'Ciao Cayyseeey!'

School today went well, except for the fact that I was stuck with Maestra Paola, the meaner of the two teachers, all morning. I might have mentioned this is an earlier post, but in Italy there are two teachers per class, each of which comes to the school for half a day. In my particular class the two teachers are Maestra Pina and Maestra Paola. There is also Maestra Manuela, who is there several times a week to help one girl, Arianna, who has special needs. On the first day I arrived at Galilei I met Maestra Pina and Maestra Manuela... I had yet to meet Maestra Paola until yesterday and she is really not a nice person. She always SCREAMS at the kids and she doesn't know any English what-so-ever so when she's there I basically sit in the corner and watch her yell. It's definitely not fun when she's the only one teaching.

I decided to eat lunch at the school today because I had yet to do so and the kids have been asking me everyday, 'Mange à scole?' I was hesistant at first, but it was definitely the best school dining experience I have ever had. In Italy, the kids go to school from 8:30-12:30, have a two hour break for lunch, and then start instruction again at 2:30 until the day ends at 4:30. Italian schools also don't have one big lunchroom like they do in America; instead there are lots of little lunchrooms that branch off of the classrooms. Our class (classe 1^a A) shares a lunchroom with another one of the first grade classes (classe 1^a B). My friend Natalie from UGA is teaching in classe 1^a B, so it was nice that we both were able to eat in the same room together-- it made the whole experience a lot less intimidating.

Once lunch time started we all sat down around the tables (which, by the way, were set with silverwear, placements, cups, dishes, bread baskets, and water jugs) and almost immediately we were served by the lunch ladies. It really was like a fine dining experience. First came the pasta and parmesan cheese, then the peas and carrots, a meatball dish, and fruit salad. There was a man at a table nearby who was eating with his daughter who spoke Italian, French, and Spanish so I was able to use my French from high school to find out that the meatball was made of bread, eggs, and turkey. I was very proud of myself! After lunch the class cleaned up and then went to the bathroom to brush their teeth together. Lunch at school is definitely very different than it is in America to say the least!

After lunch my friend Natalie and I left school and walked to the park that is right by the school and my host family's house. I didn't know Natalie before the trip, but she's really nice and it was good to be able to talk about our experiences for a bit before heading back to Calvino (the middle school right by Galilei) for a group meeting. The group spent about 4 hours at Calvino, discussing the things we've been seeing in the classrooms, as well as the similarities and differences between American and Italian schools. We've seen a lot already, so I'm looking forward to what else I will see in the classroom as time goes on.

Once we finished the meeting the group left Calvino and rode bikes to a pizzeria. It was, hands down, the best pizza I have ever had in my life. Casey, Chelsea, Jenny, and I split a delicious pizza that was half a meter long... that's more than a foot and a half of pizza! It was molto, molto bene! We also split a bottle of wine and then helped Dr. Tolley finish the bottle of wine she ordered for herself... needless to say we got a little loud at our end of the table. We were actually asked to be quiet by the restaurant staff because we were singing 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' and upsetting other customers... whoops! It was really fun time though; definitely the best time I've had here so far. After dinner we went to a gelateria and got Nutella gelato. There was a chocolate lab cane (puppy) outside of the gelateria that I played with for a long time and it was ADORABLE. Dad, we need to get one as soon as I get home. Its name was sette (seven) it was one of the cutest puppies ever, even though he kept biting my ear and my nose with his sharp little puppy teeth.

I'm back at home now and about to get ready for bed. It has been a very long and fun day, but I'm exhausted at this point! Tomorrow should be a lot of fun too because we only have half a day in the schools and then it's the weekend. We are all planning on meeting downtown at Piazza Grande after school to get lunch and visit some of the pubs on Via Galucci. We're meeting Matteo (one of our Victoria Language coordinators) there and he has been looking forward to our outing all week.. apparently he has a lot of friends who have been dying to meet his 'American girls,' so it should be a good night. Ciao!!