Time difference...

The time difference thing has sucked for 6 months now...6 and 7 hours apart from my loves.  I LOVE Italy, but not having to calculate time to talk to someone will be SO nice!

Nick and I left skype on while he left and I slept, but Skype dropped us.  I woke up early, but went to the bathroom and then came back to sleep some more.  It was gorgeous and sunny outside, which made me happy!  When I did get up to get dressed, Nick called  because they all got in late from their scrimmage thingy!  So, I talked to him and got to talk for about 15 minutes and then left him to go sleep!  I dont have any breakfast things, so I decided to be uniquely Italian today and have my cappuccino e cornetto con cioccolato  for breakfast this morning.  As I walked to school I ran into two of my afternoon students and they were on their way to take a latin test...bleh!  They were really nervous and so I tried to encourage them as much as possible.  Then I parted ways and went into the bar to get my breakfast.  Those things really are ah-mazing and addictive...both things I should say!

Patrizia's class was first.  We had more student presentations.  Patrizia was running late because of a car accident somewhere, but she arrived jsut as we were about to get started. We were so happy to have the computer lab an extra day this week!  I also searched and found a video on youtube that would show them some of the places they had been talking about, and it had very few words, so they could just watch and listen to the sounds of my fave city! The presentations were great: Dance in NYC (from my dancer), Radio City, etc.  Patrizia looked at me after class and said, "you look really beautiful today!!!"  Well, thank you!  I had on a pink/purple flowery dress with purple tights, brown boots, and a pink cardigan!  I thought that was soooo sweet of her.  P.S. I also only had on mascara and blush!

My first break was spent prepping materials for M., my private lesson student.  I found some great stuff, and I think I have a plan for her now!  Yay!  On my way to the other building this family was walking, and the man was such a creeper and CLEARLY did not realize that I understood Italian.  In a creepy voice he was saying how beautiful I was and how he'd never seen anything like me in Italy before...ughh I felt so dirty and icky after that...

Linda's class started telling me that I looked beautiful from the moment I stepped into the classroom!  How sweet!  I was so touched by their words!  It is really nice to be told you look beautiful!  I usually hear it a few times a day from Nicola, but it is always nice to hear it from others as well!  That is not to say that him saying it is less meaningful, because it is NOT!  They whined a bit when I told them that we were not going to the lab, something I told them about 10 times yesterday at the end of the lesson...come on guys!  Then they whined some more when I put them in groups to do the postcard activity, but it was because I did not want some of them to be in groups together, and I think it is good for them to mix it up and the strong ones help the weaker ones...all learning from each other.  They were INCREDIBLE...they worked so hard, and Linda was helpful as well!

 

 

 She had to pull out a whistle though to get them quiet!  I gave them helpful vocab along the way, and I was really impressed with their concentration on the activity!  I talked to Linda for a bit, telling her stories about the kids not believing that Americans eat more than fast food and junk food!  She was shocked when I told her that I had a student argue with me over whether I could be American or not because I was too thin.  She was also shocked about ketchup being Chinese.  We just laughed and talked about some of the stereotypes and how the afternoon classes are going.  The students were not finished when the bell rang, so I promised them that we could continue the activity next week!  This class really is what Fulbright is all about! So, I took their assignments with me, left them with their postcard writings, and was on my way for my second break! 

I was really missing Nick being there to talk to me. 

My second break was spent working on the computers, and then I started reading through the homework from Linda's group! 

Rosina's class went really well.  We started by going over their homework questions, and I was sure to take our time doing this.  Then I gave them the choice of doing the Empire State lyrics or the geography activity.  Only one boy wanted to do geography, so we ended our week with the lyrics.  It was hard to get them to understand that I just wanted them to translate, etc.  Some seemed really annoyed that they had to do ANYTHING that required 1. Work  2. English   My thought: "come on guys!!!!"  They ended up doing really well, and we had the same phrase/word issues from the other class.  One thing that I am tired of hearing from students is "oooh, that's American"!  They say this when they see a word they don't know, or the word is written in slang. They automatically assume that because it is not written in formal English (for the purposes of a song, etc.) that it must be American English, which would not be such a bad thing if they did not say it with this disgusted tone of voice.  The whole time they were doing the activity I could hear M. singing, and I LOVE to hear her sing; her voice is incredible.  When class was over, we all rushed out of the building and then we get to the gate and everyone is hurded like cattle through this one gate!  It is so ridiculous, and things are not helped when the students start pushing and yelling and such.  M. was with me, and we were laughing about it!  Then she and I parted ways and I headed home to eat lunch. 

