|
|
It has been quite an adjustment being home again. After a full 24 hours of travel, everything in me was so happy to be home and in my own bed. As soon as I woke up the next morning (at 3:30 am USA time) at 9:30 am Italy time, I wished I was getting up and getting ready for another day at San Giovanni Bosco. As a result of going to Italy, a shift of habits has occurred in my life in many ways. Firstly, I need a break from pasta because we had a love hate relationship in result of abundance of consumption. Secondly, coffee from my Keurig and Tim Hortons is not as satisfying as a shot of espresso and cappuccino from a small café in Italy. Lastly, I feel a strong urge to continue to teach children of different cultures and nationality in the future. Wrapping up the trip, I had a moment of sadness considering this IPDS trip was my last. Then a burst of excitement followed because I can continue to travel and teach where ever God takes me!
Italy will be a trip that I will reflect back on and remember what I learned from the children, the teachers, my peers, and my professors. One picture can bring back a flood of memories, a background of history for the location, and a conversation I had with a local. I will be forever grateful for the once in a life time experience I had in the beautiful country of Italy.
1 Comment
Good bye to everybody, good bye to all of you! Yesterday was ou last day teaching in the classroom and today was our final good bye at San Giovanni Bosco. Yesterday was one of those days that I can't help but look up and say "Thanks God!" When ever I feel discouraged about the way my lesson plans have been going, or the way a lesson was received by students, I am always reminded that I am here on this earth to be in the classroom and I am meant to teach. My heart was full to the brim and ready to pour over after the time I spent in the classroom yesterday. Christine and I were observing a lesson of a write aloud in a fourth grade classroom. There were 20 students in the class and all very eager to learn! When we first walked into the classroom, I heard lots of talking and noticed lots of movement from the students at their desk. Any teacher in the United States would say it was because the students were antsy and interrupting while they were teacher, but that wasn’t the case in this classroom. The students were active participants in the conversation and learning. They were giving their input and feedback to their teacher’s responses and to their own peers. Their voices overlapped often as if they were talking over each other, but I do not think this was out of rudeness, rather a cultural difference. I have observed four Italian female teachers, all strong willed and passionate about what they were talking about, talk all at the same time, all saying different things, listening to the others, and call it a normal conversation. There was no arguing. There were no hurt feelings. It was just a normal conversation of collaboration for them. I have never experienced such language saturations before in my life, but it was definitely an authentic cultural experience listening to their conversation! The same goes for the classroom we were in yesterday. Dr. Ceprano taught a write aloud lesson after the classroom teacher finished her own. She taught it the way she taught our own class to do write alouds in the semester of Spring 2017. She wrote a short paragraph (about 3 sentences) in English for the students to read along as she wrote. Dr. Ceprano wrote very slowly and added one letter at a time to each word so the students could try and guess the next word she was going to include. The paragraph was about winter in Buffalo and I was surprised by how well the students were able to guess the words in English. They knew far more words in English than I was expecting on the topic. After she finished writing the paragraph we choral read it together twice. Then she offered to have one of the students read it alone to the class. No one was brave enough quite yet, so I offered to the class that I could read it with one of the students. One boy volunteered and after him, a girl came up and she wanted to try reading it all on her own. Quite a few students came up and read the paragraph aloud in English. After the second write aloud was finished, Dr. Ceprano was approached by the teacher and she asked if we had any games we could play with the kids. So, not planned and totally unexpected, we did a quick game/lesson of teaching action words. We used the gradual release of responsibility method while teaching these actions words. We would write four actions words at a time on the board, read them, and then act them out. We would gradually support them less and less and eventually we would say a word and wait for them to act them out all on their own. We taught them 12 new action words in English! It was so much fun for us and for the kids! The other teachers were playing along as well! In the video above, you can see us practicing our action words smile, stop, jump, and sit. After we were all done we all had some cake for a snack and the kids crowded around us and asked us for our "autographs"! We took group pictures and right before we left I had a little girl come up to me and say "Why? Why do you have to leave us? We love you!" Yesterday alone made this entire trip worth it! Today we arrived at the school and went right to the principal’s office to say our final good byes to all of the teachers. We were given a t-shirt and hat with the name of the school on it as a gift. While we were in the principal’s office we could hear all of the students filtering into the court yard for our final goodbye. When it came time for us to walk out of the doors of the school one final time, we could see all of the children shaking their pom poms, waving, and cheering. Once the final speeches were all completed the children came for hugs and more autographs. One student, the girl that didn’t want me to leave the previous day after we taught our lesson came up to me for a big and long hug. When she pulled away, I noticed tears in her eyes, which then caused me to tear up. It is absolutely unbelievable how quickly a strong and meaningful relationship can form, even with a language barrier. I will miss Torremaggiore and San Giovanni Bosco’s students!
