Retrospective

Looking back on the blogs I have done over the course of this seven week semester, I am glad that I chose the three themes of bars, Santa Maria in Cappella, and the combination of old and new. These three topics gave me another lens through which to see my experiences in Italy. I wanted to choose themes that I would encounter every day, which I definitely did.

Before we left for Rome, Dr. Benson encouraged us during our orientation meeting to try the different coffee in bars, and find a place that we like to go to regularly. I imagined doing this in the mornings before class, and ended up frequenting Caffe Brasiliano, right down the road from our classroom. I decided that I like cappuccino the best, then, after sampling it at many different bars, decided that Caffe Brasiliano had the best. And, the location could not have been more convenient. Stopping in at a bar is an essential part of a day in Italy to experience the coffee, as well as the people around you.

I made sure to notice little things in our neighborhood, Santa Maria in Cappella, which would be interesting to do blog posts about. Our apartment and surrounding streets and buildings is the quintessential Italian neighborhood, but the beauty is hard to describe without actually seeing it for yourself. With my posts, I tried to highlight special parts of the neighborhood, like the history of our building, the local grocery market, and my favorite restaurant, to paint a picture for readers of the place where we live.

Combining old and new was probably my broadest theme, and was the one that I noticed everywhere in the city. Every day I could not believe that I was living in Rome, one of the most ancient cities in the world. Everything that I see around me has been built up over time, with a rich history behind it. Modern life exists within this historical place, causing a continual transition from old to new. The past is always combined with the present.

Organizing my thoughts and experiences into blogs not only gave me extra incentive to notice specific things day to day, but also gave me the opportunity to organize these thoughts and experiences. I know I can look back on my blog and have clearer memories of this wonderful city and my time here.