360: Within the Gates

This is a cool upside-down composite photo of some art that was on the main square in the Vatican to celebrate whatever holiday it was on Monday. I liked this one (it just says peace in a bunch of languages, generally anti-war [hot take - war is bad])

We arrived in Viterbo today, and my mixed feelings have gotten mixed-er. Depending on how it ends up, I see serious potential for this to be a type-2 experience in the end.

I remember explaining the types of fun a little while back, but since it's effectively impossible for me to effectively search the blog for that I'll give another quick synopsis here:

Type 1 fun is actually fun, in the moment, for the perspective character (in this case, me). Type 2 fun is "fun in hindsight", where I can and do recognize that it was a useful and important experience, and even a very positive one in retrospect, but isn't really a great time as experienced in the present. Things like a difficult homework assignment (which then sets you up to nail a test) can be type 2 fun. Type 3 fun is not fun for the perspective character, it's only fun for outside observers (almost always slapstick-type things).

This study abroad has the potential to tip into type 2 fun (it's currently riding a little above that), but I honestly wouldn't mind too much. I'm a very adaptable person, and this experience has well outlined timelines and an end date; I can do almost anything as long as it has a certain end date.

I'm not saying this won't be fun, to be clear, I had some very well-boding experiences today, but I can see the potential for the day-to-day to become more of a slog than a vacation, and I wanted to express it.

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