I am a little sad about not being with any of my parents, friends from home, or even Nick/Fulbright loves. However, it will still be a wonderful day I am sure!
Erin always told Blair that her 27th year would be her best...and I think it was a wonderful year for Blair.
I have a feeling that my 27th year is going to be amazing! I have about 6 more months left, at least, in Italy. I have a wonderful guy here in Italy that I LOVE spending time with, and is such a blessing in my life; he loves Jesus and that is most important, but is the top of a very long list! I have a wonderful family at home that loves me and supports me! I have the most amazing friends that a girl could ever ask for or dream up. I have just met some of the most amazing friends through Fulbright, and I am having the time of my life.
I did just realize that I will not actually turn 27 until it is the 17th here. I was born at like 5:51 pm on January 16th. So, if I am in Italy, then that is 12:51 a.m. on the 17th.
Anyway, here's to turning 27!
I was tired, and was
dreading going to school…Lilla’s class, and I was doing a power point,which
means most of them will not pay attention, and/or act a fool! Thankfully, I made it in time to catch the bus
because it was starting to rain…AGAIN…it had slacked off some this morning, but
it was picking back up!
First up: Lilla’s
class. The same 6 or 7 that sit in the
front paid attention, were engaged, and answered my questions. At the beginning, I asked them to all move
forward, hoping that they would get away from the computers, but no such luck.
They all rolled their eyes, huffed and puffed, slammed their arms on the desks,
and moved forward to other computers where they played the whole time I was
talking and trying to discuss things with them!
It is so frustrating and discouraging and this is why I despise coming
to this class. Not only do they not pay
attention, but they talk and laugh and point and goof off, and I am so sick of
it! After about 45 minutes, I was
finished with the portion of the power point that I had completed, and tried to
do this activity that Myles told us about called, “Running with words”. The idea is that you have a letter, or speech
in my case, and they have to run to the posted paper and memorize as much of it
as they can. Then, they go back to their
group and tell them what it said. The
next student then goes and picks up where the other one left off, and they
continue to take turns until they have recreated the letter/speech! I should have known better than to try this
activity with them! From the beginning
they had their phones out taking pictures of the speech and then writing it
down! Even one of my “good groups” used
a piece of paper to cheat and write the words down and then bring it back! What was the point of this?? I stressed to
them that it did not have to be perfect,
and it was just about remembering, reciting, and recreating! Why was there ANY need to cheat?? I
emphasized that they were not be graded…still..so, with about half an hour left
in the class, I just gave up! So, I just
sat there with Lilla while she did some work and I did nothing. I reached the point of not caring! It is not worth the fight…Lilla was even
under control today, but they still acted a fool! I do not even know why I have to continue to
come to this class; the ones who care and are attentive are great, but they
even eventually get sucked in and the class goes nowhere. Lilla mentioned that her 3rd hour
class on Tuesdays, a first year class, had been begging her to bring me in
their class. SO, Lilla and I decided
that I will start coming at 9 on Tuesdays, and will have the ughh class for the
last hour and then I will go to her other class with her! I was so excited to see some relief in
sight. Even if they are first years, and
it is harder to communicate, I will just be happy if they are enthusiastic and
attentive!
With the bell, Lilla left me
to work in the computer lab for my 2 hour break! The internet eventually quit working…yay
Italian internet, but I was able to get some work done, and then talk to
Nick!
In Francesca’s class I did
the famous person dinner. They had
trouble with the concept of American, but they participated and that is ALL I
really wanted from them!
I was really
proud of them actually! I think that sometimes Francesca is too hard on them
about their word choice and grammar; I think that while they are still gaining
courage to speak, it is not important to harp on their EVERY mistake! I mean, if it is a significant grammar
mistake, I do talk it through with them.
However, what I do not want to do is reinforce their nervousness and fear
of making mistakes by harping on their every little mistake. I am so proud that they are starting to come
out of their shells a little bit, an so that’s all I can ask of them! For
homework, I asked them to find a few specific things about their person, and
they were all really responsive!
I took the bus home, tried
to get turkey again, but alas, there was still none to be had. I ate lunch senza turkey, wrote blogs, talked to Nick, talked to my Aprile, and
worked on blogs some more! I talked to
Nick (or was on the phone with him) or like 5 hours! We had so much fun trading songs to listen
to, talking, working “together”, and I love that we are able to do this, and
that he wants to do this!
I eventually made dinner,
worked on blogs some more, and then got ready for bed! I talked to Nick from about 11 to 1 a.m. and
so he was the first to wish me a happy birthday (on Italian time of
course!!). He was so sweet to encourage
me and tell me more about the light he sees in me! It was a wonderful start to my 27th
birthday!
P.S. Happy Birthday to MLK
Jr., whom I had a lot of fun discussing, even if the students didn’t listen! And
also, I learned a lot about the Civil Rights movement that I had
forgotten…always good to refresh your memory on the things you have not learned
about IN YEARS!!
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