Storytellathon 2025
Gonzaga University in Florence
L'itinerario
“Cultural Adventures: Connection through Adaptability” è l’itinerario narrativo ideato da Ava Zuerlein, Sienna Carroll, Georgia Vollert e Noah DeKlotz, studenti americani in semestre di studio a Firenze.
Il filo conduttore dell’itinerario è l’adattabilità come chiave di connessione.
Le esperienze vissute tra Firenze, l’Italia e l’Europa diventano occasioni per riscoprire il senso dell’incontro, dell’apertura e della crescita personale.
Durante il loro semestre, gli studenti hanno mappato le proprie avventure attraverso il metodo MYSA – Mapping Your Study Abroad, collegando storie personali e luoghi visitati in un racconto condiviso che intreccia dimensione individuale e esperienza universale.
Il senso del percorso
Studiare all’estero significa imparare ad adattarsi.
Dalle azioni quotidiane più semplici — come fare la spesa — alle situazioni più complesse come muoversi con i trasporti pubblici in un paese straniero, ogni esperienza diventa un esercizio di ascolto, osservazione e flessibilità.
Gli studenti raccontano come i momenti più significativi siano stati quelli in cui hanno saputo:
– accettare l’imprevedibilità del viaggio
– connettersi con le persone incontrate
– aprirsi a nuove prospettive culturali
– trasformare piccoli imprevisti in occasioni di crescita
Attraverso la gratitudine e la curiosità verso culture diverse dalla propria, hanno sviluppato una comprensione più profonda non solo dei luoghi, ma anche di sé stessi.
Struttura dell’itinerario
Ogni studente ha scelto due “avventure”:
- una vissuta a Firenze
- una durante i viaggi in Italia o in Europa
L’insieme delle storie costruisce un mosaico narrativo che collega città, tradizioni e atmosfere diverse.
Ava Zuerlein's Adventures
Adventure 1 (September 20, 2025)
When I met a Monterosso man named Lorenzo in a Cinque Terre bar on Friday night, I thought I had simply made a new Italian friend. Though after we decided to swim in the Liguarian sea that night, and then seeing him at the same beach he happened to be throwing a party on, I quickly learned my friends and I were going to be much more involved in Italian culture on this weekend trip than we initially expected.
Lorenzo told us about a festival called “bescantandu in ta macaja” that was happening the next evening in Vernazza, a village right next to Monterosso. He spoke of dancing, wine, food — right up my alley — and a celebration that would last all night long. Lorenzo kindly invited all of us, and said he would be able to take a few of us over on his boat. I accepted this offer immediately (maybe it was because of the music and dancing, or maybe it was the two kegs of beer he brought to the beach) and texted him the next day asking where we should meet.
I’ve never seen stars so beautiful; out on the sea with my best and newfound friends, on the way to a small festival where they immediately gave us char markings to represent the fishermen coming home from a long day’s work and glasses made out of wire and lemon rinds that are supposed to inhibit the wearer’s vision even more after they’ve had too much wine. The songs were silly (and I’m told a bit vulgar) and as we walked from restaurant to restaurant in the village of Vernazza, they played the drums, accordions, and shouted call and responses thanking each owner for their contribution to the celebrations. There were various skits by business-owning Vernazzans dressed like old, comical fisherman and spoken in the local dialect. While Lorenzo galvanted us around, we didn’t feel like touristy-outsiders but like those who were truly part of the celebration.
I cannot begin to explain the joy I felt from this night. Making new friends, dancing around in a foreign town, getting fed yummy fish and wine — it felt like a dream, and I’m sure if I didn’t have photos from the evening, I would have thought it was only just that.
Adventure 2 (October 5, 2025)
I received an email about my assignment for English for Pasta after I was hesitant about signing up, but my friends had told me I would regret it if I didn’t give it a try considering everyone older than them had told them it was the best part of their abroad experience. After signing up, a couple weeks later I received an email about my assignment and it said I was assigned with Sierra who I had just met and we had to travel 40 minutes outside from Florence to meet Siria, her mom, and cat.
