The morning started way too early… 6 am…I took a HOT shower and ate some oatmeal! Once we were both ready for school, we walked to the bus stop. The bus got us there about 20 minutes early, so I showed Nick around the school for a few minutes, and made sure he saw the beautiful view of the mountains. We went to the staff room, which is where Virginia eventually found us! She was so excited to see Nick…she loves Nick!
So, we headed
off to class with Virginia. As we walked
down the hallway, we got even more looks than normal. I still find that I am new and novel and gets
a lot of looks, but with Nick in tow, we really got a lot of staring!! Once we
got in class, Virginia introduced Nick to the students and we were off. They talked about the Celtics, reviewed what
they learned about Halloween, and talked to Nick some. Nick had great input and asked them questions
to get them talking. He was so natural
with them…talking to them about music and other things! They seemed to really respond to him! He was also able to say a bit more to them in
Italian. He had input and Virginia let
the two of us stand up front and have conversation with the students while she
walked around, but still had input of her own!
It was this great moment where having three teachers in the classroom
actually worked! I think it helps that
we both really like Virginia and she really likes us! It was fun!
Then we went to the computer lab so that Virginia could do her lesson
about Guy Fawkes Day. She had a very
detailed, historical presentation about it.
I think she wanted me to ask questions, but I did not really know
anything about this topic, so I was just trying to learn. So, it was a little awkward for me, but I
survived.
When this class
was over, we stayed in the computer lab for a few minutes so I could look up
some things online, but then we went and gave Virginia the key back and headed
to the bar for a snack and something to drink.
We told Virginia that we would come say goodbye to her before she left
school. We went to the bar and Nick got
coffee while I got peach juice. However,
when I first tried to ask for it, I said, pesce
instead of pesca….the difference?? Fish juice vs. peach juice! Way to go me!
I am not sure if the girl even noticed because I corrected myself so
quickly, but it was funny when I told Nick what happened. We took our stuff to a table in the common
area thing…I worked on notes for the next class and then I showed Nick the map
of Tuscaloosa and campus and he drew me a picture of his campus, but then found
some pictures on his computer! It was
fun to share this information with someone! I showed him where the tornado had
gone through the city, which is so sad to talk about now!! Lilla stopped by at one point and talked to
us for a few minutes. Monday is her day
off normally, but she was there to make some copies, etc. She talked to us a little in English and then
went off on a tangent to Nick in Italian.
I was able to follow some of it, and basically it was that she finds the
students to be lazy and unmotivated and she blames the system because they are
not forced to respect anyone or the rules.
Then Francesca stopped at our table and Nick was able to meet her; so
all together he ended up meeting all of the teachers I am working with at the
school in Castrolibero. Francesca wanted
me to give her a list of topics I will be covering throughout the year, which I
was a little taken aback by. I do not
know what all topics I will cover!
However, I said that I would get her a general list.
Once it was
nearing time to go to class, we went to find Virginia so that I could hug her
bye until Wednesday, and Nick could tell her goodbye…she just loves him! She
gave me a hug and was whispering in my ear…I had to make her repeat…she was
telling me not to be sad and she was hugging me sooo tight! She kept telling me how much she likes me and
kept hugging me tighter. Then she hugged
Nick…a few days later I found out that when Virginia was hugging me, she was
also winking at Nick and showing him crossed fingers…intending the meaning that
she hoped him and I would work out…OOOH VIRGINIA…she had it pegged in Rome when
she asked me if I thought he was cute and then immediately turned back around
and said, “oh my gosh…you like him!?!?! I think he likes you too!!!” Virginia…I just love her! Virginia also told
Nick that we could go to the headmistress’s office to print his train tickets;
we wanted to ensure that he did not miss his trains for any reason this
time!
The first man we
saw would not let us print, but I told Nick that they do not all know who I am,
so that was probably why. Then I told
Nick, “the Headmistress is going to LOVE you because you are better at Italian
than I am…she will wish she had you here instead of me!!” SO, we went in and she said, “who is he??” We
explained who he was and she seemed pleased that he was there. Nick spoke to her in Italian and she said
some things and then looked at him and said (in Italian of course), “you are
wonderful at English, she is not good at all at speaking Italian!” Well, alright then…self-esteem shot to
hell. I was so angry at this moment, but
I just had to smile and be polite. She
then started asking me what we did for the holiday weekend and if I thought the
students at her two schools were different.
I was trying to formulate answers and making sure I understood the
question, but she just kept repeating and getting more and more agitated, which
made me more and more agitated and she finally just turned to Nick and asked
him! What happens to me when people do
this, is I start to doubt whether I understood their question…which then leads
to questioning if I am trying to answer it the right way!! It is so frustrating, plus I was angry and my
feelings were hurt that she would say this.
