Signing off from Castiglion
We have about five hours left in this town. The sun is setting right now, we won't see it rise again in Castiglion. Our bus leaves at 1:30AM, tonight/tomorrow morning depending on how you look at it.
In a way its sad to leave. Castiglion is truly an amazing place, a wonderful inspiring place where the people have welcomed us like family and allowed us to share in their daily life. We aren't tourists, we're students, and we're respected here.
This town was built by the Etruscans over 3000 years ago, and its amazing to think that its still intact. The pace of life here is slow, things don't change much from generation to generation. By placing the center here Texas A&M has guarunteed that years and years of aggie classes will come through and have similar, timeless experiences in the hills of Tuscany. And the people will still treat us like family.
I will miss Ristorante Hermes, and Cafe Degli Ignoranti. I will miss the loggia at the top of the corso. I will miss the tower. I will miss Regiros and Velvet Underground. I will miss the garden, I will miss the hills. I will miss stonecarving with Signore Bruni. I will miss watching the sunset over the mountains. I will miss the castle.
I look forward to having modern conveniences again, to having a job and feeling productive. I am excited about the food back home, the movies, the city life. I can't wait to see family and friends, and to be back in the land of beautiful women, of wildflowers and rolling hills, of summer sun and mild winters.
But I hope I can return to Castiglion, soon and often. Part of me will remain here, as is always the case when you find yourself invested in a place. Part of me will always remain here, as part of me was left behind in Texas. In this way I will have been remade twice in the last four months, and I think I'm a better person for it.
In all ways I feel like I have greater clarity now. It's odd in a way, people always say this trip will change you, change your perspective, change how you view and treat the world around you. Having been here now I'm not so sure you are changed, but rather tested. Your views are scrutinized, your opinions challenged, the very world you know and rely on as a frame of reference is taken away, and you must decide if you are still relevant when taken out of context. In these ways you are clarified. Your actions have more meaning and your opinions have more impact.
Mostly on this trip I've learned about myself, and about America. There are so many things in America that I never fully appreciated before I came to Europe, and also many things I didn't realise were less than desirable. When the world around you exists in its own way and you never know what else may be you cannot judge what is good and bad. Living in Europe this semester I have learned that America is a wonderful, amazing place. I've also learned that our human infrastructure is inadequate. We give too much of our lives over to machines. We have lost contact with our neighbors. We isolate ourselves in little islands of suburbia, in placeless places that lack the soul, the passion, and the identity of European towns. We make assumptions that hurt the common man, such as the assumption that every person can afford a car, or a house with a yard. We do not provide realistic transit options for the carless, or adequate an adequate ammount of park space for those living in appartments or other multi-family units. Mostly we don't have the concern for our own community well-being that the people here do, the feeling that the common space, the public environment should be considered of the upmost importance.
Our great strength, however, lies in our hard work, in our patriotic spirit, our multi-cultural diversity, our inventiveness, and most importantly our eternal optomism. The can-do attitude that prevails in American history and still is prevalent in our modern society is responsible for our current greatness. We believe, as we should, that we can change the world.
First we must understand and change ourselves. We must face our most pressing challenges and create a new world that is better than the one that came before. This is our legacy as Americans. No generation of our great nation has failed to leave the country better and smarter than it was before. And through our concerted effort, my generation will no doubt reshape the country in a way that absorbs the rapid technological and societal changes that we are currently experiencing and harnesses that momentum to propell the United States into a greater era of health and prosperity.
In a way its sad to leave. Castiglion is truly an amazing place, a wonderful inspiring place where the people have welcomed us like family and allowed us to share in their daily life. We aren't tourists, we're students, and we're respected here.
This town was built by the Etruscans over 3000 years ago, and its amazing to think that its still intact. The pace of life here is slow, things don't change much from generation to generation. By placing the center here Texas A&M has guarunteed that years and years of aggie classes will come through and have similar, timeless experiences in the hills of Tuscany. And the people will still treat us like family.
I will miss Ristorante Hermes, and Cafe Degli Ignoranti. I will miss the loggia at the top of the corso. I will miss the tower. I will miss Regiros and Velvet Underground. I will miss the garden, I will miss the hills. I will miss stonecarving with Signore Bruni. I will miss watching the sunset over the mountains. I will miss the castle.
