The End of a School Year

 

L'Aquila

L'Aquila 

                                            
                                                                             L'Aquila

Rome 

And what a beautiful school year it was. One of the things I will miss most is the feeling of being excited to get up and go to work each day. I could not have asked for a better group to work with. My students and colleagues will truly be missed. The last week was a series of parties. The students brought food and we spent the lessons talking and asking final cultural questions. I was showered with gifts and flowers and I felt like a celebrity or something. In my favorite class I got quite emotional when I told them how much I loved working with them throughout the year. My cooperating teacher started dancing in front of the class room to lighten the mood; it was pretty funny.  

Cultural Notes: 1. Secondary school teachers work 18 hours (in-class hours) per week. They only come to school for the classes they teach. It’s not like in America where teachers are assigned to hall duty or lunch duty etc. They earn about €15,000 per year. 

                          2. Tips are not the source of a waiter’s income and tipping is rarely done in Italy. Nothing more than a few euro is left for the waiter. Waiters have contracts and receive vacation days. They earn €12,000-€24,000 per year. 

Highlights: 1. Teaching a really fun lesson on American slang. In one of the classes, they taught me more Roman slang than I taught them American slang. At one point I was laughing so hard that I was sweating.

                    2. Going out to dinner with my cooperating teacher and two of the classes from the liceo classico in L’Aquila. 

                    3. Showing my Aunt around Rome. I brought her to one of my favorite restaurants and it was her first time having an artichoke. A classic Roman dish is carciofi alla romana...fried artichokes.      

Impara con me!     1. esigente- demanding 

                            2. siamo sgamati- we’ve been found out (Roman Slang)

                            3. me la sto tagliando- I’m having fun (Roman Slang)

Book Club

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               

Tracing My Roots

Maranola 

I went to the town my great grandparents came from. No one in my family has been back to that town since they left in 1902. It is a small town in Lazio called Maranola, only a 20 minute bus ride from Formia. It was very easy to reach from Rome. My purpose for the visit wasn’t only to see the land of my ancestors, but to obtain the necessary documentation to apply for dual citizenship. I had been in contact with a man, Pasquale, who works at the commune and we set up an “appointment” for me to go down to pick up the documents...and so my journey begins. He told me over the phone to come in the afternoon. I asked him for a specific time, and he said to come any time in the afternoon because he would be there. In my American mentality, afternoon means anywhere from noon to 4:30PM, so I arrived in the village at 11:30AM. At noon the doors of the commune building were still shut. Lucky for me it was a beautiful day and the village was pretty. Although I was an immediate eye sore and the villagers stared at me as if I were some type of extraterrestrial they were very nice. The village piazza looked over the sea and there were old men sitting in the sun and others reading the paper. There was once caffè and one restaurant. The restaurant is only open in the summer. I started chatting with Fabiana who told me that according to Italians, afternoon starts at 3:30PM and continues from there. When she realized how much time I had to kill she told me to go to the mini market where her brother works and he would tell me things to do in the surrounding area. I roamed the town a little, went to the mini market to introduce myself to Fabiana’s brother (although he already knew who I was by the time I got there), and had a conversation with the town drunk who was probably about 90 years old. I technically wouldn’t even call it a conversation because I had a very hard time understanding him between his accent, his drunken speech, and the fact that he had not one tooth in his mouth. Our encounter consisted of him talking and me just nodding my head and saying “Sì, sì.” However, I did understand the part when he was trying to get me to go back to his house and have a drink with him. That’s when I stopped saying sì. When Pasquale finally arrived I went with him up to his office and he pulled out these huge record books from the 1800s in order to get my great grandparents birth and marriage certificates. It was some pretty crazy stuff. After the paper work he asked me if I knew of any existing family in Maranola and I told him I wasn’t sure. He started thinking of how he could help me locate any remaining family. He went over to the office window, opened it, and called down to the piazza, “Mario, vieni sù!” Mario came up to the office and they were talking about who they might know. Mario then went to the office window and called down to the piazza, “Giuseppe, vieni sù!” Giuseppe came up to the office and there I was: in the middle of three Italian men all helping me try to locate my family. At one point Pasquale got on the phone with his doctor seeing if he was able to help in any way. It turned out that my last ancestor died in the early 2000s and he didn’t have any children. The men all gave me their contact information in case I needed their help for anything else. I didn’t know how to thank them so I offered to buy them a coffee. We went down to the caffé and needless to say, they wouldn’t let me pay. Mario then took me to some of the surrounding towns and showed me the different beaches. It was a really great experience and to top it off, I actually got the documents I went for in the first place.   

