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  • Week 3: Balance

    Balance. Is it ever truly a realistic goal or achievement? What does it mean to live a balanced life? Especially when engaging in emotionally charged conversation around humanitarian work and the causes of migration. And when paired with living in a city filled with layers of history over millennia, I don’t believe it is feasible to expect balance. One day while walking towards a green space, I came across a building and had to take a closer look. The function is etched above the door - elementary school for boys. And it is named after Christopher Columbus. To the left of the doors is a sculpture of the representation of the founding of Rome - Romulus and Remus being fed by the she-wolf that rescued them from death. Apparently this is an abandoned building, as evidenced by the vast array of graffiti - with phrases such as k*ll N*zis, Antifa Zone, and more. I believe this one image sums up the layers of history, function, and meaning brought to the contemporary. People across time have used this space to share changing messages with the community. So, I will embrace the imbalance of engaging with works that bring up deep feelings that range from horror to joy, sadness to contentedness. And knowing that I am not doing this deep dive alone is even more powerful. Together, with 20 others, we are discussing torture, climate change, migration, refugees, health, nation states and their responsibility, potential for change and the forces that resist. I am the oldest student in this group, old enough to be the parent of the students in my cohort. At times I feel awkward with this age gap and wonder how I’m perceived, and other times I am grateful to have a lifetime of living in the world and bringing observations and experiences to the conversation. And I readily welcome the insight that the diversity of our group brings to the conversation as well. Age is not really a factor when sharing how we’ve all navigated the world, whether born and raised in the United States, South America, Western or Central Europe, the Middle East, or Asia, every person has a unique perspective to share that brings a wholeness to our conversations while we wrestle with difficult topics. This week we read about torture, climate migration, natural disasters, and starvation. We read stories that took place in Haiti, Cambodia, New Orleans, and beyond. We evaluated organizations that are supposed to facilitate peace and bring aid and their true effectiveness. And we visited ancient ruins filled with layers of history where people from all classes and backgrounds mixed and mingled for hundreds of years. In my field placement, I was transported to a time when my children were young and I was teaching in a preschool, as I assisted in an after school preschool class. They colored, put together puzzles, drew, told stories, and painted. It was every bit of chaos and laughter you can imagine. And they taught me new words and welcomed me to the space. It was a pocket of joy amid tough material to digest. Perhaps that is the true balance. Remembering and choosing to find pockets of joy and laughter, even when many areas of life are filled with stories that could cause one to retreat within and escape from the world. When I feel that my tiny insignificant contribution won’t make an ounce of difference in a cause that spans the globe without an end in sight, I look to the little one who is reading a book or asking me to help put on a princess dress or needing help washing hands after painting. It is not insignificant to extend kindness and graciousness to the one next to me. I will never know all the stories of those I encounter every day. Yet I can choose kindness. I can choose to engage in the hard stories and hear their words. I can choose to honor their lives by continuing to pursue this field in daily, incremental ways.

