Back To Work, Back To School

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Watched Prince Caspian Sunday night with Vic and woke up at 10am to say goodbye to Vic, Xander, Katie, and Laura. They will be in Rome for TWO WEEKS! Lucky lucky team awesome. Katie went down with them for the first week only. From what I have head everyone is having a lovely time down there. We left for Milan, Helen, Sophie, Eughen and I around 11:30. Though I was scheduled to spend the week teaching in Torrino, I thought it would be better to leave from Milano rather than San Remo. I was able to get my laundry done, move my stuff back into the flat and settle . It was nice to have Monday just for moving and settling in. Sophie made everyone jacket potatoes for dinner and between bites of tuna and salad we realized that I could come to the school with them on Monday and still have time to make my train from Milano Centrale. That way I could get a ride, and they wouldn’t have to do Indiana Jones as a three person show. Tried to go to the pharmacy to weigh myself with Helen but it was closed when we arrived. Found the school pretty easily on Tuesday. Did two shows of Indiana, had a lot of fun with Sophie as the Mayans. Caught my 2pm/14:00 train to Torrino (yes the same Torrino that had the 2006 Olympics) and took their new, very nice, Metro, to the end of the line, and was picked up at the station by the hosting teacher. She drove me to the B&B in Villarbassi where the school is. The B&B was owned by a not too terribly warm but nice enough women. She was very nice, but she just didn’t have a ton of positive energy about her. I was greeted by the two tiny dogs and the parrot who share the bottom floor of the house with her and her husband. The top floor is a couple of rooms with a central living room (skye TV, but no wireless ) and a common bathroom. That evening she was kind enough to make me dinner (for a small fee, as there are not many places to eat in the village, though technically she is not suppose to charge for preparing food, restaurant licenses etc. She made me some fava beans with a little meat paddy and some and a cabbage leaf stuffed with some kind of meat…I think it was meat. I met the other guest, a very large swiss/Italian man over tea at the dinner table, he spoke pretty good English. As I prepared my lesson for the next day I watched Cloverfield which I really enjoyed (barrowed it of Xanders computer - thanks mate!) From Wednesday-Saturday I was hired to teach 3rd media students (age 13-14, and one 15 yr old) English, around the world themed workshops, in which we did class room activities as well as writing, rehearsing, and performing a show in English! It was quite a lot to do in such little time, but I was very impressed with all of them. The students were very good, and over all took on all the activities with enthusiasm. Wednesday I taught both classes, called call M(ilan) and N(apolie) for two and a half hours. This is one of the few schools that still does a six day school week with shorter days. So Wednesday was a half day, I and everyone else finished at 1pm/13:00. Guess I haven’t been around enough 13&14 yr olds lately. I still feel 16, and all I kept thinking as we were working together was, ow my god, they look SO YOUNG. Did I look this young when I was thirteen (anyone who knew me will say, YES! Duh. You more then most) and then I couldn’t help feeling REALLY creaped out because though I didn’t recall how young I looked I did recall what I was doing and thinking about and I was a little terrified that these kids were probably if not doing at least thinking and talking about the same things. Very very strange! Lots of them were interested in the fact that I was American. They wanted to know if I ever saw 50cent on the street or if I liked Obama (they all were pleased I liked Obama). They listen to Lincoln Park and Justin Timerlake, a few of them are REALLY good break dancers/B boys. Over all they were a pretty cool group of kids and this village pretty small so they are more or less the only one’s there age in the area. After 1pm/13:00 I went back home and to my surprise the women at the B&B had prepared lunch for me. Eat on my own and went upstairs to have a nap. I intended to walk around the town, maybe go for a job before leaving for dinner at 8pm/20:00 with the Swiss/Italian, Merko, as we both needed to eat, he had a car and wanted to practice his English. Well I woke up around 6:45pm/18:45 and had missed the day light and any of the suns warmth. Watched some stand up, Eddie Murphy Raw, (again off Xanders computer) and then met Merko to go to dinner. Word to the future traveler in Villarbassi NOTHING is open on Wednesday night! Finally after driving to several towns found a café in Villarbassi