This is a student blog post submitted by Melanie Lofgren, C’18. Melanie is a psychology major, with a biblical and theological studies minor. She spent her spring break in Italy with a group of 12 students and two professors. On the trip, students considered the continuity between the life of the earliest Christians in their cities and present-day Christians in the city of Chicago.
Over my spring break, I traveled with a group of 11 other students and two professors, all of us ranging in academic and professional disciplines . . . and in prior knowledge of Rome and Christian history. Despite being a Junior and a BTS minor, I actually haven鈥檛 taken many Bible or theology classes. I also never learned much of Roman history in junior high or high school, so this trip was going to be a whole new world and wealth of knowledge for me. Before the trip we read some books to brush up, or in my case learn about Christian and Roman history (it was a lot of information that did not care to remain in my brain during the trip).
As soon as we arrived, we were herded to our first three sights of the trip: The Pantheon, the Church of the Gesu, and the Ara Pacis. It鈥檚 important to note 鈥渉erding鈥� is a very appropriate term. We walked everywhere, led (or shall I say shepherded) by our two professors; we probably looked like a herd of unusual American tourists, and this is exactly what we were.
Stepping outside of your comfort zone is one of the greatest gifts God has given us and that we can give to God.
Professors Willitts and Veeneman know how to travel. If there鈥檚 one thing I took away, it was how to be a traveler. We had free audio guides (courtesy of Rick Steve), and guide books that had enough information to spark conversation while not overwhelming us. I loved all the walking, and I chose to walk when given the option, even going on a mini 鈥減ilgrimage.鈥� Walking is a great way to see the city. Walking through Rome made me take in more of the city, see the neighborhoods and their aesthetics change, experience the interactions between people, not look like a tourist (a huge plus for me), get great exercise (and not feel guilty about all the pizza and pasta I consumed!), and it helped me navigate and understand the city. Although taking a bus everywhere may have been less tiring, I wouldn鈥檛 have been able to grasp the immensity, extravagance, and culture nearly as well.
Let鈥檚 get back to what we did though. Every day we saw a few different places of significance to the Christian faith, to the Roman Empire, to western theology, and any combination of these. In this blog series, I鈥檒l talk about the places that I found to be the most intriguing, the knowledge and relationships I gained, and the topics that still lurk in my mind all while relating it to my life back in Chicago.
Before I wrap up this first post, I want to encourage anyone reading this to a) continue to read the rest of my series, b) study abroad or travel to other countries, and c) go on this trip! Traveling and experiencing a new culture is daunting and nerve-wracking. It is a humbling experience if you let it be (please let it!), and although the cons may seem to outweigh the pros in foresight, you will never regret the experience in hindsight, no matter how unplanned, disorganized, chaotic, and scary it may turn it out be.聽You still learn things years afterward, and stepping outside of your comfort zone is one of the greatest gifts God has given us and that we can give to God.