Sense of Place

Mike Emslie

This is a photo I took just after taking off, just outside of Rome Fiumicino Airport. I think this is representative of how busy I have been this semester, but also how amazing this experience has been. I was traveling almost every weekend, which was tiring but incredibly rewarding. It also fits because I completed most of my assignments from a plane, train or bus.

Sammy Tiska

This is a photo of the Arno (the river). This river has shaped my sense of place during my semester in Florence. In the Sense of Place class, we talked a lot about our mental maps and what shapes our view of Florence. The river is what ultimately orients me in this city. I live on the oltarno, the side of Florence that is not as touristy, and to me, the river serves as an entryway into a "different" part of Florence.

Ilana Friedman

For me, this semester can be summed up with this picture of the Duomo from the View on Art rooftop. A huge part of traveling around Europe, specifically Florence, for me was seeing different cities from above which helped me create a sense of place. Even though the Duomo is the most touristy part of the city, it never ceases to amaze me.

Joie Ross

Through Sense of Place, I learned that there are multiple ways to experience a city. Two of these methods are looking at a place from above and walking the streets of a city. In this photograph, I am viewing Florence from the top of the Duomo and this perspective helped shape my overall sense of place while both taking this class and while studying abroad

Emily Bott

The most significant concept I mastered this semester, and something I plan to continue practicing in my life, is the act of dÃ©riving. Challenging myself each and everyday to go out and explore Florence without having a destination in mind was difficult at first, but something I highly enjoyed by the end of my semester. The photo I chose to encapsulate my experience this semester is from my first technical "dÃ©rive", in which allowed me to gain a sense of Florence from a far. Throughout the semester, I learned that not only did I enjoy my daily walks more, but I got the privilege to see this beautiful city from many different perspectives.

Lauren Naze

The photo that best represents my time in Florence and what has shaped my "sense of place" is the view from the Piazzale Michelangelo. This is one of my favorite spots in Florence and is where my roommates and I like to come to admire the beautiful city we are living in. I have brought all of my visitors and friends here to help them understand what Florence means to me and how I have created a home here.

Claire Frank-Carr

This was the first time I saw Florence from above. It was also the first time that I felt a connection to Florence. Although I was so far away from the ground, looking at the city from such a broad lens allowed me to see all of its beauty. This was the moment I started to develop an attachment to this place, something that is now so strong.

Ari Simon

I took this photo at the Gucci Garden in Florence. Throughout Sense of Place, I learned how to navigate through the city and create my own mental maps while pinpointing places of comfort, rather than big landmarks. This dress reminded me of how each person inhabits their own personal, complex mechanism of navigation.

Mara Johnson

Florence has taught me a lot during my time here, but I think that something I'll always remember is to enjoy the process, and not the destination. I mainly learned this through learning to enjoy and appreciate cooking again instead of being intimidated by it. There is no easy way to create good food, and these cannolis were no exception. My cooking class made every ingredient from scratch, and it was definitely worth it! This was the moment for me when cooking turned from a chore into a craft I could practice and enjoy.

Erin Peterson

This sign was placed on the street of my apartment and taught me my first huge lesson abroad: to remember how people experience places and spaces differently due to their perspectives. Going home to continue my career of working with people with disabilities, this image will forever have a place in my heart because it motivates me to push forward with creating more accessible options around the world so everyone can have the same experiences.

Hailey Jauquet

I appreciate every scoop of gelato I get with friends a little differently now because I don€™t know if it will be the last of my time abroad. For me, gelato is less of a tasty treat than it is an opportunity to spend time with the people that I have grown so close with over these last 3.5 months. It is the staple of Italian culture that I always relied on when making new friends at the and the statement, €œHey, would you want to maybe go get gelato after class€ helped me find some of my new life-long best friends while pushing me WAY out of my comfort zone€”to me, that was what coming abroad was all about.

Jillian Kazlow

This is a photo of a Polaroid taken of me in Florence's Rose Garden, just behind the CET center with a great view of the city.

Sabrina Markham

This is a church up past Fort Belvedere, my favorite route to run in the evening. Usually I would run pretty local just to squeeze in a quick run, but on days when I had the time and energy to go a little farther, this is where I went. Running up the massively steep hill was a true test to my stamina and endurance, but was always well worth it. Up above the city I felt removed, relaxed, and in my own little slice of Florence. The sunset over the Tuscan hills surrounded by no one except a hidden neighbor singing and playing guitar is one of my favorite memories from my time abroad.

Maddi Nieuwenhuis

Taken moments before Sistine Chapel police got really uncool.