I was able to hang out on Skype with Nick for a bit, which made me really happy!  We were able to talk for close to an hour, and spent our time planning fun things for the future (our trips, etc).  I was waiting to have my D.C. interview. 

The interview was short and sweet.  I really enjoyed those ladies, and I hope to get to know them better.  They want me to come visit in August.  So, I am not sure that I can turn down another job in hopes that I like D.C.  Soooo...prayers for decisions appreciated! 

It was so beautiful outside that I decided I HAD to go out for a walk.  One thing I LOVE about Italy is all of the men that you see pushing the strollers.  Whether they are with their wife or not, it is usually the man pushing the stroller.  Alright dads!!!  The sky was so beautiful this evening, and I found myself just walking around thinking about how much I do love it here!  I am REALLY excited about the warmer/nicer weather, and I cannot wait to enjoy the summer sunshine.  Though, I am NOT looking forward to this whole no AC thing!  Good thing I'll be traveling most of June and hotels will have AC!!! ;) 


Obviously Italian because of the green farmacia cross



After my walk I came home and made cime di rapa, and ate soooo much rapa that I felt a little sick.  However, it was SO good!  I got to talk to Nick on skype for a bit, my momma on the phone, and then Nick again!  I also googled rapa and wikipedia said that it is similar to turnip greens.  I don't believe it because I def. do NOT eat turnip greens!  Anyway, it is soo good!

Later I was able to talk to Erin for almost 2 hours while she drove to Birmingham to try on wedding dresses tomorrow!  Holy cow...Erin is getting married!  I can't wait to see her in a gorgeous dress!  I had so much fun talking to her, and I am SO incredibly excited to see her face in a week!  It is unreal to me that Meagan and Erin are coming to Italy!  What is that even about?!?!?  I'm so beyond excited that I can barely stand myself. 

I ended the night with a short skype session with Nick!  Man, Italy is so much lonelier without him here!  I want him to come back asap!  I miss him terribly!



What is your life when...

This is a phrase that we utter A LOT...it is usually more like, "what is my life....".  However, you get the point.  I cannot tell you how many times I have thought this or uttered this phrase!  But really, what is my life right now?!?!? I live in Italy!  This is something I always wanted to do, and here I am...doing it!  How incredible is that?!?!?  That being said, I intend to live the rest of my life saying, "what is my life right now??"  I intend to live this way, because I intend for each phase of my life to be exciting, no matter how challenging it may be! 

Today was a weird and wonderful day! It started with going to school.  I walked and it was a nice walk!  I really do enjoying taking those 25-30 minutes to walk to school.  When I got to school though, I was sweating and my congestion was getting the better of me.  Virginia was in the middle of giving a speech in Italian when I arrived in class.  Then she came to me and said that someone called her yesterday and was cussing her out, and she KNOWS it was a student, and she intends to call someone to get the private number.  She then started telling me about some other stuff going on.  Then she noticed that I was not feeling well, and started asking questions about fevers, the flu, etc.  She started checking my pulse, but I had to explain that I was sweaty from walking to school.  Anyway, she called Franco to ask about medicine for my congestion, and then she sent me to the lab to wait about an hour before the students joined me.

Therefore, I took this time to talk to Nick, who had not started work yet.  I also took this time to mark things off of my to-do list.  When the students did join me, I had them do their presentations about New York, but naturally, most of them had not done it.   However, the ones who did the work did a great job.  When class was over, I walked them back to the classroom, and Virginia insisted on getting me a cappuccino and cornetto, and of course I was grateful.  I went back to the computer lab to work.

A student brought my delicious cornetto con ciocolato e cappuccino.  I worked on lesson plans, blogs, emails, etc. etc. for about an hour or so, and then Nick was finished teaching so he called me.  The internet lasted approximately 20 more minutes and then cut out on me.  I was so frustrated that I just went to give Virginia the key back and then went to the other building to wait.  I sat in the teacher's room and waited.

WHen the bell rang I went to Angelino's class.  The principal lady came and got him though, so he left me with the book and told me to do some exercises.  Inside I was laughing and thinking, "haha...yeah right Angelino!  You know better than that..."  So, she made him leave me there alone.  I bargained with them that if they would do the first exercises, then they could talk the rest of the time.  I have DEFINITELY learned how to pick my battles around this joint...and this class is NOT one that I want to battle.   I was just anxious for this class to be over with!  Nick was texting me the whole time....he was going to the tabacco shop to pay his internet bill....yes, this is how it is done in Italy...go figure!  Buonasera tutti!

