Grant Green: Colombia

One day after my final exam, Alex Boone, Mr. Spiegl and I left for Bogotá, Colombia, on an exchange with Colegio Claustro Moderno. Upon our late arrival in Bogotá, we were greeted by our host families and taken to their houses. I was fortunate enough to stay with the Osorios, a very affectionate and kind family. My host mother, in particular, was extremely loving, giving me a hug before I went anywhere.

My Welcome Sign at My Host Family's House

"Welcome Grant, This is Your House"

Tired after a long day of flying, my host family graciously let me sleep in before we headed downtown to vote in the Presidential Election Day, in which Juan Manuel Santos was reelected. Shortly after they voted, we headed to a nearby restaurant and I got my first taste of Colombian cuisine, which was much better than I anticipated. The main pairing of Colombian food is a meat with potatoes. Additionally, we tasted typical Colombian food such as arepas, empanadas and almohabanas. The Colombians enjoyed taking me out to eat at El Corral, the proclaimed “best” American restaurant in Colombia, and Crepes and Waffles or Popsy for dessert. El Corral was good but nothing like what we have here in the United States. Nevertheless, I was glad to have some American food while down there.  

Eating some Ice Cream at Popsy

Being in a foreign country, I expected many differences but I was blown away by just how many differences they were in between MBA and Colegio Claustro Moderno. To begin, I found the classes to be much more relaxed, as teachers were lenient towards phones and class noise and the students had three breaks each day. Additionally, they do not have sports teams in the school, but rather one has to play at a club outside of school, an aspect very unusual in comparison to MBA and the United States in general. They also did not have a gymnasium, weight room or sports' fields other than a small, concrete soccer field. Unlike MBA, the students at Colegio Claustro Moderno do not take all of their classes every day, but have a block schedule in a way similar to Harpeth Hall. Another interesting difference between the schools is that the students at Colegio Claustro Moderno luckily receive only an hour of homework on average. Due to the small size of each grade (25-30 students), each grade takes the same classes in the same room. The school only goes from kindergarten to 11th grade as 11th grade is their senior year. Lastly, they do not drive to school but have school buses drive them home.

Soccer Game between 11th and 10th grade

Learning the Salsa with Alex

While in Colombia, I was fortunate enough to visit many of the great Colombian tourist attractions and to experience Colombian culture and traditions. During the first week, Mr. Spiegl, Alex, our host brothers and I took a trip to Monserrate, a Catholic church on the tallest mountain in Bogota with an incredible view of the city. Bogotá was much larger than I thought before I visited, with around 8 million inhabitants spread throughout it, and the view from Monserrate was breathtaking. To get up to the summit, we had to take a cable car and then walk to the top. It was amazing. With my host family, I also visited two small, famous cities outside of Bogota: Nemocon and Ibague. Nemocón was a tourist attraction approximately an hour and a half away from Bogota known for its caves and salt production. The caves, which we toured, were said to provide approximately 90% of all the salt Colombians use. Additionally, I was blessed to visit the “farm” of my host brother’s girlfriend, which was really more of a beautiful vacation home six hours outside of Bogota, in Ibague. While there, we ventured into the small city during our weekend there and I was able to strengthen my friendship with my host brother and his girlfriend.

View from Moserrate

The Vacation Home in Ibague

My trip was without doubt a once in a lifetime experience. I want to express my sincere gratitude to the Wilson family for their generosity. My Spanish skills improved, I learned so much about the culture of Colombia, and I made some very good friends along the way. Thank you for giving me such an amazing opportunity. This blog cannot express in pictures or words how great of an experience I had. Also, thank you to Mr. Gaither, Señor Paolicchi, and Señor Kamm for helping make my trip possible. Without your help, it would not have been possible.

