We fit 4 adults in a Smart and I was the lucky one to ride in the trunk.
Thermals in Tuscany
Tuscan Country Side
My book club has officially finished and it was a huge success. Its completion is more bitter than sweet because I looked forward to it every week. It was complete chance that I had chosen The Hunger Games as the read. I chose it because when I read it last year I fell in love with it and I felt that it would be engaging for teens as well as level appropriate linguistically. I had no idea that it was going to turn into this huge sensation in America, but it worked out perfectly. It made all of us even more excited to read the book and at certain points we would hypothesize on how they were going to incorporate certain aspects into the film. After completing the book, we went to see the cinema to see the movie together. It was really fun.
Cultural Note: When you buy a movie ticket you get an assigned seat. I was surprised being that there isn’t much social order in this country. The popcorn was better than the popcorn in America.
Highlights: 1. My cooperating teacher asking me which students were participating in my book club. She gasped when I told her and she said that she has seen a drastic improvement in the language skills of those specific students, including their class participation, but she didn’t know how it had happened. I love that my book club was able to help them so much in improving their English skills.
2. Coordinating a meeting between my Italian students and American students from Smithtown High School. My former Italian high school teacher was in Rome with her students on their trip abroad. It was nice to see the two cultures interacting, and I felt like I was truly carrying out the Fulbright aim in promoting intercultural relations.
3. Going to the beach with Natalie. It has been a Saturday event for the past two weeks. The Long Island beaches are nicer though.
4. Going to the thermals in the Tuscan country side. I had forgotten how breathtaking the Tuscan countryside is. However, the whole “communal pool” concept really grossed me out and I was trying to focus on the the landscape instead of all the people I was surrounded by.
Impara con me! 1. lettino- beach chair (the long kind that you lay on)
2. trapano- drill (as in the tool)
3. un insegnante di ruolo- a tenured teacher
