This was a reflection on my time spend abroad in Rome, Italy. It was submitted to the U of A Honors College in acceptance for a study abroad grant I was fortunate enough to receive.
As our redeye flight descended into Rome, I peeked out the window to see the coastline creep into view as the land met the sea. I didn’t know this at the time, but memories made on the coast would be some of my most cherished memories from Rome.
Let’s backtrack a little bit. I dreamed of studying abroad since I was in high school. Once I learned about the Global Studies program at the University of Arkansas Rome Center, I knew I had found what I had been dreaming of. It provided me everything I had wanted: courses on culture, art, and history, all in an environment that was authentic and personal. The Rome campus exposed me to a completely different experience, with classrooms adorned with jewel-toned painted ceilings and creaky windows showering rooms in light within the 14th century palazzo. Walking to campus took me past small storefronts and a massive castle that boasted people young and old from around the world. My instructors were seasoned and sought to introduce students to what Rome had to offer—weekly expeditions to nearby places of significance, visits to worldwide organizations based in Rome, and in-depth knowledge about anything a student could ask about. I was able to stand in the home that Johann Wolfgang von Goethe spend years writing “Italian Journey,” which mirrored the exact experiences I was having nearly 250 years later. I cooked alongside Syrian refugees, learning the tradition and meaning that goes into making traditional dishes as part of my Contemporary Human Rights course. I was able to gaze up to see the frescos of the Sistine Chapel, reveling in its splendor.
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| Dar Zagaia, the oceanfront restaurant of our dreams. |
About a month and a half in, a friend approached me with the news of “Mollusk Weekend.” This weekend was supposedly celebrated every 621 years and served as a celebration of life. I was quickly persuaded to believe this weekend to be true with confident tales of tradition. Little did I know, the ulterior motive here was to visit a coastal seafood restaurant with the “best mollusks in the world," according to my friend Morgan’s Italian professor. My roommate Ellie and I overslept the day of and had to take an expensive taxi to meet our cohort of friends already frolicking in the ocean. At this point, I fully believed in the mystic Mollusk Weekend and the tradition I couldn’t find any backing for during my online research. I had promoted it to friends, encouraging them to join in the festivities. They knew better. I wasn’t confronted with the truth until I commented to Ellie in the taxi about how my friends were non-believers—Ellie had a good laugh at my expense. But that couldn’t dim the weekend of celebration.
Once we arrived, the group trekked through the sand to the fully packed restaurant. The restaurant sat right off the ocean. We wasted no time ordering buckets of buttery mussels, which came and went from our table in rapid succession. We relied on our friend Morgan, who was the only one in an Italian class, to communicate with our non-English speaking waiter about what we craved. Rounds of seafood dishes arrived full of shrimp, tiny squids, and even octopus, and departed our table empty. Morgan’s Italian professor was correct; this was the best seafood any of us had ever eaten. Between bites, we celebrated these friendships, these opportunities, and the life we are all blessed to have. That was the true mission of Mollusk Weekend—to celebrate our lives and Rome bringing us together. After four hours spent dining, we walked directly onto the beach and dipped our toes in the freezing ocean. Italian families lounged in the sand, including one naked toddler who didn’t have a care in the world. We listened to classic songs, let our feet sink into the sand while playing football, and basked in the reality we were blessed to be living. After a while, the sun began to set, and we made our way back home with three bus rides, one train, one metro, and a swift walk home.
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| Ellie took this photo of one of our many rounds of mollusks. |
This weekend was coincidentally the last weekend before we needed to return home because of coronavirus fears in Italy. It reflects the best parts of Italy to me—a laidback lifestyle of slow dining, celebrating life and togetherness, and savoring moments because they could end at any time. Studying abroad was not what I expected, in the best and unanticipated ways. One can prepare for studying abroad, but the real beauty of studying abroad lies in the unknown and unexpected. Our pursuit of mollusks signifies my newfound love for Italy and the adventures it gave me, and I know in my heart that we’ll venture back to that beachside restaurant again someday.
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Before the suspension of Spring 2020 study abroad programs, one of our social media interns, Journalism & Political Science major Hanna Ellington spent the Spring 2020 term at the University of Arkansas Rome Center with the help of the Honors College and the Fulbright Honors Sturgis Study Abroad Grant.
Read more from Hanna at https://hannaellington.weebly.com/blog/life-liberty-and-the-pursuit-of-mollusks
Don't miss your opportunity to study or intern abroad! Start your search at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search
Don't miss your opportunity to study or intern abroad! Start your search at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search
