Pre-session Summer 2018
(May 16-May 30) 
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Category: Travel & Food Writing
After a lot of waiting, sketchy airplane food, not sleeping, and three on flight movies, we finally arrived in Rome. Upon arrival everything was extremely overwhelming. Appearing in a city in which you do not know how to navigate through, and do not speak the native tounge of the occupants, serves as a much needed wake up call. As an infrequent traveler, you tend to assume a lot about travel. After watching movies, reading about traveling, and talking to frequent travelers, you are left with the impression that language barriers are nonexistent. For future reference, they definitely are. Before leaving for any international trip, I suggest that you put some serious effort into learning the language, learning the other cultures customs,learning their history, and sleeping as much as you can on the plane because jet lag syndrome is real, and will be hard to overcome. Preparing beforehand may be a bit inconvenient, especially for students, but will be worthwhile in the long run. Walking through the streets of Rome is any history fanatic’s dream come true. Being able to stand inside the Pantheon, walk through Rome’s ancient forum, and sit next to the Trevi Fountain leaves you in complete awe.Watching the history books that you were forced to read for a course come to life is the most incredible experience. You begin to really appreciate those same stories and places that you took for granted a day earlier. You can just stand there and imagine Michelangelo’s hurried brush strokes as he painted the walls of the Sistine chapel. You can almost hear the crowd as two gladiators take their stances to fight to the death in the Colosseum. After experiencing these snapshots of history, you are left feeling more at one with what is happening around you. Almost like being able to finally see the history you are already in the process of creating.
...Until you go through the process of traveling to a foreign country for the first time, you do not know how chaotic it can be. Getting on the plane to Rome was definitely an interesting and crazy experience, but it was well worth the all-day traveling and exhaustion. When arriving in Rome, I did not know what to expect. I did not have any expectations really, I just wanted to follow the mantra of “go-with-the-flow” so-to-speak and let things happen. This is not what I am used to and I made a conscious decision to establish a new, fresh perspective of travel on this trip. I have to say that it was difficult at first, although patience and flexibility won out and I ended up having the time of my life in Rome. I’ll never forget the first time that I saw the Sistine Chapel in person. In that exact moment when I was looking up at the beautiful and shockingly realistic masterpieces, everything was worth it. Despite the guards rushing everyone along, and the elbow-to-elbow wall of people that are constantly moving around–it was worth it because witnessing these works of art made me more humbled and appreciative of the rich history. Some say “If walls could talk, what would they say?” But these walls did talk. And they told me of Michelangelo and the importance of the art that was missing in my life. As with all of the moments and masterpieces in Rome, I fell immediately and passionately in love with their awe-inspiring beauty. Being in Rome for the first time was an immediate love affair for me. I knew that from then on, I had the confidence and appreciation to not only see the rest of Italy, but maybe even the rest of the world.
...Anybody who goes on a study abroad trip always talk about how it changed them as a person, or how they found themselves. As this trip comes to an end, I find myself asking the same question. What has changed within me? While we arrive in Poppi, I look around at the different lifestyle they have. A lifestyle that is unknown to me. In a small town, where it is so quiet that it almost felt like my suitcase wheels was making too much noise being dragged along then road. In a small town, where almost everyone knows each other. In a small town, where there is limited amount of modernization and technology. But, beyond all this is a breathtaking view looking over the tuscany country side from the castle and serenity that you might not find anywhere else. As I stand in the balcony overlooking the view that one can never get tired of, my senses are more in touch than ever because of the peace it provides. That burning smoke smell, distant bike ride engines running, green leafs dancing slowly with the wind, mountains hugging the clouds as if they are their own. Birds chirping. All I can think is how can you perfectly describe this feeling, this unknown feeling you can’t get back in The States. The breeze lightly touching my brown curls. Once you look, can’t take your eyes away from the beautiful view. I appreciate the moment of serenity I was having. I enjoyed it to the fullest. I would recommend anyone to make a trip to the town of Poppi. And, that is when I realized how I have changed or how moments like these have changed me as a person. Life seems so at peace right now and nothing else matters but as soon as I touchdown in Pittsburgh, life will be hectic again. Poppi has taught me that it is okay to run away from your hectic life for even an hour or a day or a week. It is okay to not care about all the social media messages your friends are sending. You aren’t ignoring them, its just that you need time to yourself. It is okay to take a day away from all the assignments to relax your mind and refresh it. If there is anything that am taking back home from this trip is that just find your peace. Take time to look at the nature, feel your senses, and everything else will fall right into its place.
...View from the Duomo Venice from the train station I promise this is a fence Trapped by rain in a dark tunnel with 30 schoolchildren. Loud, screaming children that beat each other up with their umbrellas. The face that Night leans on
...Can I just first of all say I am living my dream right now? I have always wanted to come to Europe and I am glad Italy was the first country I came to because it made me realize how beautiful Europe can be. Even though we have been all over the place since we landed at the airport, I have purposely made time to sit down and just people watch since I love doing that anywhere I go. I have seen some bizarre things and people. I came on this trip with no friends so it was cool for me to be in a new country with new people. I have learned so much art and history here. To be honest, I didn’t really care too much about art history but coming here and learning about the renessaince has made me realize its importance. My favorite was going to see The David at Le Academia. It was the most mesmerizing marble statue I have ever seen and I was definitely not expecting that. I have also tried some of the best ice cream and gelato here. For those of you who love chocolate and ice cream, you might have heard of Magnum. Well guess what? There is a Magnum ice cream place right around the Duomo and it is absolutely heaven. You walk in and pay first. Later, they ask you to choose your toppings and then they dip your chocolate or vanilla ice cream bar into this bucket full of either milk, white, or dark chocolate. Here’s the catch though, when they dip it; it comes out frozen! So now you have this delicious crisp chocolate crust around your ice cream which gets topped with your chosen toppings. I recommend everyone to go there at least once before leaving Florence. It will always be the best €4,50 I have ever spent. Time in Florence is flying by. Even faster than Rome. I have made some great memories here from reenactment of Michealangelo’s statues to just talking with friends by the river to learning the history of this beautiful city. It is definitely on the list of places to visit again.
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