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Hi there!
If you're reading this now, odds are good that you're either considering going on an IPDS trip, or maybe you're part of the next group to go! I'm going to outline my experience and offer some of my suggestions for things I would do differently if I were to repeat the trip all over again, so that my ceiling can be your floor (such a teacher thing to say, I know). To start off, this wasn't my first time traveling abroad, so my experience might have been a bit different from someone who's going to their first ever foreign country. Just like every other time I've traveled, I definitely packed more than I needed this time around. In all honesty, if you just plan on wearing a few outfits twice off the bat then you'll be much better off. When I left, my suitcase was already 50lbs on the dot, so I had to throw some things out to make room for everything I bought so that I wouldn't get charged extra. Don't be like me, pack light! In my head, I needed lots of different clothes to wear while teaching, but in actuality I could've just worn the same things twice, since you're only at the school for about 4 hours per day. I also didn't really understand how the weather would be. In my head, 50° sounded much warmer than it actually is. Plus, that's the high for the day, mornings and evenings are in the 40's. I ultimately bought two new jackets over the course of my trip because the one's I brought weren't doing the job. Plus, to reiterate why you should pack light, remember that Italians are super fashionable, and you're going to want to buy new clothes. I came home with l o t s more than I left with, and I wore most of my new clothes at some point along the way. So in case you're still missing the point here, don't cram your suitcase! Here's some things that I brought with me / had available that were super useful:
Things I wish I had with me / I would bring if I went again:
For money, I showed up with zero Euro in-hand. Because I travel pretty often, I have a checking account with zero foreign ATM fees, so I just got money once I arrived. I also have a credit card with no foreign transaction fees, so I used that pretty often. Look into what your current accounts offer, and don't be shy to open a new account for this purpose. I literally only use that checking account when I travel abroad but it's been such a godsend to have. Ultimately, I didn't spend nearly as much as I thought I would (and I would say I didn't really hold back). Most important piece of advice: go with the flow, appreciate where you are, and take in all of the incredible things around you. It's the experience of a lifetime, enjoy it!
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It feels crazy to be somewhere besides Italy after spending so much time there. But the past couple of days have been so vastly different that I’ve been too busy to miss it that much! Wednesday morning I woke up early, took a train to the airport, and flew from Rome to Munich, Germany. After taking a train to the city center, I grabbed a sandwich, which felt absolutely bizarre to not be eating pasta. My taste buds don’t know what to do with themselves now. I walked from there to the hostel that I’m staying in (Euro Youth Hostel), dropped off my bags and got checked in early so that once my bed was ready I would be all set. With only my passport and laptop locked up and everything else vulnerable to be stolen :) I headed off to explore the city. The most wonderful woman who checked me in gave me a map and pointed out some of the key spots to go to. With only a general direction in mind, I started wandering through the old section of the city. I saw some awesome cathedrals and the town hall. I also saw the Bavarian Chancellery (probably like the ‘state’ capital?), and believe it or not, even in below freezing weather there is a spot along the river with a fast current that people go surfing on! I watched for a few minutes as a few brave (freezing) souls hit the waves. Somewhere along here, I saw a poster about something going on in Salzburg. It was in German so I couldn’t tell you what it was for, but in my crazy head it only meant one thing: check if there’s tickets to hop on a train to Austria for the rest of the day. There was. I thought about it for approximately 0.2 seconds before deciding it was a great idea and had tickets set up to leave in about an hour. I made my way back to the hostel, moved my belongings to a notably less vulnerable location on my bed, grabbed a few things in a bag and bolted to the train station. I got on the train, and worked on a few things for school while the Bavarian countryside flew by. Let’s rewind for one second to discuss why most of my belongings were on my bed. Under the bed, there is a locker that I put my suitcase in. Now for some reason, I always pack the most stuff possible into a space that’s too small for it. So naturally, my suitcase was bulging and not regular suitcase-size. I began to cram it under the bed, and was forcing it in when I couldn’t get it to go any further. I pulled it out to take a few things out of the outer pockets, and realized that I tore the entire