The Final Chaper - America

My journeys have come to an end, and I'm back in the US getting ready for another year at university. After spending a week back in the states, I've noticed that I quickly adjusted back to the "normal" life. Not to say that I'm happy about it, but I found it interesting how quickly I can snap out of the fantasy world. Trying to catch up on everything I've neglected this summer including paperwork, classes, moving in, finances...it's making me a little stressed out. But I wouldn't have traded this summer experience in for anything.

When I came off the plane, I was surprised by a couple of things. Mainly at how big everything is. People in Italy always asked me random facts about square footage, population rates, and distances, but I never realized just how much bigger it is here. Obviously the cars are enormous compared to those driven in Italy, but so are the street lanes, the bridges, the buildings, and the open space. I was thinking the other day about the quantities of land you are permitted to buy in America. Basically, it's endless as long as you have the money for it. In Italy, you buy an apartment or a tiny patch of land, and that's it. If you feel the need to be greedy and own more land than you can manage, then come to America! We seem to do that with everything over here. Quantity is always more important to us than quality, and it really shouldn't be that way. I must be the mindset that we've grown up with. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but in the overall spectrum, there are others in the world who could use the excess clothes, food, electronics, etc. that we don't need and often waste. It's just a matter of getting people in this large country to realize that indulgent consumption is not as fulfilling as it may seem, and cutting back may actually improve their appreciation for life.

Since we're somewhat on the topic of what I've learned this summer, let's continue with that. I've learned to speak loudly, even when everyone else around is quiet. It commands attention. I've learned that you can sing completely out of key and at the top of your lungs, but as long as you go for it, you'll get everyone else in the room singing with you. I've learned that ridiculous dance moves don't really feel ridiculous as long as you're doing them properly and put your heart and soul into it. I've learned that distance should never be an obstacle. The world is a lot smaller than I imagined. As long as you've got a full day to travel, the will to see something new (or something old), and a bit of money on the side, you're free to go anywhere you'd like. I've learned that the best experiences are those not completely planned. Flexibility is key, and spontaneity is what adds excitement to life. I've learned that if you've connected with someone briefly or haven't even officially met them, they're excited to have you as their guest and will welcome you with open arms. And I've learned that no matter where you end up in the world, there will always be people that care about you and will go to the ends of the earth if you need them to. There's always a way out of a sticky situation, even if it's not how you imagined. But you will get there, and you will be fine.

I would just want to thank everyone who followed me throughout this journey and listened to my fortune-cookie rants and put up with my inconsistent blog updates. To those who stopped reading because of that, I'm so sorry. But when you see me and ask about my summer, I'll still refer you to the blog, because the only other answer you'll get is, "It was awesome! I worked in Italy for the summer as an English teacher. I moved to a different part of Italy every week, and met up with family while I was there. How was your summer?" Clearly, this summer deserves a better response than that.

I have to admit, I've enjoyed my blogging experience despite the slow internet connections (and the 30minutes it took to upload only 3 pictures -arrrrg!). Thanks again to everyone that supported me and made this trip possible. Signing off for the last time.

Pace, Amore, e Felicitá

Hair Like Mine - Calabria

From the moment I stepped onto the sand of Villapiana, Calabria, I noticed how everyone had the same hair and skiin complexion as me. I fit right in down there. The dark-shaded curls are so common that at times I felt like I was looking at myself in a mirror. One time in the mall, I had looked up to tousle my hair and was surprised when my "reflection" didn't follow my movements. About 2 minutes later I was sifting through some clothes when this young girl starts jabbering in Italian about if I think this dress looks good on her. Her eyes were transfixed on the mirror and when I didn't respond, she turned to me and noticed that I wasn't her mother. Her face turned pink and she quickly ran away and found her curly-haired guardian.

Without the language barrier, I could easily blend right in. Unlike my sister Jaclyn who is a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, pale-skinned exotic girl). Also, my body seems to respond so well to this culture. I haven't gained weight, my hair has been growing so much faster, my skin tans so quickly without getting burn, and I feel more comfortable with the way I look. In America, I would have had to shave every day because my hair grows so quickly. But here, everyone's does. I felt so cleanly shaven compared to most of the people on the beach - it was great.

