Final Reflections

As I write this, I'm sitting in my casita at La Pievuccia in my second-to-last night in Italy. I just finished writing my "final reflection" for my professor, and I found it only fitting to give you my reflection as well. In truth, I haven't been keeping this blog as up-to-date I had intended. In part, it's because I was busy. Part of it was because I was lazy, part of it was because I was already writing two reflections a week and couldn't bear a third. But the biggest hang-up for me was that I didn't know what to write. I didn't know how I could possibly explain everything I was experiencing. But now I'll do my best to sum it all up.

I am so incredibly happy right now. I have had a wonderful time here, and I've experienced living in another country - something that I'll finally be able to check off my bucket list. People in my program are all getting really sentimental and sad, but for some reason I'm not. Originally this shocked me, as I'm one of the most emotional people I know. But then it hit me: I'm not sad because I'm not leaving anything. The memories I've made, the friendships I've created, the connections I had with students, the sights I've seen (and yes, even the weight I've gained!) will all come back with me. This trip isn't ending, it's simply becoming a part of my life; a part of me!

I know I'm getting really sappy here, but I can't help it. I'm soo happy! I can't wait to be home (because believe me I'm homesick!) but I am so unbelievably happy to have experienced everything I have.

As a side note, I'll try to come back and recap everything I've forgotten to blog about, but for now, this is my final CIAO Y'ALL!

Teacher HEAVEN!

Tuesday: I'm on top of cloud nine right now. I just taught the best lesson of my LIFE! For whatever reason, the stars aligned and I was able to teach one of my favorite classes (2B) with one of my favorite co-teachers (Ty). And the lesson? It was flawless. We were covering comparative adjectives, a subject that the students had never covered, but since the students were excited to learn, they understood every bit of the topic. I can't wipe this stupid smile off my face. It's times like these when I'm SO happy that I'm an education major. And even happier to be here in Italy.

I'm just realizing just how much I'll miss this place. After school, I walked around town and took pictures of some of the things I'll miss most: the views, the ancient buildings, the city walls, the animals roaming the streets, the shops, the restaurants and the walk to school. I would've taken pictures of the Italian people that I'll miss, but that's a little creepy.

Thursday: I totally forgot to finish that last blog posting. Whoops! I'll finish now! Yesterday I went to Castiglion del Lago with Kirsten and Kelsey and had the most wonderfully relaxing day. Today I taught a first level class with Kelsey. We taught them about verbs and it went really well!! I'm so happy. Now it's almost time for play practice and I'm not exactly looking forward to it. Being the lion in The Wizard of Oz isn't exactly my favorite apart about Italy. But it's definitely not my least favorite part!

Tonight we're going out for the *sob* last time as a group. I'm so excited! There will be dancing. And there will be singing. And possibly some krumping. Then, tomorrow morning Becca, Kelsey, Kirsten, Makenzi and I leave for Sorrento. I can't WAIT! The weather is supposed to be amazing and the plan for the weekend is to get some sun, read, eat, drink and RELAX. Sounds like the perfect vacation to me!

Ciao y'all!

Just Another Day in Paradise

Today has been absolutely amazing. So amazing, in fact, that for the time being I'm skipping over the past week and a half of blogging in order to talk about today. Promise I'll get back to it!

Today is my "off day" which means that I don't get to teach. These are usually my long days, as I truly enjoy teaching lessons. However, for whatever reason, today was different. First period I was planning, which basically means I wrote reflections for my professors and talked to the other girls who were planning. Second period I had off, and Kirsten, Courtney and I relaxed while eating breakfast and sipping cappuccinos. Third period I was helping in a classroom that Stephen and Ashlyn were teaching. The lesson was about seasons and the kids seriously loved it. After that, we were interviewed for a local paper. If it ends up getting published, I'll be sure to snag a copy or two!

Lunch was mushroom risotto. Just take a moment to appreciate how happy that made me... Okay. Then Kelsey and I did laundry. Although the weather had been perfect literally all day, halfway through drying our clothes we noticed it started raining. That meant we had to hike back up the huge hill in the rain with all our laundry. At least we got in our cardio for the day!

Now I get to take a two hour nap before dinner. Hopefully dinner won't be soup, because we're going to need our energy for our big traveling day tomorrow! We're leaving for Cinque Terra at 5:30 AM and will arrive around 10:00. We'll spend the weekend outdoors in the (hopefully) beautiful weather. We are planning on hiking, kayaking and snorkeling. And pray for sunshine, because my legs could definitely use some sun!

