Thursday May 15th

Today was just another typical Thursday! We were able to sleep in before we had to catch the bus for service learning at 12:30. This morning Sydney S, Claudia, Rebecca, Lorraine and I left the apartment early to go to this great café in Campo Di Fiori that Stephanie recommended to us. It has amazing fresh squeezed juice; a few of us got the ‘pineapple, pear and apple’ flavor. It was so yummy I had two! After that we caught the bus to service learning. I am starting to get attached to some of the kids; it is going to be sad to leave them! Especially because we aren’t able to communicate with them in Italian, I feel bad that we won’t get to say a proper goodbye.

After service learning we had our weekly group dinner. Tonight we had Thai food, and I think lot of us agreed that it was one of our favorite meals since we have been in Rome! We had Pad Thai, fried rice, dumplings, shrimp, curry, beef and vegetables… I think I can speak for everyone when I say I ate way too much. I really enjoy group dinner, it is a nice way for all of us to sit down together in a non-school setting and enjoy each other’s company.

A few of us are heading off to Barcelona for the weekend and I can’t wait to lie on the beach, eat paella, and speak Spanish (even though it may be a little rusty). This week went by really fast… so crazy to think our time in Rome is almost over. Ciao for now!

Madeleine

Wednesday May 14, 2014 (Two Weeks Until Class Is Over!)

Today on May 14, 2014 it officially marks two weeks until our last day of class! The sun was shining, the birds were chirping and the wind was blowing! It’s almost surreal that were almost done! Two weeks are going to go by so fast and I think when the time comes I will be more than ready to go back home. Today we had Italian class to start out and it felt like I haven’t been in Italian class in forever because I was very rusty. We just did more conversations together, fill in the blank and learning more verbs in Italian. We only have a couple more Italian classes left and then our final!

After Italian class we had a lunch break and I just took the time to relax and watch one of my favorite shows in the computer lab lol. Today Stephanie brought us some delicious cherries and bread today and they were molto bene. In class we just discuss many things that we had been experiencing so far in Italy. We compared our experience from Turin, to Rome and even to the U.S. Through all of these discussions I think I’m starting to understand that Italy is very complex and so are the people who live here. But I think it’s safe to say that it’s like this in all countries and all people. Overall I think it was a very good discussion for about three hours.

After class later on Claudia and I started to prepare for our trip to Barcelona this weekend at my place. We figured out transportation and how to get to the airport and our hostel. We also looked up things to do and see in Barcelona, Spain. We're so excited and we can't wait to see Barcelona and she can’t wait to speak Spanish! 

-Shontia C.W. 

Monday, May 12, 2014

Lorraine Yu

             

After a few days in Torino, it was a bit difficult to readjust back to the busy streets of Rome.  Stephanie and Amara took us to Piazza Vittorio, the immigrant neighborhood that is right next to Termini Station.  This neighborhood reminded me a lot of San Salvario, where we stayed in Torino.  Amara mentioned that he thinks immigrants tend to gravitate towards living next to train stations because it’s convenient to leave the city and also because immigrants tend to believe that they will only spend a few years there before moving back to their original home.  However, that is usually not the case and they tend to stay where they end up.

We walked around the area for about ten minutes before heading to a huge market that is reminiscent of the one we visited in Torino.  The main differences being that this one was indoors and far less crowded.  Both markets offered fresh produce and food on one side, but the one in Rome had a smaller selection of clothing compared to the one in Torino.  James and I paired up to interview two different people about their views on immigration.  The first person we interviewed was a man who moved to Italy from Bangladesh ten years ago.  He did not really have any opinions on immigration and said that Italians tend to be friendly and are able to coexist with immigrants, especially the younger generations.  He also mentioned that he has children in Bangladesh but it is too expensive to bring them to Italy so he sends money to them instead.  The second person we interviewed was an Italian man who happened to be Roma.  James and I didn’t realize this until after we asked Stephanie.  It can get confusing since Roma and Rome are so similar and Roma means Rome in Italian.  He lives in the Piazza Vittorio area and he loves it.  He owns three clothing shops in the market and was kind enough to show us one of them.  He says that it is hard for both Italians and immigrants to find jobs and also mentioned that he doesn’t believe there is much discrimination towards immigrants in Italy.

After our tour of Piazza Vittorio, Stephanie and Amara took us to get gelato!  At first we were going to go to Palazzo del Freddo, the oldest gelateria in the area but it was unfortunately closed.  We wandered around for about ten minutes and found another one that was open.  I opted for vanilla and tiramisu and both were pretty good. 

