American Day

First, if you watch this video, and skip to 18:00, you can see all of us looking very American!  Haha!
http://www.rai.tv/dl/RaiTV/programmi/media/ContentItem-e3fc6c7a-f0cf-4747-84a2-3ff55bc9c9ee.html

The morning started out with 7 people, one bathroom, and limited mirrors, trying to get ready.  It really was not bad at all.  We were all able to shower, get dressed, eat some fruit, gather our things, and get out the door in a timely manner.  I thought it was pretty impressive!  We had to stop and meet Tiffanie, another Fulbright ETA who lives in Norway.  Mattea's teacher meet her somewhere and invited her for this day! She was really sweet, and while we were waiting, the guys had fun with an antique car nearby!

 
Our boys are so silly...and brilliant...and sweet...all the reasons we love them!

So, "American Day" was being held in a beautiful building in Lecce, and one of the rooms was set up for our presentations, complete with American flags and all!  First we greeted Mattea's teacher, Patrizia, who organized this whole thing.  We met some people, put all our things in chairs, and began preparing our presentations for later (on the computer, etc).  We greeted James and Antonella, and quickly caught up with them.  The plan was for the principal, James, and a lady who has a website about linking Puglia (region of Italy where Lecce is located) to the U.S., and then the girls would give their presentations.  I followed some of the Italian being spoken by the others, but I will not lie...I definitely tuned out for a lot of it!  There was a film crew there prior to the start, which you can see by the link at the top!  David took pictures of our presentations, which I was thankful for; David and I Always have our cameras.  Here is a taste of what Fulbrighers do for fun....

 

Andrea and her boyfriend Zeno

 

James R., our consulate guy

Lindsay was first up.  She was talking about the schools in the U.S./businesses involvement in them/"No Child Left Behind"/McDonald's...okay, I joke about the McDonald's, but she did use them as an example a lot...Lindsay is a very entertaining public speaker!  She called children, "muffins" and I thought we were all going to die of laughter.  It was so much fun!  Lindsay is knowledgeable and passionate about education, and it is infectious.  James did not seem to agree with Lindsay's viewpoint, but I suppose we are all entitled to our own opinions. 

Andrea was next. Andrea spoke about 100 years of immigration, particularly in the Northeast.  I really enjoyed her presentation and found the information quite interesting.  She made some good points about how our heritage does not always determine how we define ourselves (i.e. just because you have German and Italian in your heritage, does not mean that you will identify with both.  You will identify with the one you choose, or your family most identifies with.).  This is not an issue for me because my family does not really identify with any particular cultural heritage...we are "American" I suppose!  This was really hard for the Italians to understand when I first arrived here.  They assumed that because my "surname" (last name) was tied to a particular country/culture, that I identified with this, and proclaimed it boldly.  This however is not the case, and is not the case with many people I know.  Are we slowly moving away from this?  Or, are we moving away from this in areas that are not heavily populated by group of people identifying with a particular heritage (e.g. Italians, Greeks, etc).  Anyway, I found Andrea's information very thought provoking; for me personally anyway!

I was up next...okay, so they talked about these insightful, slightly more academic things...and I...I talked about something that is near and dear to my heart... 

ALABAMA FOOTBALL!!!!!!!!!!!!! Umm...Roll Tide!  So, Patrizia was wanting us to keep it short, so I gave the basics of the game...offense, defense, quarter back, running vs. throwing the ball, touchdown, field goals, etc. etc.  THEN...I of course educated them about the fact that we are the best...we have15 national championships, Bear Bryant is our famous coach, crimson/White/houndstooth, "Roll Tide!!", elephants, Nick Saban, and I am pretty sure that I emphasized MANY times that we are the best!  I did, a bit reluctantly, explain the the National Championship has been won by a team from the state of Alabama for the past four years, but I was also sure to explain that we are still THE BEST!  I also ended with Roll Tide...they got a kick out of me mentioning crimson and houndstooth, and that I really did not intend to dress in that...it's just natural.  No?? So, I did my best to educate this small group of Italians about REAL football...American football! ;) 

 
The greatest thing for me about this presentation was that I prepared the PowerPoint on Thursday night...and did not look at it again until I was standing up there to talk!  Meanwhile, I NEVER got nervous....did not worry about what I was going to say or would it go well...I just did it...and let go...and you know what, I felt like it went really well!  I made them laugh a bit, but I definitely should have made them repeat after me, "Roll Tide!!!"  Though, I will not try to hid it; I most certainly ended the presentation with, "Roll Tide!!" 

Later, a few of the teachers told me that they enjoyed the presentation and that they could tell I was excited and enthusiastic about football, and it made it interesting to listen to!  Yay!!  One said that my enthusiasm was contagious.  These comments made me happy because public speaking is something I am still getting accustomed to, but I am becoming more comfortable with it with every passing day. 

