On American Soil

I went back to America today!

The morning started out by us all meeting downstairs for breakfast.  While at breakfast we saw many of our teachers.  Mattea's teacher sat down to eat with us.  Patrizia, my teacher, sat down with some other teachers, and then Nick and I were REALLY excited to see Anna Paola (his amazing, wonderful teacher).  We all ate our breakfast, went to get our things upstairs, and we walked all together (ETAs and teachers) to the American Embassy!  I talked to Patrizia for a good bit of the time! I really like Patrizia.  She is so sweet, kind, and it is always so easy to talk to her!  She lets me finish my thoughts, and is quite insightful herself.  I was also able to talk to Nick and Anna Paola, whom I love so much!  It was a slightly rainy walk, but we did take the subway for part of the time!  The subway in Rome, in the morning, at rush-hour...well, that was an interesting experience!  You think the people on the NYC subway like to push and shove and make sure everyone is all in?? Well, the Italians do it bigger and better...they push, shove, yell at you a bit in Italian, and then begin cursing you if you cannot move anymore; not to mention that they have no problem with their hands being near your butt.  So, after a rather claustrophobic subway ride, we came out right at the hotel where I stayed with Nick, my momma, and Barbara back in January!  We walked just up the hill to the American Embassy, and began the process of being let onto American soil.

1. The security was being run by Italians.
2. They let everyone in but all of us.
3. This took forever
4. They only let a few in at a time
5. It was raining
6. I just wanted to be on American soil!  Haha...
7. Once inside, Nick gave me a kiss, and we realized that it was the first time we'd been able to do that on American soil!  haha...cheesy, but TRUE!! 

Once we were all in, then we had to go through security!  You had to leave ALL electronics in an envelope with your last name on it, put everything else through a machine, go through a metal detector, and then put on name badges.  Then we proceeded to make our way upstairs to where our meeting was being held.  The building was gorgeous, and rather majestic; of course it was, it was a gorgeous building in Rome.  Once we were at our room, they like barricaded us off so that we could only go to our room, the room where they set up our food, and the bathroom!  So, we started the day with introductions and such from official people.  They told us all of the rules, which were basically that we could not go ANYWHERE but where we were, and then they told us we would have a tour later, lunch, etc.  The last official person to speak was a lady from the Embassy who shared all of these resources with us that would be helpful for getting information, lesson plans, videos, pictures, etc. etc. for our lessons.  The whole time she was speaking, which was quite a long time, we were all getting rather upset/angry that we had not been given any of this back in October when it would have been sooooooooo much more helpful!  It was really hard to contain our annoyance, but we did!  So, with that we (the ETAs) got started.  Nick and Anna Paola were the first to go!  They were so cute up there...Nick talking about all of the fabulous things he has been doing in Gubbio.  Nick did not really have any issues to address, so his presentation was wonderful, upbeat, and full of some great ideas for lessons. 

After Nick and AP we had our coffee break, which meant a lot of yummy little snacks and some juice, etc.  I did not have coffee, but tried Nick's.  After the break it was Mattea's turn.  She had to talk about all of the stuff that happened after orientation, which I was really proud of her for doing!  Then she talked about some awesome things that she has been doing with her students, and Mattea is just plain fabulous!  SHe had some awesome things that she had done.

After Mattea they changed the schedule a bit because we had to go take the tour of the Embassy.  THey had been SUPER on time today.  The tour was good...cold...but good!  We had a lady whose husband works at the embassy, and she was really excited to show us the art.  We saw buildings, gardens, sculptures, artwork, and more.   Nick disagreed with some of her history facts, but he is a history buff, so he would know better than me.  The Embassy is beautiful! Mattea decided that she wanted to become the 2nd woman Ambassador in the history of the EMbassy.  Mattea, Andrea, and I had fun talking and laughing during the tour.  The teachers were on a separate, Italian tour.  A few Italians came with us, but primarily it was just us.  It was fun, and I feel so fortunate to say that I have seen the inside of the American Embassy in Rome.  They did show us where there are some Mussolini quotes hidden behind some things on a wall, and that was rather strange.  The lady did not care for David's question about whether the President of the U.S. would be jealous of how nice the Ambassador's office/building was!  We thought he was funny...the building was really gorgeous!  They had some issues letting us through security points at times, but who is really surprised.  We had on two types of identification.  They were so super serious about security, and rightfully so, that we were not even really supposed to go back up to our floor without an escort, but seeing as how EVERYONE was on lunch, we just went upstairs anyway! 