I went to Calabria to visit my cousin Rosario and his family for the first time (Nuccia, Marilena, and Giosy). We had talked to him for years on Facebook, and I had to plan a trip to see him before my return to the US. Jaclyn decided to come as well, and she was there when Rosario and Nuccia picked me up from the bus station (12 hours from North to South - longer than my plane ride from Rome to Philadelphia). When Rosario first saw me, his eyes watered up and I was smothered with kisses. He immediately asked a random person to take a photo and he grabbed me into the shot, but I had to get my luggage off the bus since the driver was already closing the doors. It took a lot of arm yanking before he could understand.

All together for the first time

Next day we visited more family in Rogliano. We met so many people that day that I have trouble naming them all. But all of the young cousins were around my age, and I would have loved to spend more time with them.

Old Cosenza

Rogliano - the door of the house where Mom-mom George used to stay

Lunch with the family at Rogliano

Every day was pretty much the same routine. Wake up at 10, eat breakfast of caffe' and Nutella, go to the beach, back home for lunch made my Marilena, nap, shower, dinner, discotecca, granita (shaved ice topped in flavoring of your choice), walk a bit, yogurt, home, card games, bed at 4am. It was exhausting!

Crazy Tarzan child jumping from the dock

Rosario took us to this spring where you could rub sulfur mud all over your body as an exfoliator. We only did our faces.

Drinking Fountain

The whole week Jaclyn and I hung out with Giosy and Giuseppe. They were so funny with their exaggerated hand gestures and attempts at pronunciation of English words (marmelada = mermaid, scraft = scratch, and English "bad speak"). They had crazy dance moves and were endless pits when it came to food. One time Marilena made too much pasta, and they ended up eating the entire pan in one sitting (about the size of a normal sized pizza, and the depth of a double-decker cake). One time they took us back to the beach after lunch, and we had a massive sand fight. Sand flew everywhere, and I swear we hit some of the people around us.

Group dinner with family and friends

Picturesque photo of the sand fight

The Aftermath

The last night Rosario took us to a procession at the ocean for St. Rocco. On the way back to his home in Cosenza, we stopped by his bakery to print off our pland tickets, grab some bread to take home, and take photos. That night Jaclyn and I had to reorganize all of our luggage so that the weight would be under 50 lbs each. We ate dinner at midnight, and Rosario filled our wine glasses to the brim a couple of times. We chatted for a few hours before Rosario went to bed. Got 2 hours of sleep - woke up at 4 to head to the airport.

Not happy at all about my departure. As exciting as America is, it's nothing compared to the beautiful Italia.

Cerveno

In the mountains. Separated from Gabrielle. 16 children, 2 tutors. Brand new camp. Oh boy.

I was really nervous to go to this camp - mostly because it was so small. The smallest camp I had been to had about 40 kids - quite a bit of a difference. Later found out that the ages ranged from 5-12 years. Yikes! Not good for teaching purposes.

Naomi (the other tutor and I had to basically start from scratch and organize the entire camp. After a summer of doing ACLE, this was fairly easy to do. The tricky part was modifying lessons to suit the students who are 3 levels about the rest of the class. I didn't want to bore the older kids, but I couldn't move on to more complicated material when half of the class didn't know body parts and present continuous. Tried my best, and handed out lost of stickers, silly bands, and sweets this week.

I absolutely loved the boys in my class. I really hit the jackpot with them. Fabio, Luca, Paolo, and Thomas were all best friends, and were some of the sweetest boys you could ever meet. After camp or during breaks, they would sweep and mop the floors for us. Naomi and I gave them so many stickers that you could no longer read the names on their name-tags.

For the final show, we combined our 2 classes and the kids chose Spongebob Meets Harry Potter. It was a bit of a challenge to come up with the storyline, but it all worked in the end. I also came up with a song to the tune "Under the Sea" from the Little Mermaid:

Under the Sea

Crabby Patties

Down Where It's Wetter

The Patties are Better

Take it from me!

Our secret sauces are the best

They put your taste buds to the test

They are delicious

Wholesome, nutritious

Crabby Patties!!

