salvete omnes!

The staff of the 2019 Governor's Latin Academy is on campus in Ashland and hard at work making preparations for your arrival on Sunday. Today, we had lunch, did some work, and even went to a meeting. FUN! Tonight we will have dinner together, and tomorrow we will continue getting everything ready. 

Please enjoy your last two nights of cell phones and Netflix. It will be worth it to give them up, but you should enjoy them while you can. You could also hang out with your friends, whom you might not see for a few weeks (and even supply them with self-addressed stamped envelopes so all they have to do is write you a letter and stick it in the mail), but hey, you do you. 

We will update again tomorrow. valete!

Cavedo

heus! This is magister Cavedo again. I am so looking forward to meeting each of you in less than a week. This post is about art and music at Academy.

This summer, in addition to teaching my class, compositio, and leading the artes activities, I will also be supervising and assisting with the live music and set design for the play. Big take away: If you play an instrument that you can bring to Academy, you should bring that instrument to Academy. In addition to the play music, there are always opportunities to play music during Academy. We have a keyboard with a pedal, so no keyboards/pianos necessary. Similarly, if you are an artist and would like to bring your own materials, please do so. In addition to the play set, there are several activities where you may be glad to have your own supplies.

With just under a week until Academy begins, it is normal and okay to be feeling all kinds of feelings. I am feeling equal parts excited and anxious, and I have been doing this for a few years now. Regardless of how you are feeling, rest assured that you have made the right decision by choosing to come to Latin Academy. We are going to have an amazing and fantastic time.

ex animo,
magister Cavedo

​Salvete!

This summer, Magister Gallagher and I will be co-directing the Latin Academy play, which is Mostellaria by Plautus. This play features a clever slave who tricks his master into believing his house is haunted so that the master’s son won’t get caught with his lover. It will be amazing and fantastic!

The play is a huge part of Latin Academy, and I encourage all of you to be involved in some way, whether you've ever tried theater before or not. (I mean, I had never done theater before, and here I am directing my eighth Plautus play!) Try out for a speaking part and maybe you'll play Philolaches, the young lover who bought and freed his girlfriend, Philematium. Maybe a non-speaking part is more your style and you can be a silly baggage carrier, helping the old man with his luggage from his three year journey abroad. Maybe you're more musically inclined and you can bring your instrument to play to accompany the actors. Or maybe you're artistic and you can help out painting the set or designing the cover art for the program. There really is something for everyone!

-Magistra Carroll

So... Academy starts next weekend! I hope you're ready for an awesome three weeks, and all the memories we'll make together!

By the end of our three weeks, we will have had many fun events, wacky adventures, and inside jokes. (BTW how about that future perfect there?) And we'll want to remember them as well as Aeneas remembers his journey around the Mediterranean! So how can we do that when we won't have Snapchat or Instagram?

Introducing.... the Memoranda DVD!

Throughout Academy, we'll be taking pictures and videos of everything that happens - from classes to meals to field trips to selfies - and organizing them into a slideshow. We will add some captions and write some narration in Latin! We will also record the final performance of the play. All of this will be collected onto a DVD for everyone to watch when we return home. After all - omnia in Academia memoranda sunt. Everything at Academy must be remembered!

Do you have a digital camera? Bring it with you and take pictures of you and your friends!
Don't have a camera, but love taking pictures? We've got some cameras you can use!
Do you like using iMovie or WeVid, or writing in Latin? Join the Memoranda team!

-- Magister Jefferson

Salvete omnes!

It occurred to me that I didn't really properly introduce myself with my last post, so I thought I'd make another.  I'm Magister Gallagher, and you've already learned that I'm going to be your spoken Latin teacher.  So who is the man behind Latina Loquenda?  I'm glad you asked!

Essentially, I'm a giant nerd.  This is, admittedly, pretty par for the course as far as our Latin Academy staff goes, so I'll have to be a little more specific.  I'm a semi-professional gamer, Youtuber, and Twitch streamer.  I focus on Magic: The Gathering, but I've started to produce some Slay the Spire content as well.  I loving gaming on my Nintendo Switch, and I spend plenty of my free time watching anime as well.  I even go and run presentations at anime conventions from time to time!

I'm basically Odysseus.  I've bounced around from IL to IA to MD to VA to NC over the course of my Classics career, never settling down in any one area for too long.  I've spent the last six years in Roanoke, VA teaching Latin, but I'll be moving to NC after Latin Academy to begin teaching Latin for Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy.  Luckily the obstacles on my journey haven't been too tricky!

Speaking of journeys, you're about to make one of your own!  Make sure you're properly prepared.  I don't mean in terms of a packing (though please do that too!).  I think it's important to come in with a good mindset, and part of doing that is making sure your in a good place mentally before you leave.  Latin Academy has the potential to be a life changing experience for you.  I recommend coming in relaxed and with an open mind to get the most out of it.  Over the next (looks at calendar) week and a half, do the things that you love doing.  Binge some Netflix, play some frisbee golf, hang out with your friends... Carpe diem and all that jazz.   You may lose access to your cell phones and other modern conveniences while at Latin Academy, but I hope you'll gain something much greater.  

