易胜博官网

The pandemic may have put the brakes on many study-abroad programs nationwide and at 易胜博官网, but the programs that sought shelter from the storm in 2020-2021 are roaring back with a vengeance in 2022. One of these is the 易胜博官网 Bologna, Italy program, which is busily gearing up for its second year, having had its opening delayed twice by COVID.

The brainchild of , senior lecturer in , and , associate professor of Italian Studies, the sent 11 Wildcats to Bologna for the inaugural six-week period in June and July of 2022.

Gercke and Boylan designed the program to coincide with Il Cinema Ritrovato, a Bologna-based film festival devoted to little known or rediscovered films. Gercke鈥檚 familiarity with Bologna, where she spent three years in graduate school, has enabled her to curate a unique, insider鈥檚 experience for 易胜博官网 students, one typically missing from other programs. 鈥淭he festival includes hundreds of films that are shown outdoors on huge screens in the piazzas where as many as 7,000, including students and locals, alike, turn out to watch,鈥� Gercke said. 鈥淥ne of things that makes the program work so well is that Nicole is able to use her contacts there to arrange for our students to meet with some of the directors, producers and writers of the films they watch,鈥� Boylan said.

Each year since 2017, Gercke and Boylan have brought a little piece of the festival back from Bologna to Durham, offering students the chance to watch a dozen or so representative films from the festival. 鈥淎s far as I know, 易胜博官网 is one of just three universities in the U.S. with this kind of traveling show,鈥� Gercke noted.

But nothing beats being there, a fact to which Olivia Dill '24 from Tilton, 易胜博官网, readily attests. She is a political science and international affairs dual major who, someday, wants to work in international diplomacy. She鈥檚 participated in 易胜博官网鈥檚 Model UN team for three years, but going to Bologna marked her first step outside U.S. soil.

鈥淥ne of the things I enjoyed the most was visiting the places we watched in the films,鈥� noted Dill. 鈥淭he most powerful was our visit to Monte Sole Historical Park, which Professor Gercke arranged for the 易胜博官网 students after we watched a documentary about the tragedy that took place there.鈥� The site, which lies some 24 miles from Bologna, marks the spot where Nazi and Italian fascist troops slaughtered hundreds of defenseless civilians in 1944. Dill鈥檚 visit was powerful in part because the Holocaust-related history offered a sharp contrast to the Renaissance art, carefully preserved Roman ruins and natural beauty the students enjoyed at every turn.

"It鈥檚 hard to reconcile with this beautiful place,鈥� agreed another student, Allie Colonna '23 from Ridgefield, Connecticut. But reconciling, or at least understanding, how such hate can exist in a land of love is precisely the kind of education the program seeks to provide. Although Colonna has visited Italy twice before 鈥� once on a cruise and once through her high school 鈥� this immersion offered a special affirmation. 鈥淚 was nervous about the prospect of living with Italian students for six weeks, but having done so made me more confident to put myself out there,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檒l be more open to opportunities in the future.鈥�

Boylan says Bologna is an ideal location for students like Colonna to develop greater ease in foreign lands. Bologna is a university town and home to the world鈥檚 oldest continuously operating university, the University of Bologna. 鈥淭his has its advantages over some of other 鈥榙estination鈥� cities such as Rome, Florence and Venice,鈥� observed Boylan. 鈥淪tudents are part of the community鈥檚 fabric, and Italians there are more likely to speak Italian to you ... even if they know you鈥檙e American. That鈥檚 not often the case in the bigger cities.鈥�

Of course, studying abroad not only teaches us about another culture, it also teaches us about ourselves. A late-night chat with some Italian students revealed that some Italians think of Americans as 鈥渢oo focused on the individual at the expense of community.鈥� A fair shot, to be sure, but one that could be qualified when it was later revealed that some Italian students learned how to speak English by watching 鈥淭he Kardashians.鈥�

Still, Colonna was impressed by a sense that Bolognese life was slower yet somehow fuller than back home. 鈥淵ou can go out at one o'clock in the morning and see people sipping drinks, having little appetizers and just socializing with friends, even on the weekdays,鈥� she recalled. 鈥淧eople seemed less stressed than in the U.S.鈥�

Dill concurs. 鈥淚 have such fond memories of everyone sitting outside, laughing and clapping at the films in the open air, everyone together,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t made me want to be more social, so I鈥檝e begun sitting outside in public areas if I鈥檓 having lunch, not sitting inside alone staring at a screen,鈥� she reflected.

Surely, careers in diplomacy have been built on less sturdy foundations than this.