front off of my suitcase :) Frustrated and with a train to catch, I took just enough things out to get it in and shoved it back inside, leaving my backpack with the more important things out on my bed. I am clearly just so excited to get to wander around with a botched suitcase for the rest of my trip. Fortunately, that thing has been literally around the world, so it’s gotten a fair amount of use before being torn up. I guess this is a sign that I need to stop overpacking. We’ll see how that goes. *now resuming the chronological tale of events* The train got into Salzburg around 4:30pm, and I started to wander through the city. I had done absolutely zero research before making this decision, and only knew which general direction I should head. Only about two hours later did I decide to Google what the top spots to see are to check what I’d missed. I saw Mozart’s birthplace, some beautiful churches, and took in the hilly terrain surrounding the city. Being later in the day on a Wednesday and also below freezing, there were not many people out, so I got to see most of the touristy spots without anyone else around. I walked up to the fortress situated at the top of one of the hills, and wandered around inside. There was incredible views of the city from up there, and again, not a single other person in sight. It was a bit creepy for a few moments, but hey I survived. I’m pretty sure that during the day you’re supposed to pay to go all of the places I did, but the gates were wide open and there was no one there to offer directions, so I just went for it. Yay for playing the dumb tourist and using it as an excuse to do whatever I want. By the time I reached the top I was really thinking it would be awesome if there was a bathroom, but given that everything was completely devoid of living people I didn’t expect to find one. Until I did. And it was a true sign that I was meant to wander around this fortress because I didn’t find another open bathroom until I got back to the train station. I slowly wandered back down from the castle-fortress goodness, and listened as the church bells went wild every 15 minutes. Salzburg was so distinctly different in culture from Italy, and it felt so weird to see people having dinner at 5:00pm and the streets being empty by 7:00. In Italy, most people didn’t start going out for dinner until around 8:00, so there were many more individuals to run into. I meandered my way along the river and then back to the train station, and got on the return train to Munich. Even though I only spent about three hours in Salzburg, I was able to see so much without any crowd to fight and free reign over all the best picture-taking spots. The next morning, I was able to sleep in a bit and got breakfast at the hostel. I headed to the train station and got on a train bound for Füssen, from which I took a bus to reach Hohenschwangau, the town that’s home to Neuschwanstein Castle. Getting off the bus, I could already get a view of it towering over the mountainy region, and began walking along the hills to see it in person. As I got close, I realized that there was a rainbow hitting it from the snow that was lightly falling. It was so light that it made the air look sparkly, and framed the castle gorgeously. I got up close to take in some great views, and realized that the place I most wanted to go, Marienbrucke, was currently closed for repairs. This is a suspension bridge where the most famous pictures of the castle come from, so I was a bit disappointed but still glad I got to see it in person. After this I made my way back down the hill, got some amazing smelling quarkbällchen (tiny donuts) on the way, and came back into the town. Here, there is another castle that I walked over to, and could get some good views of Neuschwanstein too. I hopped on a bus back to Füssen, and took the train back to Munich with a stop in Kaufbeuren. Let’s take a moment to discuss how amazing trains are here. I noticed this in Italy as well, but since I’ve taken quite a few in Germany it’s really hitting me how much better the service is. Trains come on time to the minute, run multiple times per day, and get you from Point A to Point B with zero hassle. Taking Amtrak in the states is usually behind schedule without a clear window of when it will arrive, slow, and expensive. The system here really puts the US to shame, and I wish it were this easy to get around at home! That night, I went out to explore the rest of Munich that was on my radar, and went back to some of the same places to see them lit up after dark. One thing I definitely wasn’t prepared for was how cold it would be. It was in the 20’s or 30’s most of the time, so I had to buy yet another new jacket because the one I had wasn’t cutting it. I’m not the biggest fan of the one I got, but it was cheap so who cares! I picked up a pretzel (or two) as I made my way around the city, through the English Garden, and eventually back to the hostel. I got everything packed up and ready to go for the next morning so that I could get up and head to the airport. After arriving in Amsterdam I made my way to the hostel, which was a bit of an event on it’s own. Trains here aren’t