Much like all my other trips, I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I go into the train from Rome Termini, to head South to Sorrento. Of all the things I could’ve imagined, the last thing I would’ve told you was that I would be studying Italian alongside brilliant people over the age of 50. Why was it so unexpected? If you’ve never studied in a language school before, you might not know that there’s typically no age limitation; which is a beautiful thing. Adults and teenagers alike pack their bags to fully immerse themselves in different cultures by taking language classes abroad. The classroom setting is unlike any other you’ve experienced, usually mixed with nationalities, ages, gender, etc. In Rome, for instance, I studied …show more content…
It’s true that as we get older, we need to have more kindness towards our bodies, more awareness of what we eat, and overall more self-care. What i’ve seen in my mentors, grandparents, and aunts, is that more active we are, the more awake our body is to combat illness, stagnancy, and aging in the physical sense. But that’s only the physical side of aging, what about the mental? After my week in Sorrento, I’m convinced that learning a language abroad over the age of 50 is just the trick to keep your mind sharp, and energy levels high. Not only were they spitting out complex sentence structures that I hadn't even learned yet, but my classmates were MORE ENERGETIC THAN ME. They would go on independent excursions almost everyday after class, spend two hours dining at a seaside restaurant at night, and coordinate to hangout during the weekends. Shoot, while I was ready for my nap time, they were busy planning their day trip while on the train to Naples. It was absolutely impressive. Their ages were all 50+, but their spirits were younger than most 20-somethings I know. Looking …show more content…
I had never seen so many older people in a school setting. I had also never been the youngest person in every class and activity, by at least 30 years. Of course, I felt my moments of loneliness; as if being a woman of color isn’t already differentiating enough, now I had thirty years of experience to divide my from the