I know I have once again been MIA for the past couple of days, but the internet here just does not want to work with me! I will just do a quick sum up of my week and then will talk about the amazing things that have happened today! Hang in there with me, this may be a bit of a long blog! :)
We arrived here Saturday and since then I have been very busy!
We visited another castle here in Vignola. which is where our hotel is located, again I still think that I was meant to be royalty. EXCEPT for the stairs, like how on earth did people ever go up and down on those things on a daily basis? Its not possible. End of story.
We also were able to go to go the Parmesan Cheese Factory to learn the how the year long process of making the real Parmesan Cheese is made. The smell was horrible and not my thing. But watching how mostly everything is still done by hand and the time and energy put into making sure the cheese is just right before it is sold was a pretty cool experience.
Along with the Cheese Factory we also were able to go to a Balsamic Vinegar Museum. We learned that there is a huge difference in the Balsamic Vinegar we are all use to and the correct versions of the ones that are made here and aged for a minimum of 12 to 25 years... I have also figured out that I like the true Balsamic on strawberries! Yummy.
I NEED ONE... I am talking about a Ferrari of course. I was meant to be a princess to live in the castles here, but I think my time period was off a little bit because I was also meant to have a Ferrari. This is of course my thinking after going to the Ferrari Museum here in Italy. Getting to look at every body style and the changes between the engines as they switch year models as well. I also learned that Ferrari made plane engines in WWll, which I found to be extremely interesting and did not know before.
Meeting the Mayor and School Day One!!
We traveled a short way to Marano sul Panaro a small city just outside where we are staying. We were able to meet with the mayor and discuss things that are going on in the town as well as in the schools.
Arriving at the schools in Marano sul Panaro was the most amazing experience in itself. The children created us with songs in the court yard, welcoming us into their school. This was the most overwhelming feeling of joy and happiness as this school openly welcomed into their classes.
We had a great lessons with Where's Walrus with two very different groups of students.
Today I opened my world to the child centered approach that lead me to wanting to become a teacher. The Reggio Emilia Approach. Creativity of the free mind can help children to create the process of learning and grow through self-expression and self-exploration.
In saying this I am not saying that I believe that the standards we have in place in the US are all bad, but in some cases they do take away the freedom of learning away from the children indirectly. In a pamphlet that they handed out to us today they had a section where the students talked about their school; one student quoted, "The school is beautiful and fun, you can play so much."
I believe that play is the best way for the younger students to learn, so for a student to enjoy coming to school to learn through play that is a beautiful thing in itself.
They take time in letting the students create their own knowledge of something, and then walk them through the process of how to correctly identify the right answer. In saying that they also do not believe in telling the students that they have the wrong answer yet they let the students try to figure it out in a different way.
Creating a sense of anything is possible through creativity and believing in yourself. One thing that we were able to see today that blew my mind was a project that the school and city let the students create. The students were told to create and design their ideal home. From the structure of the building to the things that were needed on the inside to make it feel safe and loving. Once the students finished their drawing the city took those to an architect and build the houses based off of the children design and sold the houses to raise money for the school. And the outcome was incredible.
Now of course this is not something that every town or school can do. Most do not have the money to build a neighborhood based off of children's designs but their are many other things that you can implement in your classroom for you students to believe in their work and have pride in their finish products. This is one of the most important things that you can instill in a child. To be proud of the work that they have done so that they will want to continue learning and want to learn even farther beyond your expectations as a teacher.
We are constantly learning.. Even outside of the classroom. So who is to be the judge that a typically classroom is the best learning environment?
ALSO, let me do a quick shout out to our amazing sponsor grandparents while we are here. I could not be more grateful for the time and energy these wonderful people have put into making this part of our trip run smoothly.
Bless their beautiful souls for wanting to deal with five annoying college kids all the time! They have fed us a traditional homemade four course Italian meal one of the nights that we have been here, where I literally ate till I could not breath! And they have also stopped at every single gelato place to buy us all some. Typical grandparents, always stuffing our faces :)
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Saturday, May 23, 2015
Playing catch up.. Past three days :)
Tuesday 19th –
Ciao Aosta!
Very short and sweet day. Got a little time to catch up on
my sleep and relax a bit! I woke up to an even bigger market right outside my
hotel, which could have been very bad for my wallet if I wouldn’t have told
myself no a million times. We walked around and just enjoyed one of our last
free days in Aosta!
We also got to stop in and go to our sister school here in
Aosta, Universite De La Vallee D’Aosta, or University of Valle D’Aosta. We
talked to the department head of the Education Program that they have there. It
was a really neat to be able to talk about future programs that will be coming
to this school to learn about the education system here in Aosta and how they
implement their student teaching processes. It is very different from what we
do in the US. Here the go for five years instead of four and they also only
have only have 400 practicum hours in the classroom throughout all five years,
compared to our 532 squeezed into two years. Sound like they have stress free
semesters… meanwhile were over here killing ourselves to make it through.