quite as reliable, and since I speak zero Dutch it was wildly confusing trying to figure out where I needed to be. Trains kept getting canceled or switched to a different track, and it’s seriously incredible that I made it to Centraal Station on my own. From there I had to take a ferry across a river (canal?) to reach the hostel. After getting checked in, I went back to Centraal Station to meet two of my friends who were coming in from London! (One is from the UK, one is from Germany, and we all met in Puerto Rico.) We wandered around Amsterdam for a while, got some fun Dutch food, saw tons of beautiful canals, and took in everything around us. One thing that I’m still trying to wrap my head around was the sheer amount of bikes that exist in the city. Everyone in Amsterdam seems to bike everywhere they go. You have to watch out when crossing the street not to get hit by a cyclist, and always watch where you’re walking because if you happen to be in the bike lane then it could be game over awfully soon. The next day we went to the Anne Frank House, which was very somber and thoughtful to take in. Being in the same place that Anne and her family hid for years during World War II was surreal, and makes it so much more salient to think of the history that paints Europe. I kept thinking about my experience seeing Auschwitz in Poland, and the future experience I’m going to have on the Anne Frank Project trip to Rwanda. Afterwards we explored more of the city, had some stroopwafels, and made our way from restaurant to restaurant to try everything worth trying. It was a really nice way to wrap up such an incredible trip! The next morning, I made my way to the airport and left Amsterdam for Detroit, then back to Buffalo. I’ve learned so much over the course of this trip, and I’m so excited to transfer it all to the classroom as I’m student teaching this Spring. Another trip checked off the list, onto the next adventure! Our last day with the students was on Friday, and it was an experience I’ll absolutely never forget. I was with a new 5th grade class that had a handful of students with disabilities. One of the students had recently come to Italy after living for 9 years in Morocco. He was facing a language and cultural barrier with everyone around him, and also had a few behavioral issues. He was picked on by other students in the class and the teacher openly told him that he was stupid. Those exact words. When the teacher told me that he was Moroccan, she also mentioned that he could speak Arabic and French as well. First and foremost, regardless of his behavior is is impressive that this boy has a grasp on not only his native languages, but he can also communicate at an advanced level of Italian and was learning English. Picture yourself at 11 years old. How many languages could you speak? For most of us, the answer is one; maybe two. After learning that he could speak French, I asked him a few questions and we used a crazy mix of French, Italian, and English to communicate with one another. He went around and kept excitedly telling the other teachers that I could speak French (which is a bit of an overstatement, but I let him do it). It was clear that he really needed someone to connect to and to understand him rather than yell at him, and I’m so happy that for a little while I got to be that person. We taught a series of mini-lessons that we’d already done with different classes, and then went to the small auditorium in the basement of the school. The students were all gathered and began singing “This Land is Your Land”, which was so moving, it was tough not to tear up. In just a short amount of time it is so easy to get attached to students and to a school, it made me not want to leave. Then, the teachers had us go stand among the students and sing with them, and afterwards the students swarmed us for hugs and high-fives; a group of boys began chanting my name, and a few students started crying knowing that we were going. It was all such a powerful experience, and I hope that the students got the most out of it that they could. For me, it was such an enriching experience and really opened my eyes to what I’m capable of as a teacher, and what types of settings I really thrive in. The language barrier can be intimidating for a lot of people, but in this school we welcomed it, and allowed our differences to bring us closer together. I can leave happily knowing that these students left their handprints on my heart, and hopefully I on theirs. That night, we went to the high school in town for “National Classical High School Night”. There’s different types of high schools here that all focus on different areas, and the school in Torremaggiore is a “liceo classico” (classical high school). The students performed skits from different classic literary works, which included singing and dancing. There was a buffet of food around the middle, and let me tell you: there is zero etiquette here when it comes to the buffet. There’s no lining up, no waiting your turn, no working your way along the table. It’s a mad dash to the table where you grab whatever’s in front of you and go. And it is mass chaos. Naturally, we weren’t used