GL350 Prompt 1: Imagine that you are getting back on a plane at the end of the Rome Experience. How do you imagine that you have changed?

           Before specifically answering the posed question, I think It is important to first discuss what interested me into thinking about coming on the Rome Study Abroad Program in the first place. When I was a senior in high school, there were a couple schools that I was interested in committing to. These schools included Bowling Green University, Ashland University, and Walsh University. I had connections to some people at Walsh University and was informed that Walsh had a very avid study abroad program. Due to the connections I had with the university as well as the programs that Walsh had to offer, I decided that I wanted to attend Walsh University.

            After deciding to attend Walsh, my freshman year went by in a blink of an eye. During the end of freshman year, the application was available to apply to Rome for the 2015 study abroad program. Looking back at why I decided to come to the school in the first place, I couldn’t pass up such a unique opportunity which is potentially a once in a lifetime trip to take. It was much more than just a split second decision; it was a well thought out “dream” that I wanted to make a reality. I wanted to explore a different part of the world, observe and partake in a different culture, meet new people, and just experience what life is like in different parts of the world.

            With that being said, my experiences with Rome even in these short few days I have been here have been everything I had expected it to be like and more. I cant wait to experience more of this wonderful country. On the plane ride home reflecting back on the trip, I hope to keep the feeling that Barzini mentioned on page 8 and 9. “There is something mysteriously significant about the behavior of many of them. A mild frenzy takes most of them and transforms them once they cross the Italian border. It resembles the irresistible excitement which captures some living organisms and makes them forget themselves and everything else. They make friends with all sorts of people. They look at all things with indulgent and dewy eyes, apparently ready to love, admire, understand, or at least excuse and forgive almost everything, the good, the bad, the indifferent, and the repugnant.”

            This quote is a perfect example of my attitude in relation to this trip. I want to be able to feel that overwhelming change of excitement that I obtained over the course of the trip. This excitement will come from those new friends I make, the things I learn with my “indulgent and dewy eyes” and my eagerness to “love, admire, and understand” Rome, its history, and its culture. I want to experience the life changing satisfaction/appreciation of going blindly into a historic city, and learning their ways of life.