Day 14: The Placement

So, hey. Finally got some batteries for my camera and attempted to do things with things.

So, let's talk about my placement. As already said my host family is super nice. I enjoy them.

I live in Voghera.

There are supposed to be mountains there. You're going to have to trust me on this one.

This is a map. Maps are important when you get lost as much as I do.

 

Here's a street. Yep. Look at that street.

There are a bunch of castles in Italy, due to past rulers. Due to past rulers, these castles sometimes have weird and varied histories.

Voghera castle. It was turned into a prison. HISTORY.

Religion is a big part of Italian culture. (See: Vatican City, Catholicism, the Pope, etc.) So, there are bound to be churches. The biggest church in a city is usually called il duomo.

My host family goes to Mass here. There is restoration going on inside to fix the paintings on the walls and ceiling.

Someone told me that the church was originally built during the 1400s, but it was destroyed in a fire in the 1800s. I don't know how accurate that is.

Churches tend to be the center of town, so shops sprawl out around it.

There are shops hiding under those arches.

I live in a home about thirty minutes from the town center. (Due to rain and cold and illness on my part, I have not attempted the walk yet.) There are three floors and a basement.

This is the living room. There's usually a fire burning in the fireplace.

Kitchen!

My room is on the bottom floor.

Please, ignore the mess.

There's a bathroom right there that I pretty much get to myself, which is nice.

Bathroom! Also comes with complimentary washing machine.

I think my room must have been a play room for the kids at some point. It's filled with games...

Cannibalmania? Yes, please.

Day 13: American Breakfast for Lunch

Look at the title. Now back at me. Now back at the title. Yeah, it's that simple. I convinced my host family that it would be a good idea for me to cook them some American recipes. They were intrigued by the idea of pancakes, so I figured I could do this. I should have known better. (See: Fail!Cheesecake)

The menu: Pancakes, orange syrup (since maple syrup is not a thing here), omelets, and roasted, uh, roasted sweet potatoes. (I'm still not sure how that happened.)

Let me explain something though. I am used to cooking for myself. Sometimes, I cook for myself and one other person. When I cook lunch or dinner for the week, it is something easy like a giant pot of soup or a giant pan of veggies. I am not in the habit of cooking four different things for six people.

The good things: The pancakes were fluffy because of a good recipe I found. The orange syrup was absolutely delicious.The sweet potatoes were the easiest thing ever and turned out pretty well.

The bad things: The pancakes were small because the batter was so thick that I couldn't manage it well. The pancakes were a little burnt because I am not used to making pancakes. I couldn't thicken the orange syrup because I couldn't find corn starch and did not want to use flour. The omelets were small because I didn't not want to use a million eggs.

The oh-god-why-did-I-do-this-to-myself things: Trying to handle omelets and pancakes at the same time while keeping an eye on the syrup made me want to pull my hair out. Trying to get everything done so everyone could have eat while it was still warm made me question why I had done this. Trying to convince one member of the family that pancakes were not a dessert and they should be eaten warm was, well, actually pretty fun and hilarious.

It turned out well enough and everybody seemed to like it. My host mom really wants the recipe for the pancakes.

Also: I tried something called mostarda. I did not know before hand that it meant "pickled fruit." Um. Yeah. The family all had a laugh when I tried it. It was definitely interesting.

Day 12: Tech

We all know the drill.

Tech. "How do you include technology in the classroom?" Sitting through Computers in Education (W200) or the equivalent of is a requirement. Most hand-outs with the format of a lesson plan has the section "Technology Used." We are taught that technology is an asset in the classroom.

The middle school in which I work has Smart Boards and Internet access on the upper level, mainly for the informatics classes. Both high schools have Smart Boards, Internet, and a teacher computer in almost every classroom. In one high school class, every student has a tablet computer. With my IU background, I notice these things.

However, I noticed something else, too. The teachers don't use these things. As I've already mentioned, the teachers like to follow the books and the CD's. When I asked it was confirmed that many teachers don't use that sort of technology in their classroom. I was told that it was because many teachers either don't know how to use it or simply don't want to.

Just a note.

Day 11: Day to Day

(This is what happens when I type up posts on word docs and completely forget to actually upload them.)

Since it's been a little over a week, I've finally got my schedule cemented. Here you go:

6:00 A.M.: Wake up.
6:15 A.M.: Wake up again. Try to convince self to move from bed.
6:30 A.M.: Finally move. Shower, dress, get ready for the day.
7:00 A.M.: Breakfast.
7:30 A.M.: Leave for school.
8:00 - 1:00 P.M.: School time. Various schedules apply depending on the day.
1:00 - 3:00 P.M.: Lunch.
3:00 - 6:30 P.M.:  Free time. Homework, lesson planning, town wandering may apply.
6:30 P.M.: Help get table ready for dinner.
7:00 P.M.: Dinner.
9:00 P.M.: Sleep.

