Blogs from Turin, Piedmont, Italy, Europe - page 3

Three days spent in the Italian mountains with my first year classes has been....something I never imagined I would have the opportunity to do, and am so happy I had this experience, Andiamo ragazzi!.... Pracatinat can be described as a 'retreat center' nestled into the Italian mountains, and is used by the Piedmont region schools for overnight trips. For the duration of the trip the students do team building activities, hikes, and plenty of free time for 'disco teacha' each evening. (dancing). To make it clear....it felt like I had the role as camp counselor for 25 Italian students for 3 days. I especially felt like a camp counselor because I do not have top authority over the students, and more importantly, cannot communicate enough with the students. So, I brought two important E's with me ... read more

Hello and happy Friday! I have no huge blog for you guys about an big adventure I have been on, because it has only been 5 days since my last trip. I am here to share some things I have left out in many previous blogs thst are overdue for a blog. So sit back, have a rest (as my host mother always says!) and have a cafe as you read away my friends. One thing, in my opinion, and many locals opinions, everyone must experience in Torino is the view from the top of the Mole Antonelliana. Mole, for short, was used as a synoggauge at first and is the tallest building in Turin. It was later turned into a cinema museum. The Mole is an easy building to find in skyline photographs of Turin ... read more

Ciao and happy Thursday family and friends. A look into my teaching experience in Italian Scuola Media. The word I use most often during my solo teaching is SILENZIO! I think ofcourse you can take an educated guess for the translation of this word. A word similar to Spanish too! Your could say that Wednesday was my first 'solo' English lesson, as the teacher I work with, Francesca was out today. There was an official substitute in the classroom, however, since it was English class, it made most sense that I carry on with the lessons. Speaking of substitutes, in the Italian school system, it is common for a teacher who already works in that school to be the substitute. It works out well this way because as mentioned in previous blogs--teachers switch classrooms, not the ... read more

Ciao, I hope you are finding your week to be bellisimo (Italian for lovely/beautiful.) Here I am close to the end of the second week teaching in Italy and I will share with you my most memorable lesson of the Week. Francessca asked me to teach about the American school system in comparison with the Italian school system. I taught the lesson to the 3rd year class only because they are able to comprehend most of what I am saying. By 3rd year class I mean 8th grade middle school. Middle school grades are referred to as 1st year (6th) 2nd year (7th) and 3rd year (8th), rather than being consecutive grades in American schools. The 'grades' start fresh when the Italain students start at a new school (elementary, middle and high school.) I started out ... read more

I have been here less than a week, and find that I am reminding myself often of that. I am going through some culture shock and American withdrawals in my first few days of being Italy. I think many Americans have the stereotype that Italians may be fatter because they eat so many carbohydrates. This stereotype is very much a steretype... the only fat Italian I have seen is a young infant and that is normal. The Italain culture focuses on portion control and snacking is 'out of the norm.' It sounds bizarre but this is one culture difference that my body will not adapt to so easily. For those of you who know me well enough, you know that I like to snack often. My snacks are healthy (proteins, vegetables, fruits and good fats.) My ... read more