Tolu Igun

Inspired by many of the tour guides I have encountered during my time in Italy, this photo captures me leading a tour of central Florence for Sense of Place. Since the streets are often crowded and hard to navigate in large groups, a marker like the one I'm holding helps to keep everyone together.

Lizzie Goodwin

This is a picture of park right next to Porta Romana. It is my favorite place in Florence and I would walk here every week. My main takeaway from Sense of Place is the unique way of exploring a city. You must derive or explore by following what intrigues you. I derived and I found this park at the beginning of the semester. This park is more than just a park to me, but a place that I could sit on a bench and blend in with the local Italians taking their dogs for a walk.

Hannah Klunk

Here is an image of the Ponte Vecchio bridge. This semester we have learned all about creating our place here in Florence. The Ponte Vecchio bridge is a reference point for me on my mental map of the city, an indication that I am close to my apartment, and one of the first monuments I think of when imagining the city. This stunning piece of architecture has largely contributed to my sense of place in Florence.

Jared Neumann

Through 'Sense of Place', I was tasked with sharing insights and observations made during my abroad experience on a personal blog. In an attempt to stray from the norm, I tried to focus my blogs on unique topics that aren't generally related to the study abroad experience. Pictured is a quick edit I did for a piece I wrote on the digital edge of Florence. Although the given prompt referenced physical edges of the city, I challenged myself to look at it from a technological perspective. This is just one example of how 'Sense of Place' has enabled me to look at my experience from a unique perspective.

Maddie Youman

This photo was taken after my first mental breakdown upon my arrival to Florence. The beauty of the Ponte Vecchio at night and a walk with my roommates cured the sadness and made for a picturesque moment.

Grace Rasmussen

Piazza Santo Spirito; I walked by this square every day on my way to class, to get groceries, to go shopping or out to eat. Wherever I was going in Florence, this was my starting point. It's quiet in the morning and has a small market with products ranging from clothing and flowers to candy and fresh produce. By late afternoon it's full of people enjoying food and drink on the restaurant patios. This piazza has become one of my favorite spots in Florence, and from my routine interactions with it throughout the semester, it has provided me with a sense of place.

Becca Heavenrich

I took this picture from Pescaia di Santa Rosa, a bridge that cuts across the Arno. When my friends and I finished our last Italian class of the semester, we wanted to celebrate by walking up Michelangelo to watch the sunset. But our dinner plans went later than expected, so instead we decided to jump the wall along the Arno and climb down to this local secret spot to watch the sunset. This was a clarifying moment when I really felt so appreciative of Florence's hidden gems that I am still finding even this late in the semester.

Paige Cameron

A very happy picture of myself enjoying Florence, my new home! Never in my life would I have thought anywhere but Long Island would be my home, but as you can tell from the smile in this picture, I was proved wrong! I definitely found a sense of place here.

Jason Schoen

The first day of class with my roommate Mike. We climbed up to the top of the Duomo unaware of the reason, just excited to be there. Every city the two of us visited together we had a similar experience, going to one of the highest points to get a view of the whole city. Although we both enjoyed this, we also went on plenty of derives throughout the places we have travelled. I learned that it is cool to see places from above, but you really get to see a place by walking through it and seeing the small things there. That is what makes me like this photo, the places I was seeing that day from above, I now know really well from wandering around the amazing city of Florence.

Dale Crittenberger

Abroad opened many unexpected doors for me.

Cat O'Brien

I captured this sunset reflecting on the Santa Maria Novella during one of my many walks home from the train station after traveling. It was one of my first trips alone that I completed successfully with no train problems. Traveling abroad was great, but nothing beat the feeling of seeing this church as it meant I was going home after long tiring weekends.

Molly Gallagher

Bela and I adventuring Dalston, Hackney. This mirror is located at a local produce store in Dalston and we made it our muse. Dalston treasures their small businesses and each one was very unique, however, this was the only one with an outdoor mirror lining the top.

Ben London

This is a picture of the Albert Bridge next to Battersea Park. While there are many bridges on the Thames, Albert Bridge means the most to me because I consider it a hidden gem in London. While there are many great places in London, this felt like a special spot that's out of the way of where most tourists end up so I will cherish this spot.

Tripp Grebe

This is a picture of the White Horse Pub from the University of Oxford. The White Horse is famous because it allegedly served as the initial inspiration for the Prancing Pony pub in Lord of the Rings. In Lord of the Rings, Frodo and the other hobbits' arrival at the Prancing Pony symbolizes and signifies the furthest they've ever been from home and their comfort zone. My study abroad experience in London has been the furthest I've ever stepped out of my comfort zone. I was born in Wisconsin. I attended high school in Wisconsin. And I now attend the University of Wisconsin. The symbolization of the Prancing Pony relates to the first time in my life I've exhibited substantial effort to visit new areas and widen my boundaries in a foreign country.