When the bell rand Angelino was still missing, so I gave his book to one of the hallway ladies and headed to the bus.  I called Nick and he told me his funny story about paying his bill at the tabaccheria.  The machines were acting strange and it went through that he paid when he really hadn't.  Then the people told him that he could just come back tomorrow and actually pay it...that's trust.  They made a copy of his drivers' license because they felt bad wanting to keep his actual one!  So, only an honest Nick...a dishonest person would have gotten off with not paying the bill at all!  The story was much funnier when he told it, but it was DEFINITELY one of those, "only in Italy moments!" 

I stopped at the grocery store on my way home and got enough to last me the rest of the week; well, I'll have to get turkey at some point.  I also stopped at the fruit/veggie people and got some things.  Then I headed home to eat my lunch.  I talked to my momma and then went to my room to work on things and talk to Nick.

Later I decided that I wanted to go out for a walk.  I was just intending to walk down to the river and back, but I was distracted by the big grocery store.  Nick had been at the grocery store earlier agonizing over which wine to buy for his "collection".  He was contemplating some on sale, etc.  He said that he needs to have enough for when Erin/Meagan come, the Cheri, in general, etc.  I decided that I wanted to go check out the wines even though I knew I would have to buy some for when Meagan and Erin come anyway.  So, I was walking towards the store when I heard someone say, "buonasera" in my general direction, but did not know if they were talking to me or not.  When I looked back over my shoulder it was MASSIMO...that's right, Massimo...the creeper from the hotel!  Thankfully I was on the phone with Nick, and it was not really as if I had been ignoring him because it was not until I looked back that I knew it was him.  Whatever...he didn't pursue the greeting any further, so I kept on walking into the store.  Once inside I saw that they had some colombe on sale for 99 cents, which meant that I HAD to buy one for Meagan and Erin to try!  You cannot pass up something that is typically like 5 euros, but is now 99 cents!  Then I went to the wines and started joking with Nick about how I looked like a sad single girl with my whole colomba and standing in front of the wine...alllll alone!  We got a good laugh out of it, and then I started trying to pick out a wine!  I had missed all of the bottles of the one that was on sale, but I started looking at all the others.  Nick and I decided that we would each have some wine tonight, and if we did it over Skype, then it was not REALLY drinking alone...it was drinking alone over Skype! This totally makes a difference, right?!?!?  Then I created a challenge for myself to find a local wine under 3 euros for tonight, knowing that next week I would SPLURGE and get my fave local wine for Erin and Meagan.  Shhhh dont tell them, but it only costs like 3.49 or something!  I know...a huge splurge!  However, it is a really good wine!  So, I finally picked out a local wine and headed towards the registers.  Then I saw that they had pastas on sale, so I bought a new kind of pasta.  This whole time I was talking and laughing with Nick, which makes everything that much more fun!

I started my walk home, and I took my usual route down the Corso.  I saw a few students I think, and just enjoyed people watching.  I had been out walking for about an hour; one of my favorite things about living in Italy is all of the walking that I get to do.

When I got home I waited a bit before cooking.  As I took everything into the kitchen to get ready to cook, roommates started coming home.  Sofia had gone home for the weekend, and other girl has been gone for like 3 weeks.  I can't wait to live in a 1 bedroom apartment and not worry about roommates....ahhhhh...that will be so nice!  Anyway, so I had my veggies all cut up and ready to put in the pan when I decided I wanted to open my wine.  I also had the chicken laying out.  It was only then that I realized I had broken the cheap wine opener back when Christy was here, and had nothing to open the wine with at the moment.  I was so frustrated...of all days that I wanted to just have the glass of wine.  So, I live in Italy right?  Therefore, the store down the street (Chinese store...their phrase, not mine) has wine openers.  I left all of my food out on the table and ran down to get an opener! What is your life when the biggest stressor of your day is not having a bottle opener for your bottle of wine?  I mean really! I had trouble finding them in the store at first, but then I spotted it, grabbed one, and paid. 

