Submitted by David Deming on the 2019 winter session study abroad program in Italy sponsored by the Department of Languages, Literatures & Cultures…
The second week of my study abroad experience was very nice. Meeting and beginning the adjustment to our host family was an exciting time. I enjoy the fact that we sit down for dinner every night at the same time and talk about whatever we want to talk about. Learning that our host Gianfranco is a big dog person made me like him even more than I already did for letting us stay with him and his wife, Flora. As mentioned before in my last weekly writing, the food is a big part of the program for me and you could say that it officially started once we arrived at our host family’s home. The meals have been phenomenal authentic Italian food every night. I had Finocchi (or in English, fennel) for the first time and it is already on my shopping list for back in the United States.
Other than the amazing food we’ve been having, traveling to Venice was a highlight of the week. The city overall was overrated in the U.S. and let me down a little when I got there. The city was cramped since it is on individual islands, but it was not unbearable. The sites were subpar compared to the talk it receives at home. But what made Venice a great stop that was worth the time for me were two things, a gondola ride and the glass factory. The gondola ride was everything people make it up to be, tranquil and exciting at the same time. Turning so precisely through the river system of Venice that you miss the buildings by centimeters was very amusing. Just sitting on the calm water and seeing the sunset over the top of the buildings made me want to be there forever. The glass factory was very cool because it was the first time I had ever seen how articulate and refined glass making could be.