called Bar Roma. Eat a HUGE meal : salad, amazing chip pea bread (typical for the region), a pizza with ham, buffalo mozzarella, and mushrooms (I only fished ½ the pizza, and though it’s not a typical practice in Italy, was given a box so I could take the rest home). Washed it down with a beer and some tasty chocolate for desert. Made friends and chatted in Italian/Spanish with the Calabrasian man who owns Café Roma. He was very sweet. Watched Al Murry and Jimmy Carr (British comedians) while I prepared my lesson for Thursday. Thursday was quite a long day. Had 1 ½ hours with each class. Then I had a long break, and waited for Helen, Sophie and Eoghan. Which, regardless of how many other times I have written it is spelled, Eoghan. We had lunch at school and then did two shows. Unfortunately, my students didn’t get to see the show, we did The Gift for the first and second media kids. Team Brilliant had to leave just after the shows, so they didn’t get stuck in traffic on the way back to Milan. Got a little work done on my computer at Bar Italia in the village where wine cost 1.50 and a diet coke cost almost double that…Ahh well, that’s Italy for you. Went on a search for M&M’s for a game to play with the kids and wouldn’t you know it the only place that sold them was Café Roma. Chatted with the Calabrasian guys a little more and though I had every intention of having a very light dinner he offered me a free pizza, so again I headed home STUFFED. Friday both classes wrote and began rehearsing their shows. One class did a show of TV channels and the other did trailers for an international film festival (only criteria for the shows was that they had to be in English and they had to have something to do with multi cultureless). Both classes had a wide range of English ability and each class also had some gifted dancers, singers, performers etc. so I did in fact have something to work with. After school some of the students had invited me out for pizza. I had thought I would try to go out in Torino a bit, but both the people who could take me out wouldn’t be available until quite late, and the train back to Villarbassi stopped running at midnight, and it was still a school night for me, which hasn’t stopped me too often, but I had to rehearse two classes and get them show ready in about an hour and half the next day. So I said sure, I thought it would be a few kids from each class…. Well. I was wrong. As planned I got picked up in the square by one of my student Georgia, and her mother. We were to meet the other students in the square in Rivoli (the next town over). The plan was to meet at the square in Rivoli at 8pm/ 20:00. However, Georga (the student whos mother drove me) told me she would pick me up at 6pm/18:00. I thought the meeting time had changed but I realized she just wanted to spend extra time with me and a few of her friends before we met everyone, sneaky little minx. It was fine, we sat in a café and by the time I finished my tea, about five other students had joined us. Italian kids are very connected, they all are constantly texting. Was starting to feel a little awkward, the obvious adult hangin with a bunch of young teens. So we arrived at the square and HOLY MOLY about twenty five of my fourty two students had shown up. So finally we set off for pizza me and twenty five 5ft, boisterous, little bodies. We must have been quite a site, no teachers, no parents, just me and twenty five Italian students. Surprisingly, there was a table big enough for all of us at the pizzeria. So eat pizza for the third night in a row. We were a bit of a spectacle. A few of them were cheeky enough to order beer (legal drinking age is 16, I’m pretty sure). After pizza and a bit of confusion, as we were not allowed to pay separately we worked out the 209 some euro bill and they (all twenty five of them) and I walked back toward the café. They wanted to show me the castle in Rivoli. By this time I had just decided to enjoy what I could of the CRAZYNESS that had become this Friday night out. They gave me 50cents to use the binoculars and showed me Rivoli and Torrino, well what you could see of it on a cloudy night. They are lovely lovely kids. We walked back to the square and our numbers decreased as students were picked up by their respected tall people. I could have used a little time with some adults but again it was a school night and I was dropped at the B&B’s door. I was never given a key, so to get in I had to buzz and though she said she didn’t mind I really didn’t want to be waking up the hotelier (or B&Ber) any later then I already was. Worked on a mix CD that I was leaving both classes as a little gift. Each class got an around the world CD, mostly English music sung by international artists, and a CD of some of