And a month is gone just like that

I’ve been in Rome this morning, Canada this afternoon, and now in my comfy bed at home. It feels like we were just traveling to Rome, but then it also feels like we were gone for so incredibly long. We crammed so much into four short weeks that I could easily sleep for three straight days when I get back home.

Our day started with saying good bye to everyone who is leaving tomorrow (Sunday.) I started tearing up when I had to say bye to my roommates… we all became so close that not living with them now is going to seem so strange. Going back home and not having people to always be doing things with will be a big change… but, like I was telling Kyle last night, I am the kind of person who gets my energy from being alone. After a long day with four year old kids, I need my alone time to regain my energy. Being surrounded by people for four weeks was something I’m not used to. I think I’m an introverted extrovert… haha. So after saying goodbye, Kate, Kelly, and I caught our ride to the airport. It was only a 30 minute drive… and not nearly as scary as the one coming over. We planned to meet Kyle, but didn’t make an exact meeting spot… we got to the airport, decided to check in first, and then we looked for him and couldn’t find him. We decided we’d just go to security and he’d figure out we did it on our own. On our way to security we run smack into him. (He has worn plaid shirts this entire trip so every man wearing a plaid shirt we’d think “Tourgyle!!!” And it wouldn’t be him.) We said goodbye and thanked him for such a wonderful experience and off we went.

This has been the strangest day going back in time… I don’t really know what/how my body is feeling. I’ve had so much to eat… woke up in Rome and had breakfast, had lunch before our flight in the airport, got lunch on the plane, had a snack, had some sort of dinner thing, had another snack, then had a muffin, got STARBUCKS (oh, how I missed it).

The flight was pretty painless… it went by very quickly. I was in the front of my section and had SO much leg room and no one next to me, except this asian man would randomly come and sit next to me for hours at a time… odd. My seat was an emergency exit… and every time I would fall asleep I would have nightmares about having to pull the emergency handle. Needless to say I didn’t sleep much. Our plane took off at 1:40 (Rome time) and it was 4,095 miles to Canada. Oh, and my seat wouldn’t recline… so I had to sit straight up for 9 hours… not so fun. The flight from Canada to Dulles was so quick… only about an hour and it was the smallest plane ever.

Rome was a wonderful city to live in… and made me really contemplate teaching abroad. I enjoyed it so incredibly much. I only wish I were able to see an upper elementary classroom… but I will miss my little sausages immensely.

Top moments from the trip:

- Day in Tuscany- touring the castle, making pasta, drinking/buying wine!

-          - Venice!!! Burano, Murano, gondola ride

-          - Saturday in Elba- rock climbing, sitting at the bar on the beach

-          - Getting gelato from Old Bridge

-          - Celebrating my 22^nd in rome- Campo de Fiore, Drunken Ship

-         -  Group dinners- eating at Max’s friends’ restaurant and then going to the Spanish Steps

-          - Pasta carbonara nights

-         -  Scholars- karaoke night!!!

So many more… but these were my favorites.. and of course, getting to know and love all of my kids.

Thank you everyone who followed my Italian journey… wish I could say I fell in love with a beautiful Italian man to spice things up… maybe next time ;) 

Last day in Roma

Kelly, Katie S, Katie C, and I woke up and went to the coffee shop, the one Fredricha told us about the very first day. It was the last thing on our Italy bucket list. I ordered an iced cappuccino and it was yummmmyyy… reminded me of a Wendy’s frosty but better. We walked around the area near the Pantheon (only took us a whole month to figure out directions) and then walked back to meet some others for lunch at the panini shop. Some people hadn’t gone yet and they loved it… we decided it is a mix between Potbelly and Jimmy John’s. After lunch we went to Old Bridge and I splurged with a 3 euro cone. My last flavors were dolce latte, caramel, and stracciatela (chocolate chip.) Old Bridge gelato is definitely at the top of the list of things I will miss the most. The majority of the day was spent at the markets. Surprisingly, we hadn’t shopped before, and good thing because I spent much more money than I was expecting. The men at the markets were so funny… “I make special price… just for you.” Just for me huh? I just heard you say that to everyone else. I bargained with one guy… he wanted 12 euros for a  ring… and I said “I’ll give you 5 or I’m leaving.” He took it. I totaled everything up I bought (on souvenirs and gifts) and only spent 210 euros. Well, I guess I shouldn’t say only… but that was definitely on the lower side compared to everyone else. I love allllll of my gifts and it was money well spent.

