Coming of Age as a Traveler

In the book, A Room With a View, by E.M. Foster, the main character Lucy learns about herself as she travels to both Florence and Rome. It gives her a new view on life and on love. Ironically that new view on life is exactly what we are given as study abroad students. 

We have been traveling a lot by way of the underground. Slowly but surely we are picking up on the routes and the quickest circuits to get from place to place. It is giving us a sense of independence that you gain as you successfully travel from one place to another. Like Lucy we are becoming more confident in our selves, the more we travel. 

When Lucy visits Florence she observes at art and culture that she may not be able to experience at home. In observing things about others she learns about herself. Her thoughts and perceptions begin to shift. When you experience other cultures you begin to compare them with your own.  I had the chance to experience an opera for free and discovered that they are really beautiful and fun to watch. 

 

I also had the chance to visit the Roman Baths. In this picture there is a woman who is dressed in the traditional Roman clothing and is applying traditional “make-up”. It is interesting to learn how they did things back then versus how we do them today. In a way it is like seeing a view from the past, while staying in the present.

Another view I had the chance to see was the view from Churchill’s War Rooms. It was amazing to see where the war was fought from a military perspective. The map room was my favorite room within the bunker.  It was amazing to see all of the tacks that marked the spots that Churchill was monitoring. When I think about WWII I have a tendency to forget that so many countries were affected. So many people had to come of age in a world that was being torn apart.

 This photo is a picture of the painting Judith by Liss, in the National Gallery. The painting is narrating the story of a woman who is fighting back from oppression.  This relates to Lucy because she is fighting back with society for her room with a view.