my favorite music. Saturday was quite a long day. Everyone was nervous and excited. One of the English teachers also happened to be the drama teacher, and though she was nice enough to run the lights, in the end she got in the way more then she helped. I had to stay in the front and do the music, which was also complicated because the speakers I was given for my computer kept getting disconnected from the outlet plug. I didn’t have a minute to sit down from 8:00am when I arrived until I left school at 12:30. The shows, in true Italian form started late. Some parents came, and the first and second media classes watched as well. Despite the technical difficulties, and students nerves the shows were enjoyable and everyone seemed to have a good time….I hope. One of the student teachers had offered to give me a ride to Torino, to catch my train after, but ended up being sick that day and not coming into school. Geogia, a very nice but a little pushy student of mine, who liked me VERY MUCH, had offered the night before to take me to Torino with a few of the other students and show me around. I had said I probably couldn’t but now it looked like the best/easiest way to get to Torino. None of the other teachers could take me, but best I could get from them was a ride to the bus stop, which I would take to the metro, which I would have to take to the train station. So after checking train schedules and talking with the rest of team Brilliant I decided I would take the ride and mini tour of Torrino with Geogia. I walked with her back to her house where I eat lunch, finally NOT pizza. Watched a little of Dirty Dancing, in Italian, with her and then around 1/13:00 Georgo (her best friend) and his father picked us up. The three of them and I took the Metro into the city center and we began walking to the tower/cinema museum. They were very sweet and paid for my ticket. First we rode the glass elevator up many many stories to the top of a lookout tower. Then we spent about an hour and a half looking around the cinema museum, which is AMAZING. I had a really nice time and I will say two thirteen year olds with another adult is much more relaxing then twenty five on my own. G&G secretly bought me a little poster from the gift shop. They waited with me at the train station and in a little under two hours I was back in Milan. Helen and Sophie picked me up from the station. Went out for drinks in Palazzolo. It was strange being at the flat on the weekend without everyone. E, H, and S had gone out the night before so they were a little tired. Went to Centrale, 1902, Hippo, and Irish Bar. Helen and Sophie walked home around 1 but just as they were leaving saw the guy who I had been out with come in. It was an awkward evening, and I think I had too much wine. They were fine, but Daniele didn’t seem to happy to see me out with another guy, even though I explained that it was my roommate. I wasn’t terrible happy with him either. He had done the typical guy thing, calling me and saying I want to see you on Saturday and then not answering his phone when I called him on Saturday to arrange a place to meet. Still don’t know if he came to Irish Bar because I had texted him to let him know I was going there or if it was a coincidence. Well either way, I haven’t heard from him since. Sunday, rather than a hangover I had the guilt’s. Had an easy day. Did some laundry, went for a jog, finally weighted myself, and was pleased to see that I hadn’t gained since I’ve been here. Around 5pm/17:00 we all packed up to leave for Bressia. Stayed in a nice, self catering flat. We were in a very international neighborhood, felt like I was back on Edgewear Road in London. We looked into a few churches but didn’t have much time or light to do too much site seeing. Went back to the flat and everyone went to the call center near our accommodations. We had to park the car farther away from the flat then the school, so we decided to get the show stuff out and just carry it with our overnight packs to the school the next day. Had a little wonder around on my own, now not carrying a large plastic Chinese dragon and stereo, and then came back to the apartment. Showered, had a cup of tea and spent the rest of the evening watching High School Musical Two with Helen and Sophie.

Weight: LETS GET THIS STARTED! 43.6lbs away from my goal
Fitness: -
Feeling: A little low, but hopeful

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Photos

Me at the Cafe
before the pizza adventure

To my right
pizza

To my left
pizza

Georgo and Georga
who took me to the cinema museum

caution teddy
the caution sign on the torrino metro

Science set
in the cinema musem

Twilight zone enterance
walked into a fridge, into an airplane with toilets and into more twilightzone style sets