Written by Italy & Greece Overseas Educators, Maggie and Chelsea
Lovely students, what a wild and wonderful 70-day journey we’ve been on. You all have absolutely rocked it every second, and we cannot express how proud and honored we are to have spent the most precious resource we have together: our time.
From meeting you at JFK, we traveled from Panta Rei where we bee-kept, bonded for the first time, drew our river of life, cooked pancakes for the residents, created our group agreements, did wood-burning, and got obliterated in soccer by Italians.
On the Via-Francigena, we walked silently, made the yummiest bread chips, learned about healing plants, and, of course, saw St. Catherine’s head and thumb.
In Florence, we learned to taste wine, climbed the Duomo, were floored by Michelangelo’s work, danced in the streets, and made lip balm, pesto, tea, and more with Giacomo.
At Paladini, we did CHESTNUTS so hard, made a pizza oven, and got our hands dirty. We huddled in the rain, sang songs, learned drama, went on an epic hike, saw a mushroom festival, and learned about our leadership and goals.
In Rome, we scavenger hunted, explored the Colosseum, *made our dreams happen* and saw the wonderful Vatican and St. Peter Basilica.
In Matera, we explored the Sassi, experienced the Casa Noha/ history of Matera, we learned about bread mills, our carbon footprint, and the festival of the trees. We made focaccia, chatted under the oaks, swam in the sea in Bari, and of course met the beautiful Giuseppe.
In Naples, we had the best pizza, had many solo adventures, and took the cable car from Sorrento.
On Crete we explored Minoan archeology with Carly, swam in the sea and saw so many fish, learned Greek with Manolise, and did Greek dancing and pottery.
In Athens, we explored the Acropolis and Acropolis museum, loved the street art and flea markets, and rode so many rides at the fun park.
In Aegina, we cycled across the island, went scuba diving, played Jeopardy, connected with Anna, and rested!
Finally, at Re-Green we learned so much about permaculture, made the best compost pile ever, did movement and drumming, and prepared for the sad ending we are now facing.
You all brought so much life to every step of this program. Your positive energy has impacted so many people and places we met along the way. You should be very proud of how you showed up in each of these stops.
We have learned so much from each of you. Each of you has such beautiful and unique gifts to offer.
A highlight has been seeing you all engage so well and dive into everything. You ask great questions, say yes to things even when they are outside of your comfort zone, and have opened your hearts to every soul we’ve encountered. It has been outstanding to watch.
You all realized quickly the challenges of living in the community. What it means to share space, hurt each other unintentionally, be hurt, be silly, annoy each other, be loved, and make mistakes. You have learned how to express your hurt, have hard conversations, and come out stronger. You all care for each other so deeply, even if there is sibling-like annoyance at times. You have supported each other beautifully through every challenge, and you should all hold close to your hearts the knowledge that Carpe Fall ’24 is your family for life.
Some ways that you all have grown this semester: realizing the world is so wide, other cultures have so much to learn from, that your sensitivity is your strength, that nature heals and reconnects, that you are capable of anything and resilient, that you can be flexible and adaptable, that sustainability is a way of life, and that you can sleep on moving vehicles.
As you move forward remember that this beautiful experience is only the beginning. Dive deeper into every single thing that piques your interest. Keep on traveling, exploring, and learning. This world is yours in every way. Keep on Shaking the Dust and making your dreams happen.
And know that you can count on me like 1-2-3, you’ve got a friend, we’ve had the time of our lives, and we want to linger a little longer.
Love, your OEs, Maggie and Chelsea