Maymester

  • The city of Cortona is situated on a mountain with our school buildings located near the top. It makes for quite the hike back up but fortunately there’s a beautiful stopping point overlooking the valley where everyone takes a break. The view from our room in the Kehoe Center also made the climb worthwhile as…

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  • A major part of the Viticulture & Enology Maymester is visiting vineyards and wineries to see how the wines are made and hear about each place’s agricultural practices. Looking back on this program, I would say that these field trips were truly an essential and enlightening part of the trip for anyone looking to go…

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  • Villa d’Este

      Villa d’Este was the first, and my favorite, garden we experienced on the tour.  As an Italian Renaissance garden, it exhibited many of the garden features we had learned about making it a significant stop to support our learning. The first photo shown is a Pegasus statue.  The symbol of Pegasus striking its hoof…

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  • Arriving Home

    After the tour, I stayed for an extra two weeks to travel through Europe with my parents.  As I flew from Dublin to London to rendezvous with my family, I got in the car and I immediately felt as if I was missing 35 other people.  I was surrounded by new friends for almost 3…

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  • It felt as if the departure date for the tour would never come soon enough.  I counted down the exams I had left until I would be on the plane on the way to the trip of a lifetime.  And while it did feel like the the day would never arrive, the tour caught me…

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  • Language Barrier

    One of my biggest fears before going abroad was the fact that I didn’t know how to speak French whatsoever. When I arrived in Toulouse, I realized that because it was more of a rural French town, people either spoke very little English, or none at all. This was difficult at first, especially at restaurants.…

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  • When you walking around a city you don’t know in the U.S. you may feel lost, but you can always manage around because the people speak English and you can ask for directions. However, when you’re in another country that does not use English as their primary language it can be a little intimidating when…

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  • It was May 9, the day had finally come for me to leave for my study abroad program in France. I was so excited as this was my fist time out of the country. I had decided to fly to France alone because unlike the majority of people in my program, I live about four…

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  • Closing time

    As my study abroad comes to an end I have mix filings of sadness and excitement. Everything is a last, our last dinner at Tonino’s, our last class, the last night I sleep in the dorms and the last time I will see the gorgeous mountaintop view from the dorms (at least for now). However,…

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  • My study abroad ended just about a month now and I’m still in Europe for one more month. I still find myself reflecting on the experiences I gained on my study abroad. I constantly think about discussions I had with fellow classmates I would otherwise not have met if I had not attended this study…

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