Today was seminar day. We met in our classroom from 9am - 12:30 with a coffee break in between. We talked today mainly about the way in which the non-elite people in the late Roman Republic and the early Empire defined themselves through art and sculpture. One of the very interesting tombs in Rome is the tomb of the Baker. Even though he was not among the aristocrats of Roman society, he spent a great deal of money on his tomb. He portrayed proudly his profession and what it meant to him to provide bread, to be honest in business, and to provide for his family and those who worked with him. He didn't just bake bread for living, he was a Baker.

In the afternoon I read some more and took a little nap. Today for the first time I went to 5pm tea. It was a nice little addition to the day. Dinner was at 8pm. Everything was very tasty, very healthy, and very expensive. I wouldn't want to pay the figure if it were in dollars, let alone in euros. But I don't have a lot of choice. I don't really want to use the Rome Prize Fellow's Kitchen (inside joke).

Tuesday will be another day of reading. I will need to do some laundry again. I seem to have misplaced my bottle of laundry detergent. I'll have to go shopping in the early morning before it gets to hot. That's the plan anyway.

My plans for the Fall semester have altered slightly. I will be able to keep my time there to exactly three months. That works out with my housing at Tantur and my class at Bethlehem Bible College.

Big news about my Hebrews book. I should be receiving the PDF of the page proofs from the publisher this week. I just need to look it over and then ask a few of the Hebrews scholars I've come to know to write a little blurb for me.