Adam Young: Spain

Madrid

Day 1- July 1st

After flying out of Nashville with my buddy Sam Carey who is also going on a similar program, I met up with my group for the first time in the middle of airport. At the terminal we played small games to get to know everyone. The US world cup game was going on at the same time and so after we finished the games, we watched the world cup game in a bar together. This game was the starting point of great relationships that were created at the trip because we were brought together, all cheering as loud as we could for the US. During the flight most everyone’s phone died which allowed us to bond quickly because everyone began talking with each other.

First time meeting each other in the New York airport.

Day 2- July 2nd -

We arrived in Madrid at 9 in the morning Madrid time. From the airport, we went straight to the hostel, which is called Hostal Persal in the middle of Puerta del Sol which a large Plaza in the historic part of the Madrid. We then walked around Madrid to the Plaza Mayor and to the Schweppes building. For dinner, I had my first Spanish meal at a tapas restaurant where we ate many things such as Tortilla espanola and Calamari.

Day 3 -July3

On the third day, we toured Palacio Real which was the Palace for all the King and Queens for many centurys until about 50 years ago. We had a long tour where someone told each detail of every room. It was truly spectacular because each and every room was exquisite and really well designed. Afterwards, we had a scavenger hunt around the cities which was my favorite activity in Madrid because it was the first time we spoke with the natives of Madrid.

Day 4- July 4

We visited the Museo de Prada where most of the paintings are about religion. We had on of the best tours of a museum in my life because we didn’t go to every single painting in the Museum, we went to the most famous and best paintings in the museum and then went into detail about each painting. We saw Las Meninas which by far is my favorite painting due to the mysteries behind it and how the viewers are the King and Queen of Spain watching Pedro Velazquez paint their daughter. We saw a painting that looked almost the exact same as the Mona Lisa but the only difference is that Da Vinci was not able to finish this painting but instead his apprentices did. Also we went to the Reina Sofia where we didn’t have a tour but just walked around. The only highlight of this museum was the Guernica by Pablo Picasso which was I think the only good painting in the museum because all the others were very modern. That night, Brazil won a world cup game and all the Brazil fans went to the streets and began to chant. We went to the balcony of our hostel and began to chant also. All the Brazil fans began chanting towards our balcony.

Day 5- July 5

We left Madrid towards the South West. We drove about an hour to Toledo. It is one of the coolest towns I have ever seen in my entire life because it was on top of a Mountain with a natural creek being almost its moat. We walked around the city the rest of day. We did go to an Artisan shop where very fancy and nice jewelry that are only made in Toledo were being made. We went to a Mosque and Synagogue which are very very old. The rest of the day we drove to Granada.

Granada

July 6-17

In Granada, we stayed in dorms for a very small College called Ave Maria with another group of 14. We had classes for 4 hours every day besides Sunday and activities after school. We ate in the cafeteria in Ave Maria which served very local food. We visited the Alhambra the first day which was incredible. We had a tour guide that explained to our group the history of the Alhambra and the fight between the Moors and the Spaniards. We visited the Spanish Palace and the Moorish Palace in the Alhambra. The Moorish Palace were very cool because each wall and ceiling had exquisite. I was put in the highest level in the Academy based on a test we took in Madrid. Our professor, Diego, for language is a professor at the age of 31 at Oxford University who mainly taught us the language and vocabulary specific to Spain. We also had another professor named Fabia who had a deep Southern accent and could only speak Spanish. She taught us about the culture of Spain.Throughout these 11 days, we bonded with the local Spanish people who were also taking classes but for English. We went to a concert down the street that had musicians who played a satire, cajon, and a Flamenco guitar. The music was very pleasant. Over the next week and a half, we truly learned lots of aspects of the Spanish culture. We studied their literature, learned how to dance some traditional Spanish dances, ate all sorts of traditional food, learned about the history of Granada and the gypsies in the country and their neighborhood,  went hike through the countryside, drank local tea, played soccer on a court, and immersed ourselves in many other things. We visited a beach near Granada with the Spanish locals where the sand was actually rocks and a lake where the water is crystal clear.We visited Arabic baths where we got massages and got to relax in the different pools and later that same night we went to a Flamenco show in downtown Granada. We had a final assembly to show everyone what we learned and my class decided to perform and sing a Spanish song named Pedro Navanja. In the performance, I was an escort who ends up dying at the end. At the end of the week and a half, I increased my knowledge about the Spanish culture exponentially and created some great friends.

