"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.

Sesto Fiorentino - Week 3

Final week in the best town on Earth. Switched families again. This time the mom spoke excellent English. She jokes a lot and is so funny! On Saturday she took me out to the market, which is literally out front of their house. Many vendors come here to sell things - it's kind of like Cowtown. I bought a new pair of shorts because it was unbearable hot that day. We also went to the grocery store where she bout my my own coffee maker to take home and my own jar of Nutella since her son is allergic to gluten. SCORE! They lived on the top floor of an apartment building, right next to a Chinese restaurant. It's so hot up here all of the time, but they have a lovely garden on their balcony that the dad is obsessed with. They also took me up to the mountains because it is more "fresh" there, and they taught me to shoot a bow and arrow. I think I've found a new hobby.

Not much to say about the work week other than I had the most unruly, disrespectful kids imaginable. They were another yellow book group, but they ages were mixed. There were a few 5 year olds, but also some 8 year olds. I absolutely hated my class and stalled as long as possible so I wouldn't have to go back in there. I even walked out on them a few times and had to get an assistant to help me. I think I would have been okay had it not been for Cosimo. He was the child that makes everyone else act up. He would constantly scream run under tables, climb up the bookshelves, and deliberately not answer me. He was very smart though - when I asked him to draw a happy face on the emotions worksheet, he did the complete opposite and did a sad face. Then he smirked back up at me and started screaming and running again. He got the 5-year-old Alessandro as his companion and they were just terrors the whole time. Then I had Pietro. He was a disturbed little boy of 7 who did not want to do anything. Literally. He didn't participate in the morning circle, he wouldn't answer my questions...again when we were doing the emotions worksheet, he only drew a line to "angry" and colored the whole thing black and blue. Gabrielle lived with him for the week, and she thinks it might be some kind of middle child syndrome.

The girls in my class were only slightly better. Carolina liked to chase the kids around the room and hang all over me, but she generally got her work done. Then there was Marta. She was kind, but insecure. She would always ask me if she was doing something the right way, which color to use, what to draw, what we doing next...she constantly had to be doing something, and naturally she was always the first one finished. Then I had Francesca and Alessia. I taught Alessia the first week (she was the bunny in my show) and she and Francesca were like best friends. They were so cute, but the Cosimo effect seemed to rub off on them a little them. They weren't quite as well-behaved as I know they would have been had Cosimo not been there. One afternoon, Cosimo went home early with an ear infection, and the entire class followed everything I told them.

My show idea for the week was so cute. Since I only had 7 kids, I made them each a music note from the Sound of Music (Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So,...). I found bells in the music room that made each sound, and they were all different colors. I had the students walk out and say, "My name is ___. I am 'Do.' I am blue." Stick the bell on, ding it, and stand in line. After they all went, they say "We are the music," and then the Song comes on and the kids sing and do the American Sign Language signs to the song. After they all jump in a line saying their note, grab hands, take a bow, and walk off. Seems like it was an easy enough task, but teaching it to this class was challenging. They ended doing fine in the show, and I got many compliments on it by the parents afterwards.

The 7 music notes

The #1 terror and his comrade - don't let the evil smile fool you ;)

Needless to say, my stay in Sesto has come to an end. I'm put on hold for next, which means that I won't be working. Gabrielle and I have decided that we want to go see Rome, so we'll leave on Tuesday morning (our families said that we can stay the few extra days with them). Taylor and Franzi have been sent to a camp in Crema (around Milan), so after 3 long weeks, the quad is being separated. But we decided that we couldn't go out without a bang: the best weekend of our lives...TO BE CONTINUED

Addiction to Nutella

I had initially thought that I would develop an addiction to homemade pasta and Italian coffee, but boy was I wrong. Nutella cravings have been pouncing up on me like a squirrel on an acorn. I never realized how delicious this stuff is! I've been 3eating it almost every morning for breakfast since I've been in Italy, and sometimes had it for snack, either with bread or bread sticks.