I have to say, I'm very proud of ourselves for creating a functional camp out of nothing.

My host family this week was very sweet. MY mom didn't speak any English, so we had a lot of fun making funny gestures and using onomatopoeic devices with each other. The food was very delicious - once they found out that I loved vegetables, there were veggies on the table every night. It was the first time I had seen broccoli during this whole trip, and it made me incredibly excited!

View from our back balcony

The Saturday before we left, Lorenzo and Oscar (camp director and assistant) took us to an island in Lake Iseo. We had to ferry our way over and back. We had a picnic in the grass and then went swimming in the fresh-water lake. It was absolutely gorgeous!

Finally finished with camps, and only a week left in Italy. Off to visit the relatives in the far South. Looking forward to a 12 hour bus ride.

Mermaids and Sailor (making fun of a camp game)

Naomi and I on the Ferry

Back to Where I Was

Get on the train at 1:00 on the dot. By 1:03 I had tears falling from my cheeks. Didn't take very long for me to realize that I was leaving a piece of myself back in Calcio. Being attached at the hip for 7 weeks (9 counting orientation and Bajardo) really makes you quite a pair. It's a little scary not having Gabrielle here on the train with me because I'm completely alone. It's a strange feeling - not being able to glance down to the other end of the train, lock eyes, do a little eyebrow raise, then gaze back down to my book. I'm really going to miss that. Travel days were always the most stressful days for us, but moments like those kept us going.

I'm a very independent person and don't like to rely on other for things that I'm perfectly capable of doing myself, but I will miss those countless times that I've followed that blonde Velina through the various train stations - struggling to keep up with her fast pace while dragging 2 suitcases and a backpack, cap on head. She is the Watson to my Sherlock, as we always joked (although our analogy is accurate, the nicknames never quite stuck).

We knew the day would inevitably come where we would have to split - It's just part of the job, ma non é giusto. I've only got one week of camp left, and now I need to bond very quickly with this one other tutor. Networking. That's all it is. Just have a thin piece of thread connecting myself to different people and places of the world. It hurts a bit when that thread is severed, but even more when you've got to surgically remove a hook that's been embedded in the skin. Gabrielle and I have already made a pact to keep in touch over the next few months before we see each other again next year, but it's still hard to leave.

Suck it up, baby, and move on. As if this is news to me. Happens with all my close friends. Moving to a different school, distance, getting over-involved, growing up...Through a series of circumstances, I'm always taken away. Just the choices I make, I suppose.

Well, now I'm back to where I was and always am. Solid. Until next time, pretty lady, the Velinas will be reunited once again.

Calcio

We're back up north! I'm at a town near Covo, where my first camp was held. I was with another red book group (one of my favs to teach). I had 10 children and a helper for my class. Never had a helper all to myself before. I didn't know exactly what to do with him.

My kids were great this week. There were very enthusiastic and well-behaved. I had a pair of twins in my class, and although they looked nothing alike, I sill had trouble telling them apart. One of my girls gave me a bracelet, necklace, and sweets on the last day. It was so cute!

One day during lunch time I was feeling very energetic and could barely sit still (must have been too much coffee during break). I was banging on the tables to make a beat, while getting the kids riled up. I also started shooting rubber bands at this one kid named Carlos, but he started it. "I will destruction your face," he said to me. Bring it on, buddy!

When the kids were given permission to go outside, one of my girls who was also going crazy, Asia, said that her bum was glued to the seat and she couldn't move. I scooped her up, peach in mouth, and ran down 4 flights of stairs. We were laughing the whole way. Once we made it to the bottom of the stairs, the kids started chasing me throughout the halls. Then we started singing and dancing. I had to finish their diplomas so I kept telling them to go away, but they wouldn't listen. I was forced to chase the screaming girls out of the school. Played outside for a bit before I was able to break away from the madness. Walked inside and *ZING!* - Carlos shot another rubber band at me. I battled him for a bit until I had a stinging pain from my eyebrow to my chin from where his rubber band "destructioned" my face. Game over.

Every week we give an ACLE evaluation sheet to the kids for them to rate their experience. This week I got all "Excellents" on my evaluations for the Lessons category. First camp where I've gotten all perfects. Score!

