Ciao from Rome!
All 16 of us
have safely arrived in Italy with all of our belongings. Thank you to the many
airlines that made this a smooth and easy process for us!
It was wonderful
connecting with everyone via our GroupMe chat. We were able to see each other
hanging out at airports around the world, arriving in Rome, and enjoying some
bonding time. I am so thankful we had multiple training sessions at Purdue
prior to our departure…this has allowed us to get beyond the “who are yous?”
and more into the “how have you beens?” upon meeting up. It was such a pleasure
watching all of the students smile, reunite, and embrace one another.
Our day
officially started at 7pm for Florence University of the Arts (FUA)
orientation. We were kindly greeted by Umberto, our energetic FUA field
experience leader. This week he will be taking us on adventures through Rome,
Cinque Terre, Forte dei Marmi, and beyond. I can tell he is so passionate about
his job and teaching students, which I can easily relate to (I use the hashtag
#PassionateProfessor when posting on social media about my job). I absolutely
love what I do for a living, and am so thankful to spend another summer in
Italy with these amazing students and my FUA colleagues.
Along with
Umberto, we joined up with 12 students from various US institutions, such as
the University of South Carolina, Auburn, and East Stroudsburg. All
of us will be traveling together throughout this field experience week—I am
hoping this creates unique academic and social opportunities for our group.
We finished our evening with a group dinner, where we
enjoyed lasagna, veal with potatoes (or caprese salad for our vegetarians), and
tiramisu…oh, and some red wine, of course. During dinner Umberto explained the
meaning of tiramisu, which is similar to a “pick me up.” Tirare=to lift; mi=me;
su=up. This tasty dessert full of espresso, eggs, sugar, chocolate, and cream
was a decedent way to end our first day in Italy. This is the dessert I often
request for my birthday celebrations in the US!
We are looking forward to exploring the Colloseum, and
many of Rome’s treasures tomorrow. Stay tuned!
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