It has gotten to that point where I get random Nutella cravings during the day, or during a time when I would normally consume this God-send of a condiment. The point when I admitted my addiction occurred when I was staying with my Sesto Fiorentino host family. The family had left me home alone for 30 minutes to go drop their son off at softball practice, and all I could think about was Nutella. I quickly rushed to the kitchen after waiting about 3 minutes after they left, just to make sure that they wouldn't come back if they forgot something.

I grabbed the loaf of bread and cut a huge portion for myself. I rummaged through the pantry until I located that savory container, and I completely smothered the break in the chocolate-hazlenutty deliciousness.

And this is not a clean addiction. Bread crumbs and chocolately fingers can leave quite a mess around the kitchen. I'd be surprised if the family didn't notice if I had been there. Of course, nothing was said to me, and I'm that they would have been more than happy to give me the snack had I requested it, but I didn't want them to think I'm eating their whole jar...although I only have a few spoonfuls left until I reach the bottom of this one. :-/ I'm thinking of buying them another jar as a goodbye gift. Would that be satisfactory?

I feel like once I come back the the states, my meals and snacks would not be the same.

You have been warned: Nutella addict on the loose.

Sesto Fiorentino - Week 2

I moved in with a family that lived in a home that was connected directly to a church, and only a 10-minute walk from the school. The father was Marco and he spoke great English, mother Paola, son Michele (12 yrs), and daughter Claudia (6yrs). Both children were going to City Camp this upcoming week. Since I did not have to change cities, only families, I had time to do some sightseeing.

Paola and Claudia took me to 2 of the old gardens that were once owned by the Medici family. We got a tour of one of their castles, and naturally it was very beautiful. There were many rooms, but they were all fairly small. If I lived in a castle, with an allotted amount of square footage, I would push for less rooms with more space. It would make the environment more visually appealing. Medicis, next tims you decide to build a castle, please take my advice.

Overlooking the garden in front of the castle

Waiting to go on the tour

Claudia playing in the Italian gardens - this reminds me of Pan's Labyrinth

The Secret Garden

View of the entire garden

Claudia took this photo - I thought it was blogworthy

On Sunday, the family took me to Pisa. The area was a lot smaller than I imagined it would be. Plus you had to pay for everything, but my family took care of that. They must have spent so much money on me that day because it cost 15 euro just to go to the top of the tower! And we even went n the Church, the Baptismal Chapel, and the graveyard.

Cheezy Pisa Picture

The Cerruccis

View of the Church from the top of the Baptismal Chapel

On top of the tower

Chillaxing in front of Pisa

This week I worked with the orange-red group 9-10 yr olds). Our end-of-the-week show was Alice in Wonderland. I was a little disappointed by this at first because it wasn't quite as original as my previous shows, but then one of the tutors, Taylor, gave me his script from a different camp. Made my job soooo much easier.

Alice in Wonderland

This week seemed to fly by. We were sent one extra tutor, Stephanie, since we had more kids the 2nd week. But on Monday, Natalie called out sick, so again, we were 1 tutor short. ACLE send us Ashley the next day to take over Natalie's class, but Natalie ended up coming back the same day, so we had tutors out the wahzoo.

The directors took us out to dinner again in Firenze (pasta, chicken, and fried potatoes), and then for gelato afterwards. No VIP concert this time. :)

Everyday after camp, I would go home and play with Claudia. Sometimes we would play Scooby Doo on Playstation, do puzzles, watch Italian cartoons, dance or play cavallo (horse). Guess who was the horse?

Claudia was fascinated with my camera, especially when I showed her the video feature. Here are a few of the videos we composed:

Music Time

Dance Off

Singing to Claudia

Switiching families again next week because the Cerrutis are going to the seaside.

Sesto Fiorentino - Week 1

My next station was at Sesto Fiorentino (a town next to Florence/Firenze). I'm placed here for 3 weeks, and I have to say that I would not have picked a better city. Florence is by far the most beautiful city I have visited during my stay in Italy. I love how everything is relaxed, yet structured (mostly referring to my camps, but also the city).

