Citizenship Beneath the Tuscan Sun
I have wanted to go to Tuscany since I was in middle school. The way it was portrayed in movies with the beautiful landscapes, vineyards and warm Tuscan sun was very attractive. Needless to say I could not wait for the class trip to Tuscany. The trip was very enjoyable and it allowed time for personal reflection. It also gave me a greater appreciation for travel. While in Tuscany I was able to personally reflect on my time abroad, personal characteristics and my future aspirations. From this trip I gained more insight about my citizenship and myself.
When I am at Wake Forest, and home in general, I know what is expected of me to become a good working citizen. I need to study, get good grades, volunteer, and pursue a career that will benefit me and my community. As a permanent citizen of America, I feel that I should give more to the larger community than I am supposed to take from it. However, as a temporary citizen here in Italy, I feel that I am taking more from the community than I am giving to it. For example, even though I am studying here in Venice and trying to get good grades in order to have a successful career, I am being a good citizen to America. I do not consider myself being a good citizen of Italy, because I plan to pursue my career in America and give back to that community, rather than the Italian community. It made me realize that in the two months that I have been in this country, I have not done my civic duty in giving back to it. In America, I volunteer, I work toward helping society, and I stay involved and active within my community. I realized that I should be doing more for the Venetian community. I am here for almost four months and I feel that as a good temporary citizen to this community, I should get involved in the community and find a way to give back. The trip to Tuscany allowed me to reflect on what it is I am doing here in Venice and at home, what I should be doing, and what I want to be doing in both my temporary and permanent community.
While in Tuscany I also pondered on the questions that seem almost impossible to give concrete answers...“Who am I?” and “What do I want?” While at home I feel like I have a good idea of who I am, I know what I want and what I am working toward as a citizen to my community. However, while being abroad I have begun to question some of these aspects of my citizenship. For example, at Wake Forest I love being around people. I love to eat meals with people, sit around and study with people, go to the gym with people; I just enjoy the company of people. However, while abroad, even more specifically during our trip to Tuscany, I found myself being more of an introvert and spending more time on my own. One evening a lot of my classmates were wanting to hangout late in the evening and invited me. Instead, I went to bed early so that I could wake up early and go for a walk around Pienza by myself before our departure. If I was at Wake I do not feel like I would have passed up the opportunity to be around my friends, but now that I am here in Italy, I appreciate and enjoy alone time a lot more than I used too. It made me question a few of my personal characteristics, such as whether or not I’m an introvert or extrovert. Will I continue to be more kept to myself when I get back to Wake, or will I go back to loving to be around people at all times? Is it possible that the circumstances of the situation determine my personal characteristics? For example, at Wake Forest, passing up opportunities with my friends makes me feel like I am missing out on something and other opportunities. I feel that it is my place as a good citizen to interact with other good citizens and enjoy each other’s company. However, while abroad, passing up opportunities to stay up late in the hotel/house do not bother me as much. I feel that I am getting more of my experience abroad when I wake up early to explore the city on my own in the morning. I also find it my duty as a temporary citizen to explore my surroundings past their surface level. I feel that if I pass up that opportunity I am passing up more than if I pass on a late night social gathering. Basically my outlook on what I am passing up and its value are different at Wake and here in Italy. This makes me wonder, what is more important in being a good citizen. Is it more important to interact with other good citizens or to explore one’s environment? I am interested to see how I will view my responsibility as a citizen to my Wake Forest community when I return.
As I have thought about my personal characteristics and about my own citizenship, I also reflected on the characteristics of citizens in Tuscany. One key characteristic of the Tuscan citizens I noticed was their respect and relationship with the land. There is an apparent respect for the land by the citizens. For example, all of the towns we visited were built on hills and the towns followed their natural slope. They truly built the towns around the land rather than alter the land for the towns. Today, there are many citizens of the Tuscan region who rely on the land for their lively hood. Whether it is for personal harvesting or for business purposes the people depend on the land to sustain their lives, and the land relies on them to maintain it, rather than dominate and abuse it.