to having to be aggressive to get food, so they made the high school students move out of the way while shouting that “the Americans are coming through” (I’m not kidding when I say we have actual celebrity status in this town). The next morning, we went to the middle school where we were given a tour of the gardens and shown their aspects of agricultural education. Some students were tending to grapevines, and they explained to us how to do do this and why it’s important. We also were given football (read: soccer) jerseys, and met a coach? from the local team. We posed with a Buffalo Bills flag, and it was gifted to them afterwards (we got to keep the jerseys). Later on, we went to the next town (San Severo) to visit a winery. We got a quick tour, and the facility was entirely underground which was super cool. Then they served us dinner (still underground), and had a band playing. It was a really nice way to end our time in Torremaggiore, and allowed us to end on a bang! On Sunday, we left Torremaggiore and headed to Pompeii, where we toured the ruins. It is such an ancient area, and has been preserved so well for us to be able to experience it. Getting to see Mt. Vesuvius in the background was also quite incredible, and I’m glad we got to stop and see it all. Following that, we continued on to Sorrento on the Amalfi Coast. We stopped at a few overlooks on the way to get pictures, and then explored the town a little bit before dinner. Monday, we took a ferry to the Isle of Capri, where we got to go down to the water (and touch it!) and experience all the beauty without any of the crowd since it’s the off season. The views on the island are spectacular, and I would love to see it in the summer time! Overall, it was so worth it and the ferry ride was a blast on the way back since we got to sit outside on the upper deck. That night, we went out to explore some more and take it all in before heading out the next day. Tuesday was our last full day in Italy, and we departed Sorrento in the morning to head for Naples. In Naples, we took a tour of some of the old churches and neighborhoods, had lunch, and then shopped around for a bit. It was a quick stopover, but nice to experience yet another Italian city. We left Naples for Rome, and returned to the same hotel we stayed at in the very beginning of the trip. It felt like a blast from the past to be there again, and it was crazy to reflect on how much we had experienced and grown as teachers in the time between. We got into Rome later than expected, so we went to a nice last dinner and then meandered to the Trevi Fountain to see it at night one last time. Obviously, we also got gelato even though it was pretty chilly outside. After all this time in Italy, I can easily say that it has been one of the most striking places in so many ways. Since I’ve been to Europe before, I really didn’t expect to love Italy as much as I have, since I didn’t anticipate it would be that different from other countries. But it really took me by surprise and is someplace that I know without a doubt I will return to. The students, community, and company I got to share this experience with have made it so impactful and memorable, and I already can’t wait for the day that I will return. But for now, ciao! Now I’m headed off to Munich for a few days then on the Amsterdam before returning stateside to student teach. Be on the lookout for blogs from those places! Now we’re wrapping up our time in Torremaggiore, so let me walk you through the past couple of days now that we’ve settled in! On Sunday, we were given a tour of some of the most historic places in town, including a very pretty local cemetery. Inside this cemetery, Nicola Sacco is buried (part of the infamous Sacco & Vanzetti duo [google them]). We saw the house that Sacco was born in, and went inside some of the oldest churches around Torremaggiore. Also, we met Sacco’s 88-year-old niece, who spoke very passionately about wrongful death sentences. Seriously google it. Monday, we taught for only an hour and a half, and I was with a 4th grade class that I had previously worked with. This has become my favorite class to be with, and I’m hoping to see them once more before we leave. We taught the students about American Football, and sang some songs with them! After leaving the school, we headed to a farm/facility where buffalo-milk mozzarella is made! We saw the buffalo (I got to pet one!), and got to try samples. Buffalo milk can only be used to make mozzarella, and production begins at midnight every night, so it can leave the factory at 6:00 and be in stores by 8:00. After this, we headed to a local winery where we got to see the vineyards, learn about the production process they use, and (obviously the most exciting part) we got to taste the wine. The grounds were beautiful and they also had pizza prepared for us. It was really turning out to be a great day. Following this, we went to the newest olive oil facility in Torremaggiore. It is very modern-looking, and uses a special variety of olive that is only grown in three towns in this region. The oil itself has a stronger flavor, and (if I’m being honest) it’s really immaculate. Once