An Experience Like No Other #HogsAbroad in Italy

Hi, I’m Susan, a senior in Fulbright pursing a degree in Classical Studies with a double minor in History and Art History. I recently returned from Rome after participating in the Classics in Italy program. This was my first time abroad, and I did not quite know what to expect when I left this summer. I wanted to learn, to see what I have been studying for the last three years, what I got was an experience like no other, one I will never forget.

Applying for the program was the easy part, but preparing to leave was when things got tricky, I didn’t know what to pack, and I hadn’t been on a plane in years, and I was absolutely terrified but more excited than I have ever been, luckily for me I had the guidance of the program leaders, Dr. Vennarucci and Dr. Reeber. Prior to leaving they hosted meetings to get to know each other and prepare us for what to expect from our month in Italy. Boarding the plane was the most terrifying thing I have ever done, but nine hours later we were landing, and as I looked out the window I saw the country I had been dreaming of seeing for years. There wasn’t a single day where I did not see something amazing, modern, ancient, it was all stunning. I took thousands of pictures, wanting to remember and share it all. 

Of all the things I saw and the opportunities I had I will never forget any of it, but I certainly had my favorites, some that I was expecting, and others I wasn’t. The two I looked forward to the most were the Colosseum, and Vatican City. Our very first full day in the city we walked from the Rome Center, where we were going to have classes every day, through the city to the ancient Forum, and as we were walking we turned a corner and suddenly there it was, the Colosseum. That was the moment that it hit me, I was really standing in the middle of Rome finally seeing with my own eyes the building that has been the background of my computer for more years than I can count. There are no words to describe the overwhelming emotions I felt in that moment. At the time I thought nothing could top it, I couldn’t wait to go inside, to see the amphitheater where so many people have sat, stretching back to the Flavian dynasty of the Empire, it filled me with a kind of hope, like suddenly I could see and do more than I ever even imagined, and I got that feeling every single day as we walked around. 

The ruins were spectacular, and while I expected the churches to also stand out, I never could have imagined the beauty of each and every church I had the opportunity to walk in to. The decorations were ornate, the walls usually covered in statues of saints, they were peaceful and awe inspiring. Of them all my favorite was St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, where I went to mass my first Sunday in the city, a mass presided over by Pope Francis. It was something I never thought I would get to experience, and something I may never get the chance to do again. It was everything I never knew I needed in my life. I expected the beauty, and sites, and the learning, and it all met and exceeded my expectations, but it was the things I didn’t expect, the things that snuck up on me that surprised me the most. 

I didn’t expect to run around an archaeological site of Pompeii and Herculaneum like they were a playground, and I didn’t expect the emotional weight that came from seeing the bones of the dead in the shipyards, the people fleeing the volcano. I didn’t expect an impromptu photo shoot in the garden of a renaissance era villa. I didn’t expect to laugh after getting caught in a rain storm while out shopping with my roommates. I didn’t expect to lay on a beach on the Amalfi Coast, or to swim in the Mediterranean. I lived in Rome, I studied in Rome, I saw museums and ruins, I made friendships, I interacted with a new culture, and with all my expectations I never thought I would come home having learned more about myself than anything else. For the rest of my life I will remember this trip, I will talk about the students and professors I traveled with, I will show my thousands of pictures off, and I will tell others of my experiences. If you are on the fence about studying abroad just do it, I can guarantee that you will not regret it. If you know you want to study abroad but do not know what program to choose, look into Classics in Italy, I can not imagine a better group of faculty to see Rome with. I’ll never be able to adequately describe my experience on this program, but if you’re reading this I hope you have the opportunity to be shocked and inspired by the world as I was this summer and make the most of it.

 

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Classical Studies major Susan Cole spent the Summer 2018 term at our U of A Rome Center with our faculty-led program, Classics in Italy the help of our our Office of Study Abroad Scholarship.