Overall, I personally found the trip to very valuable. It allowed me to see how important it is to absorb and take places in, rather than just take a picture of them and see the main attractions. While in Siena, we did not get much time to roam around and explore, instead this was a place where we went on a guided tour and were led to the main attractions at a quick pace. We were not allowed much free time for exploration and I feel that I was not able to take in much of Siena and fully appreciate it as I did the other towns. However, we did get this free time in Pienza and my experience was more enjoyable.. My favorite memory of the trip was when two other classmates and myself perched on the wall and stared into the landscape for a couple of hours. During this time a woman whose home was right near the wall came outside and poured us some wine. She talked to us about her experiences in Pienza and traveling for her work. It turned out to be that she had just recently returned to Pienza after working in Chapel Hill for two years. It was amazing to me that a native to Pienza knew about Winston-Salem and Wake Forest University. This interaction with the woman made for a great experience in Pienza. I feel that I got more out of the town by talking to a local. Another experience I enjoyed in Pienza was waking up early to go sit on the wall again before we left. I woke up to see the town one last time before our departure and it was amazing. I walked around the town and was able to see all of the shop owners tending to their shops, and I was able to see people tending to their gardens and I smelt the breakfasts that locals were preparing for their families. It was amazing to see the town “work.” I had also gone to the wall again and enjoyed some personal reflection time while looking at the Tuscan landscape. It really made me notice the value of “getting lost” and taking in my surroundings. The different experiences and time I had to absorb Siena and Pienza definitely reflected my personal experiences in each of them. As a whole, I enjoyed the trip to Tuscany. It was actually something I needed. The myth of the Wake Forest bubble has unfortunately carried over to Casa Artom and after going on this trip I realized it. Now that I have addressed this, I hope that it will alter my future actions by getting more involved in my Venetian community. I also plan to take more time to explore my places that I visit. I want to take in the sense of community and explore them past their top attractions.
I have wanted to go to Tuscany since I was in middle school. The way it was portrayed in movies with the beautiful landscapes, vineyards and warm Tuscan sun was very attractive. Needless to say I could not wait for the class trip to Tuscany. The trip was very enjoyable and it allowed time for personal reflection. It also gave me a greater appreciation for travel. While in Tuscany I was able to personally reflect on my time abroad, personal characteristics and my future aspirations. From this trip I gained more insight about my citizenship and myself.
When I am at Wake Forest, and home in general, I know what is expected of me to become a good working citizen. I need to study, get good grades, volunteer, and pursue a career that will benefit me and my community. As a permanent citizen of America, I feel that I should give more to the larger community than I am supposed to take from it. However, as a temporary citizen here in Italy, I feel that I am taking more from the community than I am giving to it. For example, even though I am studying here in Venice and trying to get good grades in order to have a successful career, I am being a good citizen to America. I do not consider myself being a good citizen of Italy, because I plan to pursue my career in America and give back to that community, rather than the Italian community. It made me realize that in the two months that I have been in this country, I have not done my civic duty in giving back to it. In America, I volunteer, I work toward helping society, and I stay involved and active within my community. I realized that I should be doing more for the Venetian community. I am here for almost four months and I feel that as a good temporary citizen to this community, I should get involved in the community and find a way to give back. The trip to Tuscany allowed me to reflect on what it is I am doing here in Venice and at home, what I should be doing, and what I want to be doing in both my temporary and permanent community.