The wackiest things happened yesterday… here was what happened during the 3 hours we were at the markets: police started chasing the men selling fake purses… I’ve never seen people run that fast, through traffic and everything. They hopped a fence and got away. There was an outside restaurant and one man was sitting  there… all of a sudden a tree branch fell, people started screaming, and somehow it landed all around the man without even touching him. He just sat there in shock. It was absolutely ridiculous. The markets were near the water and we took a break and sat on the ledge... we all look down and a bird is struggling trying to fly. We all are watching this bird (another moment when Kyle would have been like “you’re in Rome and more fascinated by the bird than by anything else”) and another bird kept nudging it (or what we thought was nudging) and we were cheering on the other bird to help the hurt bird. Well, we finally realized this other bird was trying to eat the dying bird. We looked away fast and Lauren got pooped on. Haha. What a day. Then after we witnessed this older man running out of a restaurant, we see a tour bus pulling away and all assumed he missed his bus. We all thought it was so sad and kept saying “aw, he missed his bus.” Then two American boys came out of the restaurant and said he was pick pocketed. So much was happening in so little time… maybe it was a sign we needed to leave Rome.

Kelly, Kate, Daniela, Logan, Lori, Kyle, and I went to the pasta place for one last time. Best last dinner ever… we got so many appetizers, wine, and pasta. Then we were off to the tour of the Vatican. Our tour guide, Paola, was pretty good, but not as good as Mama Hen. I couldn’t believe how huge the Vatican is… everything was remarkable, especially all of the ceilings. Vatican City is the smallest country in the world… so technically I will have been to four countries this trip (Italy, Vatican City, Canada, and Switzerland.) World traveler. 20,000 people go through the Vatican every day. I imagined the Sistine Chapel being bigger… but it was still awesome to see. This card kept standing at the top of the room going “SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH NO FOTO!” Kate got yelled at… and we started laughing hysterical. Unfortunately, St. Peter’s Basilica isn’t open at night so we weren’t able to go to the top…. Which actually really made me sad because that’s where we lived for a month and I can’t even say I saw it. That’s why Kyle said Kelly and I get to be the GA’s on the trip next year… how amazing would that be.

Kyle with our bread mound

best lasagna

freakiest thing in the Vatican

After the Vatican, we were walking home (Kate and I got yelled at by Vatican police) and ran into Kyle and Steve. Kyle was coming up with a nickname for me… and because he went to Georgia and he knows my whole family did he came up with “L Dawg.” I said I’ve heard that one before and then he came up with “Lawg” (log) and started singing a song that went something like “because you’re big, heavy, and wood.” Thanks Kyle. Kelly and I stayed out with Steve and Kyle for a little while longer and had a fun last night. 

Coming to an end

Today was my last day with the little ones … and it didn’t quite go as planned. We woke up early and stopped by a flower stand on the corner, bought some pretty plants to give to my teacher (along with wine I had previously purchased), and grabbed a cappuccino and croissant from Bar Danielle. It started off as a great morning… I even got a seat on the bus. Well, when I get to school the kids start showing up so much later than usual… it is 8:55 and there were only 7 kids. 9 o’clock rolls around when circle time starts and 7 kids are still missing… Alessandro and Diamante weren’t there :( I was so, so sad. I got so attached to them and not being able to say goodbye was not how I wanted it to end. I wrote the 7 students notes saying goodbye. I’ve never been good with goodbyes… I tend to avoid them… but saying bye to someone knowing you’ll eventually see them is much different than saying goodbye knowing you’ll never see them again. Yes, I cried.

waiting for the bus for the last time!

