Written by Italy & Greece Students, Iris & Rob
Since last week, we have finished our stay in Panta Rei. Doing day trips into town and learning Italian by a very patient Chiara. We got to explore the surrounding area and learned about sustainable living, such as water conservation, and learning various other ways to live in accordance with principles of self-reliance. We met many great people that took time to teach us that sustainability means autonomy, and people who took time to translate our conversations. After leaving Panta Rei, we went to Rome. We were able to visit the Vatican and take a tour around the city. We also had free time to go off by ourselves and explore the city. We are now headed to Matera, where we will continue our sustainable living efforts.
Our Highlights of the Week:
Our top three highlights of this week were woodworking with Fabio where we got to make our own houses out of materials found outside. The trips into town, where we ordered gelato in Italian, and our first night in Rome, having dinner as a group where we sadly said goodbye to a member of our group.
But growth always comes with challenge … how did you grow this week?
The most challenging part of this week was saying goodbye to yet another wonderful member of this group. In our attempt to give her a beautiful send off, we all dressed as nicely as was manageable this late in the trip, and went out to a fancy dinner. Though she is gone, we are blessed to have spent 7 weeks with Malee on this dual nation adventure.
What are you grateful for this week?
There are so many things to be grateful for, but this week we are the most thankful for Chiara. Her warm welcome to Panta Rei made us feel at ease right away. She took us under her wing and went out of her way for us. From teaching us Italian to taking us on trips to the town, she made our stay at Panta Rei feel like home.
**We’re waiting for photos from this group when they return to wifi connectivity – stay tuned on our social media!