  • Week 2 Reflection

    This week encompassed a wide range of human emotions. From joy and excitement, to accomplishment, to sadness and grief.  From coffee to the Pantheon and course work, there was a little bit of everything mixed together. One fun highlight included daily stops at the café and the entire experience in Italian. Even with my limited knowledge of Italian, being able to order different types of coffees, croissants, and pastries, and pay using Italian and not relying on the staff to switch to English feels like a major accomplishment. I am not able to hold a conversation yet outside of the ordering and paying, but that’s ok. And can I just tell you, the café bar culture of Rome is fantastico!! It is nothing like US coffee culture. Seattle is a coffee town, with its own distinct coffee culture. And Rome is a café town, with its own distinct coffee culture. I think I’ll make a separate post all about coffee to showcase different types, how to order and enjoy, etc. In our “colonization, assimilation, and slavery in ancient and medieval Rome” course, we began discussing various monuments around the city. Rather than just looking at them as tourists, we learned about their origins, layers of functions and purposes over the centuries and millennia and began to shift our framework of viewing these built structures. Questions such as who built this, why was it originally built, why was it chosen to remain while others were torn down, and what function does it serve today? These are multi-layered questions, and the answers reflect the millennia that encompass their existence. One such structure we visited this week is the Pantheon. Originally built by Agrippa between 25 and 27 BC, this structure was dedicated to all the gods and served as a space of worship. At the time, it was believed that when powerful rulers died, they became like a god, so structures built would be dedicated to these rulers. Agrippa didn’t want to be worshipped as a god, which is why the structure is called the Pantheon and was dedicated to all the gods. Over the centuries some elements were removed to build other structures around the city, showing shifting priorities and influences of power. With the rise of the Catholic church beginning in the 300’s, many pagan structures were destroyed, and their materials used for other buildings. Surprisingly the Pantheon was not destroyed, though materials were taken for other structures. I found it interesting that now the structure is an active church with images of Mary and Christ that are worshipped, and no longer a pagan structure. Inside the building was spectacular. It was the first of its kind with the domed ceiling, and its engineering influence can be seen around the world, from the roofs of Duomos throughout Europe, the White House in the US, and many more buildings. Ancient Romans were students of astronomy and numerology, and this knowledge can be seen throughout the building, from the hole in the ceiling that allows light in which shines through the front entrance on the anniversary of the founding of Rome, to the measurements of the ceiling and floors. Layers upon layers of numerical significance are found in the building. Books upon books of information can be read to dig further into this one ancient structure in Rome. Course work this week was as important as learning how to approach monuments, but more difficult to wrestle with. We are starting our refugee and forced migration studies by looking at disasters that create situations where people must flee their home. There is simply nothing easy about reading and watching footage of civil war, political revolution, religious revolution, and genocide. Statistics are staggering at the sheer number of disasters that have occurred around the world over the past century alone. When faced with the large numbers, I find myself numbing slightly to the magnitude of displacement and need for assistance around the world. But numbing does nothing to have any impact on the problem. So, I am attempting to find the story in the numbers. Because the numbers are people, with families, loved ones, and stories unique in their own way. Even when themes emerge such as the type of disaster that people fled from – war, revolution, or genocide – everyone has their own experience within the disaster. It is these stories that I am interested in learning and sharing (as appropriate, and with proper permissions). Over the next months I will share more of the stories and materials we are learning and will give appropriate trigger warnings so you can choose which posts to read or not read. It is important when engaging with difficult topics and stories to know how to care for your mental and emotional health and engage as you are able. Until next time, Ciao!

  • Week 1: Seattle to Rome

    Excitement bookended this first week. Travel, exhaustion, and marvel filled the middle. Seattle condo to Rome apartment involved: 12 hours of flights (plus a layover in Frankfurt that was surprisingly way less efficient than I was expecting for Germany) car service to the hotel (I highly recommend paying the higher price for a taxi or car service after a long flight with luggage - your tired body and mind will appreciate getting to the hotel easily) Hotel stay - a darling small room was perfect to start catching up on sleep from being awake most of the previous 36 hours Delicious and simple meal around the corner from the hotel Taxi to the UW Rome Center (my classroom while in Rome) - again helpful with the luggage Housing change due to student shifting last minute. Taxi to the apartment Tour the apartment and unpack to make this space feel like home for the next 2 1/2 months In between, many walks through the cobblestone streets have occurred, taking in all the sights and sounds of the city. In Seattle I always love the peek-a-boo of Mt. Rainier as I drive and walk around. In Rome, the windy streets play peek-a-boo with ancient buildings. Around every corner are structures that span construction over the past 2 millenia - from Castel Sant'Angelo, to the Vatican, to Roman walls built to protect against the Barbers, to shops in building that look like 21st century construction. Shops, restaurants, and cafes fille every tiny opening along the street and are a true feast for the eyes. It is difficult to not stop constantly and stare at everything. But I do pause along the route to and from school, take photos, marvel at the enormous doors, variety of architectural styles, tiny vehicles, and absorb all that I can.

