My sit spot this week was a bit different. For the weekend of April 13th and 14th, my program went to Sorrento, a city in the south of Italy about an hour from Naples.

Sitting by the ocean, in the crisp, sunny weather was incredibly relaxing and very different from my sit spot in Bologna. In Bologna, at my sit spot, I am surrounded by city even in the middle of a park. Here, I can see only miles of blue ocean. The animals are limited to seagulls, and palm trees stretch behind me. Though surrounded by tourists and vacationers, I feel very grounded sitting by the sea.

It is fitting the fourth prompt is climate change. Theoretically, Sorrento is pretty much on the cliffs, and so is less affected by sea-level rise than other coastal cities. However, Italy has already started to be impacted by climate change. The region I live, Emilia Romagna, has been beset by severe, destructive floods in recent years. In the south of Italy, closer to where Sorrento is, the country has been hit by droughts. Unfortunately, I think these issues will only worsen as climate change continues to accelerate.

In terms of my own carbon footprint for my flights to and from Italy, it will be total around 1.76 tons of CO2. To offset this, I hope to avoid driving, making sure to recycle as much as possible, and walk when I can rather than take the bus.