we left this new facility, we went to the oldest olive oil factory in Torremaggiore. The process they use was similar to the modern one, just with older machines. They are struggling to keep this factory open because of how much more efficient the modern machines are, but for now they continue to produce olive oil a few months out of the year when the olives are ripe. All of these excursions were offered to us by the school ‘district’ we’re working with, and it was such a nice display of the culture that Torremaggiore has to offer. The next day, Tuesday, we went to a high school in a neighboring town (San Severo) that focuses on the arts. We got to see the classrooms, explore the school, interact with students (they attend high school until age 19-20 here, so they weren’t that far off from our ages), and the students performed a mini-concert for us, as well as some of us singing alongside them. When I say that for them it was real-life high school musical, I am not kidding in the slightest. I cannot even imagine how crazy it probably was for them to have a horde of Americans storm into their school and start singing everywhere we went. These students definitely think that American high school is a completely glamorous time, and is everything the movies makes it out to be. We tried to explain that it’s really not like that, but after seeing us sing there wasn’t much hope of changing that thought process. We finished up at the high school around mid-day and had some time to explore San Severo. We went into a few shops and a cafe, and enjoyed being in a slighty busier atmosphere than the small town we’re usually in. Following this, we attended a ‘panel’ at the high school in Torremaggiore, where they presented on the Italian school system, and asked us questions about how teacher preparation programs work in New York, in addition to how schools work around the state and country. One interesting comment they made was how when taking teacher certification exams, the highest scoring individuals get to essentially pick what school they work at; there’s no interview process and the principal has to accept them. It is nearly impossible for principals to fire teachers here, and there would have to be a serious incident to warrant it. It was super interesting to hear what the Italian teachers were curious about, because it prompted discussion about which elements are better from each nation. On Wednesday, we went back to our elementary schools to teach. I was with a class of 5th graders to start, and for the first thirty minutes or so they were incredibly docile and silent. Then, their teacher walked out to take care of something else and their personalities blossomed. It was such a night-to-day transformation in their attitudes, and really shines a light on how a teacher’s disposition can affect the entire atmosphere of the class. I taught them the terms for different weather conditions, and they were shocked by some of the pictures of snow in Buffalo that I showed them. I may or may not have shown them pictures from Snowvember to really drive the point home. By the end, this class was giving us hugs left and right, and it was amazing to see the way they had opened up over the course of an hour and thirty minutes. After this class, we went to a first grade class that we had been with before. We taught them about American Football, and did head, shoulders, knees, and toes with them. They did such a great job learning the body parts, and had a lot of fun when I would surprise them and mix up the order of the body parts in the song so they had to actively listen rather than memorize a procdedure. Wednesday afternoon, we took the bus to San Severo, and went shopping. We went to a nice cafe and then to a few shops. I ended up buying a massive amount of clothes (so much so that I’m going to have to leave some of my American clothes here) and only spent €55! It was super successful and a great adventure to get out and about. Today, we once again taught, and I was with two 5th grade classes back-to-back. I’d never been with either of these classes before, so I was able to repeat the same lesson twice, which made for a nicely flowing day. With these, students we began with a bilingual song to introduce everyone’s names, and then read them the book we wrote before coming to Italy. They were very curious about the differences between American Football and Italian ‘Football’ (read: soccer). Afterwards, I taught them weather vocabulary and had them draw up some fun little reference sheets to keep. They were similarly amazed by the pictures of snow I showed them. Following this, I taught them a song about the idiom “it’s raining cats and dogs”. Fun fact: I learned this song in kindergarten and not only do I still remember every word, but I was able to pass it on to a new generation of students across the world! My kindergarten teacher would be so proud. (mental note to self: send her a card about this) These two classes were also adamant about having me sign as many of their belongings as possible. Some of them had full pages in their journals dedicated to documenting my favorite things, like the sports and activities I’d said I like, my