There's No Place Like "Home"...

For five days, I’ve called Venice my home. My morning commute involved walking over a few bridges rather than driving over them like we would at home. Even in a quaint hotel, I came across a feeling, one that felt like home, and I soon realized that home doesn’t have to be just the place you stay for a while, but rather the place where you feel like you can stay for a while. Over my few days, this is what Venice became to me.

Inside the Ghetto Novo

During my time as a Venetian, we visited the Jewish Ghetto. A place I would come to better understand and appreciate even more as the time progressed. The ghetto is made of three sections, the Ghetto Vecchio (old), Ghetto Novo (new) and Ghetto Novissimo (the new new). When I had first passed through each of them I could appreciate their long history and what they stand for, but it wasn’t until the readings, the tours and even some Jewish breakfast, that I could sense some emotional attachment. I found myself attached to Venice, I seemed to have made some kind of connection with the city and I wasn’t quite sure how, but all I knew was that it felt like home and I didn’t want the time to come to say ciao!

When I took a day trip to Firenze or Florence, I realized I was calling Venice home even more naturally than I had done while in town. In Firenze, I had the chance to see the Duomo, a beautiful cathedral and the Ponte Vecchio, a bridge with houses/buildings right on it. The sights and sounds of another Italian city in the region of Tuscany were beautiful to experience. While we were there, I was reminded of my American sense of identity when two members of the cast of Jersey Shore were filming an episode for their new season. As I came across the filming, I put my antenna up and tried to absorb the experience for what it was. Naturally, as a Mass. Comm student, I saw it as something more than just filming. For me, it was greater awareness of the place I call home- the United States. This show has taken a similar path to my very own to also be in Florence, Italy, where American ways will be exposed to a city that has been exposed to rich, historical brilliance for centuries. As I walked through the crowd of people who were gathered to see the cast mates in front of the cameras, I observed the crowd. I was sure to listen closely and watch briefly, only to find that most of the Americans were stopped at this “road-side attraction” to see the sight. With cameras in hand and excitement in their voice, I listened to their excitement and wondered why Italians and other tourists seemed to pass the cast right by. To many, it was no big deal, but to some Americans it was more exciting than being in this amazing Renaissance city where Michael Angelo’s David resides. Curiously, I took the experience all in, even without ever seeing an episode of the show, Jersey Shore, and realized what this tiny event says about who we are as Americans. I feel like it speaks to our culture, whether it’s reflectively completely of the way of life in the States or not, people- American and all others alike- have been told some kind of story about the way they think Americans are. Whether the story is fact or fiction remains to be seen. As people try to figure out the story that could lie behind the show, Jersey Shore, I wonder about the story each city I visit tries to tell about itself. As it begins to tell its story, I do my best to sit back, listen and eagerly wonder what else is in store.

In Firenze, in front of the Ponte Vecchio

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