This Sunday we had a “relaxing” day, which turned into another day of exploring a beautiful part of Southern Italy. We took a bus ride about 30 minutes outside of Torremaggiore to Lake Lesina. According to our tour guide, it is about 2 miles long and 1 mile wide. When the bus first dropped up off, we walked out onto a long boardwalk that took us pretty far out into the water. When we made it to the end there was a monument that was a cross in the middle of the water. The tour guide explained that before a major earthquake caused this lake to grow, there once was a town in the spot we stood where the monument was erected. It was beautiful with the sun shining, wind blowing, and the smell of fresh water surrounding us as we learned more about the history of Italy. We walked around the surrounding area of the lake and there were many families out walking and enjoying the beautiful weather, even though it felt very cold to them. We ended up stopping at a bird sanctuary (if you know me, you know I do NOT like birds) and walking around inside their enclosure. I was more focused on not getting dive bombed by a duck, getting chased by a goose, or stepping in poop, than taking pictures. There was a cute family of 4 baby geese and their parents squawking at us very loudly. They were not pleased that we were so close to them. After leaving the bird sanctuary, we got back on the bus and went to the other side of the lake to eat lunch. We had a four course meal! Italians can eat! We started with bruschetta with olive oil and tomatoes. Then we had penne and muscles (Christine ate my serving of muscles). Third, we had sea bass with roasted rosemary potatoes. Lastly we had platters of fruit brought out of grapes, oranges, apples, and pears. It sounds like quite the feast, which it was. Every meal we have had other than breakfast has been this extensive and well prepared though! I swear, I have gained 10 pounds since getting here, but I’m not sick of the pasta yet. After we were sufficiently stuffed, we went for a walk around the grounds surrounding the restaurant. We were right on the water, so they showed us the nets they use to catch fish and eel in the area. I can not say how happy I am we were not served eel. We also walked to the fields where they grow their own grapes and rosemary grew wild there. It smelled amazing! Last, but certainly not least, we made it to the coast of the Adriatic Sea. The reason the Lesina Lake has an abundance of seafood, is because there is an outlet from the sea to the lake. When we got to the the coast, I didn’t hesitate to throw my shoes off and jump into the water! Let me tell you, it was freezing! After running around the beach, in and out of the water, and tracing in the sand, my feet started to resemble a purple color instead of my usual flesh color, so it was time to call it a day. When I was running over to get my shoes, I saw some beautiful seashells and had to jump in the water one more time to grab some. Great souvenirs to bring home with me! Ciao for now and God bless!
