TRAVEL
ItalyBY PATRICK UHLMAN ON SEPTEMBER 20, 2013
The sunshine glimmers off the blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea; people crowd the bustling city streets as a light breeze blows over the steep, rocky coastline of Southern Italy.
For 10 months, from September of 2012 to July of 2013, Senior Callie Fry lived in Italy, residing south of the major city of Naples in the outskirts of the town of Amalfi which lies on the Mediterranean Sea. She made the trip through the American Field Service, a foreign exchange program that organizes and supports intercultural learning experiences, which was exactly what she was hoping to gain from her extended visit to Italy. “I wasn’t happy staying here and doing what everyone else does, I wanted to expand my horizons,” Fry said. In order to accomplish her goal of expanding horizons, Fry put herself into an entirely new culture, society, and family. This initially proved difficult for her, specifically in the case of her host family. “You have to totally change your life to accommodate the rules and the cultural norms of another family,” Fry said. “It was really hard, especially with the language barrier.” By taking Italian lessons and simply spending time adjusting to the new culture, Fry was able to overcome these minor issues and feels that it was better for her experience to be hard, because it allowed her to learn and grow as a person. “I’ve changed a lot; I see what’s important and what’s not important,” Fry said “I appreciate America so much more than I did before.” Along with adapting to her host family, Fry also experienced a different society from what she was accustomed to in the States. Her day-to-day life differed from the average American teenager. Every morning her family would get up and have cake and a glass of milk for breakfast before leaving for school. Then, after attending school until 12:30, everyone returned home and eats lunch. “Everyone in the family has to come home for lunch, they don’t stay at work or school,” Fry said. After their lunch, Fry said she and her family would typically nap and then go for walks around the city every night. Not only was her daily life fairly easy-going, but Fry also said that the academic life in Italy was as well. “The schools are much more laid back,” Fry said. Fry attended school six days a week for four hours a day, much different from a typical school week in America. While this might sound appealing to some, Fry said it made her appreciate the school system in America more. When she was not busy with school and other daily activities during her 10 months there, Fry was occasionally able to visit several popular historical sites, and some of the major cities of Italy including Rome, Turin, Naples and the Amalfi coast. By the time the end of her stay came around, Fry didn’t want to come home at first. But once she realized how much she missed her family and friends from the States, her mind was quickly changed. “I was excited to come back to Rose,” Fry said “I was excited to use everything I learned in Italy to help out here.” HTML Comment Box is loading comments...
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