My kids surprised me by hiding under the desk and jumping out when I walked in. They all shouted "Thank you!!" Had to document the moment :)

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Gabrielle and I stayed in a flat together, while the other tutors were in homes., We weren't too happy at first because we love staying with families, but then we realized that we were in the heart of town, and we had a family that cooked for us. It was glorious. We lived right next to a bar, so we would frequently visit it for a morning cappuccino & brioche, and for a drink at night.

Get-to-know-you dinner with the Director and some Tutors/Helpers

Lake Iseo

Lake Garda with Maria

On the final night of our stay, the bar was having a Mojito/Cuban food festa. The tutors went togetherand ende up starting the dance floor to the song Waka Waka. Later Brett, Gabrielle, and I went to the fields and met up with some of the young locals. There were very few girls at this party, so when 2 foreign girls came, it was like a feeding frenzy. We were bombarded with questions, and it was so cute watching the guys trying their hardest to speak English. We had a great time ~ excellent way to end the week. Love the Calcio experience.

Roma Termini

Week on hold #2: Roma.

Gabrielle and I were placed on hold together so we decided to do some sightseeing. We took the slow train from Firenze a Roma Termini because it was less expensive, but it was a bit of a pain -- constantly moving our bags, and it took at least 2 hours longer than Eurostar would have taken us.

After we arrived in Rome, we walked to our hostel, but Gabrielle said that she got a bad feeling about it, so we left to find an internet cafe' to look for somewhere else to stay. You would think that internet would be easy to find in a Rome train station, but it wasn't. We tried asking a few people, but they couldn't understand what we were talking about, even though "internet" is the same word in Italian as it is in English.

After a few hours in the deadly heat with all of out luggage, we finally got a room at the Two Ducks hostel. I had just bought a new suitcase the day before because the zipper had broken on my other one, and as we were walking to the hostel, the wheel on my new one had popped off. Now on the my 4th suitcase this trip.

Our landlord's name was Alberto, and he was the type of guy that constantly wants to kid around. He would always hide the keys from us and randomly pop in to say hello. A bit creepy, but fun.

Two of Gabrielle's friends, Susan and Emma, were travelling to Rome and ended up staying in our room at the hostel. We also had some random Korean-looking Russian boy named Bolot who stayed in the bunk above me. He was a bit strange, but entertaining. He was backpacking through Europe alone before going back to school. He did some odd things like locking the room door when he went to the bathroom & we were still inside, offering me his juice right out of the box, asking me what time it was even though he clearly had a phone, and always kissing my hand. But he was cool and didn't cause any trouble.

During the week we visited the Colosseum (which wasn't as impressive as we had imagined), the Vatican, St. Peter's Basilica, and the Trevi Fountain. All were beautiful, but the heat was unbearable every day. We would be sitting inside and sweat would be dripping off of our faces. Even after a shower we would immediately sweat again.

During the nights we would visit different pubs and bars. There was one near our hostel where we became good friends with the waiter Mario - he had large afro-ish hair, loved Dublin, and we got the feeling that he could very possibly be a drug dealer. We also did a bar crawl one night and got to see some of the night life along the river.

Our last night in Rome was a wild one with out 1 euro bottles of wine ~ we met up with Emma's cousin who was working in Italy as a pilot and hung out with him all night. We were zombies the next morning for out train ride (2hours of sleep). I ended up leaving my 2 empty suitcases in the hostel along with some clothes that didn't fit in my new suitcase. Sorry to the woman who had to clean that up, but we would have been late for our train.

Long train ride up to Calcio (near Bergamo), but anywhere up north would be fresher than the terrible heat in Rome.

Gabrielle, Emma, Susan, and me at the Fountain

La Fontana di Trevi

The Colosseum

Gladiators!

Vaticano

Don't Get Attached

I never realized how attached to people you can become in such a short amount of time. The camps are a great way to meet new people and see different places, but you've got to be careful about letting your emotions get in the way.

