Modena Part 3

Welcome to day three of Modena stories! Today is just a random assortment of things.

My favorite thing about Italy was the gelato. I think we stopped at every gelato place we came across. Pretty sure I ate my weight in gelato.

I wish I was kidding.

My favorite flavor was bacio. It's chocolate with hazelnut and oh.my.word it's delicious. They have Bacio chocolates in Italy and my mom was sweet enough to send me home with two bags. I only have a few left so I'm trying to save them for when I really miss Italy.

These are only a few of the stops we made:

This was on the day they told us we were leaving early. It was so hot this day and we walked around for an hour trying to find this place.

The first day of school, I went out to lunch with two other girls. Our parents had told us about Bar Agora so we set off to find it. It took us about 15 minutes when it only should have taken 5, but we finally made it! And sadly all the tables were reserved for a business meeting. So we had pizza next door instead. But we were really proud of navigating the city by ourselves!

this was all mine

Around the corner from my house was the cinema. There was a huge statue of a duck in front of the building. Every time we drove past it, Giacomo would say, "There's the best statue in all of Modena!" I just had to get a picture of it.

excuse the horrible quality...we were driving


Modena is like my second home now. I absolutely loved every second I spent there. My family was so wonderful and I can't wait to go back to see them!

Modena Part 2-Birthdays and Obama

Welcome to day two of the Modena stories!

Like I mentioned yesterday, I went to a birthday party with one of my brothers (Giacomo) while I was in Modena. The first Sunday, while we were eating pizza, Giac told me I was invited to his friend's party. Honestly, the thought terrified me. Not only was I just getting to know the family, but I was going to have to put up appearances in front of a group of Italian 20-year-olds. Scary? I think yes.

The party was on Thursday and the closer it got, the more relaxed I became. Living in a new country with new people speaking a new language really makes you take advantage of every opportunity. I generally hate crowds and new situations. But in Italy, I embraced them. The night of the party, my mom picked me up from our seminar and took me to Luca's house. I found out that his mom was an English translator so that eased a little anxiety. I realized on the bike ride over that I was actually excited to go into the new situation. And it turned out to be awesome!

I was greeted at the door by Giac, Luca, and Luca's parents. They were all so friendly. They took me to the backyard and I was immediately the center of attention. I'm talking everyone went silent and they all stared at me. A little uncomfortable. They introduced me and then everything went back to normal.

People started walking up to me introducing themselves. Almost all of them spoke English. One of them was fluent so we made fun of the other's attempts. They all wanted to practice their English and wanted to know about America. They offered me so much food as well as beer or champagne. I don't drink so when I told them "No, grazie" they were shocked. "You're 21 right? You're in college? You're American? And you don't drink?!" Haha sorry to disappoint. Not all American college students are like the ones you see in movies.

One of the other boys was particularly interested in our politics. After introducing himself, this is how our conversation went:

Boy: Are you Republican or Democrat?

Me: Republican

Boy: So you don't like Obama. Correct?

Me: That would be correct.

Boy: Why?

This led to a long conversation about American politics and what's going on in our country. It was actually pretty great. I never expected to talk politics at a 20-year-old's birthday party, let alone at an Italian birthday party.

The rest of the party was spent talking, laughing, and playing dumb party games. At one point, a boy started to explain the rules of a game. Everyone made him explain it in English for me. So he was speaking in English and then another guy translated it in Italian. Quite possibly the funniest thing I've ever heard.

This night was one of my favorite nights on the trip. The people really made me feel welcome and were so interested in everything I had to say. I have never liked being the center of attention, but it was nice for a change.

Sadly, I didn't have my camera, so I have no physical prove that this actually happened. Luca's mom did take a picture of me with the birthday boy. Guess I need to track her down and get that from her.

I had originally planned to finish up Modena stories on this post, but this turned out to be longer than expected. So stay tuned for more outings tomorrow!