Lookout at the Alhambra  

Group picture at our residence

With a some guys from my group and another group at a lookout. Alhambra to the right corner.

Flamenco show in Granada.

Homestay in Priego de Cordoba

July 17-26

Our homestay was in a small town that was mainly and agriculture town that produced lots of olive oil. The town was on a small plateau that had a large cliff surrounded by mountains. One could look for miles and see only fields of olive trees. My family was a large one that lived on the edge of the town near. My father was a bricklayer while my mother cleaned houses some days and other days she just helped out with the kids.I had two brothers, one 16 and the other 14, and a little sister who was 3 years old. Throughout the week, I followed my brother around as he did his normal summer life. We went to the pool for most days but some days we just went to his friends' houses. Almost every day my group met up to do a plan activity. For example, we went hiking through the mountains, went on a olive oil tasting, and went to a beech in Malaga. On Saturday nights we would stay up really late and go dancing in clubs until about 4 in the morning. This is where my Spanish truly improved because my family could only speak Spanish besides my brother. I grew very close to my brother and he might come visit me in the US the following summer. This part of the trip was my favorite because we became part of the Spanish society and got to see what life is truly like.

Me with my homestay family 

 Me with my friends and their homestay sisters on a hike to a small town in the mountains nearby

Conclusion

After we left our homestay town we returned to Madrid to debrief and say our lasts goodbyes. As I walked through the airport in New York heading home, I realized that I might not see all of my friends that I have made during this trip again but then it came to me that I doesn't matter because I will never ever forget this experience. The trip is a part of me and will stay a part of me until the day that I die. I made some friends like my host brother, a guy from Boston named Eric Nakamura, a girl from Florida named Sofia Ahad, and a girl from Hawaii named Sancia Nash. These friends I have stayed in touch with and will hopefully stay that way for many years to come. I would also like to thank Sr. Paolicchi and Sr. Kamm for teaching me Spanish and getting me to fall in love with the language like they have done.I would like to sincerely thank the Wilson family for giving me this great opportunity that will last me a life time.

Alex Boone: Colombia

Me with my host family

The day after my final exam I left Nashville with Grant Green and Mr. Spiegl and, after a day of traveling, we arrived at the Bogota airport. We met up with a representative of Claustro Moderno, the school I would be going to on exchange, and I met my new family for the next three weeks.I quickly found out they were very nice and quick to help me when I had trouble understanding as we drove through the huge city of Bogota. I still remember being blown away by how different the city was compared to Nashville.

The next day we stuck together the whole day as family which was typical on Sundays there. Fighting off the traffic caused by voters looking to elect a new president we went out for lunch at a nearby restaurant where I got my first taste of Colombian food. The food was clearly different but nevertheless incredibly good. The first difference was that breakfast and lunch tended to be much heavier than dinner. A plate would commonly consist of meat or chicken with rice or platanos. I tried many new things including arrepas, empanadas, almojabanas, and platanos as well as dishes typical of bogota like a potato soup and a tomale. Sweets and snacks were also very common in between meals. Juices were also typical during meals and most were freshly squeezed. Occasionally we ate American food at places like the burger joint called El Corral or Crepes and Waffles for dessert at the mall.

Claustro's campus

On the second day we woke up early and quickly got ready in time to catch the bus. After a ten minute ride we arrived at Claustro Moderno. Although it was much smaller in terms of its student body and the size of the campus, I was taken away by the beauty of the campus. It was adjacent to a mountainous forest which separated the nice private school from a sprawling favela. On our first day of school we summited the mountain on a tiring hike due to the altitude, but the hike was worth the breaktaking view of nearly the entire city.