Despite my favorite sausages not being there, the day was extremely painless. No melt downs, crying fits, or fights. We played all day long. Music put me in a bad mood… but I tried to stay smiling and not let it bother me. The woman just drives me crazy… i’ve never met an older woman who I don’t like. Older people and babies are people I just gravitate towards… not this one. She’s a witch. I’ve been there for four weeks and am with her two times a week (8 times) and she still didn’t know my name on the last day… miss teacher is what she refers to me as. That doesn’t deserve a response.

The kids made me an adorable book and were absolutely precious giving it to me. They kept asking why I have to go back to America and I said “I have to go back to my mommy and daddy. They miss me!” which they understood. Explaining I’m studying over here and whatnot is too complex for a four year old. We had a little party, exchange gifts, and had a great time. I got such a different vibe from my teachers today… I knew they liked me… but they weren’t extremely bubbly people and I would sometimes get weird vibes from them. My one teacher (English one) kept saying “you’re wonderful!” Maybe it was because I bought her wine…. Or maybe because I’m no longer an extra body in her classroom… or maybe she genuinely thinks that. They hugged me about 50 times and on the last hug the English teacher did the kiss on both cheeks thing… I knew I was going to mess this up while being here so here’s the story: she gave me a hug and kissed me on both cheeks then my brazillian teacher gave me a hug and I started to lean in to kiss her on both cheeks… well, that was awkward. She started doing the Mom chuckle and I probably turned beat red. Oh well, I guess I’ll never see her again. I bought a Marymount t-shirt to end my experience there J The only thing that would have made this experience better would be able to say goodbye to the rest of my kiddos. I learned so much and had an absolutely wonderful time.

On our way back a group of us decided to stop at the pastry shop that Lori and I discovered one day. It exceeded my expectations. So scrumptious. I’m semi glad we didn’t discover it earlier… I would have been a whale and a half.

Our final group dinner was tonight at a restaurant across the street (Max set it up.) It may have been one of the best dinners this entire trip… a five course meal. Everyone was stuffed and had a wonderful time. So after dinner is where it all got… interesting. We left at 9:40 to go to a “summer disco” where Max said we would be an “elite group.” Everything was supposed to be paid for and we were supposed to get a free drink. (He only talked to me and Kyle about this…) Okay, so we take the bus, walk past the Colosseum, get lost a little bit, and finally find our way there. Summer disco is NOT how I would have described it… and when Max said “I suggest you wear nice dress” I’m pretty sure he meant where the article of clothing that exposes you the most. We all looked like GRANDMAS compared to these Italians, but that’s nothing new for me and it did a good job of keeping the Italians away. Words can’t really describe the night. They didn’t understand our tickets were paid for… and to get out we had to exchange our “in pass” for an “out pass” and pay 15 euros. That included a drink so we all just decided to get a drink… I decided to get some drink an Italian lady recommended… bad decision.. it was basically straight sugar. But despite paying 15 euros for one drink and a ticket to leave the place, it was SUCH a fun night… we were all mesmerized by where we were and what we were watching. Here are some pictures… they don’t do it justice.. 

giving Kyle and Steve a thank you gift!

summer disco?

Playing hookey for Pope Benedict

Almost everyone went to Scholars (an Irish pub) last night for karaoke. It was so, so much fun and we rocked out all night long. Katie C., Katie S, Kate, Dana, and I sang “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” Steve and Kyle joined the party… but only for a little awhile… long enough for me to sign them up to sign “Why do you build me up buttercup?” but then they left L As I was waiting in the bathroom (which it was me and four other men for a good chunk of time… that is still so, so odd to me) another girl came in… this one guy started talking to us and I asked where she was from and she said Virginia. Turns out she’s from Loudoun County too and we knew some of the same people. Such a small world. Kara, Katie S, Kelly and I ended up walking home because we didn’t know what bus to take… and my sandals didn’t make the journey. They got caught in cobblestone and broke… one more thing I don’t have to put in my suitcase. Guess I will have to use my DSW card I got for Christmas when I get home. (Oh, on the walk to Scholars we passed a group of guys wearing Georgia Tech shirts. I said Georgia Tech… I guess really loud because the guys started cheering and then I said “oh no, GO DAWGS!!!” and they boooo’ed me.)

