I cannot believe that I am currently writing my week 3 blog. It is really upsetting me how far into this trip I already am. I am feeling so comfortable here and I am having a hard time imagining myself going home after this. But, instead of thinking about having to go home in a few weeks, I am trying to stay present in the moment here and be thankful that I even get this opportunity.
This week was another good one – my friends and I arrived back to Sorrento from Rome on Monday completely exhausted. I had so much fun on the trip but it was a great feeling coming “home” to Sorrento.
The weekdays filled with class, presentations, working on my UF class blog, playing volleyball with other Sant’Anna students, watching sunsets, and going to the beach.
One thing I did this week that was especially exciting was heading to the bookstore here. The bookstore “Libreria Tasso” has a nice selection of books written by Italian authors in English. Before coming on this trip, Paloma had given some suggestions of movies or tv shows to watch so that we could get a better understanding of the history of the areas around us. I had chosen to watch a few episodes of “My Brilliant Friend”. It was pretty hard to watch – a lot of violence, poverty, unfair treatment of girls and women. When I was at the bookstore, they had the first book of the series in English, so I picked it up. I have about 30 pages left in the first book and it is so good. It definitely covers some serious topics and makes me upset sometimes, but it is fascinating to read this book and know a little bit about the areas she writes about.
For my business class, we presented the business idea we created and were tasked with a new assignment for this week. We had to research environmental sustainability in the EU and come up with actions to take to further promote sustainability. We focused on marine ecosystems in the EU and came up with ideas of reducing litter on beaches and creating more marine protected areas.
I have also continued working on my Sorrento blog, discussing the wood intarsia museum and going to get a pair of sandals made. It has been very cool to learn more about the area we are staying in!
My friends and I went to watch a beautiful sunset on the rooftop of a hotel nearby which was really nice.
Thursday, we had a field trip to Herculaneum and Oplontis. Herculaneum was super interesting – a city that somehow survived the Vesuvius explosion. Our tour guide showed us around the ruins which included mosaic floors that looked like they hadn’t been touched, old food and wine stores, and even a pool. It was so interesting and honestly mind-blowing to see that all of these homes and stores survived the explosion. In Oplontis, there was a royal villa with divine frescoes painted on the walls – even the bright colors stayed intact. It was hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that these were real homes and cities, I was surprised to see that they hadn’t even uncovered all of it, and they probably never will. In both locations, new cities have been built on top of the ruins, so some of it may never be uncovered!
Here is a photo scavenger hunt of some of the very cool things that we saw:
I spent some time with friends at the beach during the weekend; it was nice to relax and unwind.
On Sunday, myself and a group of friends took the Circumvesuviana train to Naples for the Opera, which was an amazing experience. The theater, Teatro di San Carlo, was built in 1737! The inside was absolutely beautiful and the opera was amazing as well. They performed La Traviata (the opera in pretty woman), which is a devastating romance. I am so thankful to have experienced this, especially at one of the oldest opera houses in Europe!
This week was filled with fun activities and I have continued to enjoy learning about the area and surrounding areas. I am really sad that I have to leave soon :(
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