WHen we arrived upstairs, it was lunch time.  The other tour group had not made it back, so the 6 of us grabbed some food (lasagna, small foods, drinks, and yummy desserts), huddled ourselves around a table, and had some wonderful Italian food!  I am really going to miss the fresh, healthy, non-processed food of Italy!  THe lunch was amazing, and it was nice to just sit around and talk with everyone!  Since Andrea had not been able to come to dinner last night, it was our first time to sit with her to talk.  When the teachers joined us, we had all finished, and so we mingled a bit.  I sat and talked to David for a while, who is so incredible and so sweet and funny!  His girlfriend Kayla is coming in a few weeks, and he is so excited!  It was so endearing to see how excited he was just to see her and be with her!  I know that they are going to have a great time.  Then I went to join Nick, Mattea, and Andrea in a conversation.  This is when I learned that Zeno, Andrea's boyfriend, got into Howard in Washington D.C., and she is going to defer grad school for a year and move there with him. She will probably reapply to D.C. schools.  Mattea and I decided that we would move to D.C. as well, and that way we were close to Andrea, each other, and two hours (or a little less maybe?) from Nick who will be in Charlottesville, Virginia.  I like this plan!

So after lunch we had a FULL schedule because we had to skip over David's presentation that morning.  So, David went first, and he is a great public speaker!  They asked us to begin talking more about the difficulties we were having, rather than all of the amazing lessons we had been doing, and so David certainly did this.  Myles was next, and then Andrea.  At this point we had all made it very clear that we wished that we had more resources from the beginning, and that the teachers/us had been more informed about what the role of a Fulbright ETA was supposed to be.  We had some serious discussions about how the schools were not using us in the correct ways, and how the majority of this would be solved if we had orientation BEFORE we were supposed to be in the schools.   Fulbright seemed to hear us out, and we did defend some of the teachers who were just simply uninformed. 

I was last to go, and I had to work up a bit of courage to say what I was going to be saying.  Everyone complimented me later on my public speaking and how well I did.  Nick was very sweet and supportive once I had finished because I was feeling a little guilty, but I had simply stated the truth.  Fulbright seemed to hear me out, and I was happy about that.  I was also able to talk a little bit about my experience in Reggio, and how it left me with a renewed sense of excitement to come back to the schools and implement a more student research based approach in my lessons.  Throughout the day, the idea of the rigid Italian school system was discussed, and Anna Paola seemed to lead the charge on that one a bit.  It was a nerve wracking presentation, but it went well, and Patrizia was happy to hear the things I had to say. 

After I was finished, another lady asked us some questions about something we wish we had known before we started, what were some of our little victories, and then she addressed the teachers.  My little victories were in getting the students at the school in Cosenza involved, and now we are on a roll with lessons connecting, as well as the "topics" of the lessons/discussions.  My other little victory was getting that girl in Francesca's class to smile!  It seems so silly, but it was really important to me! 

After this, they said a few closing notes, we petitioned for a final meeting in Rome, and then I had to talk to Fulbright.  I stayed for a while and talked to them, and it was nerve wracking and difficult.  Sweet Nick was there to encourage me and support me once it was all over.  He had told me earlier that Cecilia, our original contact lady, mentioned to him earlier that she noticed we seemed to "be together".  When I was talking to our ministry lady, Fulbright lady, and Cecilia, I mentioned this and they were all like, "yeah, we noticed...yay!!"  It was so cute!  Then, Cecilia mentioned it to me and Nick once more when we were in the hallway and she was telling us how cute we were together and how happy she was for us!  The Italians really love our relationship! 

After all of this, we headed out of the ministry and back to the hotel to rest.  Andrea had to go to work, so she had already left.  When we got outside, we asked the guards if we could take pictures and they said, "NO!!"  SO, we went across the street and this picture happened:

Mattea, Nick, Me, Myles, and our homey David

There was also a really beautiful sunset!  So, we walked back to the hotel, and had great discussions while we did.  I love that about this group!  We can talk about serious things, funny things, intellectual things, or just random nothingness.  It really is incredible.

We went back to the hotel, changed clothes, and hung out for a bit.  Andrea met us downstairs later, because they would NOT let her come upstairs, and made some comment about us being Americans, but they do not do that kind of thing here in Italy...something about if the police came by to check who was in the hotel, they would get in trouble. The chances of that happening?? Probably slim to none.  However, it was fine...

So, we actually decided on this Syrian restaurant that Andrea and Zeno had been to.  The food was INCREDIBLE...we had wine...and a ton of food...lots of laughter...great conversation...and fun pictures:

My INCREDIBLE couscous and veggies in an ah-mazing sauce

Stealing Chicken from Nick

Group Photo

 We had a great time!  This group is so amazing.  We ended the night by talking to some Americans we met and taking pictures while Mattea and Andrea talked to them

 

...then going back to pack.  Andrea stayed over with us, so the girls stayed up and talked a bit!  Mattea had to catch an early flight, so we stayed up late...she rested for like 2 hours, and then she and ANdrea left to get her to the airport.  I was sad to see them go, but I will see them soon I hope.  I love my two Fulbright loves!  

Overall, it was a fun, exciting, nerve wracking, incredible, amazing Rome trip with my loves.  I dont think we could ask for a better group! 

From Parma to Rome...to see MORE loves!

This is how my morning started:

He is so silly!