I came back and put my veggies on the eye of the stove to start cooking and I started opening the wine.  It seemed to be way more difficult than it should be.  I tried to pull it out, and the cork did not come out all the way.  So, I thought, well, I'll try this again, only to discover that the metal screw had broken in half....where was 1/2??? IN THE WINE CORK!  I was on skype with Nick and so he got to see how frustrated and annoyed I was.  I tried sawing the cork off to try and pull it out, but this did not work!  Nick started insisting that I go back to the store with the wine bottle, broken cork, and a wine stopper.  I was insistent at first that this would NOT work because it was not a wine store, and how my knee was hurting and so I did not want to go up and down the 5 flights of stairs again.  However, his logic won out, and I headed back out with bottle, opener, and stopper in hand.  I made Nick teach me what I would have to say, and he did, but he kept saying that I could probably just show them.  I was also nervous because this was one of the few times that they had not given me a receipt.  I had Nick on the phone in my pocket just in case I needed help.  I walked in, showed them the situation and they immediately went to work.  Another guy came over out of curiosity, and thankfully they DID remember me; my Americanness and green jacket probably helped me out!  They were AH-MAZED at the situation.  The guy immediately got some pliers and got the metal out, went to get a new opener, and opened the bottle for me!  They also replaced my opener, no questions asked!  I was amazed, and they were SHOCKED when I pulled out the wine stopper to keep the wine from spilling or anything as I walked.  I don't think they expected me to be so prepared.  I was so grateful for them and their handiness.  So, now I ask this question: Where do you live when you just walk down the street and the man looks at what is in your hands and immediately comes up with a solution (with very little spoken language going on because neither of you are native speakers in the place you live)??  I mean really! **

I told Nick, "this is what I get for wanting to drink alone...over skype!"  He was having wine tonight too! :) So I came back home, and felt kind of like a loser walking down the street with my open bottle of wine and new opener in my hand.  I did get a few strange looks.  Nick said that I just needed my colomba to complete my lonely, living alone image.  Unfortunately I do not have any pics of this whole incident. 

I came home to an email about the job in Richmond.  Nick was so proud that he told April before I could.  We "shared our wine" via skype.  I made a wonderful dinner of veggies and chicken with this new cheese I tried (provolone piccante), which was not spicy at all.  It was a really stout cheese, but good! I ate dinner, had 2 glasses of wine with dinner, talked to my momma, talked to April on facebook for a bit.  I wrote some blogs, but was not feeling like doing much else, so I went to bed! 

Come to Jesus

Friday!!

Patrizia's class was good!  We had to get a computer and projector for the classroom, and this made everything much more difficult!   A few of the students did their presentations, and of course they were so super nervous, but they were incredible!  I am blown away by them, and they do not even realize their own strengths. 

For my first break I went to get a cappuccino e cornetto and then went to the teachers' room to work on stuff.  While I was sitting in there, this man and woman started talking in Italian, naturally, but then they started speaking about native English speakers, and I looked up at them and the lady said, in English, "oooh you understood us??"  I said yes and they started speaking to me in English.  The lady was one of the other English teachers, who was not very happy about not getting to work with me by the way, and the man was there with textbooks for the teachers to look at for next year.  They started talking to me about CLIL and how pointless they think it is; I talked to them about how it would be like the U.S. saying that native English speakers, who had NEVER studied Spanish, had to start teaching their subject (math, science, etc) in  Spanish.  I just feel like this would never happen in the U.S.  They then started telling me that they didn't think I spoke like an American.  They said that the American accent is very open and I do not sound like that.  They said that I have a soft accent, and do not sound southern either.  It was an interesting conversation.  The man was there advertising textbooks for the teachers to choose from; he asked if it worked that way in the U.S., and I told him that to the best of my knowledge, the school uses the same books in each grade (year).  So that made for an interesting end to my break. 

Linda's class was next and we went to the computer lab, per the usual.  It was my Staten Island group's turn to go.  They did a great job, but were really nervous because they could not find a lot of information about Staten Island.  At one point, MG was talking about how Christina Aguliera (sp??) was from Staten Island, and some others were not listening...this exploded into an argument among the girls and I was just sitting back clueless as to how to stop them.  I understood their Italian during the argument, but did not know what to do.  They were really going at it, but the amazing thing was that I KNEW in advance that this would all blow over and they'd all be BFFs again during the next hour.  That being said, it was heated.  One of the girls went to find Linda, and she came in to break it up and stayed for the rest of the class.  When the State Island group finished, and it had not seemed like the others had been paying attention, I started asking questions.  I was rather impressed that they HAD been paying attention and were able to tell me some of the things that they learned.  We ended class by talking about their assignment for the neighborhoods in NYC! 

I spent my break in the teachers' room sending emails and searching for different information for future lesson plans, etc.  

