Ciao!!
“I want to be where I am, and be fully there, instead of missing the things I’ve been looking forward to for so long, caught up in my fears and anxieties.” -Shauna Niequist
I read this quote today and I think it is such a great reminder as we wrap up our study abroad adventures. I often find myself looking forward to the next thing rather than living in the present and enjoying the blessings I have today. I have always looked forward to studying abroad, so I hope that in these last 2 weeks we can all be fully here and put any worries or future adventures to the side.
I can’t believe it is our last week of classes and field trips in Italy! The trip has flown by and has been filled with many exciting adventures, lots of fabulous food, a few long days, but overall the semester of a lifetime!
This past week we visited more modern parts of Rome (Eataly and Cinecitta) and had lectures on current and more recent Italian history! Eataly is a large, Italian supermarket store (think an IKEA of food or a Whole Foods on steroids)! The Eataly in Rome is huge and is in the location of an old train station hub. Full of fresh groceries, restaurants, cookbooks, and lots of learning- it is heaven for any foodie! We got to spend a few hours in the store, eating lunch and shopping around for Italian food and gifts. Afterwards we headed to Cinecitta which is an Italian film studio. This was very neat because we were able to see the sets and backdrops that are used in different movies and TV shows. Parts of Gangs of New York, The Passion of the Christ, and Helen of Troy were filmed here!
Restaurant backdrop mostly made out of styrofoam used in different movies filmed at Cinecitta
In our lectures this week we learned about the Italian role in WWII and had the opportunity to have a question and answer session about current European and Italian issues. In history, when learning about Italy and Rome, the main focus always seems to go back to ancient times. However, Italy plays other important roles in history. WWII and the more recent issues have always been of higher interest to me, so I really enjoyed these lectures. My favorite was hearing about WWII from Marco Antonini. It was such a unique opportunity to hear from someone who saw the war, reactions to the war, and war damages first-hand. I cannot imagine experiencing and living through something like WWII. His stories are so interesting and we were lucky to be able to hear them!
Sooner, rather than later, we will all be back in the States and will go about our busy, chaotic American lives, but I hope that we can remember the Italian ways and stop to smell the roses of life during our busy days!
Arrivederci,
-Susan Waggoner