“La dolce vita” means “the sweet life”, and I can wholeheartedly say that the past three weeks have been the best of my life. Just last weekend I was on a private boat that some friends and I rented for the day, touring the island of Capri. We saw dolphins off the Amalfi coast, went swimming in the Blue Grotto, and I am pretty sure we caught a glimpse of Beyoncé’s yacht. I am actually checking things off of my bucket list, things that last year seemed like just a dream.
I have already learned so much on this study abroad, and it has only been three weeks. Every morning I look forward to everything planned for the day. Whether it is a lecture about the Roman Empire, Philosophy, Development of Western Thought, or our (much needed) Survival Italian classes, every lecture is thought provoking and incredibly interesting. One of the many things that I love about this program is how interactive the learning is and how many field trips we get to go on. This past week we travelled to Pompeii. I got to hike up Mount Vesuvius and look into the volcano that buried Pompeii in ash almost 2000 years ago, and then I got to visit the ruins of Pompeii. I have gotten to stand in all these incredible spots that were so important in Roman history, like Pompeii, Vatican City and St. Peter’s Basilica, the Pantheon, and so many more. And it has only been three weeks!
I can already tell that I have grown a lot through the experiences that this program has given me. If someone had asked me last year if I ever thought I would be navigating a group of friends through an unfamiliar city filled with people that do not speak the same language as me, I would have told them they were crazy. But that is exactly what happened last weekend in Rome! Traveling, especially in a country with a different language, has really been pushing me out of my comfort zone, but in the best way possible. I am so excited and ready for the learning, travelling, and growing I will do in the last nine weeks of “la dolce vita.”
Sarah Payne