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The last few days have flown by! It feels like we have barely had time to eat and sleep. For my last few lessons I taught at the other school in town, Emilio Ricci. I worked with Nick, Dr. Renzoni, Lindsey, and Lauren to do a series of music classes. This was extremely fun and a great learning opportunity, as I got to see how the two schools in town differed. I noticed that Emilio Ricci was a much more affluent school that Bosco. I am curious as to why this is, and how students get placed at either school. The students at Emilio Ricci seemed to be more well prepared and organised. On the first day of music lessons we taught 1st grade. Throughout all three classes, the students were so excited to sing, dance, and move. I had a great time leading some of my favorite songs like "Down by the Station", and "The Gorilla Song". The following day, we had the awesome opportunity to teach in the preschool to 3,4, and 5 year old students. I was a bit worried this would present an extra challenge, but it was so much fun and the students were extremely receptive to the songs! We ended the day with the preschoolers all coming out into the hall with Italian and American flags and they sang us their anthem, and we sang them ours. It was a powerful cross cultural experience. One of the parts of the trip that I will never forget our goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Grassi. Nick and I asked him what his favorite song was. He immediately told us it was "Sweet Caroline". At our last meal with him, we all sang it to him. It was great to see how happy he was. It was important to me that we showed him how grateful he was for his hospitality and the many lessons he taught us while we stayed at his B&B. We wrapped up our time at the schools by touring the middle school's agriculture program. The students have gardens in the back to teach them to be farmers and prepare them for future careers. We got a demonstration on how the students trim the grape vines and set them up so they grow efficiently. This program was extremely cool and I wish there would be more programs like this available to the students back home, as these blue collar skills are a crucial part of everyday life. I feel everyone should have a connection to where their food comes from, and this is a great way to build that connection. On Thursday night, we visited the town castle and got a tour. We saw many historical artifacts, the town library and more. The library was amazing. They had books from the 15th century. Buffalo libraries would not have books that old just in the library. It was really cool to see. We ended the night with a concert and meal. The concert was a Violin and Cello playing various works. In between pieces, an actor read poetry, it was really cool to merge poetry and music at a concert and I’d be curious to see how effective it would be at home. We ended the night eating food made by many of the people in town. They were all eager for us to try their food and all of the local dishes. We did our best to talk to the local people, and to our surprise. A few of us ended up talking to the president of the Buffalo, Torremaggiore connection. He took us back to a room with artifacts from the castle, and we talked about Buffalo, Torremaggiore history, and more. It was really cool to make those unexpected connections! Our last days in Torremaggiore were memorable and I was extremely sad to leave. I love how small and close knit the town was. There was only one super market in the town, so there were many little shops that specialise in certain things. Personally, I think that is great, because it makes communities closer.
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The last few days have been extremely fun, busy, and exciting. I will use this blog to catch up on everything I haven't posted. We took a food and wine tour of Torremaggiore. We started at a buffalo mozzarella farm on the outside of town. We toured the factory, visited the livestock, and most importantly, tasted the cheese. We learned that buffalo mozzarella is special because of the fat content. Buffalo mozzarella is a local specialty and I was glad to have had it. Next, we visited a winery, and two olive oil factories. These tours were very interesting as well, and we got to sample good food and wine. The following day we visited the neighboring to San Severo. We toured the high school. It was a great experience. The high school had "majors" for students to focus on, like art, music, and humanities. The work the students did at the school was outstanding. They had magnificent oil paintings, pottery, and sculptures. It seems that this school really valued the arts and it was extremely refreshing to see. I feel that this empowers the students to create and feel confident. We ended this tour with a surprise concert with the students. We sang "Hallelujah", "Valarie" and "Bohemian Rhapsody" this impromptu concert with the students was so much fun and we got everyone involved! Yesterday I had another day teaching. I was so excited to teach pre-k. Our teacher was fantastic! I came into the room and she was playing Vivaldi. I recognized the piece and she was happy to share. We spent the lesson doing songs, reading the books, and teaching the students about farm animals. The teacher surprised us by showing us the songs "Hokey Pokey" and "Happy and You Know it" in Italian. This was a fantastic day. I learned so much and was able to share music with the students, and they shared music with me! After teaching, we took a visit for fun at San Severo. We went shopping and Nick and I got hats to fit in with everyone else. (Best $3 I ever spent). The past few days have been extremely busy, but so fun and informative! I will never forget it, and I am excited to continue learning and improving! The past two days have been extremely fun and busy! Two