Don't miss your opportunity to study or intern abroad! Start your search at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search/

Optimism #HogsAbroad in Italy

(Me) Standing On Top of Castel Saint Angelo 

Optimistic. This would be the word I would have to give if I was asked to sum up my cultural experiences while I was studying abroad this summer. Being in Italy was an amazing adventure full sights, smells, and tastes that I would have never otherwise experienced along with some great people that I would not have otherwise met. However, while these places were beautiful and memorable, the physical part of my abroad experience is not the only one that I will remember. To me, one of the most impactful aspects of my time abroad was the consistent level of ignorance I was in, despite all of my preparations. Being in a country I had never visited that spoke a language I did not speak meant that I was constantly confronted with situations I did not know anything about and could not understand. Because of this, I found myself having to constantly rely on whomever was around me, including strangers at times, for advice or direction. This required me to be constantly optimistic, despite my nervousness and uncertainty, as I trusted other people, some that I had never met before, to guide me through a topic or situation that I was completely ignorant about. 

A Roman Fish Shop in Ancient Ostia

One of the best examples of these types of situations would to my quest to find salt at the grocery store. Now I know what everyone is thinking, how can grocery shopping be that hard, after all it's only salt and thousands of people shop every day. Honestly, that’s what I thought too until I found myself inside our neighborhood grocery store one Tuesday looking for this simple mineral and not being able to find it. Smaller with a more closed floor plan than American grocery store, Simply Market was the store the other five girls and I shopped at throughout our time in Rome because of its close proximity to our apartment. So, one of my classmates and I went there on a quick restocking trip on a Tuesday afternoon early on in our visit. After hesitantly identifying and depositing our other items into our handheld cart, we went on the hunt for a container of salt. After about twenty minutes of looking we could not find anything remotely similar and decided to ask an employee. He seemed slightly confused but quickly lead us to the wine section, gesturing to the bottles. Despite this mix up, I still kept my optimism and tried to repeat the word in Spanish since it was the only other foreign language I knew. Unfortunately, saying “sal” did not seem to help much and none of the other workers seemed to know what salt was. After accidentally getting led to the bread counter next, my classmate finally tried to ask him for salt in French, saying “sel”. He seemed to understand her because he was able to finally lead us to where the salt was hidden, resulting in laughs and grateful thank yous. 

This situation was just one of many where I needed to hold onto my optimism despite complications. Like the vast majority, this experience resolved itself for the better despite my uncertainty. Personally, looking back, I am thankful that I was forced into these types of situations because they pushed me to grow as a person and see the world through the eyes of people other than Americans. Already this has had a lasting impact on me as it has changed my opinion on various issues here in the United States and has helped understand my international friends better.

Beside this nonmaterial experience, my study abroad trip was different in how our classes were structured. Instead of being lecture-based, we got to actually go visit the ancient Roman architecture and art that we were taught about each day, allowing for a higher quality of learning than I get in a classroom. This made me feel that I got much more out of my abroad trip academically than if I had taken these same classes in Fayetteville. Because of this high quality of teaching and the extraordinary experiences I had outside of the classroom, I would definitely recommend this program to future Arkansas students. It is a life changing opportunity and I hope that everyone gets a chance to experience it.

Looking Inside the Colosseum

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History major Rachel Hutchings spent the Summer 2018 term in Italy with our U of A Faculty-Led: Classics in Italy program with the help of our our Office of Study Abroad Scholarship.

Don't miss your opportunity to study or intern abroad! Start your search at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search/

Athens Part 1 #HogsAbroad in Greece

Yeia sas y’all! I am so excited to finally be spending time in the beautiful and historic city of Athens. My journey to Athens was a bit overwhelming and scary, but it taught me how to remain calm in sticky situations and how to be assertive and direct when working with airline representatives!

My flight schedule was supposed to begin in Little Rock and then take me to the Dallas-Fort Worth airport, and then to Philadelphia and finally Athens. However, my flight from Little Rock to DFW was delayed for 45 minutes, and the next thing I know, I’m flying from Dallas to ROME. However, my direct flight from Rome to Athens was overbooked, and so I was bumped from that flight. After spending 7 hours in the Rome airport with two of my fellow U of A scholars, I finally flew to Paris and then to Athens from there.