Simple and easy.

Day 10: Grades

Education and grades go hand in hand. Recently, I had a discussion with one of my teachers about the grading system. Grades are done on a ten point system. A five is passing, higher than five is excellent, lower than five is failing.

The middle school teachers can only grade as low as a four. Apparently, they do this because a zero can lower the overall grade to an extreme degree and it is hard to raise it after that. The high schools have the whole range open to their teachers.

How do students get grades?

Students do a lot of exercises during class and for homework, but it doesn't seem as if those get taken in as grades. The only things I've seen get grades are the oral exams.

A teacher sits down and asks the student questions -- any questions about the topic. The questions change from student to student. The student's grade depends solely on the answers they give to the teacher during their time.

As a student I think that oral exams would be terrifying, but as a teacher I see the benefit of them.

Day 9: Merenda

I've mentioned merenda before. It's usually the break between classes or after school that people have for snacking. On Sunday afternoon my host family had a merenda; their friends, a married couple, joined us.

Originally, for our tea time/snack, there was carrot cake, a fail!cheesecake that I had made, chocolate fondue with fruit and some sort of delicious mascarpone dessert. As the next four hours flew by, more food was brought out: all of the cheese in the house, tea (I know, not a food, but whatever), focaccia, salami, wine (another not-food, I know, shut up), more fruit, bread, Nutella, peanut butter, and crackers.

These were some of the things we discussed:

-famous Italians
-the difference between hurricanes and tornadoes
-idioms ("Break a leg!" vs. "Crepi il lupo!" ["May the wolf die!"])
-American meals
-hash browns
-peanut butter (again)
-the Mediterranean diet
-the students I would have to take out of class before teaching (i.e., the couple's children)
-the deterioration of the body with age
-what happens after thirty years of marriage

It was fun.

Day 8: Mall Rats

A couple things I noticed while malling today:

-The supermarket/grocery that was part of the mall; fish, meat, and cheese EVERYWHERE
-Women wearing skirts, tights, and heels while shopping
-The store that seemed like it was for women's undergarments until I got to the small men's section in the back
-American films -- a lot of Disney stuff
-Speaking of, Disney characters and Looney Tunes characters on shirts
-English print on shirts
-Camouflage/camouflage with American flags
-American flags -- period
-Denim dresses
-Laundromat?
-People walking/carrying their dogs around
-Shopping carts
-The awning for the cars
-Gelateria!

Day 7: Path from Scuola Media to Liceo; Also, Path to Cheese

As mentioned I work in both the high school and the middle school. However, I work in two different high schools: a scientific high school and a classic high school.

Think of high school more like university. Students have to decide which high school to go to after middle school. There are a few types of high school that students can decided between, including vocational. Students go to high school for five years.

Scientific high school seems a little like American high schools. Subjects like foreign languages/cultures (usually Latin, English, and French), the sciences (biology, physics, chemistry), math, art, Italian language/literature, and history and geography seem to be the norm. This type of school is supposed to give students the skills to go to university.

When I observed the English literature class here, the students were talking about Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, and sonnets. (Just a few weeks ago, I was teaching my Indiana students about sonnets. Weird moment.) The students sat in a circle and held a discussion with the teacher.

Classic high school is a little different. I've heard someone describe it as "posh." The focus for classic high school centers more on literature and language. Ancient Greek, Latin, and English are common; Spanish and French, a little less so. Italian language/literature is necessary; classes like history and philosophy are not but can still be taken. This type of school will allow students to go to any type of university, including law.

When I observed the English literature class here, the students were learning about Dante. They had gone on a history walk to Sienna last walk and were talking about it now. This class seemed more like a college lecture. The student desks all faced the front where the teacher stood. Sometimes they read and answered questions, but much of the time was just the teacher talking. According to the teacher though, the students are usually more chatty; apparently they were intimidated by me. Ha.

My (not) problem: When I switch from the middle school to the scientific high school, there's really not a problem. These schools are separated by half a block; when I have to go from one to another in five minutes, it's fine.

However, the middle school to the classic high school is about a fifteen minute walk. Thankfully, the teachers I'm working with understand this. Some days, the teachers I work with can drive me. Other days, I have to walk from one school to the other. The teachers know I have only five minutes on certain days to do this and so understand I will be a few minutes late. Thankfully, I have honed my ability to get from one distant place to another distant place in under fifteen minutes for the last four years.

Cheese Moment of the Day: I've been in Italian supermarkets before. It's a place where people sell food, so it's not as if it's a huge change or anything. I just want to say: I love that moment when half of an aisle is cheese and half of that is just fresh mozzarella. Mmm. Cheeeeese.

Day 6: Meal Time

As I was staring down my tea this morning, I decided I should make a post about the meals in Italy. So, here you go: Meal time in Italy!

