Unique international experience returns for Linfield students
In a given year, Linfield traditionally schedules eight to 12 courses abroad during January Term. In January 2022, there was only one: “Volcanic Vineyards: Ancient Grapes and Modern Wines in Campania and Sicily, Italy.” But, after not being able to field any international experiences in January 2021 and continued travel restrictions in 2022 thanks to COVID-19’s omicron variant, sending even a single class to Italy for three weeks was still an accomplishment.
“We were checking restrictions every other day” in preparation for the trip, said Toni Ketrenos, instructional associate and wine studies department coordinator. “It really felt like it was a ‘no’ until the week before we were scheduled to leave.”
Although a couple of tours through confined spaces had to be replaced with other visits on the class itinerary, the students were able to experience three weeks of learning about wine, agriculture and history.
Some highlights from the trip included:
- Studying viticulture research at the University of Naples
- Learning about traditional pizza making in Naples
- Holding a snowball fight on Mt. Etna
- Wandering through the remains of Pompeii
- Touring the Amalfi coastline
- Visiting an olive oil mill and sea salt farm
“The wine industry is so interesting because everyone has their own system. We were able to see firsthand what is happening in a ‘hot’ wine region and meet the people involved,” Ketrenos said. “It was really special to stand in a vineyard with 200-year-old vines on Mt. Etna and learn about this unique agricultural region.”
Nine classes, including “Healthcare in Peru” and “Diving into Coral Reef Ecology in The Bahamas,” are scheduled for January Term 2023.
