|
|
Our long-awaited day of travel is finally here! At the same time, I have no idea where this semester has gone. One moment we’re learning the Tarantella (traditional Italian dance) purely for fun in our first Italy class together, and now we’re all packed up to head to the airport together. Many of the same emotions I felt before traveling to Chile back in May are beginning to flood in: excitement, nervousness, and the biggest feeling of appreciativeness. I am so appreciative to be participating in my second IPDS experience and explore an entirely new culture – and the real cherry on top is that I get to do it with my best friend again. Traveling, teaching, learning and adventuring abroad with Katie in Chile is something I will forever hold on to, and now we get to do it all over again together in ITALY! We’re both making it to two different continents in a matter of months, and I’m left wondering what the chances were that we’d get this lucky. Buffalo State has put so many wonderful things into my life and given me opportunities I never thought possible.
One of my favorite parts about our group is that it’s more than just Elementary/Exceptional Educators – we have half Music Education and half El Ed/Ex Ed. This offers the opportunity to collaborate and experience different teaching perspectives in the classrooms with both music and literacy while teaching English. We each partnered up and wrote our own children’s book, which we centered our instructional activities around. The book Krissy and I wrote for our second grade class is entitled, “Buffalo’s Own Winter Wonderland”. It explores how much snow we get over here in the winter. I am so excited to meet our students! Similar to Chile, each of us chose fun travel roles for ourselves to contribute to the group. We have an incredibly unique group traveling together, and each quality is well represented across the board. To name a few, we have our “Human Roadmap” (Angela), “Aux Cord” (Brittany), “The Protector” (Jimmy, being the only male in our group), and “Listen to Jess,” our voice of reason for when we need it most. Often being the “mom” of any group I’m with, I’ve chosen to assume the position of “#TeamMom”. Naturally, I’ll always have plenty of snacks, band-aids and hugs for when they’re needed. Before getting into small-town Torremaggiore on Sunday to enter our classrooms on Monday and meet our students, our first stop is beautiful Rome. The Colosseum, Trevi Fountain and the Vatican are the must-sees on my list. I can only imagine what I could possibly be about to experience, but I’m ready! Si parte! Off we go! Passport in hand; mind and heart completely open for what’s to come.
20 Comments
|
AuthorCiao! Mi chiamo Christine. I'm a Junior in the Exceptional Education program, and I enjoy traveling, reading, and spending my summers as a camp counselor. I have been continuously inspired to be a teacher for as long as I can remember. ArchivesCategories |