2/3

My second exam is done!! And of course there is a story..

Letteratura latina- latin literature. Same subject I should have at home as well but the main difference is that there are studying this 10 students, here 100. There we focuse on one writer- Virgilius; here you have to know besides him as well Ovidius, Plautus, Ennius, Livius etc .. so A LOT. I still chose 6ECTS system, so I had to do less but I had to translate still "Aeneis" and "Asinaria" from latin to english (or at some point it look like latin-italian-estonian-english) so at last night I really felt like I'm studying more english (old-english vocabulary is really a dark land for me) than anything else. But at least I could have done it in english..

So, exam day, 5th of February. 9.30am. Palazzo Liviano. Huge class which reminded my school's big aula and a lot of students. Of course again my name wasn't on the list, although I had registered myself in Uniweb, whatever.. I got number 31. But on the same time, in the same room, there were 3 more exams because letteratura latina divides into different parts.. So, there were 4 professors, 100 students.. and you can calculate when one professor has 3 person per hour then my turn should come eee.. in 10 hours? And so I figured it out, after sitting there for a couple of hours, I have to come back tomorrow. Didn't mind even that much because I could study more, then. :)

So I returned today. Different room and actually even different teacher who asked me to speak slowly.
First text I had to read and translate came from "Aeneis" which is Roman national epic and I have to say, pretty interesting:

Arma virumque cano, Troiae qui primus ab oris
Italiam, fato profugus, Laviniaque venit
litora, multum ille et terris iactatus et alto
vi superum saevae memorem Iunonis ob iram;
multa quoque et bello passus, dum conderet urbem,
inferretque deos Latio, genus unde Latinum,
Albanique patres, atque altae moenia Romae.
Musa, mihi causas memora, quo numine laeso,
quidve dolens, regina deum tot volvere casus
insignem pietate virum, tot adire labores
impulerit. Tantaene animis caelestibus irae?

The main difference about Estonian and Italian education is that we don't have latin language obligatory in the high school or.. we don't have it at all! That's why I could have seen the professors suprised when I told them that I've learnt latin for one year and not even by heart. For example, Viviana, my kitchenmate has studied it for at least 5 years and she's only a freshman. Then I had to talk about Plautus and Julius Caesar which went quite normally.
And after that I had to change the teacher who asked me to translate Plautus "Asinaria" now..
It is also quite funny as it's comedy and you can see that 2000 years ago the problems were the same as now:

ARGYRIPPUS,the son of Demænetus, is violently in love with Philenium, a young woman, who is living with her mother, Cleæreta, a procuress. The latter has made an agreement with a Captain, of the name of Diabolus, to transfer Philenium to him for twenty minæ, on condition, however, that if Argyrippus shall first pay that sum, he shall have her. Argyrippus, having exhausted all his own resources, applies to his father, Demænetus, an over-indulgent and immoral old man, and requests him to furnish him with twenty minæ. Demænetus is married to Artemona, a rich woman, and is totally dependant on the will of herself and her favourite slave, the chamberlain Saurea. Being destitute of money, Demænetus orders his servant, Libanus, by some means or other to cheat his mistress or the chamberlain out of that sum. Just then an ass-dealer arrives, to pay to Saurea twenty minæ, the price of some asses which he has previously purchased. Libanus then arranges with his fellow-servant, Leonida, that the latter shall personate Saurea, and so receive the money from the ass-dealer. This is done, and the money is paid to Leonida, in the presence of Demænetus, who assures the dealer that Leonida really is the person to whom the money is payable. This sum is then given to Argyrippus, but with the disgraceful stipulation that for one day his father shall enjoy the company of Philenium. This he submits to, and the three sit down to a banquet. The Captain discovers this, and sends his Parasite to inform Artemona of her husband's conduct. She accordingly accompanies the Parasite, and discovers her husband in the company of his son and the young woman; after soundly rating him, she leads him off; while Argyrippus remains in possession of Philenium.

So... I got 25/30!!! :) My main goal was to pass it and I did it! So now there's only one exam-italian- next Thursday and then I can enjoy my last month of Erasmus ...

This time I have to thank Ott! Your music helped me and Kinga to concentrate <3