This week has been a pretty exciting week, well, aside from Monday thru Thursday. Monday thru Thursday consisted of nothing except classes. In Italian class we are learning how to tell time and how to name foods as well. Science and Society has begun, but I am not in that class. I must say that I enjoy having free time instead of a class in that period, I get more done. Chelsea has also begun giving me piano lessons. I am going to give her beadwork lessons.
The real excitement began with Friday. On Friday, I was to go to a local school to teach the students English. I was really excited and really nervous, I was a mess. I was assigned to the high school. I hadn’t received my timetable or curriculum until Wednesday, so I did not have a lot of time to put anything together. I did manage to get some pictures of my house to show the students. The students were learning about types of houses and furniture in English. The night before I put together a PowerPoint presentation to show them.
On Friday, I woke up an hour before I had to leave; sleeping late was pure bliss. I showered, dressed and did all the other things a girl has to do in order to be presentable to the public world. I remembered where my school was located and didn’t get lost at all! However, I came across trouble when I tried to explain to the receptionist that I was there to teach English. Thankfully she took me to one of the English teachers who kept me company. I wasn’t supposed to be there until 11:45am, but I got there fifteen minutes early. She explained to me some of the things that I would be doing and what the classes were doing. I noticed that there were a bunch of posters dedicated to different festivals. The bell rang, and my teacher came out of the classroom to lead me to the class that I would be talking to. I came up the stairs and was met with a torrent of noise that came form a mob of rowdy students at the end of the hall. The closer that the teacher and I came to the classroom the more students went inside and sat at their desks. I walked in and was met with more noise. The teacher introduced me and told me to go to her desk and sit. I went to her desk and stood because I did not feel comfortable, I felt that the students should see me and I also felt that I would be pushing the teacher out of her room. I spent the first fifteen minutes talking about houses and different rooms. I said nothing of furniture, so my PowerPoint presentation was useless. They asked me questions that I would never have thought to ask. I was explaining to them about trailers and mobile homes when I was asked if there was a problem with tornadoes. I explained to them that tornadoes weren’t a problem in the area where I’m from. They also wanted to know about the education system in America and what classes were required for students there. They also asked what classes I had to take and were very concerned that Italy was not a main option for foreign language in the high schools of America. The male students were very loud and would flirt, but when they wanted to ask a question they would avert their eyes and look away as though they were shy. Everyone did that when they asked me a question. Next time I will explain that I am not scary and am not much older than they are, so they have nothing to be afraid of.
The questions grew and they became more personal. The students wanted to know what I enjoyed to do and all the places I have been. They also wanted to know about my taste in music and asked if I liked Italy and its food. The students were also concerned with whether or not I liked the people and what I didn’t like. Another thing they really wanted was to see pictures of where I am from. The end of the class came soon, and I found that I regretted the shortness of the class. I would gladly volunteer to go back on Saturday. Upon leaving one of the male students told me that I was beautiful and that I did beautifully. My self-esteem shot to the sky. The rest said goodbye multiple times and one of the female students stayed back to ask what English was in American culture. I explained that it was Literature. The teacher was very nice and I left in a very good mood. To heighten my good mood I passed the music store to find that it was open. I went in and bought a piano music book to help Chelsea teach me. I was so happy that day that I didn’t even mind that it was “Fish Day”.
That afternoon consisted of shopping. I didn’t find anything, but that is probably a good thing. That night, the girls and I went out to celebrate Hannah’s birthday weekend. I left early. The next day was met with an early start. Saturday was a day of much traveling. It was also a day of extreme cold. We were all shivering as we stepped off of the bus and into the forests of Chiusa della Verna. It was extremely beautiful and I had the biggest urge to shoot off into the trees, I didn’t of course, but that is only because I didn’t know that it was legal for me to do so. By the time I had made that discovery, it was too late. We were at della Verna so that we could see the Monastery where San Francesco lived. We saw his cell and the rock were formations were absolutely breathtaking. While we were there, a wedding took place. It was neat that we got to see the bride go into and leave the chapel. After della Verna we went to Caprese. In Caprese there was a chestnut festival. I am not fond of chestnuts, but we found another treasure here; Cotton Candy! It was huge! We left with high spirits and Lauren, Vi, Samantha, Hannah and I managed to catch a nap on the bus while we were waiting for the others to show up. I was happy to arrive back in Sansepolcro. I was extremely hungry and was thankful that Vi suggested we go to the Chinese restaurant. Later that night we went to the discoteca. I had a lot of fun.
On Sunday, I slept late and woke up with nothing immediate to have to do. I came into the kitchen and did pretty much nothing all day. The rest of the girls had an epic movie day that consisted of chick flicks. That evening, most of us did homework last minute. It was a great week and I look forward to teaching my class again this Friday.
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