Submitted by Olivia Disbrow on the 2023 summer session program in Volterra, Italy…
I have traveled to Europe a couple of times before with my family, each experience was wonderful. I knew this trip would also be wonderful, but it would be much different because I was going to places I have never visited before, with people that I did not know previous to this trip. I got to the airport a little weary on talking to new people, but once we landed in Switzerland to catch our connecting flight I found myself establishing a group of friends. So far in the trip I have connected with a few of the girls, and I hope to make more connections with people as the trip progresses. The first couple of days of the trip were spent learning our way around Volterra. If I’m remembering correctly, on the second day in Volterra we visited a museum and a cathedral. I always enjoy seeing cathedrals in Europe because of my interest in art history. We also spoke to the mayor of Volterra. We had the opportunity to ask the mayor questions about the once quiet and quaint town, and how tourism has brought it back to life. In terms of activities inside the classroom, we have been learning how to become more culturally intelligent in new environments. One of our tasks from class was to ask someone in Volterra, “What is leadership?” A group of girls and myself asked the question to a waiter at a restaurant, his response was, “A person that people follow without hesitation.” I found the activity to be interesting, in that we got to discuss our classroom topics firsthand with people from a different culture. (Submitted during Week 1)
On Tuesday, June 13th we took a cultural experience excursion to Siena as a class. The drive from Volterra was about an hour and half. Dr. Stein always urges the entire class to look out the window on these longer bus rides because there is always something new and different to discover. On this particular bus ride, I pushed myself to look out the window for 20-30 minutes. I was amazed by the beautiful landscape, and how different it is to the landscape I am used to seeing at home. Once we got to Siena there was a bit of an overcast, we knew there was a chance of rain, but I think most of us assumed it was only going to drizzle for a bit. It turned out that it was a severe thunderstorm, and it rained throughout almost all of our time in Siena. Myself and the group of girls that I was with ran under a storefront awning for shelter from the rain. We were all kind of squished together, and surrounded by strangers. In that moment, it made me reflect that we are all human despite our differences, we were all just trying our best to find a place to stay dry, warm, and safe. At the end of the day, people from all across the world have something in common with someone because we are all human and we all live on this planet. Even if our values and experiences are different, we can still have empathy and compassion for one another because we all go through similar situations.
The following day, Wednesday, June 14th as a class we visited di Medici Fortessa in Volterra. The Medici Fortessa is a prison that was built on the highest point of the hill overlooking the town. The tour guide — the warden — allowed us to venture all throughout the large tower within the prison. In the past the tower was used to isolate certain prisoners for extended periods of time. Currently, I believe it is not in active use for prisoners, more so left for historic preservation. What was most interesting about this prison was the fact that it is more of a place for rehabilitation for the prisoners. If I remember correctly, almost every prisoner has the opportunity to work in the real world, and then return back to the prison to sleep. For example, many prisoners work in the food and cleaning industry. This process of sending them out into society to work and interact with others will eventually lead them to a better life once they are released from prison. Even the ones with life sentences get the opportunity to leave the prison and work because it improves their confidence, decision-making skills, mental health, and so much more. The Medici Fortessa also provides different classes for the prisoners, such as painting classes and sculpture classes. Visiting the prison was yet another moment I found my cultural intelligence enhancing because I was introduced to a prison system different to the one I’m used to in the U.S. In the U.S. the prison system is very much a place to punish ones that have committed crimes, while in Italy is a place to reshape and transform prisoners to productive members of society once they are released.
On Thursday, June 15th, we took another little road trip to San Gimignano. As a class we had a couple of hours of free time to explore the town. Since we only had a limited amount of time my small group decided to visit clothing shops, a coffee shop, jewelry shops, and lastly a gelato shop. There was even an outside market that had different vendors selling clothing, jewelry, produce, souvenirs, and more. Once our time was up in San Gimignano, we took another bus ride to a winery located outside of Volterra, called Monterosala winery. This was another completely new experience for me, I have never been to a winery previous to our trip. I found it fascinating to learn how the wine is harvested, fermented, stored, bottled, etc. The wine industry is such a massive element of the culture and economy of Italy, so the wine tour and tasting was another way to improve my cultural intelligence.
The next day, Friday, June 16th, we spent the majority of the day presenting our reports. My group in particular had the topic of “The People of Volterra.” My project alone was valuable and rewarding in its own sense, but not only did I have the opportunity to engage with my own project, I also had the opportunity to listen to other project presentations. In terms of my group’s project, we walked around the town and gathered information about Volterra from the locals. We spoke to three special individuals — Elizabeth (jewelry maker and jewelry shop owner), Mateo (bartender/server), and Adrian (server). Each one of these local Volterrans enlightened my group with words of wisdom that we will take with us for the rest of our lives, which we explained in our presentation. Other groups had topics such as Tourism, History of Volterra, or The Economics of Volterra. Participating in my own research, and listening to others’ research added to my knowledge of the town of Volterra. All projects combined have given me a great sense of the culture in Volterra, and a great piece of the culture in Italy. I can return to the U.S. and travel to other parts of the world in the future with the confidence to speak to new people from different cultural backgrounds because of my fascinating experiences in Volterra.
I am going to consolidate the next couple of days, we move on to the cruise portion of our journey. On Saturday, June 17th, we took a longer bus ride to the port of Rome to get on to the cruise ship. When we got to the port and began to board the ship, it was very overwhelming for me because I have never been on a cruise before. There were so many steps to get into your stateroom, and there were so many people trying to board the ship along with you. Each day on this trip there has been a new experience that I need to be acclimated to. I feel like I am a shy and anxious person, and one of the reasons I wanted to study abroad is to step outside of my comfort zone so I can become less anxious, and more confident on a daily basis. On Sunday, June 18th, we had our first port stop in Corsica. Almost every single student left the cruise ship around 10 a.m. and went to the beach that was just a 10 minute walk from the port. I enjoyed our time at the beach because it had been a couple of days since the group was all together during our free time, and the scenery was beautiful. The following day, Monday, June 19th, our port stop was in Portofino. I think Portofino has been my favorite town we have visited on the trip so far. I enjoy the atmosphere of a small beach town, with the endless amounts of shops and restaurants. Any direction you look in Portofino there is a beautiful view. I also lucked out on the shopping, I purchased a nice bracelet, and a nice pair of pants. I would definitely go back to Portofino in the future. (Submitted during Week 2)