I am very proud to be one of the first students to
participate in this program and to help build connections for future students
who attend this trip like the one we established at the university today.
Wednesday 20th –
High school silliness all over again…
Today I enter a high school classroom as a future teacher
instead of a student. This was a weird experience for me. I am very use to
having my little ones in the classroom and being much older than them, but
being very close in age to the students is very different. It was interesting
to be able to discuss the differences in the educational systems with them
instead of just observing the differences like I do in the early childhood
classroom. I learned a lot about not just the differences in the school but the
culture as well. The students do not work or play sports throughout
schooling they dedicate their time only to studying and their schooling. They
attending school from 8 to around 1:20 and then go home to study for their
schooling. Of course you know how crazy that sounds to us… As a country we put
so much emphasizes on working and playing sports if you have the ability. We
believe that things like sports and working throughout school will help build
character and will power. As a person that grew up working and playing three
sports I am not totally sure if that is the case. I did gain certain aspects of
responsibility but not everything.
Slow pace living and enjoying the moments is something that
is respected here. I sometimes wonder if that is what we are missing not only
in our school systems but in life as well. Are we too busy to notice what is
going on around us? Are we too busy to just enjoy life?
We went on a nature walk after going to the high school which after contemplating rushing through life made me stop and take in the views just a little bit more. The walk was very fun to be that close to the top of the mountains again and also to see some historic bridges as well. History surrounds this place in so many different ways it is hard to grasp the full concept of it.
Thursday 21st –
Getting Sea-legs!
Today we finally arrived in Venice, after a four hour train
ride… Not so sure about that but I did finish my blog catch up on the train, so
that was nice!
I will say the train ride was well worth the wait. Venice is
amazing, from the second we stepped off the train we boarded at water taxi and were
riding the boat to the hotel. The fact that this whole city is made up of just
islands connected by walking bridges is just simple amazing to think about,
better yet to see. Since we got here later in the day there wasn’t too much to
do but walk around just a little bit and grab a bite to eat. As I sit here now
and type this up the rain is pouring down.. I can only hope that it will be
gone by morning to get more wonderful pictures of this place and to learn more
about their city.
Monday, May 18, 2015
Monte Blanco AND First Day of Classes
I was so tired yesterday after my adventure that my blog just got pushed to the side, so tonight I will make it up for you guys and talk about both new experiences!
Monte BlancoI bet you all did know I was a mountain climber, did you? Well this type of climbing I can do. Two different ski lifts and 300 stairs later I made it to the top of Mont Blanc in Courmayeur, Italy. 15,000ft and the highest point in Europe.. I couldn't believe my eyes. The view was breath taking. The climb was harder than expected due to the thin air and the cold weather, but what took me by surprise was at the top the weather was quite warm... I even saw some people almost sunbathing at the top.. not for me but it was warmer than the climb!
I do not really have much to say about the mountain because the site from the top is simply indescribable! I was simply speechless then and I am still speechless now!
THE DREADED FIRST DAY.....
Just like every student dreads the first day of classes.. not knowing what it would be like, not knowing who you will be friends with that year, or even what you will wear! Teacher dread the first day just as much.. what will we teach, how will our lesson go, will they understand me, and even worry about what the students will be like.
Well today I had that nervous feeling times 10. I am in a entirely new culture and still trying to understand a new language...
But after all that worrying I had a completely amazing and perfect experience.
The schools are much different from those in the US and I was amazed at the ways these students were able to add art and music into everyday things and do it so well. All of the student spoke three different language, although not always perfectly, they spoke English, Italian, and French... which blew my mind. Can you even begin to imagine a world were every ten year old knew three different languages and were still learning more?
The students respected the teachers because all of the teachers made sure that they were treated as equals in their learning. They did not always give them the answer to the question, they maybe instead asked the student a question that would lead them to answer their own question. To me this may be the main difference to the ability levels in the students of the US and of Italy, The students were challenged to dig into their schemas and find their own answers, the teacher would help them put not quickly give the answer. They have a broader thought process than those of the students that the answer is given right away.
The students took as much time asking questions and learning about me as I did trying to learn about them. They were very intuitive and wanted to know very interesting things about what our country looked like. The students found it to be profoundly hilarious that we didn't have any mountains where we were from. Mountains are something that they are very normal to them... and of course their mountain are nothing even close to what we would normal think of anyway.
I got in with the students and did several art and reading activities in groups and we did a song and dance as a whole. So although we did work with the students this was more of an observation and getting a feel of their schooling day. I enjoyed my time working with the students and can not wait to do many more studies with them. I am loving learning more about the way they are learning in their schools.
Saturday, May 16, 2015
I think I was meant to be Royal....
From one norm to the other...
I started my day rising with the sun beaming in my room through my open windows and listening to the market start to scurry underneath. Somehow I was not mad about this awakening, because again I was able to look out at the view and suddenly find peace.
