Caffe

This past week, we had the exciting privilege of visiting Venice, courtesy of the Study Abroad Programs office. We experienced a phenomenal photography exhibit in St. Mark’s square, which featured black and white photographs by Sebastio Salgado. It was amazing to see the aspects of coffee production which are often forgotten about, including the harvesters and field workers from coffee-producing countries. Shortly after I became a horticulture major, I was exposed to the importance that horticulture has on the world, as well as the many steps that go into making a crop into an edible product. I was happy to see fellow classmates come to similar realizations when admiring the photographs of the labor-intensive work that goes into making something as common as coffee ready for consumption. After taking the time to admire the beauty of these photographs and their relation to horticulture, several of us walked further down the street to the famous Caffe Florian, the oldest European coffee shop. The café was extremely ornate and the workers were dressed and acted very professionally. I thoroughly enjoyed my macchiato, although it may have been slightly more expensive than I was used to paying. I appreciated the drastic change in atmosphere from the photography exhibit to the upscale shop, which enabled me to appreciate the broad range of labor processes that go into creating a horticultural product.

 

Jackie Amdor