We went down for breakfast, and it was good, but not as good as the hotel in REggio! :) HOwever, this hotel was pretty nice in general!  SO, after that, we went upstairs to get ready to go out.  We had a few hours before we had to catch the train, and we definitely did not want to push the train situation because of all the snow, and the general delays.  We had to get to REggio on time for our first train to get to Rome, and then to Bologna for our train to Rome.  So anyway, we went out to sightsee!  We asked last night, and the theatre opened at 10, so we killed time looking around other places first.  We started with a church that was having service, so I only have these few pictures.  Nick said he thought it was one of the most beautiful churches he has seen in all of Italy!  High praise right there!

We saw this gorgoues building, but being that it was Sunday, it was closed!

So when there wasn't much to look at, Nick decided to make snow art!  He was so funny walking around all day jousting with the snow, using his umbrella to do so!

 

Silly Nick!!  We then went to the theatre, but they would not let us see the theatre because they were setting up for a show! I was sooooooooooooooo incredibly sad because this one is supposed to rival La Scala in Milan.  SO, Nick promised that we would come back when we go to Bologna!  Then we went to the Duomo and Baptistry!  The Baptistry cost 6 euros, so we didn't go in, but it was pretty and unusual (pink marble).

 The Duomo was beautiful!  When we left the Duomo, we saw this sweet family dragging a child in a plastic tub through the snow; very creative, and looked like fun!

We started making our way back to the hotel, but first we stopped to get coffee (well, Nick did) and we tried a local sweet...it was AH-MAZING...and it was a little bit much for 11 am, but it was incredible.  

Duchessa di Parma

 As we walked to the hotel, we spotted this store for Nick, and then I had to stop at the bank...Nick had a photo shoot while I was at the ATM, but I only included a few of them! 

Last pics of the snow

 

NIck making me laugh!

We're upside down for each other!

To avoid some snow and slush, we used the underpass, and saw this!  I hypothesized that it must have been an old bridge.  My friend Judi later informed me that they found this when they were attempting to build a subway in Parma...I love that about Italy!  So then we got our stuff from the hotel, called a cab, and went to the train station to head to Rome. We shared a sandwich and some water while we waited, and thank goodness the trains were running on schedule!

To Rome we go!We took a train back to Reggio Emilia, and did not have to wait there very long, before we took a train to Bologna, where we then took a train to Rome.  The train rides were uneventful, and we spent the time talking, laughing, napping a little, and just enjoying our time together.  When we arrived in Rome, we discovered that Fulbright had put us in a hotel that was like a thousand miles away, but we were walking it anyway!  We did pass this hotel that we had seen once before, back in January when we were on the bus to go pick up my momma from the airport.  It's hotel ME!!!

When we arrived at the hotel, and were checking in, Mattea text me to see where we were!  I was VERY excited when I saw her turn the corner!  I love me some Mattea!  So, we carried all of our stuff to our rooms, and then started chatting.  The boys went to their end of the hallway, while Mattea went in our room to catch up.  Sadly, Andrea was on her way home from Verona, and could not come hang out with us.  We sat around and talked for a while, even though Mattea was just craving a banana, which Myles gave her right before we left to go get food.  It was so good to be with my friends again!  They are all so smart, funny, witty, kind, and all around amazing!  It's nice to just sit and be comfortable with people.  After David came back from having a pizza with his teacher, we talked with him for a while, and then we left to go find food.  David told us all about how he was going to propose to his girlfriend when she comes to Italy in the next few weeks!! I was beside myself with excitement for him, and he has thought of a BEAUTIFUL and wonderful plan!  I cannot wait to see pictures and hear him tell the story!  It turns out that we were relatively close to Andrea's apartment, and therefore very close to the area where Nick and I explored last time we were in Rome, and also near where Mattea stayed in January. 

We headed for a place Mattea had eaten with her parents, and it turned out to be really good! We had red wine, pizza, veggies, lasagna, and that's it I think.  I named all of it because we ended up sharing things and tasting others' food.  We sat there for like 2 hours or more and laughed so much it hurt.  I cannot post the pics we took, but just know that they are hilarious!  I love laughing with my friends...I love how much fun we have together, and the fun definitely did NOT stop once we left the restaurant.  We stopped in a photobooth and crammed 5 people into it TWICE to get one picture.  THe results are HILARIOUS and Mattea has the hard copies.  I'll have to scan them at some point!  It was soooooooooooooooo much fun!  We are such a great group...and I think we have a great dynamic...We think that we are probably the first Italian ETA group, and maybe only??? to get along so well!  I had so much fun!  The boys were also picking on Mattea and sneaking up behind her to scare her and such!  We had fun laughing at this...laughing at Nick walking in  goofy manner...Nick and David scaring us...we probably looked drunk, but we truly were not; we were just having so much fun being with each other...the photobooth thing was PRICELESS!!! I wish I had a video of it! 

When we got back to the hotel, the boys continued their joke from earlier about stealing our pillows, and this time they succeeded!  Sillly boys...but again, we were having so much fun!  It is fun to just be silly, goofy, ridiculous, fun-loving, and free spirited with your friends...I love these people! 

So, with the return of our pillows, we all went to sleep so that we could get up early and meet for breakfast before we went to America. 

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!!!