I hope all is well in America, but if not have no fear! I'll be back in just over two weeks.

Ciao y'all!

Highlights Tour of London

Well, thesis embarrassing. Sorry I haven't written in forever! I've been so busy between spring break traveling, teaching, play practice, tutoring, writing reflections for my professors and weekend trips that I've barely had time to catch a breath. And when I do, I'm either eating or sleeping! But I have 45 minutes before play practice so I'll try to catch you up.

I got back from London on last Monday, April 9th. After the day Shannen and I did the bus and boat tour and the national gallery, we decided to take a light day. We went to Harrod's, and I must say it was the experience of a lifetime. I was expecting something similar to Nordstrom, but what I ended up experiencing was like a Neiman Marcus superstore. On crack. To say I was overwhelmed would be the understatement of the century. I left feeling pretty crummy about myself because there was no way I could ever afford anything in that store. Except maybe the gift shop, but I thought that was depressing. So then I went to Top Shop and H&M and felt a zillion times better. I had a little retail therapy, and then I went on a mission. I had heard rumors at Santa Chiara that there was a Chipotle in London, so I did my research. Turns out there's not one, but THREE!!!! So Shannen and I hit that up. It was soooo nice to have a little taste of home.

The next day, we were planning on seeing the matinée performance of Wicked. But the seats were awful and expensive, so our day was shot. Or so we thought. We then decided to hit up a few museums. To get to the British Museum, we has to get off at Tottenham Court Road. So once we saw Tottenham on the Tube map, we hopped on the train and headed that way. Well, unfortunately for us, there are two Tottenham stops. One is Tottenham Court Road and the other is Tottenham Hale. Just guess which one we got off at. So we eventually made it to the British Museum, but instead of taking five minutes it took two hours! Oh well. You live and you learn! We saw the Rosetta Stone, an Ancient Egyptian exhibit (mummies and all!) and an exhibit about clocks from all over the world. And then we called it a day.

I'm going to rush through the rest of London now. Think of this next paragraph as the highlights tour of the second half of my spring break. Shannen ate fish and chips, I did not. Shannen got a tattoo, I did not. Shannen ate many crepes, I did not. Jokes. I ate a jillion crepes. I loved the Natural History Museum. I wished we had time for the dinosaur exhibit, but we saw almost everything else. I ate the worst hamburger of my life. I went to Camden Market and found out I am an excellent bargainer. Shannen, Becca and I saw Wicked and fell in LOVE. We also went to Primark and were impressed with the good deals but turned off by the insane lines. And the crowd. Not worth it! Shannen and I went to the Kouloumas family's Easter celebration and loved every second of it. I miss them so much! It was an incredible experience staying with a local, but it was even better because I got to stay with a family that I know and love.

That's all I have time I have right now, but I PROMISE I will finish catching you up soon! Next time I write, it'll be about my ...interesting... time in Bologna and my most recent day trip to Florence. Just in case I don't have time to write before Friday, I am spending the weekend in Cinque Terra. Keep your fingers crossed for beautiful weather!!

I'm truly am living la bella vita here. I am so happy that I've been able to go on this amazing adventure. I have mixed emotions about only having 17 days left. I can't wait to go home but I also know how much I'll miss Europe. So for the next week and a half, I'm going to be a busy Bee! Can't wait to tell you more about my trip!

Ciao y'all!

Touring the City

Today was one for the books. I've had my camera with me every day since I landed in Italy. I've photographed every day, every outfit and almost every meal. However, the one day that I do an in-depth tour of a city of my choosing, I forget my camera. Oy vey. Luckily, Shannen had the camera on her phone which she used to help us remember the day. But I'm still irritated with myself!

We started our British day off right. I ate a crumpet (soo delicious!) and a banana. And a cup of coffee! Who am I?!

Then we took the Piccadilly line to Trafalgar Square. From there, we hopped onto a double decker bus and did the "Original Tour" of London. We got to see the city from the traditional viewpoint, which was so incredibly nice. We were able to see everything, from St. Paul's Cathedral (beautiful!!) to Tower Bridge to London's newest skyscraper, the Spike.

