Rome is a beautiful place, filled with beautiful people and traditions; however, there were certain customs that I, as an American, didn't understand. Rome prides itself on its trust and faith in its citizens. Thus they enforce an honor system in public facilities all throughout the city, such as the public transportation system. Typically, people purchase a sliver paper from a machine, which would be equivalent to metrocard, and they are supposed to get the sheets of paper stamped with the date and time by another machine.

However, there are no people their to mandate the machines which dispense the dates; thus people can stamp the same sheet twice without anyone finding out. The catch is, however, that occasionally there are guards that check to see whether or not people are properly stamping their cards, or using the cards on the appropriate day. The day prior to the incident I had purchased two of the "metrebus" passes and I had only used one for that day, so being from America I figured that I could use the same pass that I brought the next day, but apparently I was wrong. Thus I stamped the other side of the same card, but as I was walking onto the platform, a guard stopped me and asked to see my ticket.

I gave him my ticket; however, both the sides of the ticket were stamped. All of a sudden the guard says "blah blah blah blah blah blah" or something in Italian, while I'm standing there trying to explain that I do not speak Italian. However, the more I spoke the more enraged he became. I began to seek passengers that spoke English so that they could translate my explanation, but most people refused to stop. I kept on attempting to explain my situation: "I'm an American, I didn't know I couldn't stamp the ticket twice, the regulations that are on the ticket are in Italian, I couldn't understand." And He continued to say "blah, blah, blah, blah blah, 100,000 lire, passport blah, blah, blah, 100,000 lire." The only words that I understood in his whole fit was100, 000 lire and passport.

I gave him my passport, but because I thought the fine was ridiculous, I refused to pay it and told that I did not have that type of money on me. Thus, the man began to fill out a ticket for me, at that point I was irritated, but the man had the nerve to take literally two hours to fill out the information on the ticket, which included only my name, date of birth and address. Meanwhile I was just standing there looking over his shoulder making faces and insulting him in English. However, eventually he gave me the ticket and I continued to get on the train to the hotel. Although this might seem to be a humorous event, it contained some seriousness in it.

I, as a member of HarlemLive and a member of the African-American race, have an image to maintain. When traveling abroad, not only am I representing myself but I am also representing my race and all the other people who resemble me. The image that you convey not only reflects your character, but also the character of the peoples you represent. First impressions can only be made once, unfortunately the impression I left the guard with, along with all the other subway travelers was that I was "just another Nigger." Nether he guard or the travelers saw my accomplishments, my involvement with HarlemLive, or my acceptance letter to the University of Virginia, instead they saw the impression that I left them with.

Although I do not agree with the fact that I, no matter where I am, am a representative of my race; however, as a member of the African-American community that is a role I must obtain, that is the role that is forced upon me. With that said, I apologize for my behavior and my misrepresentation of the African-American and HarlemLive community, and as a way to amend my actions, I plan to pay for them; thus I will send the Italian transportation system 100, 000 lire, or $50 American dollars.