During my first camp in Covo, Mark told me, "The key to this job is don't get attached." This was a strange concept to me at first, but I've begun to perfect the art. I'm doing my job, having fun, and not getting too attached. I give my kids everything during the week, but not much more attention one they're gone. The sad thing is that I'm already forgetting some of them - their names, their accomplishments, the funny things they might have said to me...the only thing I can really remember is the way they made me feel, and I guess that's what it's all about.

I've been getting so used to this ACLE way of life - living in Italy, moving to a different home every week, going to teach for a living - that I nearly forgot what life was like back in America. Now don't hate me, but I honestly hadn't though much about my life back at home until the ride leaving Pescasseroli. I mean, I actually had to try to remember. "I go to the University of Maryland..Wow, I have my own apartment! Wait I can drive? A suburban!? When did I join a sorority?"

It all seemed unreal to me. How strange is that? I've lived in America for 20 years, and in Italy for only 2 months. How does memory loss happen so quickly?

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All of my previous locations have lasted no more than 1 week, until Sesto Fiorentino. If I thought it was hard leaving those other locations, then I thought wrong. I've grown too attached to the city, the people, and the way of life. I can honestly say that I would feel comfortable living there for a year or 2. I even contemplated what would happen had I taken a year off and had just not come back to the states. Clearly that's not the best plan, but considering I somewhat forgot my life back home, the thought sounded quite appealing.

Just so you know, I plan on returning here (Sesto) in a few years. Taylor and I were seriously talking about renting a flat together in Sesto in 2 years, after I graduate. Not quite sure what kind of work I'll do, but at that point I'll be certified to work as a speech assistant. I'm totally cool doing that for a year or two if there are positions available. Obviously this is just speculation, but we're going to keep in contact to see where we end up in 2 years.

I've also decided what tattoo I finally want to get. Don't know when, but I love love LOVE the Fleur-de-lis ~ the symbol of Firenze. Talk about not getting too attached - I'm practically ready to brand myself with this city. But I'll hold off on it - maybe when I live here for a year, just to make sure.

Anyway, it was extremely difficult for me to move on to another city. I still feel like I'm only vacationing to different parts of Italy, and will return back to Sesto soon. But who know.. I could be.

"The Best 55 euro ever spent."

I learned that I will break out in a rash when I roll in hay. I found out that not all sunflowers lean towards the sun. I realized that sandals are not good walking shoes and can create enormous blisters. I noticed that heavy advertisement of an opera does not necessarily mean that the area of the performance is heavily populated. And I discovered that the most vivid memories are those that are unplanned, spent with people you love, and filled with the spirit of adventure.

The best weekend ever started on a Thursday. Taylor had mentioned his improbable desire to see an opera at some point in Italy. He had picked up a flyer that announced the events for the opera festival in Firenze, but we only had 1 day left before the end of our 3-week camp in Sesto. About 30 minutes later we found out that Taylor and Franzi (who were being sent to a camp in Crema) weren't leaving until Sunday -- Saturday is the usual ACLE travel day. We all decided right then that we would go see Don Giovanni on Saturday night as our last hoorah together.

We immediately went on the school's slow-paced internet and booked 4 tickets for Saturday's show using my credit card (Surprise, Dad!). The other 3 went out to start the water games with the campers while I printed off our tickets. I brought them outside to show that were were successful, when we realized that we should check where in Florence the play was being held. We asked Felicia, one of the camp's assistants, and she said that the play wasn't in Firenze at all! San Galgano was at least a 2 1/2 hr drive down South by car. The tutors started talking about what to do since the show was clearly not as close as we imagined and we had no way of getting there and back. Felicia said, "Oh no! You bought the tickets already!?" Cue panic mode. Felicia grabbed the tickets and tried for hours on end to have the box office cancel our tickets. But seeing as we are in Italy, canceling is impossible even if we had booked only 10 minutes before.

We began discussing what to do since we were all now 55 euro into the situation. We contemplated changing the date, selling to the campers' parents, or buying another ticket just to have someone drive us. All fell through, so we decided to talk it over during the group dinner that night.

We were sitting in the car at a gas station waiting for Elisabetta to come with Franzi. Taylor and I were in one car, Gabby in another. Taylor and I were saying how much we still wanted to go, but were afraid that Gabby and Franzi wouldn't want to spend more money to get ourselves down there and stay overnight. Right then, Gabrielle popped her head in the car window. The exhausted, befuddled, gung-ho look on her face was priceless. "You know what guys, let's just do it." And so it was decided.