Today we didn’t go to school, instead we saw the Pope! When he was riding around in his popemobile in the beginning he was about 10 feet from us… it was pretty awesome. Unfortunately JMU didn’t get a shout out… or maybe we did in one of the 50 other languages that was spoken. When my teacher told me I would roast, I didn’t think she was actually serious. I have never been that hot… and it was all I could concentrate on. Katie C. and I left a little early… or else I think I would have seriously fainted. Oh,  we got there around 10 and the Pope came out at 10:30… but during that 30 minutes the woman right in front of me passed out and had to be taken away. Everyone was shouting in Italian and jumping around like crazy people. It was so scary. We also left because we didn’t want to make a scene like that. But, at least I can say I saw the pope J

We went to an awesome panini shop for lunch and I got the best salad ever. Then we walked around Rome, which is so extremely crowded during the day… since we’re always at Marymount during the day we’ve never experienced it.. and came back to take a nap. Everything hit me today and when I took a nap at 3 I could have easily passed out for the night. At 5 we went for appertivos.. I ordered a pina colada and only took one sip. I just want a big glass of ice cold water.

Max called and asked me to come to his office. I had just hopped out of the shower, my hair was soaking wet, and I was already in my PJs. I walk in his office and he says, “Oh, I’m sorry. Were you lying down?” I have a feeling it’s probably not acceptable to go out of the house looking like that in Italy. Oh well. I had two cards from my lovely parents. My birthday card finally came… and another card saying “sorry you didn’t get your birthday card.” Haha. Max said he hasn’t talked to my mom in awhile and that he actually misses her. Gosh lady, people you don’t even know already like you. Who are you, Gandhi? We talked for awhile, he’s such an interesting character and his English cracks me up.

And last thing.. I had two gelatos today… I’m going to need a personal trainer when I get home. John?

Posso avere…

This story CRACKED me up… so one girl’s father came in the classroom today, walked up to my teacher (the English one), and said, “so Fabiana tells me you told them since they are so clever they can skip kindergarten and go to first grade.” HAHA he was serious because supposedly he’s been trying to get the teachers to let her skip kindergarten. All my teacher says was, “I was joking. Although they all are very clever.” Maybe sarcasm with four year olds isn’t the greatest idea.

The little girl with scarlet fever returned today… which was good, but my little Diamante was absent L She always makes me laugh throughout the day. One child in EC2 (I’m pretty sure it’s the brother of the girl who had scarlet fever) now has strep throat… so another child in my class is not going to be here this week because his mother is pregnant and doesn’t want him bringing it into the house.. did you follow that? Confusing. Anyway, moral of the story is that Italians are SO protective. My teacher gave the example that when it’s raining out parents don’t even let their kids run through puddles and if the kid does happen to step in water all hell will break loose.

Music was horrible again… it’s almost like listening to fingernails on a chalkboard, but worse. The lady cannot control the kids and gets angry with them when they start running around the room. You told the kids to march around the classroom while banging instruments together, what do you expect.

snapped a picture of the rainbow.... 

I went for a second cappuccino during my break today and said, “may I have a small cappuccino please?” The ladies at the bar pretty much speak only Italian, I usually have to point and do sign language to them. One lady says, “posso avere piccolo cappuccino por favore.” And made me repeat it… they said something in Italian after I repeated it and I know they said, “I don’t think she’ll remember tomorrow.” I’m getting good at being able to hear what they’re saying… and I wrote it down so I will remember it and use it on Thursday. (Tomorrow we are going to see the pope and will not be going to school!)

