An experience of a lifetime brought to you by Lily Payne
Meet n' Greet
Q & A
Throughout the process of preparing for the trip, we had mandatory meetings directed by professor, Dr. Craig Pascoe and assistant director of education abroad, Liz Havey.
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These sessions gave us the opportunity to learn more about what we were in for along with taking proactive precautionary measures, i.e. medical forms and other health awarenesses. We were able to ask questions regarding financials, things to carry, what we should expect, etc. Meeting together also gave the students the chance to get to know one another better.
ENJOY
ADVENTURE
DIRTY WORK
Behind the Scenes
The trip itself was the "hands on" portion of the class. The 9 hours of credit that I will receive from this experience was separated out into 3 parts. For the month of May, I took an online class that consisted of group discussions and assessments based upon selected readings and videos. This is also when we were assigned a research project so we could have time to think about which food/topic we wanted to look into further.
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The month of June is when we would not be in the country anymore but exploring Mediterranean cuisine and applying the coursework we had just finished studying. During this period abroad, there would be cooking classes set up along with planned visits to a goat farm (to learn how goat cheese is made), wine tastings, and allotted time to venture out and explore.
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For the month of July, we were given time to readjust and relax with family. However, this is when we were expected to evaluate the people, places, and foods we observed in Greece and Italy. In the criteria of the class, a website or blog was to be created. Going into the trip, we knew that, so after settling in I'm reviewing my daily logs of food and activities from the itineraries.
A lot of work went into the planning of this incredible experience from all sides (the professor, parents, and participants). I hope you enjoy readings my little blurbs of this adventure!
Check it out!
My BLOG
DEPARTURE
Goodbye USA
We were to meet on June 3, 2017 at the Atlanta airport at 7:30 pm for our 10:25 pm departure. This meant that I needed to leave Savannah, GA at 2:00 pm in order to make it on time!
We would fly out of the Atlanta airport and into Amsterdam at 12:45 pm their time according to plan. From Amsterdam, we would fly into Florence with a 2 hour layover.
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Packing for the trip, it was advised that we pack lightly. I thought I was doing myself a service by bringing one suitcase that would be checked and an oversized purse as a carryon. To my dismay, I learned the hard way that I should've packed significantly less and taken that advice to heart. My suitcase wasn't huge by any means, but others choose smaller pieces of luggage which was definitely an advantage point. Having 30 different outfits for the month would soon become a regretful decision. Later in my posts you will see why I'm such a proponent about following the motto "less is more".
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Happy Reading! :)
