Study Abroad

One of the signature experiences of an architectural education at Syracuse University (where I received my M. Arch degree) is a semester spent studying abroad in Florence, Italy. Actually, let me correct that. A Florence trip is not one of the signature experiences, it is absolutely THE key experience of SU's Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Architecture programs. I spent three and half years on campus in upstate New York in the early 1990s and I'd say about 90 to 95 percent of all students studying in that program make the trip to Italy which consists not just of time spent in Florence, but a series of field trips taken weekly to other architectural masterpieces elsewhere in Italy.

About halfway through my second year of graduate study at Syracuse (or halfway through my sixth consecutive year of higher education), I was ready to quit school. I'd just had enough. And so instead of making plans to travel to Italy at the beginning of the fall semester in 1992 like the rest of my class, I cast about searching for other options to find my way in life, looking at structural engineering programs at other schools or considering (very briefly) just working for a year. Ultimately, I made my way back to Slocum Hall in September of 1992 with a sketchy plan to study in Italy during the winter semester of 1993. 

It didn't work. I never made the trip. My heart just wasn't in it and I didn't think it would be worth the money to go so I stayed in Syracuse and finished out my education, barely passing my design thesis with an oh-so-impressive C minus. It got me out into the working world where I generally speaking fare much better than I ever did in design class and ultimately staying in school and pushing through to the end was one of the best decisions I have made in my life. 

But let's go back a bit. After the new year broke in 1993, the moment the rest of my graduate class returned from Florence, I began to question my contention that a semester abroad wasn't worth it. They all seemed to get so much out of it and shared experiences that they will likely never lose and I will likely never understand. I guess you might say that I felt some regret about my decision to stay in the United States. So I vowed to make it up to myself after graduation. Since I squeaked out of school with my C minus (a month late I might add), I think I've done a pretty good job of seeing the European architecture world, spending time in Spain, the United Kingdom, Finland, Belgium and Paris (twice). But I've never been to Italy. Well, not until I arrive in Rome tomorrow. 

Despite regretting (take regret here with a large grain of salt - I never really regret anything I've done because I believe changing anything along the way would produce a different outcome in life and I love where I am right now) my decision to not spend three plus months in Italy in 1992, I've never had a real desire to go there. While I've always maintained I would love to see Venice one day, I saw the rest of the Italian experience to be centered around Roman archeological sites (interesting), renaissance architecture (not really what I am interested in) and pasta / pizza (I find pasta sort of boring but I love pizza). 

But on the suggestion of a friend whose advice I find really valuable despite my sometimes resistance to it, I started looking a little deeper into what Italy had to offer and I found some things which I believe will really appeal to me. And it's not all Roman ruins and pizza, although I sincerely hope there will be a lot of latter. I've got eight and half days and nine nights to experience as much as I can while traveling from Rome to Venice. You can bet my itinerary is packed full as every vacation is; there will be very little time sipping cappuccino in Italian cafes watching Vespas zoom by. I'm really quite excited about the next week and a half. Ciao, America! Ciao, Italia! See you on the other side. 

My favorite Arlington pizza at Pupatella on Wilson Boulevard. Hoping Italian pizza will be at least as good.