days ago we taught at the schools again. My partner Morgan and I did a choral reading in English of our book. This meant that Morgan read it in English, then the students echoed it back. The kids did terrific and flew through the book. We then asked them to write us questions in English that they had for us. Students asked us our favorite colors, if we liked Italy, and what it was like at home. The classroom teacher brought in a map and we showed everyone where Buffalo was on the map. We showed the students what the weather was like and how big our city is. This was a great experience for us, as we got to interact with the students, and the students benefited by practicing their English and learning about different places around the world. The rest of the lesson consisted of me leading songs. We did "The Gorilla Song", "Half the Greatest Noises", "Old McDonald", "Jump Josie", and "Goodbye, So Long, Farewell". The students remembered many of the songs we had done which allowed me to introduce some next level activities like improvisation, and movement. The students love to get up and dance or jump around. I will remember this for future lessons, as it seemed to help the students get extra energy out, and re focus. Yesterday we had a food and wine tour. We toured many of the industries around Torriemaggiore to see what the culture and food are like. We began the tour by visiting a Buffalo mozzarella farm. We learned that the original mozzarella came from buffalo, not cows. This is due to the fact that buffalo mozzarella is higher in fat. We toured the farm and got to see the buffalo, the factory where they make the cheese, and the store. My favorite part was sampling the cheese. It was better than any cheese I've had at home! The next stop on the tour was the winery. At the winery, we me the family that runs it. They showed us the storage tanks for the wine, and explained the processes for making the wine. The tour ended with the tasting room and pizza. Back at home, I do not drink much wine, so it was difficult to judge it. But, I enjoyed the white wine. Lastly, we went to two olive oil factories. Yesterday, we had another day teaching at the elementary school. I was more familiar with the school so I was not as nervous. We began the day by observing the teachers teach a lesson about natural and artificial sounds. Students did a closed word sort where they had to place pictures of natural sounds (rain, animals, wind), and artificial sounds (cars, planes, phones) in their correct categories. The teacher began the lesson by asking the students to do a listening activity where they listened to the sounds, then shouted out if they thought it was natural or artificial. Something interesting that we noticed while observing, was that the students were not cutting out the images by themselves. Many of them asked the teachers for help, and the teachers came over and cut for them. I thought this was unusual in a 4th grade classroom, and could take up a lot of time that could be used more efficiently. We began teaching by singing our hello song. The students recalled a lot of it, and could sing it perfectly in Italian. I had to do a brief review of the English lyrics, but the students quickly remembered and we were able to sing the song in both English and Italian. The literacy portion of our lesson began with us teaching the students animal names in both English and Italian. I was surprised to find out that the students already knew many of the animal names in English, we only had to review a few of them. Then, we talked about the noises animals make and we sang the song "Half the Greatest Noises". The students learned quickly and we were able to make all the animal sounds from the book, and more! Students suggested we did frog, cat, and dog as well! With the help of the classroom teachers, we read the book to the students in both English and Italian. Having the classroom teachers translate was extremely beneficial to both the students and us as teachers, as they could help clarify misunderstandings the children may have had. After reading the book, we learned the song "Old McDonald". I was amazed to find out students sing it in Italy as well. I taught them it in English, then they taught me the song in Italian! That was a truly special experience. I closed the lesson by teaching the "Gorilla Song" and "Goodbye Song". The students loved the "Gorilla Song" because they were able to get up and dance around. The goodbye song went well, as the students were easily able to sing the lyrics. Overall, I felt this was a successful lesson, and I am glad the students seem to be enjoying the activities we have been planning. Lastly, some of the students from the high school took us out for pizza. It was cool to talk to these students, as they spoke English very well and they asked us questions about America, and we asked them questions about Italy. We all had a good time! As always, I am excited for tomorrow, and can't wait to see what's in store! Yesterday, we visited the town middle school to see a presentation that the school put on to explain how the school system functions, and to recruit elementary students for music classes. In this presentation, students shared how the school district is set up, and how classes are organised. This was terrific because students took turns reading in both Italian and English so that both the elementary students, and my Buffalo State colleagues could understand. After explaining how the school is set up, the music teachers began a recruitment presentation in which they demonstrated the instruments that students could choose to study. Students had the option of flute, piano, percussion, and guitar. This presentation reminded me of what I experienced in elementary school when the band and orchestra teachers put on a similar presentation. I believe it is a great way to recruit students and get them excited