All meals are taken with the family; some members may be missing due to work or school, but meals are never taken alone.

Merenda, or snack time, can happen during school during a designated break between classes or after a person has just come home after work/gym/wherever and it is not time for the meal; the snacks I have seen range from chips/crisps to cookies.

Breakfast: Anybody who's afraid to change your meals, don't worry! Cereal exists in Italy. It, however, does not seem to be the main choice for breakfast. Usually, breakfast is something light and a little sweet; croissants with jam, various kinds of shortbread cookies, and sweet breads. This is accompanied by milk (warmed, and sometimes with cocoa, in the winter), tea, or juice. Breakfast takes place before school/church, about seven in the morning.

Lunch: This meal is a bit more flexible. Risotto (with vegetables, meat, or fruit, surprisingly), types of vegetable pies, filled pasta...Water (natural and carbonated) and pop may be present at the table, along with several cheeses. Lunch usually happens around one or two in the afternoon, depending on when people come home from school. (Note: From what I know, people who work and cannot come home for lunch will go out for lunch with colleagues.)

Dinner: Pasta, pasta, pasta...or maybe pizza. Vegetables may be present as a side to your meal. Meat (salami or prosciutto) and cheese (whatever type the family is fond of -- here asiago, grana padano, and parmesan) will be on the table for extra snacking. Fresh bread will be cut to accompany the cheese and meat. After the meal there will be dessert, something fruit based. Macedonia, or fruit salad, is a common dessert. For drinks: water (natural and carbonated), pop, and, of course, wine. Dinner occurs between seven and eight in the evening. It can last about two (or more) hours.

Note: Television may be on during breakfast and lunch, when the meal is only for a few people of the family. Dinner, however, is about conversation. This is the time when family relaxes and catches up with each other.

Day 5: Peanut Butter, Aubergines, and Background Music

It's raining today. Back to being chilly again. Also, I will actually be going into town Saturday, so I will be able to get batteries for my camera.

So, I gave my host family a gift last night for inviting me into their home. It was peanut butter -- both the chunky and creamy kind because my grandmum argued that more American kids like creamy peanut butter even though I love chunky.

They were a little confused by peanut butter. I'll explain.

Peanut butter is not really sold in Europe. During my time in Milan, I saw one type of peanut butter -- it was in a very small jar, it was very expensive, and, I must admit, it didn't really look like peanut butter at all. This is something that is very American.

The other thing: Peanut butter, in Italian, is called il burro di arachidi -- a butter, or spread, made from peanuts. My host family kept getting stuck by the use of il burro, which seems to only be used for actual butter (the milk fat kind). I tried to explain peanut butter as something similar to Nutella, but then I got onto a tangent about how to eat peanut butter and got lost trying to come up for the Italian equivalent of "celery."

They enjoyed it well enough, I suppose. However, I now have an awful craving for peanut butter cookies.

That explains the "peanut butter" part of the title. Now onto "aubergines."

So, for the middle school English classes, the students have to listen to dialogue; the dialogue is on a CD, they listen to it, and then they answer questions about it. Easy enough. I never really thought about it, but people here learn British English. Which means there are exaggerated British accents for the dialogue CD's and words like "aubergines" are used.

It's something.

While we were listening to the dialogue, there was a music class going on next door. They were listening to music during the class and the sound leaked through the walls. It wasn't too bad, but it was definitely noticeable. So, for one hour each week, for the next eight weeks, I will have background music.

Personally, I am amused.

Day 4: School Notes

It is forty-eight degrees out right now and all the snow is melting away! Yay.

So, some things I have noticed about the schools I'm working in (and yes, I'm only observing two schools, so these things may not be true everywhere in Italy):

-As I've mentioned teachers move from classroom to classroom. This means that the students simply take their coats and bags into the classroom with them. There are no lockers.

-Teachers don't have mail boxes. If there is some sort of papers they need to see, the care-takers/secretaries give the papers to them. If it is a general announcement, there will only be one paper on which the teachers initial to show they have seen it.

-Teachers have drawers/lockers. Since they can't take all of their books to every single class, they leave their books and papers in their drawers.

-Students raise their index finger to answer questions.

-Students have a break during the day (eleven, here) for snacks. On cold days the students gather around the radiators. (Obviously. If it's cold outside and the building is old, it will be chilly inside. Best place to be would be the radiator.)

-The smallest class I've seen had nine students. The biggest, twenty-three.

-Students with special needs are usually in the classroom. They get taken out for a few hours during the week to work in small groups (1-2 students) with a teacher.

-When a teacher is absent, a school may decide to not get a substitute teacher. Instead the class without a teacher divides up into groups and each group will go to different classrooms.

Like I've said, just some things I've noticed. That's about all for today.

Day 3: Snow, snow, snow...

