Submitted by Abigail Sawyer on the 2018 winter session program in Italy sponsored by the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics and the Department of English…
This week, we arrived at our first stop of our program in Volterra, Italy. This beautiful small town is in the heart of Tuscany and surrounded by breathtaking rolling hills. I did not know what to expect upon on our arrival and how far away it would be from the airport we landed at in Pisa. To get from the airport to the campus took almost an hour and a half. There is only one road and it is full of twist and turns. I was surprised to realize how narrow the roads were here, especially since we were on a large bus. As we journeyed to Volterra, the bus was full of gasps from the students as we looked out the window to see the edge of the hill. In the past few days of staying here, we are working on settling into the culture. Breakfast is earlier than anticipated, and dinner is later than we are used to. One of the hardest adjustments that we have experienced is not snacking. We have learned that Italians sit down to fully enjoy 3 full meals, instead of indulging throughout the day. Our appetites are adjusting as each day passes. We have been able to explore the town of Volterra, where Twilight was filmed, and were able to climb to the top of the famous Tower of Pisa! We have learned so much about how important symbolism is to Italian culture through every well thought out monument from position, to color, to engravings.