A few cute stories from Ale: We were doing puzzles at the end of the day and said, “we’re going to do it without the picture because we are so clever.” Then he kept saying “alright, you go here mister” for each piece. Is he cute or what? At the end of the day he comes up to me and says, “I want to go home with you.” I wish… I wish.

my little favorites (the one on the left is in Dana's class) and they aren't related at all...

me and Dana with our little favorites

One of my students, Viola, has been staying with her grandparents. Her parents have been out of the country with her brother who needs surgery… well, her parents came back today and I haven’t seen her that happy for awhile. Her mom started crying when Viola ran up to her, which  made me cry, and also made me want a big hug from my mama. 

Steve was telling us that yesterday was his anniversary… and then everyone was saying their parents are in June too. I told them my parent’s anniversary is Saturday when I get home and they all said, “great anniversary present” sarcastically… and I said, “it definitely is!!” seriously ;) 

happy (almost) 33rd anniversary to the best parents!!

Marvelous Monday

I am in SHOCK that today was our last Monday at Marymount. These weeks have flown by but they couldn’t have been better. Having to leave the kids makes me so sad and I know I am going to tear up on the last day.

I completed my lesson today (observed by Kyle) and it couldn’t have gone better. Very last minute, I decided to change up my activity… it was a goooood decision. Although the lesson/activity took longer than expected, it went so much smoother than I thought it would and that is all that matters. I had a group of five kids (Fabiana, Gaia, Khadejah, Matteo, and Federico) and my little trouble maker (Matteo) was on his best behavior. He started showing off in the beginning and I was on him like a hawk. He pulled it together. Near the end of my lesson, I looked at Kyle and said, “well, my activity is done, but if you want to stay and watch the madhouse you’re more than welcome.” He stayed and helped with my group of kids. They adored him. I can imagine it is fun, especially for the boys, to have another man in the classroom. They kept asking “who is dis man?” Haha gosh I adore each and every one of them. I explained he is my teacher, just like I’m their teacher and he says “basically I’m your grandteacher.” This is from the feedback Kyle gave me, “After a half hour of observation, I am exhausted and don’t understand how you can sustain this level of activity, energy, and organization for an entire day!” Amen, Tiberius, Amen. They’re exhausting, but so worth it.

If it were possible to clone a kid, I’d clone Ale in a heartbeat. He picked flowers on the playground and brought them to me. Dana has one little boy, Robbie, in her class… who looks like he could be twins with Ale. Dana and I were talking with Robbie and Ale on the playground (our two favorites) and I said, “Ale, Robbie could be your twin.” Ale says, “what is a twin?” in his adorable Italian accent. And Robbie mutters something in Italian super fast and they both crack up. I’ll take pictures tomorrow cause they’re resemblance is crazy and they are both the cutest kids on earth. Diamante (our little Diamond) told me that she likes Ale… what four year old girl wouldn’t?! He’s gonna be a ladies man. I told Ale I am going to take him home with me when I leave and he said “yes! But my mommy may miss me.” Never seeing him again makes me so, so sad.

After school, Kelly, Dana, MK and I did some laundry. I went to the market for the last time… and then 17 of us went to Dar Poeta, the pizza place we went to in the very beginning. It was everything I remembered and more. Kara and I split a delicious pizza (with vegetables and sausage) and then Dana and I split a nutella calzone for dessert. Ugh, I’m going to miss it. It will be so strange going back to the US and not eating dessert with every meal (it’s like I have a different mindset about food over here…) oh and also going back to not eating meat! That will be an adjustment. 

