In the fall 2019 semester, I took the HONS 295 Cities as Text course studying Pittsburgh, which ultimately culminated in a trip to Pittsburgh. This class was an amazing class, from the start of it until the very end of the trip. Even still, I get pictures that pop up on my social media and my photos app on my phone from this trip, reminding me how amazing of an experience it was and what I learned from that class. In this class, I learned how to learn not only from text and from professors, but also how to learn from the environment that I am in. We worked together and just set out in the city to learn about the place, people, and culture of the area, with little to no restrictions in place. We went roughly where we wanted, talked to who we wanted to talk to, and ate where we wanted to eat. It was a very good learning experience, and I don’t think I’ll be able to travel in the same way again. I was very lucky to take this trip when I did, as I took it the semester before COVID hit and all travel was stopped. Looking back on it now, I don’t think there was a better class I could have taken for Honors and I am glad I got the opportunity to go on this trip.
This paper that I am attaching to this post was what I wrote up after the first day we were in Pittsburgh, as well as a hand drawn map of where my group went during the day and what we saw. While it was just our starting point, and is not the best written essay in the world, it was a good insight to how I was feeling then about where we were and what we were doing.