Beyond the difference in scenery on the campus, the school days were also different than MBA. Claustro had about 30 students per grade and went from kindergarten through 11th grade because they finish school at 11th grade like we finish in 12th in the United States. The school was coed and each class would include the entire grade. They also used a two week block schedule which would rotate through their 10 classes. Along with those there were also special classes and electives one could choose every few days such as advanced math, theatre, music, or mi tema (a period where you choose a topic you want to study and learn more about). The classes were about 50 minutes each and the day started and ended at about the same time as a typical day at MBA, but there were other schedule differences such as the late lunch, an occasional double period of one class, a two hour assembly, and long periods of free time each day. Because it was the end of the year, there were also several special events going on every few days at school including a 11th vs. 10th grade soccer game, a student vs. faculty basketball game, and a dance recital.

The view of the city from Montseratte

Beyond school I got to experience many aspects of life in Bogota with Daniel, my host, during excursions we took throughout the city and accompanying him throughout his daily life. One of the most memorable places we went to was Monserrate, a mountain in the center of Bogota that towers over the city. We took a cable car up to a platform where we climbed up a steep walkway with statues telling the story of jesus carrying the cross to his crucifixion. At the top was a church and vantage points where one could see the entire city of Bogota and the mountains that surround the city on nearly all sides.

On weekends and the days we didn’t have school we would do things that were not much different than life in the United States. We went to the park, hung out at friends’ houses, and went to several of the enormous malls where we went bowling and saw movies. One of my favorite places however was the sports complex called Cafam where the entire upper school visited to play sports and games all day.

Besides learning much about the culture of Colombia, I also had the opportunity to learn and practice my Spanish like never before. Being put into a situation where Spanish was my only method of communicating with the people around me drastically helped my ability to understand and speak to others. I also picked up a plethora of new vocabulary and phrases each day that was necessary in daily life.

It was hard to say goodbye as my time in Bogota came to an end. From the first day to moments before our flight boarded as we were watching the entire airport cheer after Colombia won their first world cup match, I had a blast. I’ll never forget the memories and friends I made and hope I can return one day to make more. It was an incredible experience that didn’t just improve my language ability but opened my eyes to an entirely new and exciting culture. I would like to thank the Wilson family for making my life-changing trip possible through their generosity. I would also like to thank Mr. Paolicchi, Mr. Kamm, and Mr. Gaither for all the time they spent coordinating the trip.

Billy Deutsch: Germany

My journey to Germany was an amazing, life-changing experience that I will never forget. The food, the people, the sights, and the memories are things I will always remember. After having the experiences that I had, I know have enough knowledge of both the American and German culture to make accurate comparisons.

This great knowledge of culture was thanks mostly to my wonderful host family: the Frost Family. They met me at the airport on the day I arrived with a welcoming American flag and huge smiles. In the airport, they bought me sparkling water. It was the first time I had ever tried it, and me being in a foreign country, I had to be open to trying new things. Unfortunately, sparkling water did not become one of my favorite drinks during my time in Germany. However, I did love all of their other drinks, such as Mezzo Mix (a mix of coke and orange soda). Nevertheless, we eventually hopped into his Audi and hopped onto the autobahn to make the trip from the Frankfurt airport to Frauenstein, a small suburb of Wiesbaden. Being in a car for the first time in Germany, my eyes were glued to the window as I was mesmerized by what I saw (and probably a little culture shocked too). When we arrived at their house, we sat down for a traditional meal of bread, cheese, and meat. I felt so scared to do something wrong when I ate, but that feeling quickly subsided after the first week, as I learned the etiquette, such as that you should cut the bread longways. By the end of my stay with the family, I felt very comfortable with them and felt like I was one of their children.

