Thursday, April 17th, 2014
Jessica Pickering

Today, we finally got to sleep in a bit! We didn't go to our service learning classes like we normally would on a Thursday, because the schools are already on holiday for Easter! We rolled out of bed and went to our 1:00 pm class, where we started off by debriefing our visit to the Roma Camp the day before. Initially everyone was quite shocked, but after discussion we are all starting to wrap our heads around the concept a little more. We were a little bit unnerved to find out that the women are rarely allowed to leave the camps at night and that some of them get married at just sixteen. Also it was strange that some people could be a little wealthier in their home countries but choose to live in the Roma camps for various reasons, but most likely to make more money to take home to their families in their home countries or to temporarily do business and then move along to another country.

After discussing the Roma Camp visit, we began to compare immigration, immigrants, racism, and inclusion/exclusion between Italy, the European Union, and the United States. Manka taught us a teaching structure called "KWLH", which stands for what you already KNOW, then what you WANT to know, and after the lecture what you LEARNED, and finally HOW you're going to apply it. Personally I was curious about the citizenship regulations and the process that people go through to become citizens in Italy compared to that same process in the United States. I learned that in Italy specifically, the most important part of the process is gaining legitimate residency rights for a long-term stay. Sometimes, Italians never become citizens which is not as big of a deal as I initially thought. In order to gain residency in Italy, they must have legal documents for at least five years, adequate lodging, an adequate salary, and Italian language proficiency.

Once we finished class we all flooded out of the Rome center to enjoy the sunshine for the rest of the day. Happy Friday!