By Katherine Bai and Alice Liu:
Every other year, both the Latin 4 and AP Latin classes, along with various teachers, get to visit many different places in Italy in order to see the marvels of Roman culture and history. From sighting the well-known Colosseum to hiking up the infamous Mt. Vesuvius, the students’ trip was filled with learning and bonding. John Loosmann, a Physics teacher, explained that “part of the greatness of the trip is the freedom we give kids to explore and eat in Rome, and because they’re in a foreign country it is very liberating for the students.” Even though he teaches physics, Loosmann likes to chaperone the trips to Rome in order to help heighten the experience for the students. Many other non-Latin teachers also share this feeling. Loosmann also says that many students along with himself enjoyed traveling as a refreshing break away from their phones and schoolwork, and that even though he had been on the trip to Rome many times, Loosmann enjoyed new experiences teachers and students made on the trip.
On the evening of April 11th, students departed from Logan airport to start their overnight flight to Italy. During the first few days, they visited famous museums and beautifully crafted monuments such as Trevi Fountain. Furthermore, the students took buses and walked long routes to visit historically significant sites like the Appian Way. One student who was on the trip, Josh Wan, described the beaches of Sorrento as beautiful and really enjoyed traveling to Hadrian’s Villa. With his classmates and teachers, Wan had picnics throughout their trip to enjoy the views of Italy. They went through many piazzas, or town squares, including Piazza Novana and Piazza del Populo and got to visit many small street vendors selling traditional Italian food. The Latin classes ended their journey by taking a ferry to Capri and witnessing the beauty of Italy’s landscapes and the vast sea.
Going to Italy was described as extremely memorable by both students and teachers alike. Brian Dunn, the Latin teacher who organized this trip and past ones, was a traveler himself. Latin students often mentioned that he would recall interesting stories of his experiences in different countries. Although retiring, Dunn says he hoped his last trip gave students this year the joy of learning about different cultures in their travels as well as being able to apply their knowledge to the places they visited.
“Because they studied Latin for so long, they now get to actually see the ruins and monuments themselves. A lot of the places we go to were eye-opening for students who’ve never been there. They were able to see the lifestyle and culture of Rome, once one of the most powerful empires, with their own eyes.” - Dunn