Buon Giorno! A European adventure

I am sitting on my bed, nursing cuts and bruises on my legs as I type this. Amazingly, these wounds don’t hurt at all. Instead, I feel the sweet rush of pain mingled with pride. After all, I have accomplished something I’ve always wanted to do ever since I was a child reading stories of the Berenstein Bears. Today, for the first time, I climbed up a fruit tree and swung on its braches. And fell off it, to be exact.

Some of you may laugh, for how is it that I grew up in the Philippines’ tropical paradise and never accomplished this in my entire 22 years? Truth is, there are so many things I’ve yet to experience, and it seems as if all that I’ve yet to discover is unfolding before my very eyes right now.

I am in Italy, land of artists, romance and mystery. The fact that I’m here hasn’t even begun to sink in, and typing it helps make it seem more real in some ways. I first came up with this idea on a whim, and thanks to my fabulous parents and the generous help of donor John Van Buren, my dream has truly become reality. I will be in Europe for three and a half months, studying history, creative writing, photography, and literature among many other things under the tutelage of some of the most remarkable teachers I’ve ever met.

More too many times than I can count, I’ve been teased about being the image of a stereotypical student who has spent her entire schooling in Chinese schools. I enjoyed maths and sciences as a kid, and have gone on to study business-related courses with high hopes of becoming a successful entrepreneur someday. However, coupled with this is a great fascination for the arts. I consider Philippine society, blessed as it is with so many renowned painters, musicians and writers, partly to blame.

As it is, I was looking for a place wherein I could immerse myself in culture and the arts before going on to "further my career," as they call it. Large, formal institutions held little appeal to me at that point, having just graduated from a school wherein creativity in its genuine form was somewhat missing. Luckily, one of my friends recommended the Aegean Center for the Fine Arts, run by renowned American photographer John Pack. The timing of the semester fit my schedule perfectly. I immediately wrote in, sent my application for a scholarship, and everything else quickly fell into place.

After an extremely grueling travel experience, I am now at Villa Rospilogsi in Tuscany, situated in a town just outside Florence. I am with such a diverse group of extraordinary people, to say the least. My roommate is a Japanese-American student who graduated with an English degree from UCLA and has been writing for a California publication for the past few years. Beside our room is a student named Mariaelena, who has Greeks for parents, but studied in Yale and has a long-standing fascination with Nepal and India. There’s one guy from Hawaii who sits by the garden and entertains everyone by singing and playing his guitar all night. All of us have come to the Center for various reasons; some students more advanced in their craft than the others (I’m probably the only one who hasn’t been painting and writing her entire life). That being said, as a fellow student put it, "the interest we all hold in common, is Art; the god-game, the passion-quest."

The semester takes place in two places; the first third of it in Tuscany and the rest of it in Paros, Greece. The Italian session focuses more on art history and field trips to original works from the Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque period. In Greece, students get full access to art studios, workshops and dark rooms.

The days have been grueling so far, but I’m not complaining. I wake up to a spectacular view of Tuscan hills and vineyards from my window each morning, then go on to attend various lessons which occasionally go on until 10 in the evening, with group readings of Dante’s New Life each night. Lessons are held outdoors in the garden on days when the weather permits it, and each night we sit together on two long tables to magnificent Tuscan food prepared by the villa’s three amazing chefs. We’ve taken field trips to the infamous leaning campanile of Pisa, the Uffizi museum in Florence, and Duomo – Bruneslleschi’s work of genius. Each time I stood in awe at the sight of the great masterpieces I had beforehand only saw in history books.

My mind has yet to process all that is going on around me. Everything still seems surreal and it’s as if I’ve stepped onto some storybook fantasy. I keep switching from emotions of disbelief at actually being able to live this once-in-a-lifetime experience, to guilt that I am seeing glorious wonders of Europe while so much has yet to be done back home in the Philippines, and to gratitude to the Philippine STAR, for starting me on this writing journey in the first place.

They say that wonders come in small packages. In my case, it came in an extremely gigantic package. I’ve just been here a week and have already come to start appreciating so much of that which I’ve come to neglect in the busy world I was caught up in – the aroma of fresh fruits and vegetables, the beauty of nature, and the serenity of chapels to name a few. My three-and-a-half-month "dream semester" started in Rome and will end in Athens. I can only hope that the next months don’t fly by as quickly as this first week has. And more so, that I leave this place with at least a fraction of the inspiration to create art as so many Florentines who have gone before me had.

* * *

This was taken in parts from the journal I’ve started to document my entire travel and learning experience this semester. Watch out for more stories, mishaps and realizations during my stay in Europe. Ciao! You may e-mail me at stephaniecoyiuto@yahoo.com.