Culture Shock!

I wasn't mentally prepared for my day in Rome today.  As the train pulled away from Assisi this morning, I felt like I was slowly waking up from a strange, but beautiful dream.   I was actually feeling excited about getting back to the 'real' world but Rome proved to be a shock to my soul! 

I went from peace & love and feeling connected to the Earth and Universe, to a busy, noisy metropolis, where traffic was congested and sirens were piercing the sky; the streets were packed with people, a lot of them seemed angry, and it felt like everyone was trying to sell me something or trick me into spending more money than I was planning to;  there were signs warning against pick pockets and beggars on every street corner;  Everything seemed so superficial. I felt like I was in that scene from the Matrix where the main character is finally realizing that the world he was living in was just an illusion. 

I spent the last 2 weeks connecting with my soul and feeling like my identity wasn't tied to my body, but today I was given a rude reminder of how in the 'real' world, identifying with the body and dressing it up, is TOP priority...Every where I turned  there was advertising for shoes and clothes , underwear and cosmetics.  Faces were packed with makeup, breasts were bulging out of tight dresses, fake tans were glowing behind popstar sunglasses... 

I really didn't feel like I belonged in the 'real' world today.  I was missing the mountains and the soul mates that I left behind. I even found myself being drawn to churches just for a few moments of peace and silence.  Not like me at all! 

Even so, I did manage to catch some of the famous historic sites.  In fact, I spent most of the day just walking around the ancient part of the city.  I have to admit I wasn't really expecting the ruins to be in such 'ruin'... It looked a bit like a war zone, but I guess it's understandable considering most things are over 2000 years old...my brain just can't quite comprehend that time frame...

I didn't want to pay to get into anything so I saw most things from the outside, but I was pretty proud of myself for sneaking into the Colosseum for free.  One of the exit gates was open with no one around so I just confidently walked through it as though I was meant to be there.  I felt so proud that I beat the system and saved myself 12 Euros.  I suppose I will get a few years bad Karma for that one, but it was totally worth it :)