Maymester Stop 6: Rome
Hello again! Before beginning, if you have not yet read my previous posts on the Maymester program I was able to be a part of, be sure to check those out for more information on what a Maymester is and what brought me on this trip.
Last but not least, our group traveled to Rome, Italy, where we returned to our studies of international organizations. We spent a good amount of time in Rome and incorporated much of what we had learned elsewhere into our studies. We tied in our studies of romantic poetry in the alps by visiting a museum dedicated to poet John Keats. We visited a second branch of the International Organization for Migration to compare the operations of the Rome branch and the office in Geneva. We went to the ballet out of respect for the dancers we learned about at Monte Verita. Additionally, we brought in new learning elements during our time in Rome, such as studying food security at the World Food Project and International Fund for Agricultural Development.
We spent a good chunk of time in Rome, which allowed us to deep-dive into the city’s culture and politics. Outside of class and organizational visits, we had a significant amount of time during which we could explore the city, so we were able to see landmarks such as the Trevi Fountain, the Colosseum, and the Pantheon. This was a perfect way to end our trip and definitely made for a great visit to Rome.
Our course culminated in a picnic complete with loads of Roman food and sweets. We all shared works that we had written, and reflected on our time as a group. This was a really poignant moment of our trip, and a great capstone to all that we had learned and explored together.
After our picnic, we all returned to the hotel and packed up to fly home the next day. We spent a little over a week in Rome before traveling home. But I’ll save the rest of my summer escapades for another blog post! In the meantime, if you have any questions about Maymesters or life at Vanderbilt, feel free to email me at alex.rains@vanderbilt.edu.