNtraveled fourth-grader, I had to wonder how Missus Hershman and her husband escaped prosecution and incarceration. How had they "collected" these items, and at what cost? I have to imagine that in that simpler time, they were able to buy and pay for many of MissusH's trove of teaching artifacts.
Here was a woman who literally "stole" her students' interest and made history live.
Her lessons on early Rome and Pompey were like countless others she assembled on our National Parks and other sites of historical interest across Europe and America. You may believe it or not, but her lesson on Pompey, its gorgeous mosaics, its authentic living quarters, its footpaths and byways -- all this led to my studying Latin for four years in high school, and four more years in college. Never underestimate the power of a teacher. . .especially one who has become herself a deeply committed learner.
ANYWAY: Giovianni was a riveting teacher, and while he did not fully realize it, he had Missus Hershman and her devoted student, Robby, along with him as well.
Visit Pompey someday. Be lucky enough to have Giovanni as your guide.
He'll absolutely fascinate you.
He'll bring Pompeians back to life for you.
nota bene: Our guide's name was Giovanni. I woke up a few moments ago (after midnight) remembering a fragment of conversation between our Donna and our Master-Tour-Guide, John. Referring to our Pompey trip, the day before, I over-heard her say: "Oh! We loved Giovanni!" And when he looked up and caught my eye, I nodded in agreement. I suppose the conversation was nothing more than John's wanting to catch the spirit of our group's approval of our Pompey trip. I said no more, because Donna's comment fully expressed my approval of Giovanni's superb guidesmanship. I've corrected the title of this piece, corrected his name wherever it appears in the posting, and added this note -- but nothing more.
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