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!

***********************************

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!

Better Late Than Never

I realize I'm two days late, but I couldn't resist sharing this picture.

(sorry it's blurry) 

This was part of my dad's gift this year.

I am such a daddy's girl. When I was little, I would imitate anything my dad did. This face was one of those things.

Happy late Father's Day to the best dad a girl could ask for. I'm so blessed that God chose me to be your daughter. Thank you for being such a godly influence for our family and for always providing for us. You work so hard and I can never thank you enough.

Just like this, high five, number one.

Love you, Dad!

Allora

Well it's official. I'm home from Italy. I finally unpacked my bags last night. I haven't posted about my trip yet because I don't want it to be completely over!

Allora. I am just going to post about adventures that I took. I'm going to draw this out as long as possible!

First things first: my favorite Italian words. The whole language is beautiful to me. But there are a few small phrases that just make me smile.

Allora is my absolute favorite Italian word. It basically means so, then, alright, well, etc. Go to Google Translate, type in allora, and listen to the pronunciation (but imagine a real Italian person saying it). It's so cute! My teacher would say it at least 50 times a day whenever she wanted to start something new.

Example: "Allora. Let's get out our math books."

My entire group was obsessed with the word. Every time someone would say it, we would all repeat it and smile.

My other favorite words:

-Aspetta (wait, hold on)

-Basta (stop, enough)

-Eccola qua (look there it is)

I have been emailing one of my Italian brothers since I left and the subject of his first email was "eccola qua." Made me so happy.

Before I left Italy, my youngest brother and sister made me t-shirts, one of which has my favorite words. My sister wrote out the Italian word with the English translation next to it. It's so adorable.

{I'll put up a picture soon.}

I was getting pretty good at understanding the language. Obviously I couldn't understand everything, but I could follow conversations. Could I speak in Italian? No. But I really want to work on it before I go back. I'll surprise everyone!

Fun fact: The Italian language (that we know of) is actually very young. In Southern Italy, there are many different dialects that are extremely old. But in Northern Italy, most people speak the Italian we know. Who knew?!

Fino alla prossima volta...Until Next Time

This is going to be one of the hardest posts I will ever write. It will be a miracle if I get through this without crying...and I am not one to cry. Today is officially my last day in Italy. I cannot begin to describe how sad I am. We found out on Wednesday afternoon that they decided to cut our trip short. As soon as I heard the news, my stomach just dropped. There had been rumors among the girls but I did not expect it to be so sudden. There have been a few earthquakes since May 20 and multiple aftershocks, one of them as strong as the original quake. Families in this area are sleeping in their cars or in tents at the park because they are fearful of another quake. Many old buildings have crumbled and you can see cracks everywhere. The middle school right next to my house has three large cracks.

To say I am devastated is putting it lightly. I have come to love Italy as my second home. My family here has welcomed me with open arms and they are not ready for me to leave. The only thing keeping me from sobbing is that I know I will be back. These people have become my family; I feel so at home here. My brother, Giacomo, and I have been coming up with reasons why I just have to return. There's Verona, Rome, Pisa, more gelato, etc. My dad, Marco, told me last night that I had no choice; I had to come back. I'm perfectly okay with that! Last night, the family joined me for pizza and gelato with the group. I was sitting with them eating gelato when one of my professors came up to me. He told me, "If you smile any more, your face will break." I told him I was just so happy! It's so true. I absolutely love being with my family.

The other thing that breaks my heart is that I will not be able to see my students or teachers again. Like I said on a previous post, school was cancelled after the earthquake on Tuesday. I didn't realize that was the last time I would see my students and teachers. They cancelled school for the rest of the week, and they are debating canceling it for the rest of the school year. The school is open from 11 to 1 today so that anyone can retrieve their things if they left them in the building. I think I am going to walk to the school and see if any of my students come. At the very least I will be able to take a picture of the school.

There are so many exciting things that were happening in the last week of this trip:

• Family weekend: Marco booked us a room at the sea for the entire weekend, starting this afternoon.
• My class party: There is a dinner for the teachers, parents, and students.
• Carlotta's recital: My sister had a violin recital the last day of our trip. (For those of you who don't know, I also play the violin so it was something special we shared.)
• The farewell party for our trip: All of our families, schools, and the people we came in contact with were going to be there. We had little speeches written for our families and there was going to be a lot of delicious food.

I am going to spend today with my family, just trying to enjoy their company as much as I can. My oldest brother is currently in surgery right now for his thumb. He is building an airplane and the propeller sliced his thumb last weekend. (Please pray for quick recovery for that.) My mom gets home from work around 2. We are going to go on a bike ride through the city and will have our last dinner here at home. Ugh that makes me want to cry just typing that. I am still in shock that this is my last day. Everything was just so sudden!

The positive side of leaving early is that I will be able to see my real family. I have missed them, despite how much I absolutely love it here. When they pick me up from the airport, we are headed straight to Chick-fil-A. I'm already planning my meal. Some of the other things I am excited for:

• Buildings/cars with air-conditioning
• Driving my automatic car (inside the lanes at a normal speed)
• Cheese dip...all Mexican food really
• American music
• Speaking normal English
• Normal toilets (as opposed to holes in the ground or toilets without seats)
• Trash cans in every room (my house only has one tiny trash can in the kitchen)

We are leaving Modena at 1 AM tonight. We have a three hour bus ride to Milan, where we will sit in the airport until 12:15. We will land in JFK at 3:30 and will wait for our next flight at 6:30. We will finally land in Atlanta at 9:30. This is going to be a long day of travel. About 27 hours to be exact.

Crazy to think I will be back in America tomorrow night. This has been the experience of a lifetime and something I will never forget. Our group was saying last night that there will be many sentences about the trip ending with "...but then the earthquakes happened." None of us could have predicted this. As much as I hate to leave, I know God has it all under control. I will be back. Of this I am sure.

Here is an article if you want to read a little about what is happening here after the earthquakes:
http://news.yahoo.com/earthquake-hits-northern-italy-074509550.html

Ciao! See you in America!