The camp directors were such a big help planning everything. They told us which buses to take, found us a hostel in Siena, and got us a taxi ride after the show for 70 euro to take us 35 km to Siena. But as my intro paragraph might have foreshadowed, not everything went according to plan. But that made the experience 10x better.

Now on to trip! Saturday morning, woke up early to meet Taylor at his house at 8am. Got a ride to the Sesto train station from his host dad. Waited for Gabby and Franzi to arrive. Had to purchase tickets in the tabacchi because the machines didn't accept coins. Had to run to the train because we were short on time. Made it to the platform right as our train was stopping. First train: Check. Made it to Florence where we then had to walk to the bus station. Purchased tickets to and from Siena. Bus was crowded so we had to sit separately. To Siena: Check. From there we had to get to our hostel. Forgot to ask the bus driver to drop us off on our road, so we had to purchase more tickets to take us a few kilometers back. I bought a map. We also bought our tickets to San Galgano. Found the bus and made it to the hostel: Check. Now that we were at the hostel, we had to book our rooms. I forgot my passport, but luckily he accepted my driver's license. He laughed at me when I tried to give him my credit card as a second form of identification. We got 2 rooms next to each other for 20 euro a piece. Luggage drop-off: Check.

Next we had to catch the bus to San Galgano. Had to call a taxi to take us to the next bus station. Taxi came on time: Check. Found the correct bus: Check. Got everyone on the bus: Check. Got off at the correct stop: ...not so much.

We made it to our first stop - everything going according to plan. Until...

We were speeding up the mountain and arrived at the stop at least 15 minutes ahead of schedule, so we didn't think it could be our stop. You would think that the bus driver would mention to us that the deserted patch of dirt was our stop, especially since we were about the only ones on the bus. But nope. Completely passed right by it.

At the next stop we asked him where San Galgano was, and he said it was at least 5 km back down the mountain. Could he turn around to drive us back? No. Alright, guess we're walking. We had no food with us and only a 1/2 liter of orange Fanta when we began trecking. We were in some town called Frassini, and there was literally nothing around. Except mountains and haystacks, which we did end up taking pictures with. (Plus I lost an earring in the haystack and got rashes all up and down my legs).

Lost in Tuscany

Franzi having trouble getting down the hill

We came to a small house with a water spicket, so we refilled our bottles at least 2-3 times.

Ignoring the fact that we were stranded in the middle of nowhere Tuscany without food or water, it was one of the best experiences of my life. This is the type of thing that only happens in movies. It was completely unexpected and had the most perfect walking distance, weather, and group of friends. It's so hard to explain how I was feeling, except that this day was utter, pure, and genuine happiness.

Walking and Talking...about Aliens

Accidentally Filming

Once we spotted the roofless church, there was quite a celebration. We came to the first and only restaurant in the town, restocked on water food, and ate the most delicious iced lollies in existance (which surprisingly were made by Nestle). Taylor and I toured the Church while the other 2 slept on a picnic bench. Then we went to see the sword in the stone at the top of the hill (Yes, the Sword in the Stone from the story of King Arthur). Got changed in the only restroom in the restaurant, aggrivating lots of people who came to see the opera. I got some bruschetta, we shared a bbottle of wine, and picnicked in the grass in front of the sunflowers.

San Galgano Church

The opera itself was wonderful. I was just so exhausted from the week of work and the full day of traveling that I found it a little difficult to stay focused.

We ended up having a bit of trouble with the taxi service that Felicia booked for us, but Andrea, this wonderful man who worked in the restaurant (our "angel in white") took the phone and eventually had a taxi service agree to escort us back to the hostel.

So at the end of the , we made it to all of our destinations. A few road blocks, but they resulted in some of the best memories of my life. I think that Taylor said it best, "We are bonded for the rest of our lives. I hope you know that."

--You know how everyone always says that a trip like this is a chance of a lifetime? Well ours far surpassed those expectations beyond anything immaginable. Ka-ching.