I was a little nervous since I am not very good with public transportation, although we needed to figure it out in order to get there. As soon as we met up, we bought our tickets at the tabacchi store and then headed to the bus stop. We waited for the next bus to come and eventually found it, hopped on it and then had to transfer to another one. Making it there 10 minutes late, confused by the buses, we texted Siria to let her know and apologize. As soon as we made it to the third floor of their apartment, out of breath and panting from the stress of moving at such a fast pace and feeling bad we weren’t making it on time. It didn’t end up mattering because they welcomed us both with big hugs. The second we stepped inside our noses filled with the most amazing smell of a homecooked meal. She brought us into another room where the three of us sat down at a table, decorated with a red plaid tablecloth with all of the silverware set up perfectly. We had engaging conversations about the differences between Italian and American cultures in high school and the languages in general. Since Siria was only 19, we soon realized our relationship would feel more like a friendship than an assignment. Siria’s mom brought us pesto gnocchi with an amazing pesto sauce. It was one of the most flavorful meals I have had in Florence and it was automatically ten times better with a cold bottle of water. We talked for hours and hours and her mom brought us out dessert called Canestralli which was an Italian biscuit. Sierra and I ended up eating the entire bowl of them. As we were about to leave her mom packaged up a plastic bag of the Canestralli for Sierra and me to take home. I felt so joyful to learn about someone who lived across the world as me but we shared so many similar experiences. Her mom reminded me of me and my mom living together alone but then she also lived with her dad and step mom part time which is the exact same as me. Now, I look forward to going back every week and continuing to share meals, stories, and laughs with them.
Sienna Carroll's Adventures
Adventure 1 (October 14, 2025)
I knew I wasn’t feeling well when I sat down for dinner with my parents, my aunt and my roommate on Thursday night, but I was not expecting to come down with a fever on the first night my family was in Florence.
This was absolutely going to ruin my weekend with them, I was sure. And oh my God, I felt awful — mentally, physically, and spiritually. We had so much planned, was this really the weekend I had to get sick? When was the last time I even had a fever? I tried to recall and terribly failed.
I got sent away after dinner with orders to take Advil and get lots of rest. As my roommate escorted me home, I wallowed in my frustrations. As my wallows worsened, so did my fever, and I went to bed praying I would wake up on the other side of this godforsaken sickness.
Although I did not wake up on the other side of the sickness, I did wake up on the other side of the bed — one that reminded me to appreciate the time I had with my family here. Even though I was sick, at least I had the comfort of home at my fingertips. With a newfound gratitude for life (and a lot of medication in my body), I felt ready to take on the weekend.
I loved watching all of my friends interact with my parents for the first time on Friday evening — truly worlds colliding. Saturday morning’s wine tasting tour introduced me to a new taste, who knew I enjoyed red wine? And the evening brought a chill vibe to my weekend that I haven’t experienced in well over a month.
Yet Sunday was undoubtedly my favorite day. After shopping for my siblings all day, purchasing a purse for myself, and taking a much-needed afternoon nap, it was finally time for the most anticipated part of the trip: the pasta cooking class. From tortellini to ravioli and pappardelle, we had an absolute riot creating each of the dishes. With the chatter and giggles of my favorite people surrounding me, I forgot all about the sickness that had so brought me down just days prior.
I could think about nothing but kneading, rolling and shaping pasta while the sound of love and laughter filled the room. Don’t worry — we could taste the love, too.
After we hit an Irish pub that evening, it came time to say goodbye to my parents and aunt. I’ve never cried while saying bye to my mom but this weekend brought me back to a childhood instinct that I wasn’t sure I had anymore. I felt incredibly close to my family this weekend, and even though I was sick, it was just what I needed in my third weekend abroad.
Adventure 2 (September 27th, 2025)
After a cancelled flight, a missed train connection, an unexpected hotel stay in Venice, and a 10 hour bus ride, we were finally able to experience the famous Oktoberfest in Munich. After years of hearing how amazing Oktoberfest is from my German relatives, now I was able to see it for myself. Our journey began by waking up at 6:00am as we got dressed in our traditional German dirndls and waited outside the festival with hundreds of others. The morning air was freezing, and we shivered as we waited, memorizing the route we would have to sprint once the gates opened. We got there around 7:15 and waited in line for over an hour and waited and waited until finally the time passed slowly and finally at 9am people were let in.