Cultural Note: There are many different political parties in Italy, all of which are given money by the government. Instead of the politicians using the money towards an actual cause, they use it for their own personal interests, luxuriantly filling their lives with cars, houses, and other material items. Millions and millions of euros is being wasted in this manner and the government continues to give money to these parties. 

Highlights: 1. Having a completely relaxing rainy Saturday drinking tea, looking through magazines, reading, and renting movies...procrastinating without having anything to procrastinate over. I love this stressless life.   

                   2. Hearing Tanti Auguri being sung from a neighboring home as I lay in bed. It confirms that I’m really in Italy. 

Impara con me! una lanuccia- a fuzzy 

                        fregano i soldi- they steal money                  

Capri

Excited that our hotel room had a walk-in closet...not that we really used it

Capri was pretty, but Deidre and I both agreed that it was nothing extraordinary. The people were very nice but Positano on the Amalfi Coast is much nicer. It rained most of the time with short spurts of sunshine. It was also very cold, so our bathing suits, silk headscarfs, and SPF weren't very useful. Deidre was wishing she had brought her cashmere sweater that she left in Rome. On Easter Sunday we were the only two people in the restaurant. We were surprised at how many restaurants and shops remained open on Easter Sunday.   

Bella Napoli

Happy in Roma

Pastiera- Neapolitan Easter Cake

Napoli

La Galleria Umberto, Napoli

Dancing with the waiters in Naples

Simply Delicious  

Riding his motorino in the rain 

Naples is amazing. Aesthetically it is run down and dirty, but the people are so warm and welcoming. From the shop woman who was so eager to help us find the piazza we were looking for to the bread maker who posed for us to take a picture, the people of Naples make this 
city beautiful. My sister and I constantly found ourselves saying, "oh my God, she/he was so nice!" until we realized that everyone in Naples is just so nice. And it's not a fake 
I-want-your-tourist-money nice; they are genuinely nice. The food is to die for. There was a moment when Deidre and I were in heaven eating sformato di melanzane, and it was so 
delicious that all we could do was laugh. It's the best food I've had up until this point. I feel like Naples is just so real.

Cultural Notes: 1. Pastiera is a typical Neapolitan Easter cake. I was able to eat the real 

thing in the real place. Other typical sweets of Naples are babà and sfogiatella. 

                          2. Naples is the birth place of Italian pizza. Neapolitan pizza is thicker and more doughy while Roman pizza is thinner and more crispy. 
Highlights: 1. Eating pizza napoletana. I must say, I think I prefer it over pizza romana. 
                  2. Seeing the veiled Christ sculpture in the Museo Cappella Sansevero. It was stunning. 
                  3. Exploring the city with my sister, shopping and interacting with the 
napoletani. 
                  4. The weather! It was supposed to rain, but Naples gave us sunshine. It's now 
raining in Capri. 