Katie Welch I got to teach a lesson to a group of 3rd graders this past Friday. Dr. Ceprano asked if I would teach a lesson on a book she prepared for this trip about Christmas, so the students would see similarities and differences on how we celebrate the holiday. I did a read aloud lesson with the book she prepared. Before leaving from Buffalo, we had photocopies made of the books so we could hand them out to the children in the classroom and they could follow along as we read together. To start the lesson, Claire read the book in English and the classroom teacher read the translation in Italian. There were vocabulary words that repeated often in the story like ‘present’ and ‘stocking’. So, I reread the story to the children in English and modeled for them that every time the words ‘present’ or ‘stocking’ came up in the story, the children were to choral read the words together aloud. The repetition of reading these words and hearing the correct pronunciation helped the children retain the new words in English. After we finished reading the book for the second time, I wrote the words on the chalk board and drew a picture to associate with each word. I instructed the kids to draw their favorite Christmas present they had received over the holiday season. In Italy, they celebrate a separate holiday called la Befana. They look inside of their stockings to see what presents are there, instead of opening gifts and looking inside of their stockings on Christmas morning, as we do in the United States. So, the students drew a picture of what they received in their stocking as well. I wrote a sentence frame on the board for each vocabulary word so the students could copy it down and fill in their favorite gift or what they received in their stocking. The first sentence was “My gift is…” and the second was “I received…” Any time there is anything written on the board, the children dutifully copied it onto their piece of white paper I provided for them to draw their pictures on. When the students were all done drawing their pictures and writing their sentences, I had each student come up to the front of the classroom and read aloud their sentences in English and share their pictures with their classmates. I noticed while reading their sentences, the children had difficulty pronouncing “received” because the ‘c’ would typically make a ‘ch-’ sound in the Italian language. After listening to a couple children struggle reading the word, I had the children do a call and response and repeat the word after I said it. This helped the students hear the correct pronunciation when I modeled how to say it for them. All of the children came up and shared their work, which helped instill confidence and excitement for the work they were completing. The lesson was then concluded and I would say it went well! Today we taught a group of approximately 40-50 5th graders at Castello Ducale, a castle in Torremaggiore. We all met at the castle at 9:30 and walked into the throne room where there were chairs set up for all of the students in a big rectangle so we could stand in the middle. The music education majors lead the lesson and stood in the middle. The elementary and special education majors stood around the outside of the group so we could model for the students when they should be following, listening, repeating, singing, or reading. As any good teacher should, we were all paying attention to the things that worked well during the lesson and paying attention to the things that didn't go quite as planned. When we started the lesson, Krissy, Dr. Renzoni, or Brianna would model what the students should be doing and then wanted them to repeat after them. The students did well with this when they were asked to sing or read something. When Dr. Renzoni clapped out a pattern for them, asked for them to repeat it, and then continue the call and response, the children weren't able to differentiate between teacher first, then students. I don't think it was a lack of communication that was the root of the issue. I think the students were just excited to move and make sounds to go along with the music, so they kept clapping even after their pattern was done. All of the children were having such a great time and it was evident by the smiles on their faces. After the lesson was over, the students started surrounding around us with their papers and asking us to sign them. The students were treating us like superstars and asking for our autographs! I have never experienced something like that before. the students were pushing and shoving just to get a little closer to us and hoped we would grab their paper to sign next. We all stood around the room for another 30 minutes after the lesson was over trying to get to all of the children who wanted us to sign their papers before they left. Above is a video of how we have been starting every lesson with the students since we have arrived in Torremaggiore. The Hello song can be done in Italian and then translated to English. If you listen to this video until the very end, you can here me sing "My name is Katie".
