Personal Introduction and Italy Imagined

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I am Cooper Slack. I am a sophomore AAE major from New Orleans, Louisiana. My first thought after seeing the flyer for this class was “I can get the required honors credits for this year and go to Italy? Count me in.” However, I have now realized I signed up for much more than that. Although I now have to do coursework to avoid hurting my GPA, I am genuinely interested in learning more about the renaissance and the history of Italy. Initially, I was only interested in Italy so I could experience new foods, a different culture, imagine thousands of years of history, and be amazed at beautiful architecture; however, after the first few classes, I am now also sold on learning about 13^th and 14^th century Italy as well. It is my belief that the added knowledge from this course will greatly enrich my experience in Italy.

However, “We are familiar with the notion that the reality of travel is not what we anticipate” (Botton, 11). As a matter of fact, I am very familiar with this notion. Before coming to Purdue, I knew I would not like the weather here; however, the reality of traveling to Purdue has forced me to explore the depths of my hatred for cold weather so far down, that James Cameron would be jealous. For shorter travels, I usually forgo having any expectations of the place I am journeying to and avoid all images and descriptions of the place like spoilers of a movie I intend to see. This has worked out so far, since I end up enjoying the moment. After reading Botton, I can’t help but feel I have missed out on the excitement of anticipation. The hype may have been just as fun as the travels themselves. However, I think a more responsible thing to do would be to manage my expectations. I may get a watered-down version of the hype train, but I won’t ruin the trip itself.

As such, I expect Italy to have some of the best versions of Italian food I will ever have. Also, after reading some articles about venetian tourism problems, I expect Venice to be fairly crowded in popular areas. I imagine the locals to avoid tourist areas when they can, as we do in New Orleans. I Imagine getting lost in an urban space on purpose, then finding my way back to my hotel using the map I downloaded on google maps. I imagine constantly checking to see if I still have all of my belongings out of fear of pick pockets. I am incredibly curious as to whether the canals will smell of the awful stench of the decaying matter that often lies at the bottom of lagoons or if it will have the calming smell of the sea. Although, I am not curious about what it is like to live with water for streets, since, as a New Orleanian, I am well acquainted with the wonders of a city where the streets are completely flooded. Fun fact, there is a Venice, Louisiana

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