Last Words?

To the students:

Welcome home! I hope you all were able to get some rest and are enjoying the special comforts of home and family as much as I am. 

I wanted to write to remind you all to continue to reflect and process. Beyond seeing the sights and learning the history of the places we visited, there was also important cultural learning taking place during our trip. In the moment it is hard to put your finger on, but now home in your own culture, just how much you saw and learned will begin to emerge for you. 

Continuing to discuss your experiences and journaling your thoughts and feelings will help this process. 

At our last debrief at the airport, I mentioned that the deepest form of cultural learning is learning about one's self. This comes from the 4 "savoirs" of intercultural competence: "savoir comprendre", to know how to understand and interpret other cultures; "savoir faire" to know how to do/act in another culture;  "savoir pourquoi"; to know why (interpret perspectives); and finally "savoir être"; to know how to be (knowledge of the self, often in relationship with a foreign culture). This last "savoir" is the most elusive and abstract, but I encourage you to think about it, and just notice what you notice about your own culture and your own self over the next few weeks/months. 

If I had my way there'd be a lot more processing and debriefing!  :)  I have in mind one more meeting/dinner/slide show to wrap everything up, but I know everyone is very busy, so we will see if we can make it happen...in the mean time just keep writing and reflecting! I'm also envisioning some kind of writing assignment to go with it (maybe even here on this blog?), I'll keep you posted!

One last note: last night I found myself telling one your parents that you were all "so good", but really what I mean to say is what amazing and impressive young people you all are. It was such a joy to travel with you and get to know all of you, thanks for making this trip such a success!!!

Time for sleep!

Roma te amo!

We are sad to go home. 

#luggageproblems  #swedishbandaid 

I keep saying, "One last group photo!", here is one last group photo, boots on the ground in Boston:

When in Rome...

Does that joke ever get old? No comment...

We walked all over Rome today. Our journey started at an open air market(after a very cozy bus ride), where we tasted cheese, olives, prociutto, browsed fruits and vegetables, and of course tried on hats!

We then walked to the very spot where Julius Cesar was stabbed in the back:

We then walked to the Piazza Navona, with the beautiful Brazilian consulate and an ancient fountain:

We then walked (notice a theme?) to the Church of Saint Matthew:

We then walked to the Pantheon, whose dome was built around 70 AD...

Then we walked to Trevi fountain and had some lunch. 

And then we walked to...

The colleseum! Where we had a guided tour. 

The students are relieved that this is (might be) their last group photo:

And then we walked to the Roman Forum, also with our guide, and continued to contemplate the lives and activities of the ancients. 

And now we are back at the hotel resting our feet before our last Roman dinner!

A photo of our final dinner and "awards banquet"(yes, they all got awards):

Laurels

Just a quick note for all the parents out there: our tour guides will not stop gushing about how wonderful your kids are! Both of our main guides, but especially this one in Italy, can't stop singing their praises. How kind, how polite, how well educated, how cultured, how passionate, how sweet, how fun, how good natured, what good eaters, and of course, how punctual! They have been on time or early to a fault (well, with one notable exception!). 

And I will tell you, Christine and I can't stop gushing either. This group of 15 has been SUCH a pleasure to travel with, truly. We have laughed much and worried little. They've had great attitudes and been in great spirits, even when tired an hungry. They have been nothing but polite, kind, and interested, and we have enjoyed being their in loco parentis for 10 days so much! Give yourselves a pat on the back, and give your bambino one too when they return!

Roma!

Well parents, I hate to tell you, but your kids are no longer country bumpkins. 

Do you recognize these young men?

It was quite impressive today, watching them catch the Rome subway, breezing non-chalantely from the platform to the train car, navigating this once panic inducing task as though it were routine. I felt a great sense of pride watching them, seeing them as the seasoned travelers they have become. I also appreciated that my personal level of panic around getting everyone on and off the metro together has substantially subsided as their confidence with this task improved. Not only can they ride the metro, some have learned to use a bidet, to negotiate a good price on a fake Rolex, find their around a foreign city quite well, improvise understanding with body gestures, shop at Gucci, fend off street hawkers, and of course appreciate good French and Italian food. 

Today was a doozy. We left Florence early this morning, and arrived to Rome just in time for a quick lunch.  Then, the Vatican, Sistine Chapel and Saint Peter's Basilica! It is hard to put the experience into words, but it was pretty incredible. 

One of Michaelangelo's masterpieces:

Checking out a dead pope:

Firenze 2

Busy morning! First, a guided tour of Santa Croce Cathedral. We saw the final resting places of Galilelo and Michaelangelo. 

Then, to the famous Ufizzi museum. We saw Michaelangelo's only painting, as well as masterpieces by Botecceli, Rafael, Leonardo daVinci, and more. 

View of ponte vecchio from the museum:

Then, after some lunch, a walk to Ponte Vecchio:

And then some shopping time before dinner!

A look at the Florence hotel rooms:

Firenze

After a loooong bus ride, we finally arrived in Florence, or as they call it here, Firenze!  The hotel is palacial, pics to come soon!

We went for a walk downtown on our way to dinner, and it took our breath away:

Even more impressive when you realize that the cathedral isn't painted, it is made out of solid marble: green, red, and white. 

Then we had dinner. There was so much laughter! It is wonderful to see the group coming together, laughing over inside jokes and nicknames, sharing bonds that only come from traveling and adventuring together. I, for one, choked on my veal cutlet over a question about a bidet (a question I directed to our tour guide, by the way!). We are all tired but really loved our first Italian meal. They even had gluten free pasta and gluten/vegan chocolate cake!!

They are drinking coke, I promise!