Finals and Finale

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Ana Hernandez

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Ana Hernandez

<i>"Hello" in your host country's language:</i> Buongiorno! <i>Home Institution (your U.S. University/College):</i> Santa Barbara City College <i>Expected graduation year:</i> 2023 <i>Destination city & country:</i> Rome, Italy <i>Program provider:</i> Santa Barbara City College <i>Major/minor:</i> Early Childhood Education <i>Demographics:</i> Community College, Hispanic/Latinx, First-Generation College Student <i>Future career aspirations:</i> Find a way to provide early childhood education opportunities and education in places where there is none in the U.S. and abroad. <i>Top 3 goals for your time abroad:</i> Observe the highly successful early childhood programs, such as; Reggio Emilia and Montessori in their country of origin. Observe cultural differences in early childhood, families and children, in town, on the street, on the buses, in the restaurants. Immerse myself in a culture different than my own to create more awareness and a deeper understanding of myself and the children and families I will work with as an Early Childhood Education Educator. Enjoy the food, arts, music, culture and people of Rome, Italy.

My finals consist of two major essays, an oral Italian exam, a written Italian exam, and a compendium of art history. My brain has become overloaded and is now beginning to leak. I am not traveling anymore. Greece was my last adventure. I will remain in Rome until next week, through finals, and then I go home.

This is a bittersweet time. Each place I go to eat, each place I sit to contemplate, I ask myself, is this the last time I am here? I will miss this place; it has been home for the past three months. I will miss the wonderful staff at the Accent Center; they always greeted me with a “Ciao Ana!” I felt very welcome there. I will miss my housemates. They were all 19 years old and they were kind and considerate. We enjoyed class together-I wish them all the wonder the world has to offer. I hope they enjoy their youth and all its fascination.

I’m taking two days to vegg out so that I can prepare for the crunch of academics next week. The plan is to sleep well, hydrate, eat healthy, and rest up. My birthday is on Sunday, and I will take myself to the opera. Monday is liberation day in Italy (like our independence day) and our art teacher will take us to St. Peter’s Basilica. I have been there many times during my stay. It will be interesting to hear what he has to add as far as history is concerned. I have one more tourist thing I want to do and that is make a pizza at a Jazz restaurant and eat it all by myself! Of course, I will invite others to join me to make their own pizza and they can eat theirs all up.

Ciao for now, as I go back out into the city, to contemplate and memorize my favorite things in Rome.