Needless to say, I was exhausted once I finally arrived in Athens, so I chose to catch up on sleep on the first day of activities. These last couple of days, however, have been full of activity! Yesterday I visited the Jewish Museum and learned about the unique culture of Greek Jews. My favorite part of the day was visiting the ancient Agora, and giving one of my site reports on the Trial of Socrates and the Ancient Athenian Judicial System. It was so exciting to walk the same paths that the likes of Socrates, Plato, and St. Paul have walked once before. I learned so many valuable facts about life in ancient Athens by seeing the ruins of one of the busiest parts of the city. It was definitely an interesting and busy day.

Today, it was another day full of museums and walking. Dr. Levine often has us walk to our destinations so he can point out various features along the way. For example, this morning on our walk to the Numismatic Museum (also known as the national coin museum), we walked past the Parliament Building and watched the Greek Tomb of the Unknown Soldier’s changing of the guards. Additionally, we walked through the absolutely beautiful National Gardens. At the Numismatic Museum, we had the chance to view coins from all eras of Greek coinage. Even more interesting is the fact that the Numismatic Museum is actually the extravagant former home of Heinrich Schliemann, a German business magnate who also happened to be a archaeology and Homer enthusiast. His home was incredibly elaborate, and it was fun to explore the architecture and design of the museum as well as the artifacts inside.

After a quick lunch, we rode a bus to the National Archaeological Museum. This is by far the best museum that we have toured so far. Thousands of sculptures, pots, and various artifacts are housed in this museum. It was amazing to see in person sculptures and black and red figure pots that I have studied in art history! Today was a long day of learning, and I ended the day with a nice waffle cone of rich milk chocolate gelato.

Tomorrow, we will spend most of the day on the bus to Piraeus, the port city where we will board a ferry boat to Crete. We will make a few stops on the way to explore a few smaller cities outside of Athens. I have loved my time spent in Athens, and I am excited to come back to Athens later on in the month. Thanks for reading!
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Follow along with Anna at thisisallgreektomeblog.wordpress.com

Do you want to immerse yourself in Greece’s history, art, culture, cuisine, topography, language and literature? If so, check out studyabroad.uark.edu/classicsingreece

Yeia sas! #HogsAbroad in Greece

Yeia sas everyone! (Yeia sas is the equivalent of “Hello” in Greek, for anyone wondering). I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself and detail where I will be traveling in the next four weeks on my study abroad journey.

My name is Anna Cunningham, and I am a rising sophomore at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas. I am an honors college fellow majoring in political science with a minor in legal studies. Upon completion of my bachelor’s degree, I plan to pursue my Juris Doctorate.

Through the University of Arkansas, I will be studying abroad for twenty-nine days in Greece with two outstanding members of the U of A’s faculty. Both Dr. Levine and Dr. Paulson are professors in the Classics department of Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.

My Classics in Greece study abroad experience begins in Athens, Greece, also known as the birthplace of democracy. As a political science major, this aspect of Greece is particularly interesting to me. I am excited to explore Athens and see the Parthenon, the ancient agora, and a multitude of important ancient sites. From Athens, I will travel to Crete, Santorini, Naxos, Delphi, Olympia, Nafplio, and then back to Athens again. The trip is a fast-paced odyssey designed to introduce students to several ancient sites as well as modern Greece.

As a first time international traveler, I am thrilled for this opportunity to experience another country with such knowledgeable guides. My professors have been traveling to Greece for many years, and know the lay of the land as well as any tour guide. I plan to update this blog as we travel from place to place, and of course I will include several photos from each day. Thanks for reading!! :)
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Follow along with Anna at thisisallgreektomeblog.wordpress.com

Do you want to immerse yourself in Greece’s history, art, culture, cuisine, topography, language and literature? If so, check out studyabroad.uark.edu/classicsingreece

Instagram #HogsAbroad Food

Food is one of the most accessible representation of culture out there. As James Beard said, "Food is our common ground, a universal experience."

