Veronika, Tuesday, April 15^{th by}  

Today began with an interesting educational talk about the Roma community by Isabella Clough Marinaro. We learned many fascinating and also some disturbing facts about the Roma community that didn’t leave anyone apathetic. It’s unfortunate that not many people are familiar with the history of the Roma community and the current struggles they’re facing. Many people are hung up on the common stereotypes of the Roma community regarding nomadism, fortune telling, music and dancing, purity, religion and so on and so forth. There’s a widespread ignorance about Roma’s culture and it is unfortunate that the politicians don’t have much interest in improving the situation. We also learned the history and the current living situation of the Roma community in Italy. The ethnic camps that are usually in isolated and sometimes illegal places with very little resources sound awful. Tomorrow we will have a chance to visit one of the camps of the Roma community and I am looking forward to learning more about their culture.

Right after the talk Lorraine and I headed back to Trastevere where we caught a bus to Tor Piggnatara because we decided to have lunch in that area before service learning. It was a little bit difficult to find a place to eat at because all of the restaurants were closing for siesta but we still managed to find a great place for lunch. When we got to Pisacane, both of our classrooms were in the cafeteria for lunch so we decided to go outside to the playground where we could spend time with kids from other classes. A few girls from a second grade that I met last week were very happy to see me and we started playing together right away. They took me to their little stage area on the play ground, sat me down, and put on a “show” for me. The girls sang a couple of Italian songs, danced and did cart wheels and other tricks. I can’t even describe how beautiful that was. After the lunch break I went to the classrooms of my first graders and we went to the dance class that they have every Tuesday. I loved observing their interactions during the class and playing with all of them after the class. Even though there is a language barrier between me and the kids, it doesn’t stop us from connecting and trying to get to know each other. I look forward to seeing them next week.

After the service learning we bought some strawberries and apples and headed back home. On the bus we met up with the rest of our group and everyone looked exhausted. We figured it was because the weather was gloomy and rainy today which has reminded us of Seattle. For dinner I only had some snacks and strawberries but most of the rest of the group got together to cook dinner. After dinner people sat at the table for a few hours talking and getting to know each other. It was a great ending to this rainy long day.

Veronika Patrashko