I look forward to having modern conveniences again, to having a job and feeling productive. I am excited about the food back home, the movies, the city life. I can't wait to see family and friends, and to be back in the land of beautiful women, of wildflowers and rolling hills, of summer sun and mild winters.
But I hope I can return to Castiglion, soon and often. Part of me will remain here, as is always the case when you find yourself invested in a place. Part of me will always remain here, as part of me was left behind in Texas. In this way I will have been remade twice in the last four months, and I think I'm a better person for it.
In all ways I feel like I have greater clarity now. It's odd in a way, people always say this trip will change you, change your perspective, change how you view and treat the world around you. Having been here now I'm not so sure you are changed, but rather tested. Your views are scrutinized, your opinions challenged, the very world you know and rely on as a frame of reference is taken away, and you must decide if you are still relevant when taken out of context. In these ways you are clarified. Your actions have more meaning and your opinions have more impact.
Mostly on this trip I've learned about myself, and about America. There are so many things in America that I never fully appreciated before I came to Europe, and also many things I didn't realise were less than desirable. When the world around you exists in its own way and you never know what else may be you cannot judge what is good and bad. Living in Europe this semester I have learned that America is a wonderful, amazing place. I've also learned that our human infrastructure is inadequate. We give too much of our lives over to machines. We have lost contact with our neighbors. We isolate ourselves in little islands of suburbia, in placeless places that lack the soul, the passion, and the identity of European towns. We make assumptions that hurt the common man, such as the assumption that every person can afford a car, or a house with a yard. We do not provide realistic transit options for the carless, or adequate an adequate ammount of park space for those living in appartments or other multi-family units. Mostly we don't have the concern for our own community well-being that the people here do, the feeling that the common space, the public environment should be considered of the upmost importance.
Our great strength, however, lies in our hard work, in our patriotic spirit, our multi-cultural diversity, our inventiveness, and most importantly our eternal optomism. The can-do attitude that prevails in American history and still is prevalent in our modern society is responsible for our current greatness. We believe, as we should, that we can change the world.
First we must understand and change ourselves. We must face our most pressing challenges and create a new world that is better than the one that came before. This is our legacy as Americans. No generation of our great nation has failed to leave the country better and smarter than it was before. And through our concerted effort, my generation will no doubt reshape the country in a way that absorbs the rapid technological and societal changes that we are currently experiencing and harnesses that momentum to propell the United States into a greater era of health and prosperity.
· · · · · · ·
We have about 5 hours left in this town. I've had a great time traveling, taking pictures, and writing this blog all semester. I'll probably make one more update to wrap it up, although I expect all the pictures I'll have are now online. For all of you who have followed the blog, thanks for reading, and please leave a comment on this post to let me know what you thought of the blog. We'll be back in America tomorrow afternoon, the celebration here is already starting and I'm sure the excitement will carry on for weeks to come. In closing, my time here has been amazing, and I look forward to my time back in the US, which I am certain will be even more amazing.
posted by Andrew at
8:25 PM
2 Comments:
It has been very entertaining and enjoyable reading your comments on your travels and on your stay in Castiglione Fiorentino!
It also enabled me to have a small glimpse of the activities of my nonverbal son Dave! MEH
By
Anonymous, at 4:18 PM
Andrew,
I feel that I've actually grown closer to you through reading your blog this semester. I feel like I know you better. Seeing this experience through your eyes has been touching, enlightening and very rewarding. It has confirmed one thing I've known all along, and that is that you have a deep soul. You have the ability to see beyond the surface and make philosophical, moral and societal observations which seem beyond your years.
I'm excited to see what you will become as you complete your studies and begin to make your mark in the world. You have the potential to make a tremendous impact in your field, and in whatever endeavors you choose to invest yourself.
Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. It's given those of us who love and care about you an amazing opportunity to peek into your thoughts and experiences. But also, I believe that this will be a treasured "marker" for you to look back on and remember the things you've learned over these last few months.
Milton, Joanna and I love you so much and can't wait to give you a big hug! Aunt Deborah
By
Anonymous, at 7:28 PM
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