Yesterday was our first day at San Giovanni Bosco, the school we will be teaching at while we are here in Torremaggiore. Yesterday when we arrived at the school we approached the entrance and could see a large sign that said "Benvenuti" meaning welcome. It was so huge and bright we could see it from a block away! The entire school, preK-5 grade were standing in the court yard of the school holding balloons, waving pompoms, and cheering. The teachers were all there and even some of the children's parents were dropped off so they could welcome us for our arrival! After we walked into the court yard, music began playing and the cheering became much louder! The school played our national anthem and then played the national anthem of Italy. Every age in that court yard sang their national anthem together with such pride and joy for their country. It was an emotional moment to look around and take in all that was planned for our arrival as they sang. The school made us feel so welcomed and so important. I just hoped that I would be able to live up to their expectations of me after such a lavish welcome. I wasn't sure what kind of teaching ability they thought we would have. For once, I felt valued for being a teacher instead of being discouraged and under appreciated because of the field I chose to be a part of. Our day continued with a tour around the school and we got to see the different classrooms and different grade levels. When we visited the "infant" room (3-5 yrs. old), I met a new friend named Gloria! I knelt down next to some children sitting at their table and asked what their names were and how old they were. Gloria grabber her chair, moved across the room, and came to sit down next to me. She was asking me questions, teaching me Italian, correcting my Italian, and introducing me to her other friends. We couldn't communicate much, but we both enjoyed playing a quick game of giving a high five over and over and over again! Today was our first day teaching in the classrooms! I was unsure of what room or grade level I would end up with, but I landed in a 3rd grade classroom with two other students from Buffalo State. All of my classmates wrote a children's book with a partner and paired it with a song. Since I joined our group late in the game, I wrote my book independently without a song. I wrote my book about a little boy name Timothy and his different family members.
In our classroom this morning, the two other Buffalo State college students, Angela and Katie J., got to read their book and sing the song that went along with it and I got to read my book as well. After reading my book, the teacher in the classroom took out paper and asked the children to take out their pencil cases to draw a picture of their own families, which is what I had originally planned for my lesson. I wrote the vocabulary words on the board for the children to see the different words in English for Mom, Dad, Brother, Sister, Grandma, and Grandpa. The class had worked on the vocabulary for family members previously and the teacher of the class showed me their work books with the vocabulary words in them. In the work book, the spelling for "mom" was instead, "mum". I am unsure if the difference is because the students are being taught English from Great Britain or if they used a different vowel to mimic the sound made in Italian pronunciation. Once the students were done making their drawings, Angela, Katie J., and I walked around so they students could explain their drawings to use. After all of the students shared all of the pictures with one of us, we sang the "Hello Song" with our class, which we learned together while we were still taking our classes at Buffalo State to prepare to come to Italy. Angela taught the song in Italian first and then taught it in English. After we sang the song together as a group, the class sang a song to us, which was adorable! Tonight we are meeting with the teachers in our classrooms to lesson plan and collaborate together for the rest of the week. I am excited to see how much time we have to interact with our students, read our book to them, and teach lessons we prepared! We have made it to Torremaggiore! Yesterday we took a four-hour bus trek through the countryside of Italy to get here. Not having access to a phone helps you look up and take in what is surrounding you! Four hours with out said phone also gives you a good amount of time to think and reflect. Since arriving in Italy, we haven’t had much time slow down and think about all we have been able to experience thus far. We drove past mountains, the Adriatic Sea, and past numerous vineyards and olive trees. There were as many fields of grapes and olive trees as there are corn fields during the summer in New York. I was excited to see authentic Italy as we drove through the countryside, instead of just the busy hustle and bustle of Roma! We walked through the town last night and there was some live music and vendors because this weekend was still considered the holiday since Saturday was the Epiphany. Bed and Breakfast Cavour is where we are staying and they provide breakfast and dinner for us everyday. For dinner, a carefully prepared, four course meal was served to us. What I appreciate most about dinner is we were all able to sit down as a group, all sixteen of us, and talk for an hour and a half. It is normal for a four course meal to be served for dinners and to sit around a table as a family and spend time together. I wish quality time with loved ones was as highly valued in the United States as it is here. We obviously love our families and friends, but it is hard to find families who sit down and dedicate so much time to eating a meal together and reflecting on their day. In true Buffalo fashion we watched the game before bed and probably yelled way too loud for the little town we are staying. Hopefully they will forgive us! Tomorrow I will post a very lengthy blog about the amazing school we are going to be teaching at while in Torremaggiore. We had a very extravagant welcome this morning and we are going to start teaching tomorrow!
