Tracey Rodriguez

I participated in the Mediterranean Food and Cultures short-term study abroad program through the NSD 452 course this spring. For this class, we travelled to Italy for ten days, spending time in the cities of Pisa, Modena, Bologna, and Florence, and several smaller towns, as well as in the Tuscan countryside. The main objective of this trip was to explore the food systems and practices of the region, which we accomplished by visiting several farms, restaurants, and food production facilities, my favorite of which was a balsamic vinegar facility. We also had the chance to visit a few museums and historical sites to learn more about the culture and history behind the areas we were visiting.

While during the semester we had talked about some of the values surrounding food in Mediterranean cultures, it was still somewhat surprising to see how regional the food practice was, and how much pride the people there had for their particular towns and areas and the foods from there. I was also surprised by how many of the people that we encountered in Italy spoke English, as I expected the language barrier to be much more present than it was.

We had many cooking opportunities on this trip, which I have been using the skills and values from since I returned home to enhance my own eating patterns and to share what I learned with my loved ones. I hope to continue learning about the Mediterranean lifestyle and diet to understand how it applies to other aspects of nutrition and health. I would love to travel to Italy again someday to continue learning about the rich culture and history there.

Receiving an award from Honors helped me to be able to afford the cost of traveling abroad, and without it, I likely would not have been able to afford participating in this amazing experience. I felt that this experience was a great enhancement to my overall experience at SU, especially since I didn’t get the chance to spend a full semester abroad. Not only did it give me the chance to experience another culture and immerse myself in it, but the nature of the course allowed me to work towards my major in nutrition science and gain applicable knowledge on the topic while doing so.