Tag: Italy

2021 Summer

Zac Richman: Post 3

Zac Richman: Post 3ISA 2021Florence, Italy I tried a lot of new foods while I was studying abroad. Even though I was in Italy, a lot of traditional Italian dishes as we imagine them are not traditional at all. First, meat and pasta almost never go together. They’re served separately as primi piatti and secondi piatti. No spaghetti and meatballs and very light servings of sauce, the pasta shouldn’t be drowning in the meat. They also don’t cut your pizza. Some very old school Italian pizzerias don’t cut your pizza here either and that’s how it’s done in Italy. This […]

2021 Summer

Zac Richman: Post 2

Zac RichmanISA 2021Florence, ItalyAugust 7, 2021 My commute to class every day was filled with history that I sometimes ignored out of habit, as I became more familiar with the city. My bike ride from Via Venezia 2 to Via Ricasoli 21 became much more routine, after I learned to stop taking the bike down the 600 year old cobblestone roads. My bike was a rental I usually picked up from my walk to the city center, which I did most days. I had Florence to myself, until 3pm every day, so there was plenty of time to grab brunch […]

2021 Summer

Zac Richman:Post 1

Zac RichmanISA 2021 Florence, ItalyJuly 27, 2021 When on the plane to Rome, I thought that my time in Florence would be set at a breakneck pace, running around all over the city to see everything. After walking around 10 miles the first day and sleeping in till 11 the next, I was frustrated at myself for wasting my precious and valuable time abroad. However as time went on, I realized I can’t worry about taking time to myself and sleeping in. I like to explore the city when it’s cool at night and stay in doing homework or checking […]

Semester

A Semester in Florence

by Phil Miskovic ’08 Ciao from Firenze, the city of fine wine, gourmet food, and artistic masterpieces. My semester abroad began in mid August with a three day trip to Rome touring some of the famous sights, the Coliseum, Trevi Fountain, and the Vatican to name just a few.  Next came orientation in Lido di Camaiore, a small town on the coast of northern Tuscany.  Our time was spent in a three-hour, daily intensive language course, followed by relaxing on the private beaches, sipping cappuccini in small trattorie, and visiting nearby Pisa with its leaning tower; Lucca, the birthplace of […]

Academic Year

Some Sacred and Profane Memories – A Year at Oxford

Text of a Speech Delivered on Sept. 2, 2004, Parents & Friends Lounge by Jordan H. Gaul, IV ’05 In the words of the old Sammy Cahn song, “It’s nice to go travelin’, but it’s oh, so nice to come home.”  It’s great to be back at Hampden-Sydney, and I’d like to tell you some of my general impressions about the value of a foreign study program. I grew up on the banks of the Brandywine River, in Downingtown, Pennsylvania – about an hour’s drive outside of Philadelphia.  Downingtown is located someplace in that indefinite swath of farmland where the […]