As the title says, snow. And lots of it. Thankfully, the sun has come out and is trying to melt it. (I'm convinced it is Vengeful Snow, come here from Chicago to get me, but hey.) This morning, it was up to my ankles, but much of it is slush now.

This whole picture thing: I went to grab my camera to take a picture of aforementioned snow (as if I haven't seen enough while living in Indiana)...and discovered that my stupid self did not change the batteries from the last time I used my camera (see Spring Break '12: Grand Canyon/Las Vegas Edition). So, I will be going on an adventure this week to try and find some batteries. (Let's see how badly I get lost...)

So, yeah.

I must admit, my brain is still fried. Yesterday, the placement coordinator/main cooperating teacher--now labeled "Bee"--came by to take tea with her husband. Her and her husband, me, Host Dad, Host Mum, four children...it was definitely busy. And loud. But it was fun and the food was absolutely delicious. Homemade focaccia! Yum.

This morning I went by the middle school to meet with Bee. We tried to decipher my schedule for the week, but I still remain lost. Teachers move from class to class, so my schedule was laid out by room numbers. It gets even more confusing since I go from the middle school to the high school down the street and back, depending on the day. Every day, my schedule is different; today I left with Bee at 11 because she was done for the day. But tomorrow, I have to stay until one.

I also met my other main cooperating teacher (for the high school), Ree. I'll go into tomorrow and meet with her so I can meet with the other high school teachers with which I'll be working.

So. Fried brain. Tasty, no?

Day 1-2: How to Tame the Frazzled American College Student

Okay, Host Family! You have just received your College Student from the airport and you notice, well, it’s looking a bit rough around the edges. This is to be expected. Many College Students coming to foreign countries had to take a long trip to get there. (Model KAT has Too Many Hours to Count: Trip from CHI to NYJFK, Layover, and Trip from NYJFK to MXP.)

Here are some tips to tame your frazzled College Student:

1) Accept your College Student’s inability to form coherent sentences. This is especially important when the College Student is coming to a country where the native language is not its own. Exhaustion, frayed nerves, and shock all contribute to its inability to manage language. If the College Student is unintelligible, do not hesitate to tell it that it is not making a lick of sense. Ask it to repeat itself if necessary. Accept any stammered, fragmentary sentences and hand gestures if need be. Do not worry. As the College Student gets more accustomed to its new home, it will gain its ability to use language.

2) Accept your College Student’s inability to understand. As with tip one, the aspect of native language and exhaustion/shock/nerves will play into this. Host Family, try your best. Use simple sentences, phrases, and words. Use hand gestures. Repeat and rephrase yourself. Once again, do not worry. The College Student will regain its ability to understand.

3) Explain everything. Tell your College Student where you are going when you go anywhere. When you arrive at your home, give your College Student a tour. It may forget where some things are, but important bits (bathroom, kitchen, and its own room) may stick in its mind. Explain what you are doing for the day. If you have many family members, make sure to always use names so the College Student will remember who is who.

4) Feed and water your College Student. Some College Students may refuse at that precise moment because of the dreaded Jet Lag, but its hunger and thirst will return. If possible, give it options so it knows that its preferences are accepted and welcomed by you.

5) Give your College Student some time to itself. It will need the time to try to overcome the shock and exhaustion from its trip. The amount of time will depend on the trip and your Model of College Student. (Model KAT only needs time to Unpack and Wash before it will seek out your attention again.)

Easy! Your College Student will be a functioning Model soon enough. Take care!

-

Okay, really. My host family is awesome and wonderful and is following all of the tips to the letter. I’m still stumbling over the language barrier, but that’s to be expected. Pictures (of food, house, food, school, food, town, and FOOD) will come once I get enough energy to actually deal with technology more advanced than a word document.

Day 0

Ciao tutti!

This is me:

I don't like being in pictures. This is the best it's going to get with self-portraits. And yes, that is laundry behind me.

So. If you were not directed here by me, let me offer some explanation: I am a secondary education major at Indiana University and through the Cultural Immersions Project, I am finishing my student teaching in Italy. [insert cheers here] I'm going with a couple other IU students, but they're all in another city; I happen to be going to Voghera, Italy-- in the Lombardy region-- and I will be living with a family of six.

More explanation: I travel quite often, mostly with my mum. I've visited Italy before with her on break. The first semester of junior year, I studied abroad in Milan for five months (see above picture). I've also taken various Italian culture and language classes. Even so, living with a family and teaching there will be a completely different experience.

I fly out tomorrow and arrive Sunday morning where my host family will be picking me up.  On Monday, I'm supposed to be going to meet the high school teachers with which I will be working. I'll be trying to update this blog every other day or so--maybe?-- but we'll see what happens.

The research has been completed and my suitcase has been battled close, but am I ready? I don't feel like it, but I'm chalking that up to pre-flight jitters.