Author: Peyton Jobe                       Major: Public Health

Attending Sunday mass at the Florence Duomo.

According to most, I got lucky. I love my classes and my professors at the U of A more than I could have ever expected, to the point where I have never once considered changing my major. To some, this may sound like the best-case scenario. However, it became a stressor for me and I became jealous of the people who went into college undecided. These students get to experience many different perspectives from their wide variety of classes that can be applied to whatever field of study they end up choosing. When picking my study abroad program, I wanted to find one that gave me a similar chance of challenging and expanding my perspectives. Due to my major, public health, being medically focused, I wanted something completely outside of my normal classes. I wanted art, history, language, and architecture and to see the way these topics
influence and are influenced by culture. There was no better place to do this than the birthplace of the Renaissance- Florence, Italy.

To begin my own academic “rebirth,” I attended the Lorenzo de Medici Institute through my study abroad program API. On the last day of May, I began my classes. That morning I walked up four flights of stairs into a small classroom for Palaces of Florence. I only had four other classmates for that class, and only two classmates for Elementary Italian 1. The intimate class size terrified me at first; however, the discussions we were able to have allowed me to learn things in a deeper way where I felt confident to join in the conversations and apply what I was learning. Palaces of Florence went in-depth into the architecture and historical significance of the
city’s palaces from Medieval times to the modern era. Here I learned a lot about what drives people to make the decisions they do and how these same motivations exist today. Elementary Italian revealed to me a lot about Italian culture and I began to see how much culture shapes a society’s values. Both of the classes were outside of my comfort zone, but the concepts I learned will easily apply to my academic and professional aspirations. The more that health professionals can understand differences in the motivations and values of people, the better they can positively influence health outcomes and patient relationships.

While a lot of my class time revolved around learning about Italian culture, nothing compared to experiencing it firsthand. My favorite times, and the times that I felt I was getting a good taste of the local culture, were Sunday nights on the Ponte Vecchio. By Sunday night, most of the weekend visitors had left and it was mainly locals or students, like myself, hanging on to the last hours before work and school on Monday (there weren’t many tourists, yet, due to Italy having just reopened after lockdown). Every single time it felt like a dream: the colorful, old bridge stretching across the river, a Tuscan sunset in the distance, La Vie en Rose to play on guitar, newlyweds having their first dance. However, despite there being new people dancing or a different band playing each weekend, it always felt just as magical and welcoming as the first time. This feeling of being welcomed and like you belong is a constant in Italian culture and one that I appreciated most.

From nights like those staying up way too late on the bridge to early mornings at the train station, it was no wonder why throughout my program, my group would say “sleep on the train” (a poor parody on “sleep when you’re dead”). This was intended to motivate us to take in every second and see and do as much as possible each day, then rest between the action. However, if I had to give a piece of advice, I would say to not “sleep on the train.” I am not saying that you should take things slow and save yourself from exhaustion, but I am saying that the in-between moments, like the train rides, are not to be slept through. These little breaks in the
action, like sitting on the train, standing in line for a museum, or waiting for a table at the restaurant, are the moments where connections form. From train delays where my group talked forever about anything and everything, to taking a detour on our hike and meeting the “Shepherd,” Antonio, that fed us homemade goat cheese, to getting stuck in traffic after Italy advanced in the Euro Cup and the streets were flooded with fans, there were so many memories made when we were on our way to or from the next monument, museum, or insta-worthy view. It is thanks to these in-between moments that I not only made lasting memories, but also lasting friendships and relationships.