Suddenly it was our turn to run and my friend Hailey, Allison, and I started to sprint and were 0.4 miles away from the tent. The adrenaline filled our bodies as we started sprinting. I didn’t think about the cold anymore and I was only focused on getting inside. People were sprinting past us breathing super heavily and slowly but surely we made it inside. There was a crazy amount of people who were all running around trying to find their friends. As soon as we got in, we found people we knew and all gathered around. Looking around I felt super familiar with the environment and language. Whenever I visit my relatives they only speak German so I thought three years of German class might prepare me to understand more. But in reality, I only caught a few words like hallo and danke schön. I felt lucky to be part of such a vibrant tradition connected to my family. The joy, energy, and people all around me made the long and complicated journey completely worth it.
Georgia Vollert's Adventures
Adventure 1 (October 7, 2025)
When I hiked up the steep steps to Forte di Belvedere and viewed castles and churches and red rooftops peppered around Florence; I was completely unaware where I really was. I love a good walk, and I was loving this walk specifically as it landed me Piazzale Di Michelangelo adjacent. I was feeling whimsical, so when I saw a road I didn’t recognize, I took it! Up I hiked, and many stairs and a 3 euro ticket later, I was seeing the Duomo from an angle I hadn’t before. It looked smaller, humbler, and it kind of blended in with other buildings. That felt foreign to me as the Duomo is anything but humble. I swear it grows taller every time I pass by it.
Anyways, this view didn’t have the allure of Michelangelo’s magnetic tourist spot and it felt rather unsuspecting without a crowd. I was grateful to have the space to myself and as I sat in the grass listening to music and looking out at the view, I reflected about my time abroad. I thought of delusional adventures I shared with friends, navigating inconvenient travels, conversations about the world we are creating here and the one we left behind at home, the unique middle ground between familiarizing ourselves with Florence and leaving it to explore . I shared a moment of gratitude for my new and fuller understanding of the world in the month that we’ve been here. I felt peaceful in the quiet and knew I wanted to continue to make time for this sacred reflection and Forte di Belvedere felt like the perfect place to do so. But there was also something curious about this place. Why is it so quiet? Why are there only two security guards playing games on their phones? What games are they playing on their phones? As I skipped down the steep stairs and back to my reality and a long Friday night ahead of me, I decided to do some digging.
It turns out that 10 years prior, on a lovely summer night in July, there was a girl a lot like me, who loved concerts and views, on her way to experience both of those things on Forte di Belvedere’s grassy grounds.
As Veronica ventured to meet up with her boyfriend and friends on the other side of the meadow, she fell into an inlet in between the walkway and path. The darkness of the evening cloaked her vision and without a railing or sign of warning, Veronica fell unexpectedly to her death. Two years earlier, Luca Raso, a young man from Rome suffered the same fate. Nevertheless, there have been no safety precautions added to the surrounding area. None at all. In my mind, this felt like a big Italian middle finger to death. My jaw fell to the floor when I learned that in 2014, Forte di Belvedere welcomed 200 of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s family and friends to celebrate their wedding. All of a sudden my private sacred haven was not so sacred and not so private.
When I sat down to write my adventure story of the weekend I thought about various routes I could take. My Friday night that followed Forte di Belvedere included a tucked away jazz bar and meaningful conversation with friends, my Saturday a cooking class that taught me the importance of following directions because I learned that hard way that Remy’s classic line from Ratatouille (“anyone can cook!”) is not especially accurate, or my Sunday at the Uffizi in awe of the rich history of Florence and incredible renaissance art that’s everywhere you look. But my experience at Forte di Belvedere reminded me of two truths I continue to discover with every adventure. One-always look where you’re walking because there’s a high probability you could get hit by a car or apparently fall off an unsuspecting cliff. And two-I have a deep desire to get the most out of the gift I’ve been given to spend three months in Italy, and I don’t want to fall off the edge or take it for granted. I’ve realized that the best stories, the true adventure often lies in the unexpected path or the unexpected view. I was reminded to stay curious about the land I walk on and to continue to ask questions in order to better understand where I am.
Two unfortunate deaths, one celebrity wedding, and an afternoon exploring..I’m excited to see where I end up next time, when I try to see the Duomo from a new angle.
Adventure 2 (September 21, 2025)
There was a gentleman standing in the line ahead of us, holding a pen and scrappy notebook and a look of wonder. Amsterdam was unlike any expectation I had, mainly because I had none other than a scene from “The Fault in Our Stars” and a vague notion of academic looking buildings. Anyways, this gentleman had quite the task ahead of him. Assuming he was writing about his surroundings (we later found he was), he had the task of capturing a city of connecting canals, bikes as frequent as people, and shuttered windows on tall structures that make you feel curious about who lives behind them.