I chose to work with the yellow book this week (the 6-7 year olds). This was quite a jump from working with the green book high schoolers from last week. It makes me feel like a big, bad 8th grader moving on to high school, only to start back at the bottom of the totem pole. But my

kids were so cute. None of them spoke any English before, so I was extremely excited when I got them to say "My name is ___." I was nearly jumping for joy. Sniffles - my little babies, all grown up and speaking English!

My family was great too. Pierre Francesco, Laura, two kids Giulia (8yrs) and Alessandro (5yrs), and a yellow lab Pluto. They were very kind, gave me a bike to ride to school (20 minutes uphill), and Pierre Francesco spoke excellent English because he had traveled to NY in the '80s. Their grandmother was also a very sweet woman. One time I came home with ripped pants (they had ripped previously in Covo because a girl had dared me to do a cartw

heel. My host mom had stitched them together, but the seams had come out. I had to put scotch tape on my leg that day since I felt like it was a little inappropriate to have my thigh showing.) Anyway, the grandmother basically ripped the pants right off of my body and had them fixed in less than 10 minutes. I love Italian mothers. :)

My camp directors (Elisabetta, Benedetta, and Valentina) took the tutors out into the city on Wednesday night for a beautifully delicious dinner. There was a concert going on in the city during that time, so we were basically VIPS and had to get past the "bouncers" to make it into the res

taurant. He had a list of names, and yes, ours was on there. So cool!

I ate a Mediterranean cuisine (cous cous, hummus, flaky bread with spinach, funky fried balls with green stuff in the middle, prosciutto, and chocolate cake for dessert). After dinner we walked outside and stayed for the concert. The men performing were 2 very famous Italian singers: Francesco de Gregori and Lucio Dalla. Most famous song. This was probably one of the most memorable nights in Italy. I was so wiped out from work all day that I actually fell asleep during the last 2 songs. Don't know how I managed that with all of the noise, but I consider it a great personal accomplishment to fall asleep while sitting up at such a loud concert.

Horse Rides in Florence

Sunset on the Bridge

Nighttime view of Florence from Piazza di Michelangelo

My Yellow Book Kids - all animals for the final show

The Dome - we got a secret tour to the top of one of the museums :)

Tutors before we were admitted as VIPs

Pescasseroli

My first summer camp. I arrived at 8:30-9ish on Saturaday night after a long day of traveling with Gabrielle (a tutor from the Covo camp) over 7 forms of transportation. It took a car ride to the train station, 3 trains, 2 buses, and one more car to get from Covo to Pescasseroli. Utterly insane. When I finally got to the hotel, all of the other turos were there. The had picked thier groups for teaching, so Gabrielle and I were stuck with either the high school group or the group of all 10-year-old boys.Gabrielle didn't want to do the older kids, so I took them. I was really hesitant because I had heard stories about how the high school students tend to be unenthusiastic about learning English, but my group was an exception.

I could not have been happier with their performance. They bonded so quickly, which I was afraid that they wouldn't because of the age differences. My youngest was 11 and my oldest were 14. Quite a broad range, but they all looked out for each other, hung out together, and had a great time. This made my job a lot easier, especially since I had to work from 8 am - 10:20 pm every day with barely any time reserved for myself. (usually I only had enough time for a 20 minute nap). I had my group make up a camp newspaper to summerize what happened during the week. --- I'll try to attach the newspaper because it looks really cool, but I'm typing on an old computer, so it might not work.
Anyway, my group was amazing and that's pretty much the only reason why I'd have to say that summer camp was worth it. The camp was not as organized as I would have preferred it to be. Sometimes we would have something planned, but then the director would tell us that we should do something else instead. So we pretty much had to improvise on hours worth of activities on the spot. Not exactly my cup of tea. We also had planned from the beginning to have a disco on the last night, but for some reason they were unable to install the speakers in time. We were at least a 1/2 hr into the disco until maintenence arrived.

I would prefer not to be placed in another summer camp since it was so exhausting, but I am definitely glad that I got that experience, especially with my fantastic group of kids.
Next stop: Sesto Fiorentino

Mr. & Mrs. Pescasseroli - aka Crossdress night

Herd of White Cows

My group of campers

Pescasseroli Hike

Hike with the camp

Cute little kid Vicktor