Field Trip!!

Do you remember field trips in public school? Trips to the park to pick leaves for an art project... trips to the museum... band trips to the art barn... trips to the career fair at the agricom in Edmonton.

I always loved field trips. It meant a break from regular classes, and a chance to get out and do something different!! But those field trips cannot compare to what I am about to experience. Other courses have done trips to Rome, Spoleto, Perugia, Assisi... oh the list goes on! This will be the first field trip I get to partake in! A two day trip to Pompeii and Herculaneum!!

Let me explain why we are going... my courses are about the ancient classical world of Greece and Rome, and part of that looks at the structure (and resulting purpose) of the ancient Roman city. Believe it or not, Rome is NOT the prime example of this. Cities like Spoleto, on the other hand, are. Pompeii and Herculaneum are unique, because they are a snapshot in time. Remarkably preserved beneath a blanket of hardened mud and lava, due to the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. Over the years these sites have been excavated, supplying us with a rich quarry of knowledge and antiquities.

Another part I admit I'm looking forward to... staying in a hotel on the coast. Not a hostel... a hotel. My standards jump a mile high with that slight name change. Beauty of it being part of the costs of school here... my stay in a hotel is already paid for. Yesssss!

So here goes, bright and early tomorrow morning. I'll be back Saturday evening with a camera full of pictures, and plenty of stories to share! Yay field trips!