Meeting the Bambini

Week six marked the beginning of my service learning assignment for study abroad. This program was designed for students to learn more about Italian culture by teaching Italian students once a week. Each student was assigned a particular school whether primary, secondary, or high school. I was assigned primary school. The name was Scuola Primaria C. Collodi. Before going to the school, I was able to meet with my teacher, MariaTeresa, to discuss my responsibilities and ask questions. She informed me that there were about 25 students per class and that they were learning about months, seasons, numbers, and birthdays. At first I thought it was a lot of material to cover, but she later explained to me that I would cover only one topic each class. She suggested that I try my best to be very creative, while making my lesson plans and to be sure to include songs. She went on to warn me of how badly behaved her classes were. Once I heard that, I got really nervous. I had never taught a class before and on top of that the students were bad. The only time I had ever played the role of a teacher was when I was younger and taught my dolls. However, this was very different; these were real children. I did not know what to think, so I let my nerves do the thinking. I pictured these children to be so bad, hanging from the ceilings and running around everywhere screaming in a language that I could not understand. Luckily, I was wrong.
The children were well-behaved for the most part and knew a lot of English. The ages ranged from 6 to 8 years old. I even had the privilege of having one boy’s birthday during my visit. I took note of how it differed from in America. In the States, birthday parties usually take place in the class, but not in Italy. MariaTeresa yanked on his ears eight times and told him to sit down once we all finished singing “Happy Birthday” in English. I thought it strange, but the notion was similar to that in America. When it is someone’s birthday you hit or pinch them for the number of years they are turning, and then maybe a lick for good luck.
As soon as I walked into the room all the little heads turned and followed me as I made my way to the front of the class. They all stared for a minute and then as I began to speak English their faces lit up. I told them my name, age, where I was from and a few things about myself. I was curious to know about the children so I began class by going around the room asking for their names and favorite color. There were 23 children in the class and it took a long time to finish. By the time we finished, I had forgotten all the children’s names. Afterwards, I allowed time to ask any questions that they wanted to know about me. They asked me a variety of questions ranging from “how many brothers do I have” to “do I have a boyfriend”. As I laughed and joked with them all my nerves disappeared, and I was ready to begin my lesson. I stayed up all Sunday night planning my lesson. I ended up making games and a song about the months of the year. I thought it would be easy since I was learning about the months of the year in Italian class. I used apple print-outs and labels as visible aids for the children. I taped the months of the year to the board, while I had the students write their name on the apple print-out. My plan was to say all the months in Italian and again in English, followed by the students placing their apple on the board under the month that matches their birthday. I was able to explain successfully the directions, and everything went smoothly. Afterwards, I taught a song to help remember the months. First, I sang it twice and then I went line by line singing while the class copied me. It was a lot of fun and a great way for the students to participate. This class lasted for an hour and then it was time to move to the next class.
I found it strange that in Italy the teacher is the one that rotates from class to class rather than the students. MariaTeresa and I went to a total of three classes, teaching the same activity in each class. All the students enjoyed my singing, and learning about me. By noon, I was exhausted and hungry. Although I had a wonderful welcoming from the students; I was ready to return back to the Palazzo. I was glad that the experience was not as bad as I thought. Now I know what to expect for the weeks to come.
I was very excited for the weekend because we would remain in Sansepolcro. I was able to use this time to explore the city more than usual. I went on two walks with Bekah and Megan. We walked into the countryside and into the surrounding neighborhoods. It was a refreshing experience. I needed a break from traveling and from the Palazzo. I saw beautiful views in the country. Even though, there was a lot of mud from the rain earlier in the week it was still pretty. I saw the mountain tops that were covered in snow and a highway. Along the way, there were many chickens, dogs, and cats running about. Bekah and Megan found it amusing that I was afraid of dogs and screamed every time I laid eyes on one. The three of us talked about almost everything and I noticed in many ways we were very similar. Being that Bekah is a bride-to-be, it was only a matter of time before the topic of marriage came up. She told us how she originally wanted a beach wedding, but changed her mind because it involved too much planning. I agreed most beach weddings that are pictured in magazines cost a lot of money and as Bekah said requires a great deal of planning. As a result, she decided to have a normal ceremony in a church. She told us about her dress and other aspects of her wedding. I think it is cool that she is getting married. I cannot wait until I meet Mr. Right and get married. Marriage was just one of the many topics for conversations we had. Before we knew it, we had walked and talked all the way back into the walled city of Sansepolcro.
By that time it was 4 o’clock and all the shops were opening from the lunch hour. We looked in a few shops. I wanted to go and buy a pair of boots that were on sale the week before, but when I went in the store they were gone. I was a little sad but quickly got over it. We went into the farmicia with Bekah and then headed back to the Palazzo. After our walk, Megan and I relaxed in peace and quiet. Both Shannon and Jess went to Venice for the weekend, leaving Megan and me behind. It did not bother us too much; instead we took advantage of the time. We finished some homework and shared family stories. We were both curious to know about each other’s families, so we shared stories for about an hour.
Later on that night we watched a film called “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin”. I enjoyed it a lot. It was a great action film-love story in the Greek Island of Cephalonia during the German and Italian occupation in World War II in 1941. It differed from all the other movies we had watched, being that it had a happy ending. I expected a sad one, but I was incorrect. The movie finished beautifully; Penelope Cruz was reunited with her long lost love from the war and she achieved her dream of becoming a doctor. All the main characters lived until the end, which was satisfying. There were many moments when I almost cried but caught myself. I would not mind watching that movie again.
On Saturday night all the girls watched another movie, called “Because I said so”. It starred Mandy Moore, a famous American singer. The movie was a comedy, much lighter than the usual war films. It incorporated the typical love situation, when the guy tries to pursue the girl of his dreams. It was all too familiar and grew boring at times. After that movie everyone went to bed early, because we had to get up at 7 a.m. to leave for Perugia. I wanted to see Perugia, since my Italian professor, Francesca, always talks about it in class. She had said it was the best place to visit and it has a beautiful landscape. I ended up going to bed at around 11 o’clock, but was constantly waken by all the commotion in the streets. It being Saturday night; the streets in Sansepolcro were filled with loud and drunken college students. I woke up at 1 a.m. and again at 6 am; then, before I knew it, my alarm went off. It took me awhile to get out of bed for some strange reason; my back was hurting. I was thinking that I had slept in the wrong position, but I knew right away that I would not be able to go to Perugia with everyone. I was rather upset, but then I realized my health comes first and that I can always go another time. I had to take medication and do a few exercises assigned by my doctor. I had not being doing the exercises as often as when I’m at home and I think that was the reason for my pain. I quickly went to tell Dr. Webb about my condition and that I would be staying at the Palazzo for the day. I really hate that I could not enjoy the experience with the girls but I’m sure they will tell me all about it.