Days 7-10

Another week has begun! You know when you don’t really know what you need to get yourself back on track? But then it conveniently ends up happening anyway? Viareggio served that exact purpose for me. From lounging on the beach, to fish and chips, to the view of the Alps casually in the background, I felt that my abroad experience had officially begun. I even got to try my first Italian cappuccino!

A majority of students probably don’t look forward to the start of classes after summer vacation. However, I’m the type of person that does not thrive well off of free time. Sure I’ll have the occasional Netflix full day, but in general I find I’m at my best when I have a little more on my plate. That’s what makes the first day of class so exciting, new material to learn and unforeseen challenges that are going to whip me back into shape.

I’m excited for this semester in particular because of the classes I’m taking. While abroad I decided to take most of my liberal arts courses, such as history, religion, literature, and of course Italian. While these may seem boring, it’s been a good two years since I sat in a classroom and learned about any of these topics. Don’t get me wrong, I love my major related classes at school, but I feel as if I can appreciate these subjects more now that I won’t be learning them in  a high school setting. Because honestly who can be excited learning about The Lord of the Flies when it’s 9th period and you’re entering your seventh straight hour of school?

I am happy to report that these classes could not have lived up to my expectations more. Monday morning starts off with History of the Holocaust. It’s not exactly the most cheerful way to start up a week, but I’ve always had a special interest in this period of history. One of the first things my professor said perfectly encompasses the entire essence of Florence. Being a first time traveller in Europe as an American, it is difficult for me to wrap my head around how ancient this city is. It can be overwhelming at times to understand the significance of buildings and monuments that you may just casually pass on your way to school or work. “In Florence,” my professor said, “history is written on the walls.”

She took us to a Catholic church around the corner from our building and pointed to a statue of Mary with a Latin inscription underneath it dated 1493. I’m sure most people would walk past this statue and assume the Latin translates to a lovely Biblical passage. However, my professor informed us that the inscription was chastising a Jew for allegedly defiling that statue. Historians later found that the man only admitted to this act under torture, and was sentenced for a crime he did not commit. That is just one example of how history is written on the walls of this beautiful city.

Next, it was off to Italian! While I’m not confident in my ability to become fluent while I’m here, it’s still fun to begin learning and entirely new language. And I must say, my Italian accent is becoming quite convincing.

Later that day I had World Religions. When my professor asked us to explain why we chose to take this type of class, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that everyone’s answer was essentially the same. Most of us had been raised surrounded by one religion, and had had very little exposure to anything outside of what we already knew. We are all trying to gain a broader understanding, and is there any better path to acceptance than understanding?

The next day I went to my literature class, The Italian Grand Tour. I’m pretty sure I signed up for this class because someone told me it consisted of a lot of field trips, but the topic of the class could not be more perfect. It’s the study of Italy through famous travel writers. The Grand Tour was a traditional trip around Europe that people (mostly the sons of the aristocracy) would go on to become more cultured before returning home to begin a family or move on to the next phase of their lives, and Italy was one of the most crucial stops. I don’t know about you, but to me that sounds a whole lot like a student studying abroad to gain a more worldly experience before graduating, settling down and getting a job. As a matter of fact, the U.S. essentially invented study abroad on the ashes of the Grand Tour after World War II.

By far, my favorite thing that I’ve learned all week is the origin of the word “travel”. “Travel” comes from the French “travail” meaning hard work. If that is not the most relatable thing I have ever heard I don’t know what is! But here’s the good news. I believe the world works in opposites to maintain some sort of balance. Anything that is that difficult has to be equally as amazing. If “travel” lives up to its translation, it’s going to be one hell of a semester.