My semester spent abroad in Italy served as a sort of visual awakening. Everywhere I went I was seduced by what I saw and pushed by my curiosity to observe, learn and remember. Moments of awe compelled me to pick up my camera: the excited ascent into La Scala for an opera, peering through windows from the vaporetto on the Grand Canal at night, the emptiness of a rainy day at the beach in Monterosso, Cinque Terre. This is a collection of those moments, those inspiring still instances that pressed me to capture and click, my Italian moments. I present a photo exhibit of 24 images that represent a loose narrative of my journey, in its meditative and curious capturing of a new world. I come back remembering the seemingly always-blue skies, the colorful fabrics, the bronzed skins, the delicate aromas of coffee, and the art everywhere I looked.
From September 2006 through January 2007, I studied at the Università degli studi di Ferrara with Middlebury College, having spent the summer working at a photo agency in Milan and volunteering on a farm in Tuscany. In the fall, I lived with two Italians and an American in an apartment, cooked for myself, spoke nothing but Italian, struggled with and triumphed over cross-cultural challenges. Travel was made easy by my optimum location in Ferrara, a quick train ride to Florence, Venice, Padua, and Bologna among others; I made weekend trips whenever I could, always carrying my Casio Digital Camera QV-351, snapping whatever caught my eye. At the end of the day, living new adventures all the time, I sent home snapshots and stories, wanting to reach out and share this period of discovery. In total, I took 2,400 photos; these are the 24 I have chosen to share with you.
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