Grace Grey & Ariana DeLaurentis
- Fabiola M Rivera
- May 6
- 2 min read
Hello GDSers, this is Ariana DeLaurentis (GDS ‘20) and Grace Gray (GDS ‘24)! We are currently sitting in Villa Pamphili, soaking up the first bit of winter sun after days of winter rain. We are here in Rome studying at The American University of Rome for an M.A. in Food Studies.
What does that mean exactly? Great question! Instead of answering, we’d like to share small flavors of joy in our lives of late. For one, Grace has joined a self-proclaimed anarchist food recovery group that runs free food distributions downtown every Saturday. She is loving every minute and learning her “Roman Italian” from some spirited locals, and forming friendships through the universal language of cibo (food!). In class, she led our cohort in a meditation on more-than-human kin relationships for our upcoming thesis (see picture).
Ariana embraced Grace’s lesson and took her journal outside to sit among the weeds and ponder her own internal weeds around how to do research (see picture). As a cohort, we attended the One Health Symposium where we “learned” about the interconnectedness of human health, animal wellbeing, and ecosystems - the highlight of which was that, after 8 hours of lectures, the symposium ended by prescribing us to do psychedelics but ONLY in clinical settings. In true GDS fashion, Ariana is now giving a presentation on indigenous responses to One Health through the lens of Vivir Bien in Bolivia. She has also been enjoying reconnecting with her Italian roots through small conversations with her limited Italian in restaurants, cafes, and bars.
Next week, we are both looking forward to our first field trip to a collectively owned farm that is reclaiming land in Northern Rome. Stay tuned for more!
We can’t wait to hear what you all have been up to, and feel free to get in touch as we co-reckon on this global and development-ful world we call home.”
Want to contact Grace and Ariana?
Grace: gracegray841@gmail.com
Ariana: adelaurentis97@gmail.com
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