to learn an instrument. Each ensemble (flute, guitar, percussion, piano) demonstrated using popular songs like "Hedwig's Theme" from Harry Potter, "Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus, and some popular Italian songs. The students loved this and sang along. Personally, I think this is a great idea, as students relate to these songs more, and can imagine them playing the songs they enjoy. The concert finished with a performance by us, the Buffalo State music education majors. We sang both the folk songs "This Land is Your Land" by Woody Guthrie, and "Ob-La-Di" by the Beatles. The concert was so much fun, and the students seemed to really enjoy it. During "Ob-La-Di" The school's music teachers joined in and played drums, piano, and guitar with us. It was a great experience! We then did a tour of the middle school. It was very similar to American classrooms, many rooms had technology like smart boards and projectors. We visited several classrooms, the library, science lab, tech lab, gym, outdoor garden and more. It was so cool to see all around the school. In Italy, Christianity is very popular. This was evident during our visit in the library when there were bibles on the bookshelf. My favorite part of the tour was when we went to the gym. The kids were playing a game, our tour guide told us the gym teacher was one of the best players in Italy. They asked us if we wanted to play and I ran out to the court. The coach brought a bunch of basketball on the court and we all took turns. The students helped pass us the balls and they played too. It was a lot of fun! We then went out to the student garden where they had spices, fruit trees, bay leaf, and peppercorns, I really liked the emphasis on trade like agriculture, as this is an important life skill. Last, we went to the branch school. This was the other middle school in town. It seemed to have less funding and has much less resources. I was curious how the students get split between the two schools and if there is a significant difference on what they learn. Our tour guide explained that the two schools used to be run together, but they will soon be splitting, she explained that the teachers are not happy about this change. Yesterday was the first day that we taught in the schools. My partner Morgan and I got to our classroom, and luckily the classroom teacher spoke a little bit of English, and I remembered a little bit of Italian. So with the help of google translate, a lot of hand gestures, and saying "si" we were able to start our lesson. I began the lesson with the hello song. To my amazement, many of the students had recalled it from last year. This made teaching the Italian very easy, but the English took a bit of practice. The kids enjoyed singing the song and I got to learn some of their names. We then showed the students our "About Me" pages. The “About Me”showed all about us, where I live, what I go to school for, and more. The students liked to look at the pictures and see what life is like in America. The activity Morgan and I had planned was having the students create their own "About Me" pages. The students wrote their name, drew their family, favorite color, pets, age, and what they wanted to be when they grow up. The teacher in our classroom was very determined to have the students practice their english and write their "About Me" in English. I answered many questions like "How do you say...." and "how do you spell" . This present a challenge I was not yet ready for, as our “E” sounds like an Italian “I” and our “A” sounds like their “E”. We asked our teacher if the students could present their "About Me" pages. She had them present in English and had us ask them the questions. It was a great learning opportunity for everyone, as we discussed the differences between American and British English, how the classroom is structured, and more. I was worried I was using too much of the teachers time, so I asked her. "If you need to teach, we can sit and watch." She said "No no no. When you are here, they are learning." This first day was an extremely rewarding experience. Overall, the activities went extremely well, and I am beginning to retain a lot more Italian than when I left. The communication challenges are difficult, but extremely fun. While I had fun in Rome, I was happy to start teaching again, and do meaningful work. Despite the 10 miles a day. I still missed going into the Roman forum! Alex, Lindsey and I decided to get up bright and early to make sure we were able to get there before our 11:30 bus to Torremaggiore. I was pleasantly surprised by the morning walk. The overwhelming crowds of people had diminished and it was much easier to get around the city. We got to the forum at 8:30 right when it opened. We bought our tickets in the Colosseum, but did not have time to go in. This disappointed many of the security officers, we made sure to make up for it by spending extra time at the forum. We were almost the only ones in the forum. It was calm, quiet, and peaceful walking around and looking at all of the scenery and imagining the history. It was a very cold morning and we found a coffee vending machine in the forum. We warmed up with hot chocolate and coffee, then made our way back to town. We made it back and got on the long bus ride to Torremaggiore. I was lucky enough to fall asleep for a portion of the ride. When we made it to the B&B we were greeted by Signor Grassi. He welcomed the boys to their room and we were treated to a delicious meal. The several course meals was greatly appreciated and I went to bed happy and full. Yesterday was our last full day in Rome, and the holy holiday, the epiphany. We went to the Vatican to see the pope address the people. We went to the Vatican early to make sure we could get in. The Epiphany is a national holiday so the streets were busy and crowded, as many people did not have to go to work.