Here are a few of our U of A students sharing that experience with us...

Last one of the trip! #slomofood #hogsabroad

A video posted by Lincoln Gimnich (@lgimnich_) on Jun 25, 2015 at 8:50am PDT

Host family took us out to try a Peruvian delicacy Anticicho- cow heart. So good!! #cisabroad #hogsabroad #peru #cusco

A photo posted by Katie Greenway (@kgruth) on Jul 11, 2014 at 6:49pm PDT

#tbt to our first dinner in Rome. #nofilter #ItalianoJoe #hogsabroad

A photo posted by Joe Burns (@joe.n.burns) on Jul 23, 2015 at 4:33pm PDT

Paella con mariscos, a popular Spanish rice dish with shrimp, oysters, squid, etc. And of course wine to drink. 😋 #madrid #hogsabroad

A photo posted by Cristina Carrillo🐘 (@_triplec) on Jul 6, 2013 at 10:32am PDT

Fresh orange juice, anyone? #Istanbul #HogsAbroad

A photo posted by Zach (@hogfann89) on May 22, 2015 at 9:12am PDT

Chandi Chowk // we went to one of the most well known markets in Old Delhi. Two square miles of stalls and shops with each street a different "theme." From books to bridal to jewelry to spices. Here's a picture of one of the spice shops, which was one of my favorite areas to walk through. #suitsandsaris15 #waltonimpact #hogsabroad

A photo posted by Megan (@studyinginsuitsandsaris) on May 23, 2015 at 12:33pm PDT

I could get used to this life. #hogsabroad #SanIgnacio

A photo posted by Morgan Riddle (@meriddle33) on May 31, 2015 at 7:24am PDT

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See more photos at https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/hogsabroad/
 
Don't miss out on these meals! Search for study abroad opportunities like these in over 40 countries: http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search/

#HogsAbroad Student Blogger Spotlight: Murder, Political Intrigue and Beauty in Greece

One of our #HogsAbroad student bloggers had this update on her Classics in Greece and Turkey summer program:

Next, we visited Ali Pasha’s mosque. I wasn’t familiar with Ali Pasha prior to this but I learned a lot about him. He was Albanian and was a de-facto independent ruler that has been recognized as a romantic, a millionaire, a murderer, and even a terrorist. He made a real impression on Europeans and shared influence with Napoleon as well as Lord Byron. His harem included about 600 women and young boys too. It was also located in central Ioannina. However, today not much is left but his mosque. At this site, Aleta and I both gave our reports. Aleta’s report was over the exchange of populations between Turkey and Greece and my report was over the Macedonia question. (I found my topic really interesting and fully enjoyed researching this controversial, modern political issue.)
 
Then we traveled by ferry to the island of Ali Pasha where the Turks killed him in 1822. I was able to get a picture of the cracks in the floor of the monastery where he was shot. Ironic that he was such a romantic because you can imagine where he was shot since the bullet came from underneath him! From the illustrations we viewed of Ali Pasha and his kingdom, he seems to me like what a modern day, overweight pimp is supposed to be so maybe his death was his bad karma catching up with him… or maybe not. I’m fairly certain we can guess which stance the Turks would take. (Sorry Ali sounds like you may have had it coming.) 

 
Although, Ali Pasha doesn’t sound like a great guy, his little island we visited was so attractive! Picture a little Greek village with narrow stone streets and cute little home lining the streets that were generally so narrow cars weren’t even used on them so instead the villagers all seemed to travel by foot. The village homes were covered with flourishing flower and vegetable gardens and with minimal tourist interaction and influence, the little Greek village was the epitome of what I would imagine. The people there seemed to enjoy a simple, quiet life. It was a refreshing experience.

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Read more from Alyssa at https://lillysss.wordpress.com/
To find out more about the Classics in Greece summer program, visit http://studyabroad.uark.edu/classicsingreece

Backpacking through Greece

Hi! My name is Kristen Hoover. I’m in Fulbright College studying English with a concentration in Creative Writing and a minor in Classical Studies. This summer I participated in a study abroad program through Greece and Turkey. 

