This summer, 21 English students spent six weeks in Florence, Italy, to hone their creative writing skills. The annual trip was part of English Professor Christopher Torockio’s creative writing abroad course.

Torockio said that the students were assigned to write a short story inspired by their experience abroad. They participated in writing workshops to review drafts and bounce ideas off their peers while gaining inspiration in their new environment. 

“In order to write that story," explained Torockio, "students needed to immerse themselves in the local culture, notice the world around them, embrace the new and the strange, challenge themselves to discover things about themselves that they didn't know they knew, find their inner voice, get out of their comfort zone and embrace that discomfort, thereby seeing the world through a new, vivid and visceral lens revealing true life as it is truly lived."

Students found various avenues for growth during the course. “Studying abroad offered me a unique opportunity to immerse myself in another culture while navigating and adapting to unfamiliar surroundings,” said junior nursing major Abigail Davis.  

“The experience l endured allowed me to see and do unforgettable things that will leave a lasting impact on my life.” 

Florence is known as the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance with its architecture and art. Torockio explained that many of history’s most famous writers found a creative haven within the city, and that the students similarly found their muse by adapting to everyday life in the city.

“Florence was the birthplace and home to artists such as Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Dante, Botticelli, Galileo, Machiavelli and many others,” said Torockio. “Writers such as Dostoyevsky, John Milton, George Eliot, John Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning called Florence home for extended periods of their lives. 

“To happily exist in a foreign city for six weeks, students had to immerse themselves in the local culture and embrace the newness and strangeness all around them,” Torockio continued. “They lived in apartments in the city center, had Italian neighbors, shopped at the local grocery and produce markets, learned their way around the city and discovered hidden local gems.” 

Junior pre-elementary education and liberal studies major Savannah Duursema said that the cultural inspiration for her writing came with every footstep. 

“In my walk to class, I walked down a street to see handcrafted goods everywhere, amazing chalk art portraits in the street, the Duomo looming in the distance, the Neptune fountain, a statue of the famous David and the Uffizi,” she said. “My street was named after Dante Alighieri with his house just down the street. 

“It was very easy to get inspired to write when that was my daily life,” Duursema continued. “Dr. Torockio was also a great guide through this experience and helped us get acclimated and improve as writers.” 

Students deepened their connections with Italian culture by exploring outside of the classroom. Several ventured outside of Florence to Rome as well as the coastline and countryside of Italy. 

“These were the best six weeks of my life,” said junior English major Chelsea Newton. “I learned so much about traveling and writing and I was so inspired by everything around us. I'm really happy with how my short story turned out and I’m so grateful to have had this experience.”