While in Tuscany I also pondered on the questions that seem almost impossible to give concrete answers...“Who am I?” and “What do I want?” While at home I feel like I have a good idea of who I am, I know what I want and what I am working toward as a citizen to my community. However, while being abroad I have begun to question some of these aspects of my citizenship. For example, at Wake Forest I love being around people. I love to eat meals with people, sit around and study with people, go to the gym with people; I just enjoy the company of people. However, while abroad, even more specifically during our trip to Tuscany, I found myself being more of an introvert and spending more time on my own. One evening a lot of my classmates were wanting to hangout late in the evening and invited me. Instead, I went to bed early so that I could wake up early and go for a walk around Pienza by myself before our departure. If I was at Wake I do not feel like I would have passed up the opportunity to be around my friends, but now that I am here in Italy, I appreciate and enjoy alone time a lot more than I used too. It made me question a few of my personal characteristics, such as whether or not I’m an introvert or extrovert. Will I continue to be more kept to myself when I get back to Wake, or will I go back to loving to be around people at all times? Is it possible that the circumstances of the situation determine my personal characteristics? For example, at Wake Forest, passing up opportunities with my friends makes me feel like I am missing out on something and other opportunities. I feel that it is my place as a good citizen to interact with other good citizens and enjoy each other’s company. However, while abroad, passing up opportunities to stay up late in the hotel/house do not bother me as much. I feel that I am getting more of my experience abroad when I wake up early to explore the city on my own in the morning. I also find it my duty as a temporary citizen to explore my surroundings past their surface level. I feel that if I pass up that opportunity I am passing up more than if I pass on a late night social gathering. Basically my outlook on what I am passing up and its value are different at Wake and here in Italy. This makes me wonder, what is more important in being a good citizen. Is it more important to interact with other good citizens or to explore one’s environment? I am interested to see how I will view my responsibility as a citizen to my Wake Forest community when I return.
As I have thought about my personal characteristics and about my own citizenship, I also reflected on the characteristics of citizens in Tuscany. One key characteristic of the Tuscan citizens I noticed was their respect and relationship with the land. There is an apparent respect for the land by the citizens. For example, all of the towns we visited were built on hills and the towns followed their natural slope. They truly built the towns around the land rather than alter the land for the towns. Today, there are many citizens of the Tuscan region who rely on the land for their lively hood. Whether it is for personal harvesting or for business purposes the people depend on the land to sustain their lives, and the land relies on them to maintain it, rather than dominate and abuse it.
Overall, I personally found the trip to very valuable. It allowed me to see how important it is to absorb and take places in, rather than just take a picture of them and see the main attractions. While in Siena, we did not get much time to roam around and explore, instead this was a place where we went on a guided tour and were led to the main attractions at a quick pace. We were not allowed much free time for exploration and I feel that I was not able to take in much of Siena and fully appreciate it as I did the other towns. However, we did get this free time in Pienza and my experience was more enjoyable.. My favorite memory of the trip was when two other classmates and myself perched on the wall and stared into the landscape for a couple of hours. During this time a woman whose home was right near the wall came outside and poured us some wine. She talked to us about her experiences in Pienza and traveling for her work. It turned out to be that she had just recently returned to Pienza after working in Chapel Hill for two years. It was amazing to me that a native to Pienza knew about Winston-Salem and Wake Forest University. This interaction with the woman made for a great experience in Pienza. I feel that I got more out of the town by talking to a local. Another experience I enjoyed in Pienza was waking up early to go sit on the wall again before we left. I woke up to see the town one last time before our departure and it was amazing. I walked around the town and was able to see all of the shop owners tending to their shops, and I was able to see people tending to their gardens and I smelt the breakfasts that locals were preparing for their families. It was amazing to see the town “work.” I had also gone to the wall again and enjoyed some personal reflection time while looking at the Tuscan landscape. It really made me notice the value of “getting lost” and taking in my surroundings. The different experiences and time I had to absorb Siena and Pienza definitely reflected my personal experiences in each of them. As a whole, I enjoyed the trip to Tuscany. It was actually something I needed. The myth of the Wake Forest bubble has unfortunately carried over to Casa Artom and after going on this trip I realized it. Now that I have addressed this, I hope that it will alter my future actions by getting more involved in my Venetian community. I also plan to take more time to explore my places that I visit. I want to take in the sense of community and explore them past their top attractions.