Rosina was my final class.  This class did NOT go well.  I had students doing presentations about NYC and that same group would NOT shut up.  I had to stop a few times to get those boys to get quiet, but of course they would not stop talking.  Some of my presenters had done a great job of speaking and their information was great, but nobody could hear them because of the boys in the back.  Half of the class had NOT done the assignment, and Rosina was getting pissed because as she went down the list, all of the ones who distract others and NEVER do their work, of course had NOT done the assignment.  They all kept saying, "non ce l'ho...a casa".  This means, "I don't have it...it's at home!"  I did get to have a conversation with them about how "Top of the Rock" is better than The Empire State building, and why.  However, the ridiculousness continued in the back, and so I had to have a "come to Jesus" at the end.  In a VERY FIRM and somewhat angry voice I told them that those who had NOT done the assignment MUST do it for Wednesday because I was NOT going to plan a lesson on the off chance that they did not do their work.  I told them that I was tired of doing that because it was ridiculous.  I also told them that if they did not bring the assignments, then we would just sit in silence and do nothing, and I did mean nothing...no talking to each other, etc.  I would just sit and do nothing.  I told them that I am doing my best to make this fun, but they will not participate no matter what I do, so what am I supposed to think?  I felt bad because M. and some of the others who do their work consistently were looking sad.  However, those others are keeping them from learning. 

When class was over I sent M. a text thanking her for being fabulous and told her she did a great job!  She apologized for the others.  We talked quite a bit and she was so incredibly sweet and fabulous!

As I walked home I talked to Nick, ranted about the situation, went to the grocery store to get some turkey, brasaola (I finally branched out and bought it for myself), and some other stuff.  I came home and ate lunch, and prepared for my...wait for it...interview. 

The interview was with a place in Richmond, Virginia.  A university program, NAEYC accredited, Reggio Inspired, and it is an infant position.  We made it through about 30 minutes before skyped dropped us completely, and then she had to email me the questions.  It was incredible, and I felt really good about it. 

Then I talked to Nick and started crying and getting upset about the idea of leaving home for a job, etc.  I then went out for a walk, came back and cried some more...and determined that I just needed a little bit more time at home; a lot of this came after an email from the interview people. 

I was able to talk to Erin on facebook some, and asked her to start praying for me! 

For dinner I had left over broccoli and black eyed peas with some turkey! I worked on shutterfly, blogs, and had a skype date with Nick! 

Later that night I talked to April for a bit and talked through the interview situation. 

Montessori Professor

Saturday morning was a lazy morning.  Nick was feeling a little better, but not great.  So, we did not have to be anywhere until noon, so we just relaxed and hung out! When we did leave, we had a nice walk to the office of a professor who is a Montessori expert.  He teaches at the University in Rome, but also the satellite school in Gubbio.  I have been speaking with him via email over the past few months, so I was really excited to meet him!  It was a really nice day outside as well; the sun was shining, which made it beautiful, despite the colder temperatures.

When we arrived, we had to wait just a few minutes for him to finish the class he was in.  When he came in, he was super friendly, and we started talking right away!  Thankfully I had my translator with me becaus I immediately became frozen in my Italian, and then throughout the conversation there were things I would not have understood without having Nick there.  I would have understood about 60% of it, but that would not have been enough to get all of the incredible ideas/thoughts he had for me.  I started with the best question I had for him: Why is Montessori not very popular in Italy?  This question opened up the floodgates to a lot of information and perspective that I feel very fortunate to have from one of the top Montessori experts in all of Italy.  He talked to me about how the Americans (the Montessori people) have reduced Montessori to a method, which she would have never intended to happen!  He feels very strongly that Montessori was ahead of her time, a brilliant and insightful woman, who was not meant to be viewed as a method.  He feels that most of the world has now reduced Montessori to a method instead of looking at the ideas and writings of Montessori herself.  He had a lot to say about Montessori and her writings/ideas/intentions.  She really was a brilliant woman, but all that he had to say about her and the curent "method" that she has been reduced to, left me wondering if we should simply study Montessori as a theorist of sorts rather than a preschool "method/curriculum".  It seems that this is how he approaches it these days.  He said that you cannot just read Montessori, but you need to talk to experts, and these are becoming fewer and fewer, and training courses that lead to becoming a teacher in a Montessori school are becoming weaker and weaker.  He said that they used to be life changing, and now they are viewed as a way to become certified and get a job.  He suggested some things I could read, and I will certainly do this.  He also talked about how Italian children will try to make irregular verbs regular, and it was fun to hear someone talk about language development in the same way we do!  So, as an American child might say, "I goed" instead of, "I went"; the Italian child will do the same with their own irregular verbs.  Anyway, the whole hour was just really interesting and insightful.  It turns out that the lady from the school in Perugia is the other top Montessori expert, and these two just returned from a trip to China where they were asked to speak about Montessori and her influence.  I was left with a lot of questions and thoughts, but I plan to email him, so that I have more time to think things through, and to translate them!  Overall, it was an amazing opportunity to speak with him and get some much needed insight.