Impara con me! 1. cavo- cable wire   

Hello April...and Easter

Chocolate Easter Eggs

Pizza di Pasqua Aquilana 

Casatiello- traditional Neapolitan Easter bread made with cheese and salami 

  

The flowers I smelt 

On Tuesday my sister, Deidre, is arriving and on Thursday we are packing our bags and leaving for Naples AKA home of Italian pizza AKA hold onto your belongings and your life. I’ve been hearing quite the horror stories from other Italians about Naples. I’ve decided to leave all of my jewelry at home and I was told to stay away from anyone on a motorino who is wearing a helmet. Apparently the only time Neapolitans wear a helmet is if they’re about to steal something or do something worse...so let me tell you all now that I love you very much because we might not make it out alive....just kidding. There’s an Italian saying vedi Napoli poi muori, see Naples then die, meaning that it’s so beautiful you can die after seeing it. Although the way people have been talking about it makes it seem that you’ll die while seeing it. I’m sure it will be beautiful, and it’s a place I’ve been wanting to go to. I’ll just blend in and enjoy the beauty. After Naples we are going to Capri. I envision silk head scarfs blowing in the wind while laying out in the sun. Except it’s supposed to rain so I might have to envision something else. Rain or shine we will have a blast. 

Cultural Notes: 1. With Easter only a week away all of the bakeries are ready. Some Easter traditions: La Colomba (the dove). It is a cake in the form of a dove and all the Italians I’ve spoken to don’t like it. It’s more like something you buy because it’s traditional even though it’s not necessarily enjoyed. In L’Aquila there is a traditional pizza di pasqua which is a sweet bread eaten for breakfast. In Rome, their pizza di pasqua is filled with cheese. In all of Italy it is traditional to have a large Easter breakfast with both sweets, meats, and hard boiled eggs (uova sodo). In some parts of Italy, the family goes into the mountains to roast meat. Lamb is the traditional meat eaten for lunch or dinner and coratella which is a warm mix of lamb innards and artichokes may also be seen at the Easter table.  Huge chocolate eggs filled with a surprise and small chocolate eggs can be bought in supermarkets. Some cities have a religious procession, but since I will be in Capri for Easter Sunday I will miss the procession in Vatican City.  

                         2. Today I went to one of my student’s field hockey games. Some of the things I noticed: the referees were wearing jeans. I was thinking how uncomfortable that must be to run in jeans. Some of the athletes were smoking after their game. My student told me that there is a greater number of male field hockey teams in Italy than female teams. I was surprised to discover this, because field hockey is not common among males at all in America.    

Highlights of My Week: 1. While I was grocery shopping I heard one of my favorite songs by Tiziano Ferro from one of his older albums. I used to listen to that song while on my way to Italian class at SBU, and I remember one specific time sitting alone in my car reading the lyrics and wishing I were in Italy. I guess I still can’t believe I’m here...I’m really living here. 

                                  2. I had time to kill before my book club this past Friday so I sat outside in the sun at a caffé. A light breeze was blowing, transporting a delicious sweet smell from these purple flowers that were growing nearby.

                                  3. On Saturday night I went to my friend Natalie’s house for dinner and a movie. We ate pizza, drank Peroni, and discussed how we are going to cry when we have to leave.    

Impara con me! 1. sigillato- sealed 

                       2. passeggino- baby stroller                          

The Ultimate Surprise

                                                                   Annual Rome Marathon

 

Mimosa Flower from one of my students. McDonalds: See Cultural Note #2     

Kids playing soccer in the Jewish Ghetto...the most beautiful ghetto I've ever seen

The view from one of my favorite cafés

                                                                              I love that smile

On Friday, February 24th I received the best surprise ever...Giannis! I had a great day at work, my first book club meeting was fantastic, it was a sunny day, and I was going to Termini train station to pick up Giannis’s sister who was visiting me from Florence for the weekend. When I saw her at the station she told me that she had forgotten one of her bags at the platform. We walked back to the platform and she pointed at someone in the distance and said, “Who’s that?” I wasn’t wearing my glasses, so I couldn’t respond right away, but it didn’t take me long to realize it was Giannis! I was absolutely shocked. I can honestly say that I have never felt the emotion of being truly shocked; it’s kind of weird. I wasn’t sure if it was really him, I wasn’t sure if I should cry, I didn’t know what to feel at all actually. After the initial reaction subsided, I just felt happy...happy being a complete understatement. That week he came to all of my classes with me, had the opportunity to watch me teach, meet my colleagues, meet my students, be a part of my book club, and do the commute to L’Aquila. It meant a lot to me for him to meet everyone I work with and see me in action during this period of my life that is having such an influence on me. 

