Tellus

During my regular life (meaning, not living in Rome on a semester abroad), I overburden myself. I thrive when I am over-committed, so I work multiple jobs on top of being a full-time student. So I told myself that going abroad would be time for me, and I would focus on relaxing and just having […]

Otium cum dignitate. Leisure with dignity. This was the very first phrase I learned in Latin my first day of college. It describes a way of life for the ancient Roman elite: one should always work hard, and if one takes leisure, it should be a dignified activity, something that improves the mind such as […]

Lives In Transit With dusk barely showing its presence through the tendrils of the low-hanging Banyan tree, the evening’s hostess, one of the managers of the hostel that was holding tonight’s event, began to light the candles that were at the center of the walled courtyard. They cast a soft orange glow through the various tropical […]

This image is significant to me because one of the biggest lessons that I learned during my time studying abroad in Rome is that there isn’t anything ‘ancient’ about the ancient Rome that people would see around them in the city. I learned in my sociology course on Rome as a modern city that the […]

This is a photo captured at the Cliffs of Moher in Galway, Ireland with my six other close friends I made while abroad. It is significant to my international experience because it was our last weekend trip we took while abroad. We had only been able to take three trips where our whole friend group […]

This was one of my first trips that I took to the Roman Forum during my abroad trip in Rome. It was a very hot day but finding out that the Forum was only about a 20 minute walk from my apartment made me incredibly happy. Looking back on my travels I realize now how […]

This past semester I studied abroad at Duke University’s Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies (ICCS) program in Rome. We stayed at the Centro, a four-story building in the Monteverde area of Rome that served as our dormitory, classrooms, and dining hall. I had many fantastic experiences while in Italy, but out of all the experiences, […]

These images were taken near the art campus at John Cabot University in Rome, Italy. Both were taken as part of my pinhole photography class, so both were shot with pinhole cameras. I made my camera from a small 6×9 inch wooden box with a hole the size of a pin cut into one side. […]

Living in a large ancient city definitely took an adjustment. Most of the streets were windy and narrow without any sidewalks. Cars, mopeds, and pedestrians have to share the area. Navigating through all the streets was definitely a process and it was still easy to get lost. People’s driving was insane in Rome and parking […]

A wonderful thing about running: there is no grammar, pronunciation, or inflection involved! A double tall American female with a bro tank and topknot hair, jogging in silver shiny running shoes demands no need for translation or monetary exchange! While my nationality is still definite, I can exchange glances with fellow runners, assuming a mutual […]