Matt Neschis

This is an image of the Sky Garden, a special spot in London that perfectly encapsulates the theme of our class and top-down analysis approach to London. The Sky Garden is London's highest garden and public space, equipped with a rich collection of plants and unbeatable views. The beautiful 360 degree views from its open air terrace allow visitors to experience the city from above and better understand their sense of place in the bustling area.

Reagan Pfeif

his photo is of my roommate and best friend, Molly Gallagher, and I participating by going to different boroughs and really taking in everything the boroughs have to offer. I was telling her about some of the filming history for the Harry Potter series that is in Southwark borough that I had learned earlier that week.

Chris McKenna

A prominent intersection at Bank Tube Station in the City of London

Kelly Chapman

This photo was taken at the edge of Parliament Square and shows the view of Big Ben and the London Eye peeking out from behind. This captures the work I have done for the class because within this tiny area, there are numerous major tourist spots to see and, although overwhelming, represents the abundance of spaces, tourist areas, and historical spots I was hoping to see throughout my time in London.

Natalie Guimont

hoto captured by me of fellow classmate Courtney Loth while in the London Eye for a field trip.

Dylan Monfried

From the top of the London Eye, you can see mesmerizing attractions such as the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, St. Paul’s Cathedral, The Tate Museum, Tower Bridge, and The Shard among many more attractions that drive millions of people to London every year. Therefore, on the journey it is clear that major attractions will catch your eye first, but then you will be able to see much more that the amazing city has to offer. This picture encapsulates part of London’s sense of place. London is not known for one thing. People are motivated to come to London to see the main attractions, but at the end of their time here they end up falling in love with London for the little details embedded within or surrounding the “touristy” activities. The London Eye serves as a metaphor. From the top you can see 40 km in distance; however, it seems like an endless view of the city. The London Eye constantly revolves to new sights, everywhere you look you can see something you did not see last time you looked offering a different perspective. The boroughs of London also offer different perspectives to the city, satisfying the interests a widespread genre of people. Unquestionably, the London Eye is much more than a simple Ferris wheel, it is a powerful source in understanding that there is not only one sense of place within London, and that one’s sense of place is simply what a person is capable of resonating with.

Jess Besl

This picture represents my experience in London and the Sense of Place as it shows unique features of London's skyline. It shows places that I have come to know very well, at a much closer perspective, which I obtained through this class.

Oliver Walke

This is a picture of an autobody shop in Tooting Bec, a neighborhood I visited for my ‘London and the Sense of Place’ class while I studied abroad in London. I was in Tooting Bec for an ultimate frisbee team tryout and figured I could take the chance while there to get a grasp of the neighborhood so I could later write a blog post about it for the blog assignment for the class. Tooting Bec is the farthest I traveled in London that was still considered central London and I found the autobody shop telling of the quieter neighborhood that it is and its difference from more central London, where you seemingly never see an autobody shop.

Charlie DeGarmo

Tommy Harb

This image is a map of London from 1851, but upside down; the artist drew this from a hot air balloon over Hampstead looking south. The map hangs at the entrance of my internship placement, so I was able to study it detailedly. From afar, it looks like an upside down London, but upon closer inspection, nearly all the streets, landmarks, squares, and buildings are named. I felt that this was the best image to reflect what we did in Sense of Place. We talked about London from so many different perspectives that, at times, it didn’t seem like we were talking about the same city. We talked about the minutiae of Underground tube stations, but also about qualities that apply to the city as a whole.

Kelsey Barrett

The three friends pictured often accompanied me on trips to different boroughs throughout the semester. We took the tube every trip, so I wanted to incorporate that into my image selection.

Jaynie Levine

On my way home from my internship, I walked out of Green Park Station and saw the most insane sky. The rainbow was so vibrant after having rained the entire day. The most pleasant surprise, and is a scene I'm glad I captured. This station is one I have been to often and has become a familiar destination in this big city.

Sarah Curran

The picture above displays a girl finding her way through a new area of London for a blog post, beginning to feel confident in her ability to navigate through the city and understand it’s sense of place. She was enjoying a nice stroll through Lambeth when the London Eye appeared behind a set of buildings. She stopped to take in the moment, feeling lucky she gets to live in such an incredible city.