Blog: Saturday, May 10th

Sydney Staples 

This past weekend we were up north in Turin to study how immigration may differ between north and south Italy. However, on Saturday, we had the opportunity to leave Turin for the day and night to explore other northern cities. I left for Venice, Italy with Rebecca, Claudia, Shontia, and James at 5:30am! Our train ride was about four and a half hours long, and we didn’t sleep much. When we got off the train and walked out of the train station, the first attraction we saw was one of the town’s famous canals! There were water taxis everywhere. It was incredible. We started heading to our hostel with bags in hands while trying to make our way through the crowd of people also just getting off the train. There was not a cloud in the sky; it was probably 75 degrees at 11am! The streets of Venice are like a maze, it’s extremely easy to get lost in the neighborhood. We found our hostel after turning down a few dead ends, and changed out of our comfy traveler’s clothes. We headed out to the canals and walked around, soaking up the sun and taking photographs of the breathtaking views. The five of us decided we wanted a cheap lunch, so we bought ham and arugula wraps for a few euro. We then explored St. Marco’s Square and experienced the architecture inside St. Mark’s Cathedral. Afterwards, we were offered a ‘deal’ to ride a gondola for just under an hour for a good price… So we took it! Franco showed us around the canals of Venice, and filled our ears with the history of the town. The ride was probably the highlight of my trip. It was so peaceful and perfect, I didn’t want to get out of the boat! After the gondola ride, we wandered along the side of the Grand Canal and ordered drinks and gelato and basked in the Sun’s rays for over an hour. I can’t stress how perfect the day was. It would have been impossible to wipe the grin off my face! After tanning/burning for a couple of hours, we went to the grocery store to buy some snacks and then returned to our hostel. We took a short break and then headed back out for seafood and tiramisu. We read online that St. Marco’s Square is the place to be at night, so we went to go see what was up. There were three live bands playing jazz at a few restaurants, one being the Florian, the oldest café in Venice! We took a lot of pictures of Venice’s nightlife. Once it hit midnight, the bands packed up to go home and so did we. We found our way back, washed our faces, brushed our teeth, and crawled in bed. Bliss. 

Mother's Day- Sunday, May 12th

Today was Mother's Day, and it carried with it a nostalgic feeling for most of us.  I am very pleased to be in Italy, but its hard to be away from my mom on this day.  Phone calls were made and lots of pictures were posted on social networking in distant celebration.  Let's face it, if not for all of you, we might not have been able to come to Italy! Thank you so much for all you do! We love you.

Besides Mother's Day, it was also a long day of travel for the five of us in Venice.  We woke up for an early morning cappuccino and hopped on a train to Torino.  After a 4.5 hour ride, we were able to spend a little time in Torino again.  It quickly became one of our favorite cities because of its open areas, friendly people, and tasty food.  One of the highlights of my day was visiting the Egyptian Museum.  Many of the group members visited it on Thursday, and I was able to check it out today!  There were great people Sadly, it came time to hop on the train for Rome once again.  After another 4 hour ride, we finally made it home.  The final stretch of the program is upon us, and I am hoping to finish strong!

Happy Mother's Day! 

James Norris

Friday, May 9th--Torino Day 3

Veronika Patrashko

Friday was another great day spent in Turin. We visited one of the most amazing preschools that I have ever been in. It has a big property with a nice garden and a playground. The school is wonderfully decorated inside with kids art work and many other creative posters. I was very impressed by one of the many posters in the lobby that had a world map in the middle and many children around it. On the sides of the poster there were flags of the countries from where all of the children come from and their names under the flags. I found it very creative and inspiring. The children in this preschool do many interesting projects and also participate in the initiatives for contemporary art. All around the school there a many pictures documenting many activities. Another fascinating thing about this preschool was a library where children spend time reading and preparing to participate in the book fair. Also the building of this preschool was built by a famous Turin architect in 1980s. He focused on the open space and structured the building "to be open and not closed to the outside world". There are a few great workshop areas with many different materials that are located at the level of the children so they can easily access them. Personal hygiene and autonomy is very important in this school. All of the classrooms are very intercultural and have mixed age groups. Visiting this preschool and meeting the children was an unforgettable experience. 

After the preschool we visited the biggest market in Turin. It's a huge market where you can find pretty much anything you can think of. It's a very intercultural market and a few of us met some interesting people. 

After the market we walked around Turin, did some shopping, visited beautiful piazzas, and even tanned in the park by the fountain. Finally, before the sunset we went up to the viewpoint of Turin with one of the girls that we have met on our high school visit the day before. It was a gorgeous sunset with the beautiful view of the city. Overall, it was a wonderful day and all of us absolutely loved Turin. Now we're all headed in the different directions for the weekend: Aosta, Venice, Nice, Verona, and Milan. Have a great weekend everyone!"

March 8th, 2014

Ciao from Torino!

Today we woke up early because some of us got breakfast with Stephanie near the hotel/hostel before class. The cornet (croissants) there were to die for. I really want to go back again before I leave Toronio. Afterwards we ended to a preschool that is literally 2 seconds from our hotel. We stayed there for most of the morning. It was really awesome! The preschool basically changed their thinking to be much more of a progressive and intercultural school. They work with children from 0 to 6 years old. They also mix a lot of their classes so you can find four, five and six year olds all together in class, which is super unique in Italy. We watched some of the younger kids paint, before some of the older children joined them. Afterwards we went upstairs because some of the older kids had a surprise for us. They spoke to us in minimal english and gave us italian or american flags that they had made in class. They also sang many songs, including on I knew from girl scout camp, I almost cried from the nostalgia  - I hadn't heard the song in several years. I also met a woman at the preschool who is a special education aid, she told us she is 70 years old. I hope to be her some day.

After the preschool we ran to the market to get some delicious fruit before heading to high school that Stephanie had taught english at. At the high school we spoke to an english class and they showed us many presentations about intercultural programs at the high school. It sounded really interesting, all of the different programs. Their english was superb (even if they told you otherwise). We had a break after the high school to take a nap or walk around the park. At 5 some of us met up to go to the Egyptian museum. I always had a huge interest in Egyptian culture from a young age, so I loved seeing the museum and walking around. We then headed to this incredible pizzeria for dinner before having a chat with a religion teacher and an intercultural mediator. It was quite an intense, long, but worthwhile day.  I can't wait to see what Torino brings tomorrow!