Submitted by Elizabeth Marano on the 2016 winter session program in Siena, Italy sponsored by the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures…
At first, I was in denial. I had never left the country before so I didn’t know what to expect. Yes, I had given it a lot of thought beforehand, but nothing compares to the actual experience. It took me awhile to realize I was in Rome and not in New York. I was taking it all in, and grasped onto my peers going through the same thing as I was. I had never expected to grow so close to all of them so quickly. We got to experience some incredible landmarks together in just the first week of us being in Italy and they all left me in awe. The Sistine Chapel, the Colosseum, St. Peter’s Basilica, the city of Pompeii, and the list goes on and on, but my favorite so far has been the Trevi Fountain.
Today, we arrived at our program’s destination: Siena. As our bus pulled up, we saw a group of older men and women standing there waiting for us. We were all so nervous to meet our new families for the next few weeks, but in that moment I was more overcome with sadness that I would be leaving my new friends for the night. My host mom welcomed me and my roommate in with open arms, holding on to each of our arms on either side of her as she guided us through her city. My roommate and I quickly realized that she did not know a lick of English and that we had our work cut out for us. I admit it made me nervous, but we are ready to immerse ourselves in the language and the culture…and the food. I will never forget how we gobbled down her homemade lasagna, before realizing that there were more courses to come. After filling our stomachs to the brink, we realized that our Italian vocabulary won’t be the only thing expanding during this program.