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Students Savor Italian Travel/Study
by Kristalyn Bunyan
Picture yourself here (photo by Scott Lowrey)
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Learn Italian from the gelato man who sells you ice cream every day. Courtney McCracken did during her recent visit to Italy.
Although McCracken tried to prepare herself by studying Italian on some quick and easy CDs, which did teach her the basics, she learned the most from her interactions with locals.
Last summer McCracken and a group of other Mars Hill College students immersed themselves in the culture of Italy. Led by Associate Professor of Art Scott Lowrey, the group included McCracken, Dwayne Parton, Beth Carswell, Megan Brand, and 2004 graduate Melody Bailiff. They were also joined by a group of students from the University of North Carolina at Asheville.
The Mars Hill students received six credit hours for their work in drawing and music classes. McCracken, Parton, and Carswell, all of whom are art majors, enjoyed sketching from life in the piazza in Perugia, where their apartments overlooked the Appenine mountains.
Megan Brand, a music major, was elated with seeing Mozart's Magic Flute performed in an opera house in Rome. She enjoyed seeing a more contemporary production, which, she said, is a rarity in the U.S.
Brand describes a typical day: "I woke up, and I had to open the shutters because we didn't have any AC.… So you had to open up the shutters and let the air in, and you saw the beautiful mountains, and I would usually get up and go downstairs and probably get a scone or something and a thing of cappuccino and then go to the Internet Cafe and check my email and go to whatever class that I had that day and walk around the piazza and chill around."
There were also weekend outings outside of Perugia, such as their Venice excursion. "...my favorite place was Venice," says Brand. "It's gorgeous. I loved the water and the beautiful cathedrals and shops there. It was a really nice place, and it was nice to go there and not do homework."
The students also visited Florence, the Vatican, numerous well-known art museums, and traveled down the Grand Canal in Venice.
Throughout their stay in Italy, the students were welcomed with much respect. Most Italians speak some English, so communication was not difficult; however, trying to speak Italian was greatly appreciated.
"I would suggest that anyone who wants to study abroad learn the language as much as they can and don't be ashamed to be an American," says Brand. At the same time, she added, it is important to understand that people in another country may have different ways of acting. "Appreciate their country. Respect culture."
Anyone interested in learning about Mediterranean music, passing sunny mornings with a sketch pad in bustling piazzas, gazing at Michealangelo's frescos in cool cathedrals, or taking a side trip to Rome, might consider joining the group. Assistant Professor of Art Scott Lowery is recruiting for next summer.
Italian Gallery
For more info, e-mail Scott Lowrey at slowrey@mhc.edu, or check out http://www.finearts.mhc.edu/art/italy/ .
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