After this, we walked to the far away grocery store.  The sun was shining and it was beautiful!  Sweet Nick listened to me all the way there hypothesize about Montessori, child development, early childhood education, ece curriculum, etc. etc.  He is so sweet to listen, ask questions, and offer insight when possible!!  We bought a few more things at the store, and then headed back to his apartment for a light lunch and rest for him!  Poor thing still was not feeling well! We watched "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" on dvd, and then he took a nap!  I went to pack my stuff, and get organized.

After I did this for a while, I decided that I needed to get out of the apartment.  Nick was sleeping, so I left him a note telling him that I was leaving.  I just started walking, and took a random path that led me to a place we had been before (the place where we had to climb over the fence).  It was beautiful because the sun was setting, so I was able to take a few pictures of the sunset over Gubbio!

 

Upside down, for my Nick Crown!

 

 

THEN, I decided to go to la piazza e' nostra to take some pictures. 

 

 It was a gorgeous sunset!  I walked around and looked in the shops, and decided to buy something from the handmade stuff that they have in the different stores.  Well, it is all hand painted and some of it says Gubbio on it.  I bought a little thing that you might use with a tea set to put creamer/milk in when serving tea.  It is painted navy blue onto a white background, and it says Gubbio.  It is really small, but a nice, hopefully long-lasting memento from Gubbio!

When I returned home, Nick was still asleep!  SO, I started washing dishes, which he specifically told me NOT to do...but let's be real...they were piling up!  Then Anna Paola called to see how everything went, and we talked for a bit!  I love her so much!  I wish I could have her too!  Then, Nick woke up and came down to join me!  He was feeling a bit better and then we started goofing off.  One of my favorite things about him is that we can be super serious, super academicy (my made up word....), have deep theological discussions, OR we can be super silly/ridiculously dorky, and incredibly funny! 

 So, this is what we do...hahaha

Then we made a light dinner and enjoyed our last night together!  THEN...I talked Nick into letting me do this:

 

So now he fits in with all of the Italian teenage boys!  

After this, he showered, I finished packing, and then we went to sleep!  Not looking forward to leaving tomorrow and going back to...real (??) life! 

Montessori and Sickness Part Due

Despite not feeling well, Nick had to get up and go to work this morning.  While he was gone, I took my time getting ready.  The lady from the Montessori school in Gubbio called last night and changed our meeting to 11 am when Nick could be there, instead of the original 9:30.  I think she finally understood that I could not really understand her Italian, and it would be best for Nick to be there.  So, I took my time getting ready by taking a hot bath, and listening to my playlist that Nick made for me, etc. etc. Then he surprised me by getting to come by the apartment to meet me, instead of us just meeting at the school!  I was really happy about this! 

So, with that, we were off.  The school is very close to his apartment.  When we arrived, they greeted us and began showing us around.  They took us to all of the classrooms, and let us sit in one class for a bit.  The teacher, a male teacher, was going to be showing a younger child how to use one of the Montessori materials.  This was incredibly interesting.  A lot of the children, 4-year-olds, were practicing writing letters in a lined notebook.  This younger child was going to be working with this Montessori material.  I cannot lie, I was rather shocked at how closed-ended these questions were.  The whole activity was designed to get one answer from the child.  The teacher was incredible with the children, but this was so discouraging for me.  Then, one of the little girls doing letters came over and definitely walked away feeling defeated and confused about why she wasn't praised for her work.  There were more areas in this classroom for play (i.e. dress up, legos, etc) compared to the school in Perugia.  Then the lady came to take us away to other classrooms.  We were shown to the primary classrooms, and this was fun.  The first one we stopped in was Luisa Giulia's room.  LG is Anna Paola's daughter.  We had seen her briefly earlier when we first arrived, but now she was being so cute and shy!  She was putting her head down on her desk and then whispering to her friends.  She would look at me and then at Nick, and it was so adorable.  They told us that they sit an older child at a desk with a younger child, in order to have them help each other.  This is definitely something that I knew about Montessori, the mixed ages.  However, it was nice to learn that they do this with the older age groups as well.  We saw quite a few classrooms.  One room we went in, they were working on math, and this one little girl explained the materials that she was using.  I will say, the math materials were pretty cool, and definitely seem helpful!  One room we went in, they knew we were coming, and the little boy said, "eccola" in this really sweet, excited, hushed tone.  It was so adorable.  Eccola means, "there she is!"  In one room, a little girl explained to us that there are like 4 or 5 sections to their rooms: math, geography, and others.  I will write more about this when I have gone back through my notes and organized them.  The last class we went into was the oldest group of children.  They were actually able to speak to us in English a bit.  They were so adorable.  This class and another one were preparing for some state tests.  The class that spoke English was getting ready for an oral interrogation, which makes me question how different this is from a traditional Italian school.  They were really cute speaking in English though!  After this, we were escorted out.  I did not have any questions at the moment; mainly because I was still taking it all in.  I was SO grateful to have had this opportunity!  I mean, two Montessori schools IN ITALY!  For me, this was incredible. 