The Market was a new adventure to me... the people bargaining and pushing things for you to buy on you telling you that you needed it now. The first few little vendors I was not able to get anything knocked down off the price... but as the day went on, with help from my Italian professor, I was able to get some pretty good prices on some neat things.
The Market was busy with everything from clothing and shoes to fruits and vegetables. The variety and assortments of things was worth walking around and looking even if you were not looking to buy. The funniest thing though was seeing the American stuff at a much higher price than anything else.. I am beginning to think I should have brought things to sale. I would have made a pretty good penny up charging everything.
Andddddd thennn.....
I was meant to be royal... no doubt in my mind :)
Can you tell we visited a castle to day? I have fallen in love with the beauty of this place since the first second I laid eyes on the mountain tops, but this castle had nothing on that. I got in some of the most incredible shots.
We went to the Sarre Castle which is overlooking the Dora Baltea River in part of the Aosta Valley. Part of the castle was built in the 12th century which made the architecture of this location incredible to still have original standing buildings. Of course the building has been through several restorations throughout its time, but has some much original details that just looking at it takes your breath away. I could not possible imagine what it would be like to wake up in a castle looking at this amazing view and having breakfast in the main court yard underneath the grape vine terraces.
I am pretty sure I could have spent all day here
just looking around and taking pictures.. you just cannot get this kind of
beauty with age anywhere else and I am still in aw of it.
Day 2 of exploring is down... tomorrow I will conquer Mont Blanc stay tuned for pictures of the mountain tops ahead!!!
Ciao'
Friday, May 15, 2015
From ear-plugs and eye-masks to daily strolls and gelato!
I MADE IT!!
A day full of tight spaces and uncomfortable sleeping positions is all I have to say about yesterday.. as I spent a full day of plane rides. One of those flights being 10 hours long.. I think it is safe to say I am glad I have a month to prepare for the ride home! The map on the screen, which showed our location, seemed to never move from where it was the hour before. And I sure couldn't find a spot where I could go to sleep for more than 10 minutes at a time...
Although I could sit here and complain about the flight all day that is not the important part. The important part is that I made it here. At Midnight your time I landed in Italy, which was a problem because it was 6 am here in Italy. My body was not prepared for that at all. The new day had started and all my body wanted to do was go to sleep. After claiming our bags we were in for another ride. A two hour car ride to Aosta awaited us right after leaving the airport, but then something amazing happened...
A day full of tight spaces and uncomfortable sleeping positions is all I have to say about yesterday.. as I spent a full day of plane rides. One of those flights being 10 hours long.. I think it is safe to say I am glad I have a month to prepare for the ride home! The map on the screen, which showed our location, seemed to never move from where it was the hour before. And I sure couldn't find a spot where I could go to sleep for more than 10 minutes at a time...
Although I could sit here and complain about the flight all day that is not the important part. The important part is that I made it here. At Midnight your time I landed in Italy, which was a problem because it was 6 am here in Italy. My body was not prepared for that at all. The new day had started and all my body wanted to do was go to sleep. After claiming our bags we were in for another ride. A two hour car ride to Aosta awaited us right after leaving the airport, but then something amazing happened...
I saw then mountains! Suddenly my body was wide awake...
(Just saying...... It doesn't get much better than an view like this directly out your backdoor. I could really get use to this. )
The mountains weren't the only things that caught my eye. The town of Valle d'Aosta itself is magnificent.
After being awaken by the beauty of this town I was ready to explore, after a quick nap of course. We spent what was left of our day walking around the town getting a feel of the culture and environment. I started my day by grabbing a pizza at this little shop on the corner close to our hotel and let me tell you... it was nothing like our pizza in America, but it was amazing. I think I might come back a little heavier with all of this good food being so close to me. We looked around at all of the buildings and churches around Aosta just trying to get the lay of the land, so we are prepared for tomorrows full day of exploration and shopping!!
We ended the day at this quaint little restaurant eating an assortments of breads, meats, and cheeses.. and of course wine.
Does it get anymore Italian than this?
I know my journey has just begun as I slide into day two now, but I think I am going to like it here.
Goodnight from my world, and good afternoon in yours... (This time change may kill me!)
Ciao
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
The Eve of Italy
It is the feeling you get on Christmas Eve...
The excitement all built up from a year of planning. Its checking the list twice and making sure everything is just right. The time has finally come to see just what tomorrow has in store for you.It is now the Eve of Italy and the day has finally come from me. Checking my list twice and making sure I have everything packed and ready to go. I do not know if I am excited or freaking out, but maybe its a good mixture of both.
This is just the first step of my journey. The stomach turning excitement and fear of what tomorrow will bring. As I board the plane tomorrow to embark on my 10 hour plane ride, I am sure I will have much more to talk about as my nerves grow even stronger.
Stay tuned for my next steps into this journey...
Ciao
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