My best friend Devyn and I were excited to walk the streets as tourists, but were hopeful to experience a typical Saturday night as someone living there would. So after we talked our way into a jazz bar just before midnight, sat next to this aspiring writer, and tried to give Americans a good reputation as a part of his narrative and authentic Amsterdamian night. We talked about how beautifully the cellist complimented the keys and how Ella Fitzgerald would have approved of the vocals. We later met two Dutch guys who were way too cool, (admittedly) more attune with American politics than I, a girl from Miami fleeing said American politics, and a film maker from L.A. who I hope to see again during his continued solo travel. There’s a part of my consciousness that will always remain in the warmth of the red light and jazz and the unique feeling in which strangers become un strange.
Noah DeKlotz's Adventures
Adventure 1 (October 7, 2025)
The weekend began with some unfortunate news, the train tickets we had just bought to go to Trento had fallen through and what would have been a weekend spent hiking in the Dolomites and running the Trento half marathon would have to turn into a weekend spent in Florence. We decided to take this news not as a let down, but merely a change of plans, and decided to grasp this weekend in Florence and explore what the city has to offer that we have not yet seen. The first night we decided to search for any jazz clubs in Florence to go to, and luckily with one google search we found a place suitably named “The jazz club” about a 15 minute walk away. After arriving at the slightly intimidating and scary alley where the club was located, we filled out our club membership google forms and entered to be greeted by a surprisingly friendly environment, with employees and other club goers eager to strike up conversations about life and music.
This was a warm and welcoming start to the weekend well spent at the Jazz Club. The next way we thought to get a true taste of Florence was to do a cooking class, at which we made ravioli and tortellini, and certainly got our money’s worth out of the bottomless wine they served at the class. The final excursion on this weekend of immersion into Florence culture was to the Uffizi gallery, which was free on Sunday for free museum day. We spent hours wandering what seemed to be the endless gallery, fascinated by the centuries of history and talent contained in this one building. With tired legs, we stopped at the gift shop for a souvenir and got a panini right by the Duomo to wrap up a very Florence morning and afternoon. Fortunately we turned this unfortunate situation into a classic weekend with some adaptability and improvisation, getting the chance to appreciate three different aspects of the culture in Florence, music, food, and art.
Adventure 2 (September 23, 2025)
My first trip abroad to Riomagiorre was the perfect mix of blissful peace, and pure panic. I journeyed with four other guys I had only practically met within the past week or two. With a last-minute Airbnb and train booking the night before, I woke up in a rush, completely unprepared for the journey. I tossed some clothes and a toothbrush into a backpack and headed toward the train station. Wanting to avoid any disasters, I arrived 20–30 minutes early. The others, however, did not share the same mindset.
Connor and Ian arrived with about 10 minutes to spare, and we chatted while waiting for the rest. Soon after, Michael showed up, but Ryan was nowhere in sight. With just a couple of minutes before departure, crowds of people rushed past us to board. At that moment, Ryan messaged, “Are you guys at the train?” We quickly replied, reminding him that it was about to leave. As the doors began to close, a bit of panic set in. Then, we spotted Ryan sprinting toward us. Luckily, there was a button to reopen the doors, and he jumped on just in time.
When we arrived in Riomaggiore, our first stop was a small pizza place. We ordered some cheap pizza and a bottle of water, making sure to specify Naturale instead of Frizzante, since I had recently made the mistake of buying two liters of fizzy water without realizing it.
The first bottle disappeared quickly, so we ordered another, and soon after, one more. In hindsight, we should have refilled our water bottles before instead.
After finishing our meal, we sat waiting for the check. About 15–20 minutes later, I asked, “Do you think we’re supposed to pay at the counter?” As I gestured toward the register, the server gave us a look that confirmed my thought, she had been waiting for us to come up and pay.
Finally, we made our way to the Airbnb to check in. Immediately after arriving, excited to get situated in the room, Connor had broken the key into the door lock, leaving us stranded outside with all our belongings. Unsure what to do, we messaged the host and waited for a reply. As we sat there stressing, a stray cat wandered up to us. Petting it eased our tension a little, until the host thankfully arrived shortly after with a locksmith to help.
Though the trip had a hectic and stressful start, it taught us some valuable lessons about preparation, communication, and the fragility of keys. In the end, those challenges made the experience even more memorable, and it led to one of the most memorable weekends I have ever had.