I mean it is true, my Italian is a bit of a struggle, but I am understanding
more and more every day and it does NOT help when people say things like
that. So, she let Nick print and then we
left for class. **Nick would later tell
me that he thought she was being mean…and quite rude today…and that he should
have stood up for me more, but was so taken aback at her attitude, that he was
just trying to answer her questions. He
was so sweet and apologetic of not speaking up more!!**
Next up was
Angelino’s class. He said that it might
start late because they were doing elections, but they all ended up coming to
class on time, so we got started. It was
a rough lesson though…my favorite part was having them all introduce themselves
after my slide of introducing myself. It
was fun because after each name, I would go back through and repeat all of
their names!! I was shocked when I made it through all of them successfully! Of
course this entire thing was constantly interrupted by them laughing at each
other, etc. Sweet Nick was just sitting
there observing…I tried my best to get through the lesson, but they were rowdy
and chaotic. They were at least curious
about different states and cities in the US.
The boy, Tony, from Wisconsin is in this class and so they were
interested to know where he was from, and the teacher lived in Chicago, so they
wanted to know where that was from. This
is the class that is very affectionate towards the teacher, Angelino. He did tell me that this is not normal, and
they do not love on him as much when I am not there. I told them that in our high schools,
students and teachers do not have that much physical contact, and DEFINITELY
not a male teacher. The one sad moment
for me was when the students were introducing themselves, and because I had in
my power point that I am a Christian, they all stated that they were Christian,
or Catholic. This one boy said that he
was an atheist…and further explained that he just does not believe in any of “that”…he
believes in science. It broke my heart…
I left this
class feeling a bit defeated because I cannot get through a lesson, and while
there are a few of them that are engaged and talk…it is a rowdy group! I think I just need to find the right
approach…simplify the lessons…and get in touch with what they truly want to
know! I also hated that Nick had to be there
for such a rough lesson, but it was nice for someone else to experience it with
me and give me some perspective.
So, it was time
for us to leave. I wanted to walk to a
different bus stop to make sure I had the right thing in mind, but we ended up
just walking all the way home, which was actually not a bad walk at all, but a
little longer than I would want to walk in the cold…but I could do it! I felt so bad because most of the way home I
just spent time venting about different aspects of the day and about the
teaching process. I was in such a funk…frustrated
with not being able to reach the students…frustrated with the fact that even my
4th year students have such low levels of English that they can
barely introduce themselves (not a class I had today)…frustrated with the
Headmistress and her comments…frustrated with some of the Italian school things
in general…frustrated and in a funk…I think that part of the problem is that I
feel like I spin my wheels every day and get nothing accomplished!! I feel like
I am trying to do a million things at once and not getting anything truly
accomplished! Poor Nick had to listen to me most of the way home…okay…all of
the way home! It was nice to have a listening ear who is going through some of
the same things, but was also there to witness it as it happened at my
schools. Our solution was for me just to
sit down with the teachers and talk…easier said than done, but we’ll see.
Saw this on our walk home:
What is special about it?? The one on the right is a special Calabrian (Calabrese) McDonald's sandwich...it has peppers on it!
We stopped at
the store for a few things, and then at the fruit stand for some veggies. For lunch we just had light stuff…I had the
amazing bread from the bakery, with olive oil and some turkey. We split some heated up blog with homemade
whipped cream!
After lunch Nick
went to rest for a bit and I sat at my computer working on some stuff…I was so
stressed though at this point that I was on the verge of tears. He was sweet enough to let me use his
internet key, so I sent some emails, and then found April on facebook. Nick was so sweet to tell me that he did not want
to see me cry or be sad, but I explained that this is part of my frustration
process…I have to cry to get out the frustration and stuff, and then I attack
the problem head on. So, finding April
on facebook was the meltdown point…I had a familiar person who knows my habits,
what stresses me, and how I relieve that stress. All it took was this source of familiarity
and the silent tears started flowing. It
felt so much better to just let it out. Then,
he did an even sweeter thing…his internet key was going to reset the next day,
and with plenty of GB left, he offered skype for me and April. So, even though her video was not working,
she was able to see me and Nick and we were able to talk things out. We all talked, laughed, and it was good to
get that step in the frustration process over with.
Once we hung up
with April, we went to make dinner. We
made meat, veggies, pasta, and had wine.
The best part was Nick playing music in the kitchen while we cooked….we
even danced to the music while we were cooking!! Ahh so much fun!!!
Part of the fun we have had this whole time is making dinner, sitting and eating, and just talking for what seems like forever...we sip our wine and just have conversation! We cover so many topics that I cannot even think of them all! It was so nice to have someone to just share time with...
Our movie for
the night was “Fever Pitch”.
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