Modena Part 1

I really enjoyed living in Modena for a few weeks. The town was the perfect size: not too big and not too small. I either walked or rode my bike everywhere I needed to go. My school was a short 10 minute walk and the center of the city was less than 20 minutes by bike. The first night I was there, my family took me on a bike tour of the city. We rode by all the major buildings and they gave me a brief history lesson of the city. I am so blessed my parents (whole family, really) spoke English. It made things sooooo much easier.

my cute little bike

The first Sunday was so busy. We all slept late (because we didn't get back from our bike tour until 12:30 am) and then went to Nonna's house for lunch. We then went to the Ferrari Museum and to a small castle. This was my first visit to a real castle (Disney World does not count) and y'all, I was excited. My family kept apologizing because it was so small but I thought it was awesome. I didn't take any pictures but my brother took one on his phone. Outside in the creek, they had found someone's bones. Kind of creepy but kind of cool.

you can see the skull and a few bones in the middle

After the castle we went to mass (long and boring, mostly because I couldn't understand a word). The people were really friendly and everyone was interested in the new American girl. I've never been one to like attention, but I really enjoyed it in Italy. I especially enjoyed it at a birthday party I attended, but that story is for another post. 

After mass, we went out to eat pizza. Italians don't mess around with their pizza. Instead of ordering slices or sharing one pizza with multiple people, they each get their own pizza. Granted, the crust is super thin (I'm talking almost non-existent) so it is easy to eat a lot. But I was not aware of this. I told them to just get whatever, thinking I would just eat a slice of the type they usually order. You can imagine my surprise when the waitress brings me my own pizza with literally everything on it. Meat, vegetables, cheese, you name it. I only ate three American-sized slices. I felt horrible leaving so much on my plate but I just couldn't do it. By the end of the trip, however, I was able to eat an entire pizza and still have room for gelato.

Just a few of the many pizzas I ate:

calzone con prosciutto e formaggio (ham and cheese)

spinach and cheese pizza

This, my friends, is the Modenese Pizza. Probably one of the best things I've ever eaten. It has everything that Modena is famous for: parmesan cheese, prosciutto, and basalmic vinegar. Heaven on a pizza. I'm craving it so bad now.

I'll save more stories for my next Modena post. Stay tuned for gelato, birthday parties, and ducks!

Let's take a short break from Italy posts, shall we?

So you might have heard of a boy named Justin Bieber. You might also know that he just released his new album and is on tour. And just in case you're a big fan, you will also know that he has new dancers for his tour.

Well guess what. I happen to know one of those dancers! She was in my orchestra class in high school and grew up in my grandfather's church.

(she's the first dancer on stage)

Kind of crazy to think that someone from little ol' Grayson would end up dancing with Justin Bieber! Congrats Ely! You look great!

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Speaking of boy singers/bands...I'm going to the One Direction concert tomorrow!!!

Woohoo! Confetti! Party in the USA with Brits!

Seriously I'm so excited. My 13-year-old self may just come out.

Can't wait to let y'all know how it goes!

Ferrari Museum

The first weekend of our trip was spent entirely with our family. They literally dropped us off in a parking lot as soon as we got to Modena and said, "Have fun!" I was definitely nervous but I just embraced the awkwardness. My family did a lot the first weekend. One of the major things we did was visit the Ferrari Museum.

{Oh and please excuse my appearance. It was a rough weekend, sleep-wise.}

The museum is right beside the Ferrari Factory in Maranello. It is very close to Modena; only about a 15 minute drive. The museum was filled with Ferrari cars, all donated by the owners. 

with my sister, Carlotta

My favorite room was the Hall of Victories. On one wall, there were the winning cars from 1999-2008. On the other wall, there were shelves of trophies, 110 in all. There were also nine helmets from the world champions.

via

The rest of the museum was pretty open with one section flowing to the next. There were all different types of cars from the beginning of Ferrari's history to the most current models. There was even a section where you could see all the details a buyer could chose when purchasing a Ferrari. Seat color, fabric, thread color, and paint color were just a few options.

That's me in the back! And the guy in the striped jacket is Filippo. 

with Francesco and Carlotta

It was awesome to tour the place and see the cars up close. That is as close as I will ever get to that nice of a car. I sure don't see any Ferrari purchases in my future.

*All photos were taken by my Italian brothers, Filippo and Francesco

Seconda Classe A (Second Grade Class A)

{Warning: This is a long post. If you aren't very interested in education, it may be a little boring. Don't say I didn't warn you!}

The main point of this trip was my work in the school. I was placed in second grade and I absolutely loved my class. The kids were so sweet and were really excited I was there. There is no way you can be upset with a little child speaking Italian. It's just impossible.

welcome sign for the group at the front of the school

my welcome sign at my classroom

There were two teachers for my class: Cristina and Federica. The teachers would switch off teaching each day; one would teach in the morning and one would teach after lunch. I had 20 kids in my class, including two with special needs. One of them just had trouble remembering simple facts; the other had more of a behavior issue. Because of these students, we had an extra "teacher" in the class every day. Giovanna was there to help the students with their work and she would often pull them out of class to work with them individually.

