Ciao ! Today marks the beginning of my third week in Sorrento and my tenth week abroad. I have less than 3 weeks remaining until I head home and the majority of that time is already filled with plans to try and squeeze the absolute most into these next few weeks. The two big things planned are trips to Rome and Florence for my last two weekends in Italy. I don’t think I’ll get over how easy it is to book travel, especially by train, in Europe. It’s one of the many things I so wish we had in the United States. I’ll be excited to write about those two cities as I experience them, but in the meantime here is a little summary of my past week here in Sorrento and Naples!
This past week I commuted to my internship in Naples where I translated more documents from Italian to English. I also had a couple days of my class on the Bay of Naples, where I was able to make a connection between the class and my internship, as we discussed topics about migration and the refugee crisis in Europe. Between the experiences with my internship and that lecture, it is becoming more clear to me that I have a great interest in these topics. I especially have an interest in how political climates can impact the public view as well as overall policies regarding issues of migration, something that was discussed greatly in the lecture. Furthermore, I am quite eager to continue working my internship and learning more.
In addition to my internship and class, this past week I visited the ancient Greek temples of Paestum. These temples remain in remarkably great condition, despite being over 2,500 years old. Having just traveled to Greece, it was super fascinating for me to learn about the strong ancient Greek influence in this area of Italy. The ancient Greeks inhabited the Bay of Naples from around the 4th century BC until about the 8th century BC. The name “Naples”, Napoli in Italian, actually comes from the Greek “Nea Polis” (Νέα Πόλη), meaning “new city”.
Over the weekend, I traveled to Naples where I saw the opera, “The Barber of Seville” at the Teatro San Carlo. The show and theater were absolutely amazing. Seeing an Italian opera in Italy felt like an opportunity too great to pass up on and I’m so glad I was able to experience it. Because the opera was in the evening, I got an airbnb in Naples for that Saturday night with some friends and we, therefore, just decided to make it a Naples weekend. On Sunday we walked and shopped around the Galleria Umberto before taking the train back to Sorrento.
After having lived in Sorrento and having commuted to my internship in Naples for a little over two weeks now, I feel as though I can make a fair comparison of the two cities. Sorrento is a beautiful, quaint, and festive city that looks and feels like what we all dream of southern Italy being. The restaurants are fancy, the views of the Mediterranean are breathtaking, and the architecture is stunning. Naples, on the other hand, is a much better representation of an authentic Italian city. The restaurants aren’t all as fancy, the views of the sea, although they are nice, aren’t quite as breathtaking, and buildings are often covered in graffiti. However, Naples is so worth visiting. Being the unofficial capital of Southern Italy, the city provides a look into what normal day to day life is like in Southern Italy. Not to mention, the food in Naples is absolutely incredible. I am really looking forward to comparing Naples with Rome, as I visit it this weekend!
And with that, I will be signing off until next week!
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