Welcome, Guest!
Latin students heading to Italy for spring break
By Elaine Gu & Alan Liang
Gargoyle staff reporters
Posted Friday, March 16, 2007, The OG, news
OVER SPRING BREAK, eight students from Uni's second- and third-year Latin classes will travel to Italy to see firsthand the legacy of ancient Rome.
Latin teacher Krisanna Lucken organized the trip. Lucken and two other adult chaperones will accompany the students.
“Although Latin is not a spoken language like the other foreign languages at Uni, I wanted to provide my students with the opportunity to experience, in person, the site where the Romans left such a lasting linguistic and cultural impression,” Lucken said in an e-mail interview with the Gargoyle.
SPRING BREAK IN ITALY
- Who: Latin teacher Krisanna Lucken, eight Latin students (sophomores Elaine Gu, Alan Liang, Gordon Ruan, Charlie Wan; freshmen Elizabeth Allen, Katherine Allen, Eric Fritzsche, Daniel Pearlstein), two other adult chaperones
- When: Saturday, March 17, to Sunday, March 25
- Where: Destinations include Rome, Pompeii, Milan, Florence
- Why: To get an in-person look at the cradle of ancient Roman civilization
“After consulting several members of the classical community in Illinois, including my predecessor at Uni, Frances Newman, who conducted several trips to Rome and Florence during her Uni career, I worked with a travel agency based out of New York to create a trip that is specific to my students' educational needs.”
Students will depart from Chicago's O'Hare Airport on Saturday and will return March 25.
They will visit a number of cities, including Rome, Pompeii, Milan, and Florence.
The group will visit attractions such as the Trevi Fountain, the Colosseum, Michelangelo's “David,” the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and the Duomo of Florence.
To reduce the cost of the trip, Latin students raised money at school through monthly pizza sales. In addition, Latin club organized several donut sales and bake sales. The fund-raising activities reduced the cost of the trip for each participant by $250.
“I've been counting down the days to this trip!” exclaimed sophomore Charlie Wan. “I'm especially looking forward to seeing the Colosseum, where the gladiators used to fight. It'll also be fun rooming with my friends on the other side of the world.”
Lucken hopes that participants will have fun and experience what it might have been like in ancient Rome 2,000 years ago.
“I hope that the Latin of Cicero's speeches will come alive as they stroll through the Roman Forum and that the trip to the Colosseum conjures up the image of gladiators fighting in a public spectacle,” she said. “I hope to increase the students' appreciation for a language and culture that has influenced the Western world in so many ways.”
RELATED
— Encarta: An overview of ancient Rome
— Romapedia: Ancient Rome wiki
— U.S. State Department: Background on Italy
Comments
Post new comment