After we did this, it was lunch time.  Nick was feeling well enough to go to a restaurant for lunch.  So, he picked one, and we went.  We had some WONDERFUL food.  Nick had frico', which we made in Cosenza one time, and I had cappaletti in crema con prosciutto.  The bread was the unsalted Gubbian bread, which I do not like, but it was good once we dipped it in some olive oil and then in the frico' sauce. 

Mine

Nick's food

 After lunch, we went back to the apartment to change clothes and relax.  Nick was not feeling well at this point, and so he took some more medicine to keep his fever down, and he slept some.  I think this is the day that we watched a movie and relaxed.  Later, I went to the grocery store that is far away!  It takes a while to walk there, but I wanted to get a few things.  The walk was nice, and I enjoyed the exercise.  I got some turkey, yogurt, etc. etc.  I was the very last person to check out because I didn't realize the closing time.  I was glad I went when I did!  It was actually really nice to just walk and enjoy the town a bit.  I got Nick some Sprite hoping that it would make his tummy better.  Poor thing slept the whole time I was gone.  I know that Nick did not eat dinner that night, but I had some of my leftovers and such.  Poor Nick was not feeling well at all, so we did not do much.  However, it was nice to just relax and rest after a busy week in Reggio! 

From Reggio to Parma, with (my) love!

Today was my last day in Reggio.  Nick was so kind to agree to go to the "birthday party" for Loris Malaguzzi, which meant he got to hang out in a preschool, a famous preschool, for a few hours listening to people talk about early childhood/The Hundred Languages of Children. First, we went to have breakfast, and ran into Lisa.  So, the three of us had breakfast, great conversation, and good laughs!  I love spending time with people who make me laugh!  We realized that we had been sitting there talking so long, that it was time to go to the "party".  So, we all ran to our rooms and got our stuff to walk!

On our walk, this was the first of Reggio that Nick had seen!  I think he liked it!  It was so much fun for him to be with me, and to get to share this with him!  When we arrived, there were already quite a few people there, and very few seats.  I took a minute to show him around the school just a little bit, and then we were offered seats near the front.  Lisa had a seat in the back, so we were separated.  Thankfully they had a grown up size chair for Nick because he is soooo tall.  I had a child's chair, which isn't easy, but definitely easier for me than him!  I was sitting next to one of our speakers for the week, and near Maddalena.  I asked the other lady if we could take some pictures today of the speakers and such, and she said that she did not see why we couldn not.  I was very excited about this, and thus I can share the pictures! The morning was a lot of talking, and introducing the 3rd edition of the Hundred Languages of Children book. 

The whole thing was really interesting, and it was fun to listen to these women talk who are some of the leaders in early childhood, and definitely in Reggio.  Sweet Nick was so patient, and perhaps even enjoyed some of it?  They did an introduction to Loris Malaguzzi, and I think it was his wife that was there.  They mentioned that someone in his family had died recently, and the woman was there with the grandchildren, and she was about to cry.  I did not catch who had died, but I felt sorry for the lady there that was so sad. After the introductions, the Mayor of Reggio Emilia, Nick's new favorite person, stood up to talk a bit.

He talked about how when he was a child, his father faught against the spread of the Reggio Emilia preschools because he, like many other Italians at the time (and maybe now????), did not think that children belonged in school at such a young age!  His father, again, like many Italians, believed that the best place for a child that young is at home with the mother/family.  He said that now he has a full appreciation for the schools, their role in the community, and the effects that they have on children.  He also told a funny "story" about how if he were standing in a funny position, we might not pay as much attention to what he says, as we would to his body position...or maybe we would?? This is important to know because Carla Rinaldi then stood in a funny position to start her speaking portion of the morning.

 She was so funny, endearing, and she made me want to be her friend for life!  These people are so intelligent, hardworking, passionate, driven, and I want to work with them!  These are the kind of people I want to work with!  Carla introduced Lella Gandini and Carolyn Edwards, two of the editors of The Hundred Languages of Children. 