Mezzo Mix

After the first week of observing Nina Frost (host sister) at the Humboldt-Schule in Wiesbaden, I was able to make some cultural comparisons. The time at which we arrived at their school, they had just finished their last tests and were awaiting their grades, so obviously they were very excited. From what I learned, they do not have homework, so their school has to be even more rigorous during the school day. Also, they take up to ten or eleven classes in one year which seems pretty tough to me. The way we arrived to school was also a new experience for me. Never have I used more public transportation in my life than in Germany. Every morning, we had to catch the bus at 7:10 precisely. Then we took a 30 minute ride to the school. Another difference between American and German schools is that they are graded on how much they participate and how they behave. The last difference that I noticed was that the teachers were the ones who changed rooms instead of the students like in America.

Me with my host sister

The second week in Berlin was probably one of the best of my life. Every single day in Berlin, we visited something new. We saw the Berlin Wall, the Brandenburger Tor, Checkpoint Charlie, the Reichstag, the Jewish WWII memorial, the German Historical Museum, and the Alte Nationalgalerie. Berlin is probably my favorite German city now. It was very easy for us to get anywhere around the city thanks to the public transportation. We had many adventures in Berlin, wandering around and discovering new areas of the city. At one point we hopped on a random train and ended up in East Berlin, which was an amazingly beautiful part of the city. It was nice getting away from the craziness of the city center and just being able to relax. Berlin was an awesome place and I’d definitely visit again.

Alec Vest and I at the Brandenburger Tor

The third week was really exciting because we were able to visit some of the neighboring cities. First, we visited Frankfurt, where we visited two different art exhibits. The first one had to do with modern art and the second with paparazzi. We weren't in Frankfurt for more than a couple hours so we unfortunately did not get to see much of the city other than the very center, which was beautiful nonetheless. The next neighboring city that we visited was Mainz. In this city, we visited the Gutenberg Museum. This very intriguing museum about the beginning of the printing press. Then afterwards we went inside of two different beautiful churches. Lastly, in Mainz, we found a doener stand a had a Döner box( my new favorite food). 

The fourth week was our last week in Germany and it was as incredible as the other weeks. This week was spent exclusively in Bavaria. Bavaria is a culture rich area of Germany with many eccentricities, such as greeting someone saying “Grüß Gott” instead of the normal “Guten Tag”. While in Bavaria we visited two major cities: Munich and Nuremberg. But we also visited smaller cities like Rothenberg. In Rothenberg, we toured a museum about medieval ways of shaming and punishing criminals. Some funny ways they would punish someone were if you were a bad musician you would be publicly shamed by having to wear a nonfunctioning wooden flute around your neck. After we visited Rothenberg, we moved on to Munich. Munich was a massive city and we were able to see many parts of it. Some sites that we visited in Munich or near Munich include, Marienplatz, Neuschwanstein Castle, Dachau, the BMW Museum, the Olympic Stadium, Allianz Arena, and Schloss Nymphenburg. In Nuremberg, we visited even more things, such as Kaiserburg, the Nazi Museum, St. Lorenz Church, Albrecht Duerer’s house,and  the Germanic National Museum. Nuremberg was an awesome city. The city center was so full of life with many shops and people.

Neuschwanstein Castle

Castle in Nuremberg

Lastly, I want to thank the WIlson Family for the wonderful opportunity they provided me with. The cultural and life experiences I had have helped to widen my view of the world and allowed me to become a more rounded and informed person. My trip to Germany was a one in a lifetime experience that I will never forget and I thank the Wilson Family for their generosity they have shown towards me.

Alec Vest: Germany

      It started as a very exciting morning as I awoke early on the morning of July 5th. I remember not even being tired despite my previous long night of July 4th. We packed the car and rushed to the airport to meet up with the Deutsch family who was waiting on us. After we arrived we quickly said our goodbyes and hurried on through security and finally found our flight, for which we were an hour early. All of the excitement quickly came to a halt once we found ourselves making countdowns to our flight. It was all building up to our arrival in Germany, a place I had never had the chance to go, a place I had only ever heard about or seen in textbooks and on TV.

