Terramara Montale

In Italy the teachers don't only teach one grade. Instead, a pair of teachers starts with a class in the first grade and continues through every grade with the same class until the children move on to middle school. There's definitely good and bad to both the Italian and American school systems, but I think that being able to invest so much time in your children and continue working with them after one school year is very beneficial for the teachers and the students. Obviously it's not good if a child is stuck with a teacher they don't like or get along with, but all in all I think that the Italians know what they're doing.

Today I was able to leave Maestra Paola's screaming (thankfully) and work with a teacher named Patrizia, who is in the fourth year with her class (she also speaks English!!). She particularly works with special needs children in classe 4^a C and today she let me come and help her with four children who have severe cases of dyslexia and ADHD. It was a really great experience to see how the schools here handle children with disabilities and I learned a lot from the experience. Patrizia is by far the best teacher I have ever met in my life. She cares so much about the kids and she also is absolutely hilarious. We talked today about how important it is to make school fun and get the kids involved, otherwise they will completely zone out. She does a great job at capturing each child's attention by singing songs, taking lots of breaks from work, and allowing the kids plenty of time to play outside when they start to become distracted. I've learned a lot from her already and I look forward to learning even more (and spending more time with her students!) as my time here continues.

After I returned to Maestra Paola's room I had about half an hour until I was able to leave school for the day. The children, as usual, drew me lots of pictures and gave me an endless amount of kisses and hugs. At least the kids aren't too bothered by the fact that we can't communicate; I guess kisses and hugs are a good way to communicate without having to say anything!

Right as I was about to leave for lunch, Angela came into the room and invited me to her house for lunch. Even though I had plans to go home and eat with the family, I accepted her offer and we rode our bikes to her flat, which was about 10 minutes away from Galilei. Her flat was nice, but small considering the fact that she shares it with her five children. There are only three bedrooms and one bathroom, so it's a tight space for six people. She told me that more than anything else she wants her kids to have their own spaces, so she gave up her bedroom to her eldest daughter; Angela doesn't have a room, but instead sleeps on the couch every night. She is one of the most caring people I have ever met, and I found out today that she has been through a lot in her life. I was curious as to why the children's father wasn't in the picture (because divorce is very uncommon in Italian families), but she told me today that she found out her husband had been having a long-term affair while she was pregnant with her fifth child. I can't even imagine how difficult that was for her, but she is one of the strongest people I have ever met. I never would have known that she had been through so much if she hadn't shared that with me today. It was definitely a very moving and emotional lunch hour!

I left Angela's flat around 1:45 and met the rest of the group at a bus stop for our trip to the archaeological museum in Montale, a nearby town. The museum was called Terramare Montale and it is essentially an outdoor park where people can visit the remains of villages from 3,500 years ago. Obviously it was very interesting to learn about the history of the terramare (the villages), but today was very hot so it was difficult to pay attention and enjoy our surroundings. After the tour of the park we were able to get snacks and water, so it was very nice to sit in the shade and relax for a while.

We returned to Modena earlier than expected, so Casey, Jenny, Chelsea, Jessica, and I decided to make a quick stop at the grocery store before heading home. Although I had already visited the grocery store once with Simona, it was fun to be able to experience it with other Americans. Simona didn't understand why I thought it was weird that Italians are expected to weigh their fruit and vegetables and put prices on them, nor did she understand why I thought it was so funny to see a tiny cereal shelf with about 10 boxes of cereal in all. Most of the girls bought random snacks and balsalmic vinegar to bring home. Produce here is so cheap compared to the U.S., so I bought 4 apples and a huge bag of carrots for less than €3! I have only eaten about 2 servings of fruit and vegetables since I've been here and it's killing me... all they eat is bread, cheese, and meat! I figured if I want it I'm going to have to buy it myself, which isn't bad at all considering it's so cheap here.

I'm off to help Simona with dinner, but I hope to write back soon! Tomorrow is another busy day at the school and afterwards we are visiting a local preschool, so it should be an interesting experience. A domani!!