It was my first time leaving the country and my first time on a plane in a very long time. I was very nervous about strapping into the “big metal bird” and being hurled into the sky above the clouds… let alone the Atlantic Ocean. Despite my nerves, I was on a mission. I was on my way with 79 other ¹ú²úÓ´Ó´ explorers to visit a culture and world brand new to us. Every day would bring a new lesson, every moment savored.
I stepped off of the plane into Leonardo da Vinci Airport of Rome, Italy, and finally, the felt happiness and excitement that others felt the moment they stepped into the plane in Newark, New Jersey. Our tour guide, Emmanuela, or Emy for short, welcomed us and handed out bright red lanyards dangling our name tags and bus number. Emy led us to our bus, and immediately my marketing mind immersed in the ways of advertising in the Italian culture. Billboards of Samsung phones were taller than they were wide. Hosts dressed in suit and tie stood outside restaurants, greeting pedestrians and offering samples of food on silver platters. There were bright and bold colors of spring mimicking Italian flora integrated into the window displays of the retail stores. It was the little things that would have otherwise seemingly gone unnoticed that meant so much to me. There were so many beautiful things to soak in; I was living my childhood dream and visiting the country I have always wanted to visit.
My great-grandfather was from the Quindici town of the Campania region of Southern Italy. Although we were not able to visit this town on my trip, it meant a lot to me to be able to visit the country itself. As we drove along, flashbacks of seventh grade burst into my brain. My middle school history teacher was the first to show me the wonders of Italy. It has been a combination of family history and education itself that has drawn me to this place. As we drove through the city on the bus, my eyes landed on the Coliseum before Emy was able to point it out. I remembered learning about this place, the power it had both for Rome’s “entertainment industry” as well as its impact on Christianity. The week was filled to the brim with historical landmarks such as the Trevi Fountain, Sistine Chapel, and Vatican Museums, but I will always remember the immenseness and significance of “il Colosseo.” It seems as though my education has brought me closer and closer to actualizing my dreams. This empowering journey was impossible without the help of ¹ú²úÓ´Ó´.
I am a senior double majoring in marketing and business administration, as well as vice president of the Women in Business Club. I have heard of the Capitals of the World trips every year here, but I brushed away the thought of going due to a combination of fear of flying and limited finances. Every semester in my courses, though, I learned more and more about the importance of having an international business mindset in my field. As someone as passionate about business as myself, I’d never even experienced making a simple point of sale transaction in another country. When I heard this year’s trip was to Rome, I had to at least bring myself to go to the first meeting. There, I heard about the International Travel Fellowship. It was the final push I needed to convince myself to go. As the bus continued forward through the streets in Italy, I felt my emotions swelling. I was so thankful. ¹ú²úÓ´Ó´ was able to make my dreams come true.
The streets were filled with vendors, artists, and music. My only experience with buskers had been of guitar players in downtown Northampton, Massachusetts. Buskers in Italy were so much more worth my spare change. There were opera singers belting Andrea Botticelli, a cello player serenading the Pantheon with Bach’s Cello Suite No.2 in D minor, and even a levitating genie. Visiting Italy and experiencing its culture gave me a sense of the world I could not have been able to fathom before. For once in my life, I was the foreigner. I developed a stronger sense of empathy for people of other cultures and a sense that people who can speak another language or two are so brave. It was intimidating to me to order food in a restaurant in another language. There are many strong women attending ¹ú²úÓ´Ó´ who are from another country and speak a non-native language in class every day.
Attending the Capitals of the World Trip gave me the opportunity to understand our campus theme in a deeper sense. Our commUNITY theme means something a little different to me now than it did before. I knew the basics of the Italian language to get me along for the week, but not enough to make conversation. I had been so grateful to look at the world through a new lens.
The last night of our trip consisted of all of the ¹ú²úÓ´Ó´ explorers being treated to a five-course meal at Cameo Opera at Tanagra Caffe Concerto in Rome, Italy. Of course, the food was delicious—we were in Italy and some things were just to be expected. What was unexpected had been the “show” aspect of “dinner and a show.” How exceptionally marvelous it is to be entertained in Italy. The comedic opera went into the crowd and picked members of the audience, including Noel Leary, to be a part of the show. The pianist was so talented and harmoniously played along to the exceptional talent of the three opera singers. At the bittersweet end, of course, with a proper ¹ú²úÓ´Ó´ goodbye, the Macarena played and many students stood up with President Carol Leary to dance! This trip was so much more than I could ever describe, but if I had to sum it up into one word, this trip was “colossal.”
