Adventures in Italy ~ Article

I was asked to share my experiences with an Agritourism organization in Minnesota, and this is just my first draft, which was very long.  The version I submitted was much shorter, but I gave him both, so he might mix it up a bit.  We shall see.  Here it is :

Most Registered Dietitians would not normally choose to go on to get their Master’s in something other than Public Health or Education.  However, I knew going into the field of nutrition, I would end up treading my own path somehow.  After working as a Dietitian for WIC, I am now in the Piedmont region of Italy studying Food Culture and Communications.  This will lead me toward an internship of my choosing and after a full year, obtain a Master’s in the subject.  I am attending the University of Gastronomic Sciences in the small town of Pollenzo, Italy.   So how did I get here?

Growing up in northern Minnesota is just a primer to where I am today; being raised in a family of biologists and educators is a secondary cause; and as a third defense, I would have to say that my call for adventure and need for multifaceted understanding of my place in this world brought me here.  

The best and most valuable learning thus far has been when I get my hands dirty and actively involve myself in the process while allowing others to inspire my understanding. Since living in Italy, I have found that my purpose involves relationship.  I am inspired by my relationships with people and the land, but also the connection in that.  My value for all of life creates such a respect and sense of gratitude to that which sustains and binds it, and that is food.  Food is a large symbol of biodiversity--the correlation between us and nature. 

I attend class daily with people from all over the world and that in itself is valuable learning.  From these people both in and outside of class, I am being exposed to a wealth of knowledge I could have never found elsewhere.  Our lectures (so far) range from Sensory Analysis to Ethnobiology, Food Technology, Nutrition, Food History, Sustainable Gastronomy and even more to come.  It seems to me that all of us are professors here; we all bring our experiences and talents to exchange with one another.  Every culture has something special, unique, and valuable, and I feel it is important for each person to be empowered by this.  I have an even greater sense of empathy for each culture based on their ideals and beliefs, thus resulting in a strong interest to engage and recognize further.  

During the course of the year, I will be going to each region in Italy for a week to fully immerse in the life and culture there.  The two other places chosen by the University for us to attend are England and France.  We are fortunate enough to go into both small- and large-scale production sites, some as small as a family’s home but some as large as six-story, multi-building production areas.  The diversity in the sites are astounding in themselves: wineries, cheese-making factories, meat curing production sites, butcher shops, olive groves, a rice farm, flour mill, natural reserves, and the list goes on.  

Each stage (or study trip) we attend brings us even closer to the source, and each place we visit we witness the process from start to finish, also involving tasting the final product.  The doors that open with the simple word Prego (or Welcome) from the people in this country has been most gratifying.  We hear and see each facilities’ purpose for existence.  From these people I am witnessing family history, appreciating culture, witnessing Mother Nature and all her beauty, and growing even more as a nutrition expert and educator.  

From these study trips I am more able to see the big picture and put together not just the process from procurement, but its importance.  Because of my need to make links between it all, I appreciate the practice and truly retain that knowledge and understanding. I want to use my last stage as an example of the effectiveness of the idea.

Over a month ago, we had three classroom lectures on Food Technology and Preservation, specifically focusing on cheese.  We were then told that we would have an exam on these subjects in May.  Then last week we went on our first stage to the Italian region of Puglia, where we were fortunate to visit many small and large-scale production areas related to food, the environment, and agriculture.  One of the last sites we visited on this 6-day journey was a cheese production factory.  This particular family-owned cheese production site makes fresh Burrata and Mozzarella cheeses, where they usually work throughout the night so their final product is fresh in the morning.  This company was generous enough to bring in their employees to show us the hand-process they use in their production.  One of the craftsmen has been on staff for 40 years, thus very knowledgeable on the subject.  Because we were motivated to learn this process, knowing an exam was in our future, we probed him the most during the visit.  However, I realize the reason I was so intrigued and asked so many questions is because of the opportunity they allowed for me to partake in the process.  They opened their doors to me and showed me their passion.  I saw in their faces pride and saw sweat dripping from one of the men’s face, and I knew this was what I needed in order to appreciate the process of the particular cow, its diet, the rennet used to curdle the milk, the mixing of the curd, draining of the whey, moulding of the cheese, and of course, the final tasting.  If not for this visit, I would not have been able to sit down, study, and retain the lectured information given weeks before this trip.  I was able to put together not just the process and it’s importance, but fully comprehend and appreciate the people, the animal, and the land behind it all.  

It is hard to stop here at the extensive knowledge I gain daily.  Class lectures, outside conversations, personal presentations, and the immersion into varied cultures produces such a unique understanding.  The people and the relationships we form in this type of training is unexplainable and like nothing I would have ever imagined.  And all of this after only two months?  This year will truly be in my life forever.  

I feel a connection to the country now, and not only just because of my family roots here.  Knowing the process from field to final product is an understanding I will carry with me for the rest of my life.  No matter where we are or what we do, there are always links.  Relationship is the key, and I will never again be able to think of food as just fuel.  We need a balance of the pleasure of food, to feel and appreciate it, and know our responsibility toward it.  For food is history, it is culture, it is life.

Feel free to ask me any questions from my time here!  And do visit!