This trip was by far the best thing I’ve ever done. At first I was not interested because of the price. But after doing some research and speaking to Laura Moix I felt like studying abroad was something that could really happen. I will always remember the trip I took to Greece and Turkey and the people I went with. 

The way this program is set up really allows you to submerge into the Greek culture instead of being stuck in a classroom. Instead of sitting at a desk, the professors led us around Greece and Turkey. The longest time we stayed in a place was five days. It was always “go go go” because there is so much to see everywhere! 

Breakfast started at 7 usually and we would leave the hotel around 8 or 9 in the morning. At first it was hard getting up so early but having roommates helped a bunch. We would always go down to breakfast at the same time. The breakfast was always scrumptious. In Greece we had delicious yogurt and peaches with honey every morning. In Turkey there were a lot of different options for breakfast. But in both places there was delicious hot coffee offered. The coffee in both places was a lot different from the American coffee I was used to. It had a really great flavor but towards the end of the cup it was always sludge-y.  After breakfast we would head out to different sites. I think the coolest site we went to was in Delphi. There were so many ruins in one spot. Mt. Parnassus was sort of fun to walk up if you could see all of the ruins.  Another cool site was Olympia in Greece. We ran on the track that the original Olympians ran on. I got 14^th place out of 15 but I didn’t care! It was awesome to say that I’ve done that. Usually after visiting a site we would go to the museum of the site that held all the artifacts found there. The professors would tell us about each site in detail or a fellow student would give their site report on that certain site. One of my site reports was in Eleusis, Greece. It was really neat to be able to educate my fellow students on the mysteries of the ancient sites. In the museum of each site the professors would show us a few items they thought were important. Then they would give us time to roam around the museum ourselves. Usually the professors assigned us journal entries. They told us to pick two or three cool artifacts from the museum and write about it in your journal. The professors would collect the journals maybe around once a week to make sure we’re doing our assignments. 

Lunch was always fun during the day. The professors would take us to a part of town that had lots of restaurants and give us an hour to go eat wherever we wanted. It was a fun experience being on our own trying to find food. One of first Greek phrases I learned was how to say “I would like chicken gyros”. Sometimes, if we were pressed for time, the professors would buy our lunch! That was always fun too because the professors knew what was good to eat.  Sharing was always encouraged at meal times. Everyone would take a little from everyone’s plate so we could try everything. I think the weirdest thing I ate was cow innards. Aside from that, the food was wonderful. So many fresh vegetables and fruits! I especially loved the orange juice. Most of the Europe’s veggies and fruits comes from the island of Crete and their orange juice is a delicacy.  In Chania, Crete there was a restaurant by our hotel, which looked out over the port, which had the best fish I’ve ever had. I tried swordfish, calamari, octopus, and shark and ate a whole lot of shrimp. 

After lunch we would go to a couple more sites. Students gave two site reports so there was always a day when we would listen to a lecture from the students. A typical day for us wouldn’t end till around five or six. After our last site the professors would gather us to talk about what the plan was for the next day and what time we would leave the hotel. Then they would set us free for the night!

We always tried to stick together when going out for dinner but sometimes our group split up into two smaller groups. We tried to alternate between sit down restaurants and cheap gyros places so we could save a little money, especially in Turkey. After dinner most of the time we walked around whatever city we were staying in.  In Istanbul we sat in front of the Blue Mosque and drank chai, in Lesvos one night we went dancing with the professors, and in Nafplion we enjoyed the sea air and ate gelato on the port. After dinner was a really fun time to go out and see the city. It didn’t matter how tired we were or how far we had walked, everyone always wanted to see as much as they could.

I am so happy I got to see another side of the world and explore ancient sites with the professors and the people who went on this trip. It was such a great experience and I would recommend it to anyone. Don’t let the price get you down, it is worth every penny.