It took us 26 hours to travel from Urbino Italy to San Antonio Texas last month, but the world was a different place when we landed. In January of 2020 I flew to Italy to spend a semester as one of 3 faculty members accompanying a group of 64 Study Abroad students from Texas. The plan was to live and study at the University of Urbino Carlo Bo, in a small walled town called Urbino, in the Marche region of Italy. Of course, we had heard about the viral outbreak in China, but had not anticipated its’ rapid spread in Italy. However, by 3:00 on the morning of March 2nd we found ourselves traveling by bus to Rome, so we could fly home and go into mandatory self-isolation for 14 days. To say that this is not how we imagined we would be spending our Spring Break is an understatement. It was also a logistic nightmare. Our University had to purchase new tickets to get us home. Many of our students had no housing plans for the spring, and many of us are still trying to untangle the web of travel arrangements we left behind us. Most of the students had worked and scrimped to pay for their trips, some had never left the United States before, and most are not sure whether they will have such an opportunity again. But we are also very grateful. None of us came down with Covid-19, and all of made it home safely, and are now completing the semester online. So what did I learn from spending 4 weeks in Italy, and then becoming part of a “Sound of Music” like exit (without the beautiful views and music) from a country where the borders were closing behind us? First, this supposed “Snowflake generation” of students are actually thoughtful, caring young adults who have good coping skills. Yes, most called home to talk with their parents when they found we were leaving, but isn’t that what we as parents want them to do? When they teared up at the thought of literally abandoning their plans, dreams, travel plans and even belongings to make a run across borders in danger of closing, they put their arms around each other, and carried each other’s luggage. They were open with our University about their needs upon our return to campus, and researched ways to readjust. To the amazement of many fellow travelers they continued to open doors and to say please and thank you to the many harried people around us at the airport. Older people have been complaining about the youth around them since the time of the ancient Greeks. But what I will remember from this trip is the fortitude and generosity, of a group of young adults, who gave up a major dream. They are now scattered around the state of Texas, watching their siblings and cousins while other family members work. They have found jobs delivering food for restaurants, working in grocery stores, and providing childcare for healthcare workers. In some cases, they are using the money they had saved for the trip, to support unemployed family members. They aren’t performing glamourous, heroic jobs, but what they are doing is essential, and we should give them the credit they deserve.
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