Reflection on the trip

After what seemed to be the longest journey home, I have taken some time to reflect on the trip. Rome was a city very full of life. The ancient parts were in worse condition then I had hoped. It was hard to understand the parts of the forum as it is today even after studying it specifically for a month. For some reason signage especially in museums and monuments is not used which makes it very hard for a visitor, especially a foreign visitor, to understand what they are looking at. Having gone to Paris six months ago for a similar class, I was able to prepare for the different culture better. I made sure to learn how to greet people, order, and ask for directions in Italian and I brought a phrase book. I think that the class could have better prepared us for the modern day culture of Rome not just that of the ancient city. I found Pompeii and Tivoli to be more interesting than Rome. Pompeii was more intact than the ancient parts of Rome allowing visitors to get a better feel of how ancient Romans lived. Tivoli, home to Hadrian's Villa, is a beautiful hill town where most of the resident do not speak English. It is a beautiful town in the mountains where the Italians are kind and helpful, but you are forced to immerse yourself farther into the culture by speaking the language and getting a sense of Italian life with less tourism. All in all the trip was a great experience and I really enjoyed myself and learned quite a bit.