Our Plane in NYC

      After a short flight from Nashville to New York, we walked over to our terminal and found our flight in a timely manner. After a 6 hour layover, we boarded, and I fell asleep almost instantly. I woke up 7 hours later to the voice of our German pilot informing us of our proximity to Germany. When our wheels scraped the ground, I got goosebumps as I began thinking about my location on a globe. We got off the plane and walked through customs and got our luggage. Then, we walked our the exit and found our families waiting for us with big signs with our names on them. I said a quick hello to my host brother Marc, whom I met when he came on exchange to Nashville and stayed with my family, and then I greeted the rest of the family.

      The family took me in as their own child and I built a relationship with them that I know will last a long time as they travel to America and I to Germany. When we first walked in their house, they took my bags and offered to unpack them and gave me a grand tour of their beautiful house. They gave me a lot of time to unpack and get used to things, and then towards dinner time we went to a wine festival where we ate dinner, and I met my host sister, Selina. Selina was easily the best English speaker in their house, probably because she was a senior in high school and is very dedicated to her studies. During the wine festival, I remember almost falling asleep standing up because I was so tired from the jetlag.

      The first week was easily my hardest week, as I had to deal with getting back into German, adjust to the cultural differences, recover from my jetlag, and meet new people. It was not my favorite week, but it was a memorable one, because I made some life long friends. Starting with the first Monday, we arrived at school and I met the AATG group and chaperone. They were all great people with their own advantages and disadvantages. I also got to see Billy again after we were separated the previous day at the airport. After the first lesson, Billy and I realized we were the best German speakers in the group. Every weekday was laid out similarly for our group. We had a 3 hour German class with just our group in the morning and then lunch. After lunch we would find our host partners and then go to their afternoon classes with them. German schools were very different from MBA. They had different schedules everyday that were composed of 8 classes each lasting 45 minutes and 3 breaks between classes. This took time to get used to, and I never really understood their Biology class, but I liked the Germans' method of teaching better than my own. In Germany they can learn one subject for three years which forces them to remember it for a lot longer, whereas we only learn it for one year, and it is often forgotten after that one year is over.

Heidelberg

      On the Saturday that week, we made a trip to Heidelberg, which was my favorite traditional city in Germany. My mom studied there in college and she told me it was pretty, but I had no idea it would be how it was. Full of old gothic architecture and topped off by a beautiful castle sitting on top of the hill overlooking the city, it was hard not to love it! We walked through the town and toured the castle. I took a picture of the world largest keg which held over 120,000 liters. We got back late that night and went to dinner where I had Currywurst which was amazing. That topped off my first week as the highlight of my first week.

Billy and I at the Berlin Wall

 The next week began on Sunday night as we went to a small party to watch the world cup final which was absolutely amazing. Germany won in overtime to beat Argentina 1-0. I never knew I would love soccer as much as I did there. After a long night we woke up early the next morning and went through a normal day of school on Monday, and then early Tuesday morning we boarded a train headed to Berlin. We arrived in Berlin around 1 p.m. and walked to our Jugendherberge (youth hostel), which was just outside the city. We then took a bus to Berlin and went sightseeing. We saw the Reichstag, a Jewish monument, and the Brandenburger gate. The rest of the week was a blast. We went to countless museums and what seemed like almost every restaurant in the city. I made a lot of friends while I was in Berlin, and I am still in touch with them. We stayed in Berlin for only 4 days, but it was easily my overall favorite city in Germany. I loved using public transportation, because it was so convenient, and by the end of the week I was able to navigate Berlin by myself. Seeing things like the Berlin wall, Checkpoint Charlie, and the Brandenburger Tor was thrilling. They were things I had only ever read about in a classroom.

