There’s nothing we love more at ELC than getting to know our students. Having students from all over the world provides us with ample opportunity to learn more about different cultures and people. Talking and listening to students has given all of us a more nuanced perspective of the world.
We got the chance to talk to Eugenio Reali in-depth and learned a lot about him and Florence, Italy, the place he calls home.
Eugenio is 17 and he studied at ELC Boston for 3 weeks. Florence, he said, is a bit small, but its size does not mean that there is nothing to do or see. The city actually has a lot in common with Boston. Instead of the organized blocks and orderly streets of larger, bustling cities like New York, Florence has beautiful streets that wander and meander. Also, similar to how Boston straddles the Charles River, Florence straddles the River Arno. Moreover, Eugenio commented that Beacon Hill, where our school is located, reminded him of the hills and valleys of Florence.
We talked about an interesting bridge in Boston—the Harvard Bridge, which is covered in “smoots.” Smoots are measurements created by an MIT student by lying down along the length of the bridge. Florence doesn’t have a bridge covered in “smoots” but it does have the Ponte Vecchio. It’s a beautiful bridge dotted by small jewelry shops that is a sight to behold particularly at night.
While in Boston, Eugenio stayed with a friend who has an apartment in Copley. Eugenio already knew a lot about Boston thanks to a cousin of his who studies at MIT. Over the course of his 3 weeks in Boston, Eugenio indicated that he enjoyed multiple sites and places in and around the city: places like the Museum of Fine Arts, Pierce Park. and the Prudential Tower. He also enjoyed the Institute of Contemporary Art, remarking that the museum has an “impressive structure.”
Our talk with Eugenio ended with him wishing he could stay with us longer. When he gets back to Italy, he plans on visiting his grandmother in Sardinia on the island of Elba, the place where Napoleon was exiled after suffering many defeats.