I was pleasantly surprised by how efficient and easy the train system in Rome was. Besides being a bit crowded, it was very straightforward and simple to follow, and I was easily able to get to my destination. Yesterday was not like that. The train station was the busiest I had ever seen it. It was difficult to stay as a group and get to the terminal. Getting on the train was an extremely tight squeeze as many people were all trying their hardest to fit onto one train. Fortunately, we all got on the train and made it to the Vatican. After squeezing our way through security, we were able to watch the pope address the people. While I didn't understand what he was saying ( He spoke in Italian), I understood this was a very unique and important event that I was fortunate to be able to watch. Afterwards we explored Il Castel Sant'Angelo, we explored the castle as a self guided tour and I believe we learned quite a lot from our colleague/tour guide, Mary. After seeing the castle, our stomachs were empty and it was evident that it was time to eat ASAP. We went to a pizza restaurant a few blocks away and now refilled by pizza, we could continue our journey around the city. We continued to walk around the city. We visited the cat sanctuary. Besides one very tired cat, we did not see as many as I would have hoped, but we continued on. Next we visited the monument to Vittorio Emanuele II. It was fantastic to see especially during sunset. We ended the night with a trip to the colosseum. While I was sad to leave Rome, I was really excited to see what awaits in Torremaggiore! I continued my journey in Rome with more adventures, exploring, and food. On Sunday, We began the day by going to a market. It was very cool going around and seeing what people were selling. Afterwards, we went to the Jewish Ghetto to get lunch. This neighborhood was full of great restaurants and live music. I had the most delicious carbonara and was treated to music from a violin player who was going down the street playing for people. We spent the rest of the day going around the city and looking at all of the sights. We went to the Pantheon, Piazza Novana, and more. All day, I had seen street vendors selling roasted chestnuts. I decided to try some, so I bought a small bag. To my surprise and disappointment, I was not a huge fan. But I was glad to try something new. We ended the night with a group dinner. I had another great day, and cannot wait for what comes next! After an 8 hour sleepless flight, we finally made it to Rome! From the moment we got there until the sun went down, we were going around the city and visiting all of the sights. After checking into our hotel, we went to see the sights. All of us went together to see the colosseum and the Vatican. Both of these sights were extremely moving and the pictures attached do not do these monuments justice. After visiting these stops, we split into smaller groups looked at the sights. With our fearless guide, Nick, we made it to many of the classic stops of the trip. It was extremely cool to go out and see the many buildings and monuments that I've seen in history books, movies, and TV. I was surprised at how easy it was to get around Rome. Whether it be the subway system, busses, or simply walking, we were easily able to get to all of the tourist destinations. For dinner, we stopped at a local restaurant and got pizza. I am excited to see what tomorrow brings! |
AuthorI am a senior music education major. My primary instrument is the double bass, I have performance experience in ensembles on and off campus in orchestras, jazz ensembles, musicals, and more. During my undergraduate studies, I have also performed on saxophone in the jazz ensemble and sang bass with the Buffalo State chamber choir. Outside of school, I work for the town recreation department working with kids of all ages. I hope to become an elementary school general music teacher. My favorite thing to do outside of school is cooking. I love to make delicious meals for my friends and family. I am excited to experience a new culture and get experience teaching in Italy! ArchivesCategories |