Study Abroad

During the month of July after my junior year, I completed one of my Communication Studies courses while studying abroad in Tuscania, Italy. Tuscania is a small town between Rome and Florence with a population of 8,500 people, and a very small percentage of the residents speak English, bringing many challenges as I didn't speak any Italian. Living in Tuscania allowed me to experience a piece of authentic rural Italian life.

My favorite thing to tell people about Tuscania is that it is a town built on long mealtimes and multiple after-dinner desserts. As opposed to American meals, Tuscanian meals are long conversations where food is almost considered an afterthought. Although the cuisine is important, what's more important is the sense of community that's created through food. If there's one thing I'm constantly reminded of because of my experience, it's reflecting on how I can be more present in everything I do, especially in being more mindful at mealtimes and enjoying the company of those I'm eating with. There's hardly anything more important than human connection, and I just happened to be lucky enough to experience that over plates of freshly made carbonara and amatriciana.

Click on the link below to read more about my experiences in Italy in an article published on Concordia's website.

Student Spotlight Article: Tuscania

In May 2018, I traveled to Israel, Palestine, and Jordan with a small group of students and faculty members from Concordia. We stayed with host families in Palestine, talked with organizers of refugee camps, worked with the EAPPI who serve to protect Israeli and Palestinian human rights, met with influential church leaders, and visited many historical sites including the Yad Veshem and the Yasser Arafat museums. It was a trip where our only job was to learn.

I vividly remember meeting with a Palestinian pastor during our trip, who introduced himself by saying he was "first a human, then a father and a husband, and then a pastor." He told us that it was important he identified himself as a human first, because most people get so caught up in trying to understand the conflict, that they forget humans exist on both sides. This moment summarized my trip experience perfectly. For everything we learned about the conflict and the history of the land dispute, we experienced warmth, hospitality, and an overwhelming sense of community everywhere we went. From waking up to the Islamic call to prayer in the early hours of the morning, to eating stuffed grapeleaves and zucchini with our host family, there was never an absence of the beautiful culture that exists in spite of the conflict.