All three teachers spoke a little bit of English. Giovanna was the best. When she was in the room, she would translate things for me if I didn't understand. If it was only Federica in the room, we would use sign language and attempt to communicate while laughing our heads off at how ridiculous we looked. Cristina did not speak to me very much. Whenever she would teach, I would just sit in the back of the room and journal.

As far as actual teaching, I did not do very much. It was a lot of observation to compare Italian and American schools. I taught the students "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" and helped them with basic English. The only big thing I really got to do was help with math. The students begin to learn English in elementary school so they were already learning numbers. There were many days when I would call out math problems in English and they would have to first translate the numbers, then solve the problems.

blurry...but a poster my teacher asked me to make

Italian schools are very different from American schools in the sense that there is not a lot of group work. The students stay in their desks all day. The teacher calls out problems or tells them to write certain sentences and they do it. It is similar to the image you probably have for a pioneer school from America's early days.

my classroom (the way it was when we left during the earthquake...details here)

Our schedule was mostly the same everyday. I was in the school from 8:30-12:30 each weekday. We worked from 8:30-10:30, then had a 30 minute break until 11. The kids could eat a snack, run around outside, and just get their energy out. They worked from 11-12:30 and then it was time for lunch. I ate at school the very first day, but went home every day after that.

our classroom door and the area where the students played during break

PE with one of my teachers (Federica)

Lunch at an Italian school is amazing. They have a three course meal each day complete with pasta, meat/vegetables, and dessert. It is absolutely incredible. The responsibilities of the students are a little different for each stage of schooling. In preschool, the students set the tables, serve the meals, and clean up the trash. In elementary school, the students are served by cafeteria workers, but they must clean up the mess. I assume it is the same in the upper levels, but I'm not positive because I never witnessed it. In middle and high school, most students go home for lunch or go somewhere in the city. Elementary students can also go home for lunch, but most stay at school.

lunchroom rules

our lunchroom

Each Thursday afternoon, our group got together for our "seminars." We would talk about things we were seeing in the classrooms and different teaching styles. I won't bore you with the details, but we had some great conversations. I honestly did not expect to get a lot out of it, but every week I came away with something new. It is such a great experience to teach or observe in another country and I hope I get the chance to do it again!

If you made it all the way through this, I'm sending you a big high five. A lot of this is for me to remember so I appreciate you reading through my thoughts!

Nonna

This is Nonna, my Italian grandmother. She is precious.

I first met her on my second day in Italy when we went to her house for lunch. As soon as I walked through the door, she said, "You are beautiful!" Then she started speaking really quickly in Italian and lost me.

When her husband was still alive, they would travel all the time. She has been literally all around the world. I'm pretty sure she has visited every continent, minus Antarctica. Because of this, she spoke a little bit of English. She also studied English about 30 years ago. She can understand more than she can speak. She really wanted me to learn Italian. When the kids told her to speak English for me, she told them that the only way I would learn Italian was for me to hear it all the time. She thought that I would just pick it up if she kept speaking it to me. If only that were so...

I went back to her house twice more for lunch during my trip. She would make some sort of pasta (homemade, of course), as well as meat and vegetables. And she always had dessert. It was just like eating at my grandmother's house in America.

The last time I went to her house, I asked her to show me her travel pictures. She pulled out stacks of photos and explained them all to me. By this point, I was able to understand a good amount of Italian. She would explain where each picture was taken and I would just gawk at how gorgeous everything looked. Moscow, Australia, Peru, Mexico, Austria, Norway, and Egypt were just a few places she talked about.

Because it was the last time I would see her before I left for America, I asked the boys to take a picture of me with her. She got so excited and then freaked out about her appearance. She ran so fast into the bathroom and fixed her hair. It was so cute. She wanted to take the picture outside because she is so proud of her garden. That picture only shows a small part. Her yard is so green and beautiful with flowers everywhere you look.

I'm so glad I was able to meet her on this trip. She is such a precious woman and I loved being in her home. I am looking forward to my next trip to Italy and some more of her delicious food!