      We returned on Saturday that week to cap off my favorite week of the trip. The third week was a lot of fun full of soccer, Döner (a Turkish/German type of street food), and trips. On Monday we played a soccer tournament whereI played midfielder and had a lot of fun. After the tournament, we went to go get my favorite food in the world, Döner Kebab. The next day we went to tour Wiesbaden which is where the school was. Wiesbaden is a very small and pretty city. Wednesday we went to Mainz which is also a small and compact city not far from Wiesbaden. Thursday and Friday we returned to normal days of classes to finish off the German school year. Friday was a sad day as I had to say goodbye to all of my friends, old and new ones. Then on Saturday morning, too, as I said goodbye to my wonderful family and my best friend Marc. We then loaded up the car for one last hoorah.

Neuschwanstein Castle

     The last week was easily the busiest week. We were never not moving. It started with a long car ride with Billy, Dr. Boyd, Herr Dougherty, and Herr Dougherty's daughter Juliana. We were headed to down south to Munich. However, first we stopped in Rothenburg for lunch, and a brief museum visit. After it started raining we headed for the car and for Munich. We arrived in the afternoon and checked into the hostel. We then began to tour the city with our navigator Herr Dougherty and our history teacher Dr. Boyd. We got dinner that night at a beer garden where I had an awesome meal of many different kinds of wurst. The next several days were similar to the first. We saw Neuschwanzstein  castle which was beautiful. We also saw Dachau and Allianz arena. We then traveled to Nürnburg which was a tiny but pretty city northwest of Munich. We spent a couple of days there as we got to see all of the German architecture. Then on Friday we headed North for Frankfurt where our plane was leaving the next day. It was a great ending week to a great trip.

Billy and I at the Brandenburger Gate

     I had the time of my life in Germany. It was truly a once in a life time experience that I am so blessed to have the opportunity to have. Having been to Germany, I know I want to go back one day. This trip enhanced not only my language skills, but also my knowledge of the culture. It made my classroom experience more meaningful because I have a new kind of respect for German as a whole. I would like to take this time to thank the Wilson family for their generous donations to the school, and allowing me to have had the experience I had.

Rishi Mallipeddi: Rome

Latin Curriculum

Tutorials took place every single night from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m and sometimes took place in the mornings from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.  The two sections of readings we had were prose readings and poetry readings. We began with the prose and read Suetonius’s passage which explains how Julius Caesar was murdered. The next passage we read was Livy’s account of Cicero’s murder, followed by Suetonius’s writings on the murders by Octavian(Augustus). Also in the curriculum was the first part of the first book of Tacitus’s Annals, in which Tacitus describes in detail how the principate was formed and even goes back to the formation of the Roman Republic. We also read two of the letters that Pliny the Younger wrote to Tacitus about the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and how Pliny’s uncle, Pliny the Elder, was helping several people during the eruption. After the prose readings, the curriculum went straight into Vergil’s poetry. The poetry selection that we read was part of the sixth book of The Aeneid, during which Aeneas goes into the Sibyl of Cumae. The final reading that we did was around 150 lines of the first book of the Georgics, in which Vergil describes the life of a farmer and how to foresee the coming of bad weather. Also for the first week and a half of the course, optional grammar review sessions were available. In fact there were in total four quizzes and one exam to see if the students were worthy of getting three college language credits, and three of the four quizzes were over Latin grammar. We had quizzes over Latin verb synopsis, pronoun use and declension, and an extremely thorough quiz entailing many independent and dependent uses of the subjunctive. In the Latin tutorials, we were encouraged to look at every single word individually and see how it fit into its own clause or sentence, which is quite similar to many of the ways MBA has taught me how to translate but also quite different because it is a much freer approach.

