From Ariel

My name is Ariel. I’m five months old, and I’m at HUF this semester with my parents and thirty-three students. Robbie, Mona, and Grant have been my own personal tour guides, taking me all over Florence. Sometimes Grant even gives me my own headset. Florence, or Firenze if you want to be authentic, has lots of cool museums. And most of them have tons of baby statues, which is awesome. The best part is that they have some statues you can touch, which is really thoughtful of the museums since little people like me learn through all our senses. Everyone is so nice to me. I often get to cut line, skip security, and even take special elevators. Did I mention that most of the locals that I meet call me “la principessa” or “the princess”? I really like that. I can’t do everything though. Grant took me to Palazzo Vecchio because it has great views of the Duomo. I wanted to climb to the top of the tower, but the guard said I was too small. I’ll have to wait until I am six years old. That’s okay. I’ll just have to come back one day. Well, I better go. It’s time for my nap. 

Be sure to follow me on Instagram @lavventura_della_bambina_bane Ciao!

 

Posted on March 11, 2018 .

A note from Hannah

As one of our Humanities assignments, we have to research an American soldier who gave his life fighting in Italy during World War II. My soldier was William F Jones from Kentucky. After our research, we visited the Florence American cemetery where William and many other American soldiers are buried. I was very unsure of what the cemetery visit would be like, as I have never visited a national cemetery before. When we arrived, our professors handed us flowers to place on the graves of our soldiers. I took a white carnation and walked slowly to section B, row 4, plot 5. I gently laid my flower on the ground and said a prayer for William and his family and how thankful I was for the sacrifice he made for America and Italy: 2 countries now very close to my heart. The temperature that day was probably in the upper 20's. As I was walking to the top of the memorial, the cold wind cut through my clothes and I was provoked with the thought "How did these soldiers fight in such harsh conditions, worse than today?" Personally I would never be able to do such a task and I am filled with gratitude for those who did. We sang the national anthem, had a word of prayer, and then listened to stories of other soldiers buried in the cemetery. Be the Difference: Never Again is the name of our humanities project. It is solely designed to remember the soldiers who fell so bravely, tell their stories, make connections with people, and show love so that peace may fill our world.

-Hannah Jones, Spring 2018

Posted on March 11, 2018 .