pet’s names, etc. It was really heartwarming to see! I was also very impressed with their English skills at this level, and it was awesome to note the progress between the 4th graders and the 5th graders. This is the point where their foreign language skills begin to really take off, and some of the middle schoolers I talked with tonight were proof of that; they could communicate with no problem when they weren’t too afraid to speak English in front of native English speakers. The affective filter has a profound effect (thank you EDU 310) and the biggest difference between most of the student’s communication abilities has been simply how comfortable they actually are to speak out. Along the way, I’ve really been able to grow my skills as an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher, and particularly develop the ability to use music to bridge the language gap. Getting in front of a classroom and singing is all about confidence, not singing ability. Although I have a music background, I haven’t thought about using music in the classroom that much since I began studying elementary education. Now, I plan to bring songs into my classroom while student teaching next semester, and particularly when I (hopefully) ultimately end up moving into the TESOL (teaching English to speakers of other languages) sphere. This evening, we went to the castle in Torremaggiore where we were toured around, shown two videos, given a concert, and allowed to dress up in medieval-Italian garb. The display of culture that the people of Torremaggiore have put on for us has been very welcoming, and I’m so happy to see everything that they have to offer. The parent’s of the schools brought us hordes upon hordes of food for dinner, and we got to mingle with different people from the town. Acting as pseudo-dignitaries does get overwhelming at times though, and we can never walk around town without someone wanting to talk to us because we’re ‘the Americans’ and everyone knows we’re here. In fact, the students at the high school saw us getting on the bus the other day, and rushed to school to tell everyone they know that they had seen the Americans. At this point, we only have a few more days left in Torremaggiore before heading to the opposite coast, and it will be sad to leave. Although it took some getting used to, this small town is a wonderful place to be, and will definitely be missed. The past couple days have been absolutely incredible. We arrived in Torremaggiore on Tuesday night and got settled into the Bed & Breakfast that we’re staying at. We were served our first meal here, which was multiple courses and completely amazing. Wednesday, after breakfast we headed to City Hall and got to meet the vice-president, and some of the members on a council for the partnership with Buffalo. Torremaggiore is an official sister city of Buffalo, and has been part of an exchange relationship since the early 2000’s. Here we took pictures in front of both cities’ flags. After leaving city hall, we walked across a square in the center of town to one of the primary schools that we’re working in. As we walked up, we could hear children shouting, and saw them lining the courtyard in front of the school waving Italian and USA flags. A group of students performed the Italian national anthem and the European Union anthem; then, they played the American national anthem for us. The way that the students, teachers, and community welcomed us with open arms and were so excited about our presence was so moving. It made me stop and think about how truly amazing it is to be able to have experiences like this. The kids were treating us like we were celebrities, and waved at us constantly every time they saw us. We distracted every single classroom we walked past, it was great! I’m sure the teacher’s really appreciated the way we could consistently keep the entire school off task by waving and saying “ciao”! After the parade and celebration was finished, we went inside the school where they had food and pastries waiting for us. They also popped bottles of champagne, which was absolutely insane for us to see. If teachers and administrators in America were to enthusiastically pour champagne for college students, it would be completely out of line. However, it was nice to mingle with some of the teachers and enjoy the local foods they’d brought. We walked around the school next, and went into some of the classrooms to see what they were like. Since there was such a large group of us, we went fairly quickly from room to room, but got to see the students learning different subjects. Next we walked to another primary school in town that some Buff State students are placed at. This school had lots of technology, and we popped our heads into a class where students were learning their letter sounds. It made it really exciting for the next day, since my research is on phonics and decoding strategies. In the afternoon, the entire town has a ‘siesta’, and most shops are closed. Schools here run for 5 hours per day, from 8:00am to 1:00pm. They go to school 6 days out of the week, and have Sunday’s off. Siesta is great except for when you have no food and everyplace