The City

From the moment I first stepped into the city of Rome, I was blown away. Everything that I had studied about for three years in class was either still standing or the remnants of the structure were still clearly visible. I was extremely impressed with the views of the cities off of the seven hills.Some of the best sights were the several arches, especially the arch of Titus and the arch of Septimius Severus, which are still standing today. Another great historical sight in Rome was the Pantheon, which I visited twice, once in the middle of the trip and once on the last day. The Pantheon is filled with huge statues of several prominent figures in Christianity, the most famous being Jesus. I wanted to visit the Trevi Fountain but the fountain was under reconstruction. The group also visited around forty Catholic churches during the entire trip. My favorite sight in the city by far was Saint Peter’s Basilica because of the magnificent artwork that was on display, I thoroughly enjoyed all of the classic artwork in the Basilica.

A statue in the Pantheon

St.Peter's Basilica Jesus's Ascension

Naples Trip

About a week and a half into the trip, the Latin in Rome group took a five day and four night excursion into Naples. On the first day we climbed the famous Mount Vesuvius, and saw some fantastic views from the peak of the mountain and inside the crater of the mountain. On that same night, the group drove into Sorrento, a historical Italian town that has been made into a great town for shopping. The next day the group traveled to the famous island of Capri, where the Emperor Tiberius famously threw lovers off of the peak of the island. After arriving on Capri we first took a boat ride around the island and saw most of the scenic areas of the island. Then we explored the upper part of Capri and about half of the group, including myself, opted to visit the villa of Tiberius, and after a lengthy, painful climb we reached the top and saw the remnants of the famed emperor’s villa. After visiting Capri, we returned to our hotel in Sorrento for a tutorial that evening, which was followed by dinner and an excursion into the historic city itself. On the third day of the Naples trip, we traveled to Pompeii, a city renowned for its’ destruction in 79 A.D. I could not fully enjoy Pompeii due both to short time allotted for us and due to the fact that it was raining. On the fourth day of the trip, we attempted to visit the Sibyl of Cumae, and then visited an amphitheater in Naples, followed by a trip to the beach. On the fifth and final day of the Naples trip, we visited Arpinum, the birthplace of Marius and Cicero! The group was given plenty of free time and we walked around the town and had some authentic Italian pizza.

View from the top of Vesuvius

Drew with Cicero

The Villa of Tiberius

Food

We began each morning on campus with breakfast at around 7:30 and were given the choice of bread, meat, doughnuts, or cereal. Every single lunch and dinner on campus consisted of pasta and meat with various types of vegetables and bread. The types of pasta varied from penne to bowtie to rigatoni to spaghetti, and each type of pasta came with different types of sauces such as marinara, meat sauce, and alfredo. The meats served at lunch and dinner were either beef, fish, pork or chicken. For every meal that we did not have on campus and when we were given a choice of what we wanted to eat, I had pizza. I especially liked the Margherita pizza, which is just a normal pizza with cheese and marinara sauce. Although gelato was easily accessible in the city, I did not enjoy it so I only ate it four times on the entire trip, but my favorite flavor was stracciatella, which was like vanilla ice cream with chocolate chips.

Memories

My favorite part of the trip by far was meeting new people. I hope to have made some lifelong friends and people that I will keep in touch for a while. I will always remember the time I spent bonding with the people in the Latin in Rome group. I will remember all the ping-pong games that we played every day, and how all of my suitemates regularly stayed up after curfew, while remaining in our rooms, and talked well past midnight. I will remember all the time we spent together translating, talking, or playing sports.

Tutor Marshall Kibbey and I

Tutor Daniel Orazio and I 

Fellow student, Austin Benson, and I 

Some fellow students and I

Thanks

I would like to give my thanks to everyone who helped me in my process of getting to Rome. I would especially like to thank the Wilson family for their generosity of paying for my language grant and all the other students language grants. I would like to thank the Latin Department and especially the three Latin teachers that I have already had: Dr.Seay, Mr.Gaither, and Ms.Ellery, for preparing me to go to Rome. I would finally like to thank Mr.Paolicchi for his enormous amount of help organizing the program.