Last Day of Italian Summer School Sesh 2

After a failed attempt (for most of us) at getting a good night's sleep the night before our early departure for Rome, the sound of alarms rang through the convent hallways at the crack of dawn on June 17th. A groggy bunch, we hauled our huge suitcases down the convent stairs and threw them in the back of a truck to be loaded onto the bus to Rome. A few of us gathered for last pictures around the convent grounds, but most retreated to the world behind our iPod earbuds and stretched out on the bus for a much needed nap.

Drifting in and out of slumber for the two hour trip, questions ran through our minds... "Did I leave something at the convent?" "Why was Jane's room so much bigger than mine?" and "Wait, this bus is really comfortable. I wonder why we took the Forever Bus on the longer trip?" And suddenly, faster than Marcela could fill a carafe of vino, we were in Rome.

We dropped our suitcases off at the Hotel Santa Prisca and headed to FAO to hear an interesting lecture on the state of women and agriculture.

Some key points I took away from the lecture:

· Constraints on women and agriculture pose real costs – closing the gender gap makes economic sense as women are a key resource in agriculture.

· Women are less likely to be employed, but where they are employed, they’re more likely to be employed in agriculture. When women do own land, they tend to own smaller plots.

· Women farmers produce less than men – lower yields (because they have less access to resources). Women typically produce 20-30 percent less on their farms.

· Closing the gender gap and increasing women’s productivity would increase productivity by 2-4%

· First we must address equality under the law – women don’t have legal rights to own land - Invest in human capital of women and girls.

o Provide public services and technology to free up women’s time – they work longer days than men and they spend a lot of time on unproductive activities – carrying water, firewood, etc.

· Anything related to agriculture will have gender differential impacts

After FAO we headed back to the hotel for a little R&R before (most of us) went to IFAD. As I, and my friend whose name rhymes with Shmockamo, were sleepy bears, we took a respite, but heard glowing reviews of the field trip from our friends and colleagues upon their return.

At around 8 pm that evening we met in the lobby to head out for our last dinner together as a class. We headed to a delicious pizzeria near our hotel called Pizzeria Remo, and after a beer in the park while waiting for our table to be ready, we filed into the crowded (and obviously quite popular) restaurant and took our seats. The pizza was delicious and the red pepper flakes, as some of us learned the hard way, were REALLY spicy. Greg and Stephanie really drove home the lesson for the rest of us, as we watched their noses run down their shirts and their eyes glisten with spicy tears, crying out desperately for milk and mercy.

After dinner Nathan headed home and the rest of us went out to Bar on the Rox for some after dinner dancing and drinks. We really brought the house down with our nearly spot on music video rendition of Britney Spears' "Til the World Ends." Some of the locals looked at us as if we had managed to confirm their obnoxious vision of Americans in a mere 3 and a half minutes, but we wouldn't have had it any other way.

As the excitement from the Britney Spears dance party began to die down, the group of us slowly trickled out of the bar and began the bittersweet walk back to the hotel. Bittersweet because we were happy to rest after such a long day (and dancing like Britney is hard work), but we knew this was the last time we would all be together for a night out in Rome.

I had a wonderful time in summer school in Italy this summer and I wish all of you the best on your future endeavors and world travels. Miss you all!!