Venice: fun all around

In order to get to Italy I had a three day travel period. I had to leave on the 25th in the afternoon in order to get to New York as I live in Oregon. I then spent Christmas night in a hotel and the next day left for JFK to get to Amsterdam. The group arrived in Amsterdam on the 27th and we had a six hour layover. We took this time to hang out as a group and get to know each other better. I have never been to Europe before and even being in the Amsterdam airport was amazing. There were many stores that sold tulips and cheese. I even tried their Starbucks stroopwafel drink. It was also very interesting to hear other people talk in many different languages. After the six hour layover we then arrived in Italy. Even though it was very dark when we arrived, the differences were still very apparent. The amount of water was astounding and it was amazing taking a water taxi. I have been on a ferry before, but not a small water taxi like that. The buildings of Venice were also very interesting. The buildings were really short and old. It was a huge contrast from New York and Oregon. To be able to live in a place that was that old was amazing. I spent my life growing up in Oregon which was founded in 1859, in contrast Venice was founded in 697. In short, they are two very different experiences. 

In regards to the course we had two guest speakers come in to talk to our class. The first was Lenore Rosenberg, and she came in to talk about her life. It was a very educational experience and I liked how we got to hear her story first hand. I learned a lot about Judaism and the history of Jews within Venice. From this it made me very excited to go see the Jewish ghetto as it would add to what I already learned. I’ve been to Holocaust museums, but never a ghetto before. I think it’s really important to go in person and learn from the past. The second person who came and spoke to us was a man named Shaul Bassi. He is a local professor and he talked about the current climate in Venice in regards to the Jewish population and the population as a whole. The Jewish population in Venice is slowly depleting and he believes that it is a lost cause. I felt very fortunate to be able to hear his perspective and the pressures he feels from Venice’s climate. 

Outside of the class, my friend and I went to Verona to Juliet's balcony. It was very beautiful and it was very interesting to read more about the history of Romeo and Juliet. I feel very lucky to be able to do fun activities such as this. If it was not for the scholarship it would have been harder to commit to this trip. This trip has been life changing and I am very thankful for the scholarship as it allowed for me to come to Venice.