Cultural Notes: 1. Once a month in Italian schools there is something called assemblea degli studenti. It’s basically an assembly that the students organize and that the principle has to approve. The students come together and discuss specific school related topics or sometimes they have a guest speaker come to talk about a specific topic. A lot of students see it as a free ticket not to go to school or to leave early.

                          2. You have to pay for ketchup. There are so many things in America that are out in the open and free for grabs...napkins for example. I feel like in Italy, napkins are a commodity. It reinforces the fact of how wasteful Americans are and how we mindlessly take things that are there just because they’re there. Also, in Italian McDonalds they have burgers with buffalo mozzarella and Baci ice-cream. 

                          3. I went with Giannis and Katerina to the Galleria Borghese. The art was unbelievable and it is a must-see museum for anyone traveling to Rome. The two Bernini sculptures The Rape of Persephone and Apollo and Daphne were literally jaw dropping. It was also an experience to see Caravaggio’s masterpieces. I will definitely go back again before I leave.    

                         4. March 8th was International Women’s Day, La festa della donna. It’s not celebrated so much in America, but it is observed here in Italy. Men buy the yellow mimosa flower for the women in their lives. One of my favorite students gave me mimosa on this day. It was really sweet. And yes, he was one of my favorites even before he gave me flowers.

                         5. March 18th was the annual marathon in Rome. One of my sisters is a triathlete so I am used to going to this type of event in America. It was so different in Italy. The spectators were so quiet. One thing I’ve observed over the six months being here is that Italians are a lot quieter than Americans...or at least quieter than New Yorkers. Many people say Italians are loud and demonstrative, but I find them to be quite the opposite.  

                         6. I saw my first Roman city rat the other day. I laughed when I saw it because it was literally half the size of a NYC rat. It must be that Mediterranean diet ;)  

Highlights:  1. One of my students told me that my class is his favorite class and that he looks forward to it every week. 

                     2. Another one of my students said to me, “you’re always in a good mood.” I told him that it’s because Rome is always sunny and I’m the type of person that is easily effected by the weather (sono una persona meteoropata).  

                     3. I love my book club! It takes place on Fridays after school and lasts one hour. We are reading The Hunger Games and the students are so into it. One of the students couldn’t wait, and he already finished the book. I e-mail the students the discussion questions on Sunday night and they have the week to read three chapters and think about the discussion questions. The lessons are fun, interesting, and just enjoyable and relaxing. Last Friday the students came to the book club after going through three straight days of testing. My cooperating teacher was shocked that they attended because she was telling me that many students don’t even go to school the next day, let alone stay after school for a book club.

                    4. With my year five students I am finishing up a unit on Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. This topic was especially close to my heart because my father is a fisherman and it has always been his favorite movie. I was basically forced to watch it growing up. Reading the novella and teaching it to myself gave me an entirely new perspective. When I return home and watch the movie with my father (which there is no way of getting around) I will be watching it with a completely different mindset, along with fond memories of teaching it to my students.  

                    5. One of my close friends from Stony Brook University was in Rome on vacation. She is an Italian teacher as well, and last year when we were both working in schools, we would meet at Starbucks once a month to plot our move to Rome. We would look out the window and see a black asphalt parking lot with a view of a Chase Bank and a Stop & Shop. We would say how soon the view would be changed to cobble stone streets and brightly colored, aesthetically pleasing stucco buildings, churches, bell towers, and fountains. She ended up getting cold feet and I ended up getting Fulbright so things didn’t go as planned...just how life rarely ever goes according to plan. It was nice to finally be together in the city we had once day dreamed about.

Impara con me! 1. incartamento- paperwork 

                            2. i punti- staples 

                            3. alle brutte lo prendiamo- we’ll take it at the very least 

                            4. vinoso- winey