is closed, the hangry attitude starts to come out and it isn’t quite so fun anymore. In the evenings, we have 3-4 course meals prepared for us by the owner of the bed & breakfast. Thursday, we had our first day in the classroom with the students. I started the morning in a 4th grade classroom, and did an activity to introduce myself and have them introduce themselves in English. This day I was with an English teacher, so she could translate instructions as necessary. I learned a lot of Italian in the first hour and a half, and the students were very curious about America. It was really amazing to see how excited they were to learn English and practice their speaking. Finding ways to communicate with everyone and bridge the language barrier was so fun, and by the end of the first class the students were yelling my name across the room to ask me more and more questions they’d thought of. After this class we followed the same teacher to a first grade class. Their understanding of both English and Italian were much lower, but the students were working to learn colors and the names of school supplies. Again, I introduced myself and had them do an easier version of the same introduction activity. The students loved to run up to me and show me that they knew how to count from 1 to 10, and tell me what colors different things were. All of the students were so excited to have someone different from them around, and were so happy and polite the entire time. Then, on Friday, we walked to the middle school where the students were performing a concert. This was an event for all of the current 5th graders from the elementary schools to see all of the different instrument offerings. They played some American music (read: Wrecking Ball by Miley Cyrus) and some Italian music. It was fun to see the middle school students and learn about the Italian school system. We saw two middle schools in the town and interrupted a few classes to say hello. Today, we went back to the school I was at on the first day, and started the day with a different fourth grade class. I began by introducing myself and then taught them a “hello” song with lyrics in Italian and English. This let them all sing what their name was, and helped us to know who everyone was. Afterwards, we read them a book that we wrote about American Football. The students were sooo curious about it! It was super interesting to them that soccer isn’t very large in America, and that there’s a lot of similarities between our traditions with football and their traditions with soccer. Afterwards they asked question after question about American culture, and wanted to know about Trump, if things were expensive, what people did for fun, and my personal favorite: ‘why do you wear glasses?’. Next, we went to a different first grade classroom, and repeated the beginning of the lesson. However, I only taught the song in Italian, and didn’t teach them the English version yet since they’re so much younger. The teacher of this class only spoke Italian, and it was a true testament of how much I’ve learned so far that I was able to communicate with her with only minor difficulty. With this class, we also read the same book, and they were asking questions as well, although not as much as the last class. Then, we played Baby Shark with them and they sang along and made the hand motions. These kids were absolutely loving it! We’ve learned that a lot of the viral songs are big here also, and the kids will go wild if they hear it. After our singing and dancing extravaganza, I had them write their names and draw their favorite things on a piece of paper for the last little bit of time. This allowed me to wander around and ask about different things, and learn the words for different objects. At the end of it all, the teacher told the students we might be coming back to that classroom a different day, and they went crazy! They were jumping up and down with excitement, and gave lots of hugs and high fives on the way out the door. It’s so endearing to have children become so attached after such a short period of time, and I’m so happy to see how enthralled they were by everything we did! Later today, we’ll be going out with some students from the local high school. Here, students are in high school until they’re 19-20 years old, so they will be closer in age to ourselves than American high school students. This particular group attend a school for students wanting to continue on to university, and it will be fun to see how their English comprehension is and learn about Italian culture from others the same age as us. Stay tuned for how the night goes! pasta: ✔️
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AuthorCiao! My name is Alex and I’m a senior in the Childhood Education program. I love experiencing different cultures, trying new things, and traveling; this trip will bring my foreign country total into double digits! I’m thrilled to be able to work with students of a different background than myself, and hope to go into TESOL in the future. I can’t wait to bring my Italian experience into my own future classroom! Archives
February 2020
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