Mattea was next.  Mattea was presenting about NY...no, not NYC.  She was talking about how New York is more than NYC, and gave some pretty mean quotes about this....haha...jk...but I still love NYC, and it is #1 in my heart!!  No, really though, her information was really interesting and Mattea is an engaging public speaker!  Plus, I heart her...so I am biased anyway!  However, her students and teachers seem to love her, which I had no doubt about.  Mattea did a wonderful job, and it was fun to hear her talk about her hometown/state. 

After Mattea, there were a few more things said, and then we had a coffee break. We went to a nearby bar and Patrizia, Mattea's teacher was very kind to buy us coffee and snacks.  I was starving by then, but split a pastry thing with Nick and had some water.  I wanted that rocking awesome strawberry juice, but they did not have any!  So, we had some laughs...and Nick got everyone else's opinion about the word lawyer.  I say, "lawyer" and all of the yankees and Nick say, "loiyer".  Just kidding...they aren't yankees...Anyway, I do think their way of saying it sounds funny!  So, we had a few laughs, but then we had to get back to "American Day". 

Tiffanie was next, and she gave a brief talk about American food, and her Korean food that she makes (she is from there...Korea...I think...oops).  Next up were the boys. 

Nick was first.  Nick is such a natural born public speaker.  He commands a room and does a wonderful job of explaining things to others, and is so confident when he stands up to speak.  I really enjoy watching him and listening. He talked about one of his favorite subjects...me!  ;)  KIDDING...he talked about "The Blues".  He gave some history, information, and artists.  The audience seemed to be really engaged and interested in what he was saying; no surprise though.  He is so knowledgeable about this, and he clearly loves it, so it makes it a bit infectious.  Some of the adults were telling him what a natural born teacher he is!  I agree...he is going to be so good at what he does later in life...lawyer. 

David was last.  David talked about urban education.  Again, he is so knowledgeable and a great public speaker.  David had to move quickly, but I was interested in what he was saying.  It is really sad how the money for schools are distributed, with the students who are in the lowest rung of the social ladder getting the least amount of monetary assistance, while the higher SES students getting the most money.  It seems to me that we need to strike a balance here.  Ahhh dreaming...okay, time for me to wake up! 

After David, some other things were said by the Italians, and then we started saying goodbye to every one.  Oh, a group of Mattea's students played some of the traditional Lecce/Puglia music, and it was fun!  Sounded a little similar to some of the music I've heard here in Calabria.

James pulled Mattea and me aside to offer us an opportunity to nominate one of our students for a grant that sends them to the U.S. for a week to do an international project thing in North Carolina.  So, that is fun, and I have two students in mind. 

Andrea, Tiffanie, Me, Lindsay, Nick, David, Mattea, & James

Lunch was AH-MAZING.  We went to a really nice place in Lecce and tried all sorts of apperativo type items and then had some good pastas.  We had wonderful wine, conversation, and just a great time in general.  The appetizers were things made of cheese, veggies, bread, and all sorts of yumminess. We had two different kinds of pastas, and one was the pasta with chickpeas that Rosina made....ROSINA'S WAS BETTER.  I could not even eat this one!!  So, we sat around and talked...the Lecce women were sure to tell me that I was the unluckiest of all the ETA's because Cosenza is ugly and Calabria is a bad place to be.  I was a little sad that they were saying these things, but I explained that I was really enjoying it and that I loved the people.  So, we paid way to much for the food...and then headed back to Mattea's apartment.

We walked through a garden, and then went to the apartment for a while.  We relaxed, rested, talked, drank wine, talked about our day...talked about a million and one things.

Laaaaaaater that night we went to dinner with Tiffanie, and one of Mattea's students, Gianluca.  We walked around a bit, and put our name on the list at a pizza place nearby.  We then went to see some of the Roman ruins and the Duomo at night.  Lecce really was a beautiful place.

I loved the true "center" of the town and all of the people out.  I loved that Lecce had a ton of eating places/restaurants that looked good...something I think Cosenza is lacking...obvious eating places/obvious "good" restaurants.  Gianluca gave us some history of the place...and we walked for a bit.  We still ended up waiting outside the restaurant for a while, and huddling near the heater...my momma called, and talked to Nick...and we finally got our table.

The table was a bit cramped, but the food was really good!  I had a "salad" and then there was this thing of cheese with couscous on top and holy cow my meal was great!  Nick had a good pizza, and some I tried some of it!  We had random conversations...random cultural conversations, and eventually left.

We all went back to Mattea's and crashed basically...it had been a wonderful day full of laughter, which is the best part!

So, we were the token Americans, but it went well. Ohh, and Tiffanie, the ETA from Norway, was sure to inform us that, "you Italian ETA's are crazy!!"  Ummm...thank you?? I think it's just that we have this great dynamic and all get along and have fun together.