I did not realize that Lella was Carolyn's graduate student many years ago.  They have been working together for years.  They told stories of working with Loris Malaguzzi and how he did things at the last minute for presentation, conferences, etc., and how he would revise things a million times, etc.  IT was fun to hear these stories of how long all of these people have been working together, and to hear just a bit about their amazing work!  Seriously, I want to do things like they've done!  How do I do this??? Anyone know???

They told the process of writing the first edition of the book, what they added in the second book, and then the third.  I wish I could have bought a copy of the book there and had them sign it, but it was 30 euros (wayyyyy too much), and also I had bought too many things already, and I am not sure how I will get them all back to the U.S. anyway!  They told stories of their time working together, and then showed covers of the book as it has been translated into other languages!  It was long, but really interesting!  It was such a privilege to hear them talk! 

The Mayor mentioned earlier that he had not yet received a copy of the newest edition, and they later presented him with one, and then he gave them some stuff.  Lisa and Romy had to leave before it was over, and I was sad that I did not get to hug them goodbye.  However, we stayed until the end!  Then Nick was so kind to let me walk around and look some more!  Then, they of course fed us some really good local foods, and they opened some proseco, etc.  I was really glad that I was able to stay for this, and grateful to Nick for coming with me!  He is so sweet! 

When we left the preschool, we started walking around and exploring for a few minutes.  Then, we went back to the hotel and got our stuff.  We took it to the main building to have them hold it while we explored.  Most things were closed, but Nick did some pigeons to mess with, and he knows that birds scare me!  However, it was rather comical!

He also took some pictures of himself, and I took pictures of him too...and we took an "upside down" picture!

 

Is he a beautiful boy or what??? We were able to see the outside of some of the buildings, and then we tried one more local food that was on my list:

 Chizza is a flaky bread that is made with cheese!  It was really simple, but really good!  We walked around a bit more, and then decided to top off our food, and trip to Reggio Emilia, with some gelato from Emilia.
Nick's first gelato from Emilia.  He liked it, as he should have!  After this, we decided it was time to head to Parma.  So, we went back to the hotel, got our stuff, and started walking to the train station.  It was still snowing, and it was pretty cold!  However, I was SOOOOO incredibly excited to go to Parma!  I was excited for many reasons:  1. It was in the book I read when I first arrived in Italy, Playing for Parma 2. The food 3. The theatre 4. I just want to see as much of Italy as possible  
So, we bought our tickets and waited...and this is what happened in the waiting:

We always have fun!  SO, we caught our train, and it was only like a 15 minute ride, but of course, we took more pictures! 
 

 

It was snowing sooooooooo much!  It was pretty though!  I was just so excited to get there.  When we did get there, we decided to walk to the hotel.  That was a little difficult due to the snow, but we made it safe and sound.  The snow began picking up, and so we decided to stay inside for a bit, listen to music, get warm, and relax.  The snow was soooo beautiful though!  We watched it fall for about 2ish hours before we prepared to go out in it.  Here was the view from our room: 

When we arrived

Two hours later

When we did decide to go out, we bundled up, and prepared for the cold/massive amounts of snow, and to look for something to eat!  The amount of snow was incredible to a girl from Alabama who does not see much snow!!  It was cold, but beautiful.  It was beautiful until my UGGS were soaked and two pairs of socks were squishing water...and my toes were aching!  However, we saw some beautiful things, and started making a plan for what we wanted to see tomorrow!  Nick searched for somewhere to eat, online, and we found it.  We decided to have an early dinner.  

 

 

 

 

 Parma was gorgeous in the snow!  THe place we ate at said that they had a private party coming at 9, so everyone had to be gone by then.  Haha..it was 7, so I think we're good. This ended up being quite comical because we were there until almost 9 and the restaurant was full of people clearly not there with a large party...nice try people!  I was so excited to sit down, take off a pair of wet socks and shoes, and hid my 1 pair of socks feet under the table the whole time! :)  I almost had this for dinner:

But then I decided it was best to stick to an appetizer of local meats and cheeses, and then some cappaletti in brodo, which was hands down the best one I had.  Holy cow the food was soo good! 

 

Nick's meal!

THe food was amazing, and it was nice to be warm!  After we finished our food and bottle of amazing wine, we started making our way back to the hotel.  We stopped to draw some snow art, and decided against snow angels!  Here are the results of our playtime! 

Nick drawing...

My artwork!

 So, we went back to the hotel, and started drying off and getting warm!  THis included Nick and I both using blowdryers on my UGGS....ughhh...  

HOLY COW I'M IN PARMA!! It has been beautiful so far, and I am looking forward to seeing more of it tomorrow!!!