Submitted by Mary Quinn on the 2016 winter session program in Italy sponsored by the Department of Linguistics and Cognitive Science…
Arriving in Italy was a shock from the beginning. I was jet-lagged, confused about the time difference and already facing a language barrier. My program flew into Marco Polo Airport in Venice, and immediately we hopped on a boat. This was the first of many boat rides I would encounter in Venice. When we arrived on the island which I learned is really a series of 118 tiny islands, I immediately noticed there were no roads and no roads meant no cars. The tour guide explained that in Venice, there are no cars, bikes or scooters. Everyone here travels by foot or by boat. Even the public transportation system in Venice is by boat. This was a real shock to me, as I am used to working in Philadelphia, where a Septa bus passes by every two minutes and impatient cars are constantly honking.
Our guide, Fredericka, explained that in Venice, there are over 400 bridges connecting the 118 islands in Venice which made things very confusing. Our group was constantly lost while in Venice, but at the same time knew we were never too far from home. Of course, the lack of street signs and straight roads made directions difficult, but we were lucky to be staying right next to St. Mark’s Basilica, a huge public square in Venice. When we would ask for directions back to St. Mark’s though, the locals would tell us to keep walking straight and cross over two bridges. These directions seemed simple enough, however in Venice nothing is straight! To head straight in Venice really meant to make a series of three rights, two lefts and then cross over a bridge or two. If it weren’t for our hotel being right next to St. Mark’s, who knows were we would have ended up. At the same time though, we found some of the prettiest canals and delicious restaurants all while lost throughout Venice.