Sarah Groh

Reflections on Italy

           My experience on the trip to Italy was one of the best experiences in my life. It was exciting to be in a big city, like Rome, and a different country where the culture is different. I liked the little cars and scooters the Italians drove and I liked looking at all the different clothing styles and fashions the people wore. It is very different from the U.S. I wondered how they all stayed so thin when they ate so much bread and pasta and then figured its because their food isn’t as processed, they snack less because their meals are big, and you walk a lot. I sometimes felt like the Italian people didn’t like me because I was American, but many of them were very nice. It was fun to meet other tourists from different countries or Italians to talk to. I enjoyed hearing music that people played in the bars, or accordions in the streets.

           On the first day we got to Rome and I walked around the city, I was struck by how the ancient ruins were mingled in with the modern city. Even though we had watched videos in class, I wasn’t really prepared for what it would be like. I turned down a street and there was the Colosseum which I’ve been hearing about since I was young. It seemed weird for it to be just standing there like that. The Colosseum was beautiful when it was lit up at night and I thought about how we read about people catching malaria like in “Daisy Miller” or “Roman Fever”. When I actually went to the Colosseum I felt like I could just sit there all day.

           The restaurants were very different in Italy than they are in the U.S. You sat longer, the waiters came over to you less. When I read “Roman Fever”, I thought it was strange how the two women sat at the place where they ate all day, but after being in Rome, I could see how you could do that. Its such a big city and we would be tired from walking everywhere and seeing so many things, it always felt good to sit down and relax at lunch or supper. It was worth the euro or two they charged you for sitting. It was funny how quickly I got sick of eating pasta and bread. I tried to order a salad at one restaurant but the salads in Italy were nothing like they are in America. I couldn’t really eat it. One of the best meals I had on the trip was at the Hard Rock Café because I missed American food so much.

           I was excited to go to the Vatican. It was somewhat overwhelming. It was so huge and there was so much to see. I think it was a little more intriguing to me than some of the people who were on the trip who said they didn’t like it, because I am Catholic and I’ve heard about the Pope and the Vatican my whole life. I was in awe of the Sistene Chapel, imagining what it would be like to paint a ceiling that size. The religious aspect made me think of Dante’s Seven Circles of Hell and how he put certain people in there, like the way Michelangelo painted the Pope into the Sistene Chapel.

           One thing that I really wanted to do in Rome that I didn’t get around to because there is so much to see was the Mouth of Truth that is in the mover “Roman Holiday”.  I’ve always wanted to go there and see if I would be brave enough to stick my hand in, but I ended up going to the Mediterranean on my free day and didn’t have time to do both. The Mediterranean was neat to see though, and it was nice to get away from all the

city and people for a while. There were other things I would have liked to see in Rome, as well, but I will just have to go back someday.

           Right away when we got to Florence I knew I would like Florence better than Rome. It seemed smaller, cleaner, and there were less people. I was very impressed by the statue of David. I never imagined it being so big. It was amazing. And what I looked forward to seeing the most in Florence was the Botticelli exhibit. We had looked at the painting of spring in class, but seeing the print was nothing to seeing the original up on the wall. Also, when we talked about mythology in class, I chose to talk about Venus and I had mentioned the representations of Venus in art. I particularly was thinking about Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus, although I didn’t realize we were going to see it. It was an amazing painting and I almost got tears in my eyes to be able to see it in real life.

           I spent my free time in Florence walking along the Ponte Vecchio and looking at all the shops. As in Rome, I looked for things to buy that I thought would be useful back home, but unique. I love the jacket I picked up in Rome and I wear it all the time and it makes me think of my trip.

           We had our day tour to Siena and it was fun to see other parts of Italy. I was a little disappointed because I had been hoping to see some of the Italian countryside. I had all these pictures of Italy I was looking at before the trip and they were all of country landscapes, but I guess ten days is not nearly long enough to see everything there is to see in Italy.

           On my free day I took the train to Venice, which ended up being one of my favorite parts of the whole trip. I’ve always wanted to go to Venice, and I even have a

 picture of gondalas hanging in my living room. Now I have my own picture I can put up. Even though I knew all the streets were water, it was still weird to see. I took a gondala ride, which was really cool because I got to see all the different streets and how people hang their laundry out the window, or have boats instead of cars. The gondalier spent quite a bit of time on his cellphone, which seemed sort of funny. I bought a Venetian glass wine bottle stopper while in Venice.

           Then it was time to come home. I was excited to come home and see my friends and family, but I wasn’t looking forward to going back to school and work. What I missed most about my home was being able to speak the language, I sometimes felt dumb not knowing the language, public restrooms being free and having toliet seats, being able to get a can of pop for less than $5, and the food. I’ve missed Italy though, since being back home and I hope to go there again someday.

           The second part of class where we discussed traveling was helpful. Watching all the Globe Trekker videos helped make me excited for the trip. It was also fun to get to sample food and music in class before the trip. I wasn’t really able to get ideas of places to go from the video though, because I’m not very good at finding things. All the food in the video’s looked so good, but whenever I tried to eat at a little sandwich shop or someplace cheap, the food was actually pretty gross. In actual restaurants where I sat down, the food was good, but that cost a lot more. I didn’t really get to know any of my classmates that well in class, but it seemed amazing how quickly we became friends once we got to Italy. I thought the tips on packing and being in a foreign country were very

 helpful, although I didn’t pack nearly as light as Dr. Kunkel said we should. Still, I was very satisfied with the things I brought with and didn’t feel like I had brought things

 I didn’t need. The tips about pick pockets and money belts was very helpful. I felt very secure wearing my money belt, although I was always aware of where my bag was and tried to keep it against me.

           When I got home from Italy I got really sick. I think I picked up some sort of strange virus, maybe on the plane, or maybe in Italy. But I couldn’t eat or drink and I threw up everyday for seven days. I ended up losing 15 pounds (which I’ve gained all back by now). I thought, well, it isn’t malaria, but maybe this is what I get for staying out so late all those nights in Italy. Anyway, getting sick was totally worth it. The trip was great and being sick wasn’t that bad.

           I hope I will probably get an A in this class because I attended all the class meetings. There was one time I only came for the first part, but I had e-mailed Dr.Bunkers before hand to let her know I had been sick all week. After the first part of class, I felt very worn out and was worried about my classmates catching my illness right before the trip. I read the assigned materials and tried to always participate in class discussions when we had them. I logged onto D2L and posted responses to all the questions that were posted. I tried to put thoughtful responses up and read other classmates responses as well. I also went to the links and other websites to look at the materials for the class.           

           I think I learned a lot about traveling to a foreign country. I want to do more traveling in my life and I thought taking this class would be a good first time overseas experience and it was. I learned about how to protect myself, how to pack, how to convert my money, how to budget my money, and how to find the right places to see.