God Bless! Katie Welch Ciao! It has been a busy three days since we have arrived in Rome, Italy. We have had the freedom to pick the places we wanted to visit while here before making our way to Torremaggiore tomorrow morning. Each day has been jam packed with visiting different historical sites, eating lots of amazing food, and learning about the culture of this country! The first day we were here, we arrived at our hotel and began site seeing right away! We visited the Trevi Fountain and had the opportunity to throw a coin in and make a wish. It is said that if you throw a coin into the fountain you will have the opportunity to return to Rome for a visit and I couldn't ask for anything better! There were too many gelato stores near the fountain for us not to get one, so I bought a cone with mixed berry and limoncello gelato. Once you have Italian gelato, there is no going back. We wrapped up our first day of site seeing by visiting the Spanish Steps.
Day two in Rome consisted of visiting the Vatican City and the Colosseum! We were able to see Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel, the Vatican Museum, and St. Peter's Basilica while in Vatican City. I could have stood and looked at Michelangelo's painting on the ceiling of the chapel all day and we were unfortunately unable to take any pictures because of how old it is. Michelangelo started painting the ceiling in 1508 and finished in 1512, including the painting of The Last Judgement on one of the walls. There was so much detail and I didn't want to miss anything! It was fascinating to walk around Vatican City and visit all of these sites that hold so much history! By the time we got the the Colosseum, it was dark and it looked beautiful with the lights. Today was our last full day in this magnificent and rich city of history. We went on a tour of the inside of the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. While in the Colosseum, you could see a large hole in the ground, which would have been considered "back stage" because originally there was a wooden floor covering all of the corridors where the director, performers, animals and set pieces were kept. I learned that there were 60 small elevators used to change sets and release animals or gladiators during performances under the stage. When you look in the pictures you can see where the elevators were! There is so much history within the Roman Forum alone, that we could have used a full day to see and hear about all of the things that have held place there. Some of the things there included the ruins of Augustus Caesar's palace, a temple for Saturn, the tomb of Julius Caesar, and many more! It was overwhelming to consider how much history has happened on the streets of this city at least a thousand years before our country was even a thought. Although I am sad to leave this beautiful city, I am more than ready to meet the children in the school we will be visiting in Torremaggiore. It will be much harder to communicate with people because it is not a touristy spot, where almost everyone speaks enough English to understand us. Those are the moments we learn to piece together the Italian we have heard and learned, use other ways to communicate, and grow in patience.
Until next time, Ciao! God Bless! Katie Welch What are the stereotypical things you go through when traveling? You loose your passport momentarily at least three times. You think you're over packing. Then you finish packing and you think you forgot something or haven't packed enough. I hope I'm not the only one who goes through these things when preparing to travel. I was reminded that no matter how many things could go wrong, I have been presented with the opportunity of a life time and I am going to explore the beautiful country of Italy!
Many things have had to line up for this trip to be possible, when originally, I wasn't going to be able to go. I become overjoyed when I consider how blessed I am to be able to travel in yet another continent and country when I was just in Chile this past summer! Not only do I get to continue to feed into this new found travel bug I have caught, I get to do what I love best: teach. I look forward to sharing all of my experiences I have in Italy through this blog with you all! In approximately 6 hours I will be boarding a plane and in approximately 8 hours after that we will be landing in Rome! Ciao for now! God Bless, Katie Welch |
AuthorI am currently a senior at working towards achieving my undergraduate’s degree in Exceptional Education with a concentration in English. I am extremely passionate about working with children and I believe it is my God given talent to teach. I grew up in the Buffalo Public School system and I dream about teaching in inner city schools with 1st graders. I am currently a teacher's aid at Edukid's Child Care Center in Buffalo and I am very grateful for the experience I am getting working with the children there. I have sparked this new love for traveling and teaching by first studying abroad in Chile this past summer and now continue to feed this love for travel by heading to Italy! In my free time I enjoy playing my clarinet in the Buffalo Niagara Concert Band and dancing, specifically ballet. ArchivesCategories |