  • Stepping Outside the Classroom: A Comprehensive Look at Study Abroad Syllabi

    Studying refugee and forced migration is a complex and multi-faceted endeavor. Before I start digging into the actual classroom studies and field placement work, I'd like to share what the courses are for our program. This will give a nice overview of what we will be learning, discussing, writing about, and creating projects for this quarter. Program Title: Honors Rome - The Global Refugee Crisis: From devastation to diaspora, the physical, mental, and cultural challenges of refugee migration Courses: Honors 381: Global Refugee Crisis: From Devastation to Diaspora Honors 284: Colonization, Assimilation, and Slavery in Ancient and Medieval Rome Honors 233: Service Learning or Field Placement Italian 199: Italian language study What do these titles actually mean? Let me share from our study abroad classroom syllabi. Duomo in Florence. 2006. Author's personal collection. H381: Global Refugee Crisis: From Devastation to Diaspora Using Italy and the US as case studies in refugee resettlement, the connecting thread of this course is the lived experience of refugees and asylum seekers as they traverse the extensive journey from their home country to the country of final asylum. The perspective of migration for specific streams from Ukraine, East Africa, and the Middle East to Southern Europe and the U.S. will be reviewed in detail and contrasted with legacy migrations from Southeast Asia. This will include the lived experience and layers of loss as refugees move through countries of first and second asylum, including refugee camp lie, and detention. We will discuss prevalent mental health sequelae, common infections, and the many challenges faced from language and culture, to racism, class, and poverty in host countries. H284: Colonization, Assimilation, and Slavery in Ancient and Medieval Rome This course explores the monuments, churches, and built environment of Rome from foundation through Mussolini to the present to look at contemporary themes also present in ancient Rome, many of which had origins there, This is a study in the discourse of monumentization and the cultural and social narrative monuments express and the collective memory they pass on to subsequent generations. Many of these themes are salient contemporary issues as well. For example, how do we establish and justify the borders of an expanding empire? Who is a citizen? What are the conditions of slavery and why? What was the role of the Church in the colonization of Africa and Latic America and how was it celebrated and justified in christendom? How did Mussolini try to make Italy great again and what narratives did he employ? H233: Field Placement I will working with an Italian film maker and casting director who creates films that showcase refugees. She also works with refugees in a theatre production capacity. I only have a brief framework for field placement and will learn more about my role, what the exact focus of the placement, in the first week when I go onsite. Italian: Language Study We will have in class studies and then in the street practice. Last quarter I took Italian 101, so this will be perfect to continue learning and have direct application to help the words, phrases, and grammar stick a little better in my brain. Each week, one of our assignments is to write a reflection on all that we've read and learned across our courses and field placement. Those reflections will be posted on the blog each week, as a minimum for my content on here. But, they are just a minimum. I have a running list of writing and video ideas that I will be experimenting with and posting while in Italy, in addition to the academic reflections. What sounds intriguing to you from the course descriptions? What sort of questions do you have that you would want to know? Be sure to comment, and I'd be glad to incorporate your questions into class discussions and gain even deeper insight. Source: Course Syllabi

  • 2024 begins with a flight

    Flights are booked, apartment reserved, packing list actively in the works, and the excitement continues to build. 2024 begins starts with an international flight! This isn't just any trip, though. For the first 3 months of 2024, I will be based in Rome, on a study abroad assignment through the University of Washington. As a cohort, we will focus on the global refugee crisis - the multitude of reasons why people flee their homeland, the lived experience of refugees and asylum seekers, systems and policies, and local organizations that provide services. We will discuss, wrestle with, observe, and engage in field work on this critical humanitarian issue. I'm excited, yet that feels incomplete in describing the emotions running through me. Excited, yes, but humbled, honored, and a little nervous that I will be seen as another white woman in over her head trying to appease guilt. The truth is that I know I have experienced levels of privilege as a white woman. Yet, I have lived experience of leaving home and moving to a location with no external supports. Of having to leave an abusive relationship. Of picking up the pieces with no financial security and starting over. Again. And even though these experience are not the same as being forced to flee my homeland and never return, they give me a deeper level of empathy and a sense of responsibility to honor the hard work ahead. This blog will be a space to share what I am learning and processing, the hard and the joy. It will also be a space to share the beauty and marvel of living in Rome for 2 and 1/2 months. The dichotomy is not lost on me, and I aim to share the juxtoposition of beauty and pain, joy and sorrow, and how they intertwine, like a rose bush. So, I offer this space as way to join along this journey together.

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