I’m told this first introduction post was supposed to be written prior to departure, but since we’re currently enduring a 7-hour layover in JFK International Airport, I’d say this still falls within that time frame.
If you’re reading this and you’re not Helen or my mom, I’m Nicole Pampena and I’m a junior journalism major and broadcast production minor at Point Park University.
I knew I intended on scheduling this International Media class for the spring 2018 semester due to looking way ahead at another trip in spring 2019, so the destination and course theme being Italy was sheer luck. I’ve always said that the first country I hoped to travel to internationally was Italy.
Half of my heritage is Italian, split right down the middle– all on my dad’s side, none on my mom’s side. If I remember correctly, my grandpap came over to the United States from a small country town in southern Italy called Spigno when he was 16 years old. While we’re going nowhere near there, to have this opportunity to experience the culture firsthand is a dream.
Rather than preview them all here, I’ll probably go in-depth on all of our media/cultural visits and day-by-day activities as we come across them since that’s the easiest way to tackle it. Lauren Clouser is sitting next to me advising me to cut this off here.
5 hours of layover left to go…