One thing that I really found interesting was the amount of "stress reducing" items in the city. First, I saw a tai chi class going on in the plaza of the National Gallery. Then, I saw a flyer for free meditation classes. And then I saw a poster while waiting in a que that said "d*n't t@ke !t out on the staff" which I found really clever. I thought it was really nice that the city pushes for relaxation and peacefulness... Especially because life in the big city can get so stressful and overwhelming.

A word on the British accent before I forget? Love. It. It's so classy and smart and beautiful. I wish I could spend every day for the rest of my life surrounded by Brits. They're perf.

Okay. That's all for now!! Sorry I don't have more for you.

Ciao y'all!

London Calling!

First off, I'd like to apologize for my lack of postings. Life has been crazy and wonderful and I've barely had the time to breathe, never mind sit down and write a blog! But here it goes.

First, I need to talk about where I am right now. Guess what... I'm in London!! It's so nice to finally be in a country where I can understand the locals!

I'm staying with a family friend, the Kouloumases, with my friend Shannen. I can't even start to explain how lovely it is to feel at home. The Kouloumas family is absolutely wonderful. The mother, Dee, reminds me so much of my mom. She is so warm and welcoming and sweet, and she never fails to make me laugh. The father, George, reminds me of my dad. He's smart, funny and kind as can be. They have three boys (Tom-16, Phil-18 and Andreas-20) which are all so hospitable and loving and fun to spend time with.

Back to my travels. Friday morning at 5:00 we left Santa Chiara to take the train to Florence. From there, we transferred to Pisa. We spent some time exploring Pisa (woo hoo for the Leaning Tower... and not a whole bunch else) and then headed to the airport to fly to London.

One sketchy Ryan Air flight later... We made it!! I adore London. I could totally see myself living here. There's a great vibe here, and it resonates with me for whatever reason.

Since this is our spring break, Shannen and I have taken the time to just chill. It's been so nice to walk around the city and spend time with the Kouloumases. Tonight we went to a family party and had the chance to eat AMAZING Greek food, socialize with this sweet family and just relax. Tomorrow will be a tourist-y day in London. After a few days of relaxation and family time, I'm excited to see the sites!

Okay... I PROMISE I'll write again tomorrow. And it should be more entertaining next time!! Enjoy the pictures :)

Best Day(s) Ever!

I am in love with Dante. No worries... That's not my new boyfriend. Dante Middle School is absolutely incredible. On Tuesday, they officially welcomed us to their school. We were expecting a small brunch, but instead we walked into a classroom full of students with microphones and instruments. To be perfectly honest, I was expecting some cheesy song in Italian that we wouldn't understand. Instead, we were treated with the most powerful rendition of 'We Are The World' that I've ever heard. I've never heard teenagers sing with such passion. Within seconds, they had the majority of us in tears. The entire time, I kept thinking "THIS is why I went into education." I couldn't videotape the students, but I did record their voices. I'll post that to Facebook eventually for your listening pleasure. To show our appreciation, we reciprocated by singing the Star Spangled Banner and performing the Aggie War Hymn. They loved it! And we love them. Oh so much.

Today, I taught a lesson with Tess. To put it simply, we were teaching them how to write a letter. We gave them each a pen pal from the US, and the Italian students had to respond to the letter. The lesson went really well. I was warned that this class was great, but there was one student who was just awful. Then, I walked into the room and the Italian teacher (who stays in the classroom while we teach) was sitting next to an adorable boy. Problem child: spotted. She told me that he was awful and wouldn't listen and to not take it personally. After I taught the lesson and was going around the room monitoring progress, I noticed the boy wasn't writing a letter. I asked the teacher about it and she said that she was just happy he was sitting down. Apparently he never does any work. So I asked if I could try.

Long story short, this kid is my favorite kid in the world. Although he wouldn't write for me (I assume because he is self conscious about his English skills), he dictated an entire letter to me. I got him to sit still for 30 minutes, focus on a task and complete it successfully. The teacher was shocked, but I wasn't. I was just so proud of him. I later found out that the child was almost labeled as special needs because he was so disruptive. His teacher told another Aggie teacher to not worry about him because he was a gypsy and didn't care about school. But when I sat down and TALKED to him, he cared. He was proud of himself.

Teachers give up on students ALL the time. I think it's the saddest part about education. Given the opportunity, I really really do believe that every student can succeed. Because given the opportunity, I believe that every PERSON can succeed. Call me an optimist, but I really do believe in the power of people. Especially children.

I'm still loving Italy and everything it has to offer. But more than anything, I love these kids.

Ciao y'all.