One last thing: HYPE!!!  Latin Academy is right around the corner.  This is my favorite part of the year, and I look forward to meeting you all soon.

-Magister Gallagher

​Avete!

I’m one of your RAs, Grace, but you can call me gRAce :) I attended Academy in MMXIII, was an RA in MMXVI, and now I’m back for MMXIX! Guess I can only come back every three years, so see you in MMXXII!
 
Some of you might recognize me from Latin Convention. I’m National Senior Classical League President, and for those of you who don’t know- that means I rule all the college Latin nerds. If you’re going to NJCL Convention this year, definitely let me know! And if you don’t know what NJCL Convention is, then also let me know! Induction into the cult of Latin doesn’t take long.
 
I enjoy Brooklyn Nine Nine, flowers, ancient theater, being smothered to death by puppies, and (most of all) puns. In honor of you- here are some tips for you with Classical puns:

1. Don’t be translate to class (but please do translate).
2. Juno what the right thing to do is- go with your gut.
3. Go all in at Academy- this will look great on your resume gestae one day, but you'll also remember it because it's a La-ton of fun.

 
​I will be attending graduate school for Classical Philology (that means translating Latin and Greek full time) this fall at Washington University in St. Louis, and after that I’ll be a Latin teacher!
 
When I came to Latin Academy at R-MC, I had no idea that I would end up attending R-MC and becoming a Latin teacher. It was only after I realized I would rather pursue what I loved to do in my free time (Latin) that I knew I wanted to teach Latin. It was the experiences I had at Latin Academy, National Latin Convention, and Riverbend Latin Club that made me realize Latin is my passion! So keep yourself open and let the Latin nerd take control of you at Academy.

Latin Academy? More like Latin A-rad-emy.

Vos mox videbo!

-Grace McIntire, RA

Where are the biographies and autobiographies of everyday Romans? Must we only deduce the Roman experience from a handful of bog postcards and the tales of the rich and famous? Put down your Res Gestae for a moment and take a stroll with me through the life stories of the common and curious. Tomb inscriptions provide one of the most valuable, accessible, and oft ignored primary sources from the ancient world. Just like many ancient Romans, we will become downright cozy with the long deceased and investigate the symbols, abbreviations, and formulas of burial inscriptions for signs of real lives. Along the way, we will meet the parade of the Roman street:  butchers, bakers, purple dye makers, unusual wives, avenging angels, generous patronesses, business men and women, young children, doting parents, adorable dogs, enslaved and freed people, lousy politicians, whole families, lost loves, soldiers from the edges of the empire who met an inglorious fate a world away. We will learn to read the details before us literally, clearly, authentically, then deduce clues based on the scholarship regarding how Romans conceived of identity and memory.

In addition to becoming familiar with the formulas of identification in reading inscriptions around the ancient Roman tradition, we will touch in passing on burial art and architecture. What did the different practices and structures of burial mean among the Romans? What were the common themes and designs on tombs and how do we understand them currently? Why did Augustus and Hadrian build mausolea for themselves, but Caesar received a temple and the Antinous an entire city in Egypt? What are the differences between a cenotaph, a sarcophagus, and an ossuary? Did you know some Romans practiced mummification? Who received a more fitting epitaph, the deified mother of an emperor or the young slave of a vicious poet? These questions are only the beginning of our journey. 

The land of Hades stretches vast, but it need not remain dark. In fact, our project may shed light on the less discussed elements of the Roman social behaviors, related practices around the world, and the ways we commemorate, memorialize, and mourn. I look forward to sharing my unusual passion for reading such inscriptions and to hearing your translations, interpretations, and discussions. Join me as we emphasize the "dead" in dead language!

Salvete, discipuli!

My name is Arjun, and I'll be one of three RAs at GLA this summer. I attended GLA in 2016, and I'm beyond excited for GLA MMXIX! I hope you are as well. I'm a rising sophomore at UNC Chapel Hill, studying Classics. My job is to help you have a successful three weeks at GLA, so please don't hesitate to reach out to the RAs (Sallie, Grace, or myself) for any questions/concerns/random thoughts you have.

As you are packing for GLA, know that the weather also demands preparation. Though we will make sacrifices to the gods for favorable weather, it is a really good idea to bring the following items:

• Sunscreen - Apply regularly to avoid sunburn, especially on our fun day-outings!
• Umbrella - Don't be caught unawares just because Juppiter gets angry! It will rain. 
• Hat/Sunglasses - Look good and feel good when the sun isn't in your eyes.
• Light & Comfortable Clothing - Cotton or linen is best to keep cool. Avoid polyester and other synthetic fabrics.
• Water Bottle - This should be your vade mecum! Refilling your water bottle at every meal is a great way to stay hydrated during the jam-packed days of GLA.

Additionally, prepare for living with your peers, and everything it entails - this means increased proximity to and contact with others. If you're an only child like me, this experience might be novel. The most important things to bring for this are patience, understanding, and mutual respect. People may think and act differently than you, and that's okay!

Most importantly, prepare te ipsum. Prepare to encounter new people, new experiences, and new ideas.
If you do, your experiences at GLA will surely be valde enjoyable and memorable!