No shoes, no swimsuits, no problem

Saturday: Let’s just say Max is a manatee and we are all gazelles. This will only be funny to my family…. but I’m sure the rest of you can figure it out. All of us girls wanted to be on the beach as soon as we were done with breakfast, but since Max, Kyle, and Steve were the drivers we had to wait around for Max. He didn’t understand why we wanted to be on the beach so early, especially when it was cloudy. Clearly he doesn’t get American girls. We drove there with Steve and almost got lost a couple of times because Max drives so darn fast. The beach was so beautiful… but since it still wasn’t sunny out, five of us decide to go exploring. We were basically straight up rock climbing for well over an hour. It was awesome and we all had a great time. We met Tarzan. This man went speeding passed us, we were slow pokes compared to him. I pulled a mom and peed in what we thought was the Mediterranean Sea, but it was actually the Tyrrhenian Sea (Ty RA NE AN). Not many people are able to say that. After our long adventure, we decided to go get a drink at the bar. One drink turned into about 6 more… and let’s just say we had SUCH a fun day and so did the bartenders. We went swimming in the sea, got on a boat that had a slide, met the cutest little baby (who was not wearing any sort of swimsuit bottoms or diaper.. yup, baby penis/butt just hanging out) and all made quite the scene. Expected, right? Massimiliano drove a group of us home (oh, he left the beach because he didn’t want to just sit there all day…. Boring.) I’m sure we annoyed him with our loud singing and yelling in the car, but oh well, he loves us. When we got back to the hotel… Max brought me and Jo-ell (I think he likes the blondes) a shot… and it was DISGUSTING. The group of us who came home early went to the pool for an hour and passed out. After showering and getting ready we all headed to Max’s parents restaurants for appertivos. You know when you’ve been drinking all day and continuing drinking makes you want to throw up or go to sleep… that’s how I felt.. but I pushed through and the view/restaurant was BEAUTIFUL. Max’s dad was the architect. We went straight to the hotel for dinner (at 9 oclock… SO LATE!) and had a delicious dinner. Max’s friend sat with us at dinner… and went around telling us what movie stars we look like… he gave me Chelsea Clinton. Really?? “A beautiful Chelsea Clinton.” But still… not a compliment. He redeemed himself with Gwenyth Paltro. Staying out all day, being in the sun, and simply getting no sleep is exhausting. The majority of us are extremely low key and aren’t into the party scene… but since I didn’t go out the first night in Elba I told myself no matter how tired I was I was going to experience the nightlife. Well, turns out everyone simply had enough… enough of each other, enough alcohol and the night went downhill fast. I think the most difficult thing to adjust to about studying abroad is being around people 24/7… you can’t get away. You have a roommate (who I am SO lucky because we are all amazing and haven’t had one single problem), you’re in school with everyone, you do things with everyone after school, and our one rule is “you can never travel alone.” Eventually, the little things start to bother people and people will naturally need their space. Elba was a big change for us because we are used to public transportation and being able to go where we please, that having three vans that joined us all together was an adjustment I don’t think any of us made well. One thing I have really learned on this trip is to let the little things go. I’ve always been pretty good with this… but this trip has made me an expert.

our rock climb

sista picture

Sunday was extremely low key.. I think we were all in need of our own space, a hug from our Moms, and peace and quiet. We laid by the pool from 9:30 until 12:30ish in our sweatshirts and towels. When the sun was out it was perfect, but when it went away and the breeze came it was so chilly. Unfortunately, we didn’t get as tan as we were all expecting. We had lunch at 1 and took off at 2. As we were getting ready to go, the head chef (who spoke no English) brings a shot to me and says “from Massimiliano.” He is standing in the background cracking up because I thought it was SO nasty the day before. Strange one he is. Mom, imagine the shot you took at the beach but 50 times worse. Gross, right? I declined, of course, and I’m sure I acted like a snobby, rude American. The trip back was pretty painless and we made it home by 9:30 PM… the penis baby from the beach was on the ferry… AND he waved to us J

As I was sitting by the pool in Elba on Sunday waiting to go home I made a list of things I am in dire need of/can’t wait for when I return to Virginia:

1.       FAMILY time and much of it- seeing my nephew walk!!!

2.       My best friends- celebrating birthdays, graduations, everything else (wineries!!)

3.       Manicure/pedicure

4.       Taking a shower in my bathroom/being able to straighten my hair

5.       Home cooked meals

6.       TREADMILL

Elba was such a cool island.. it had the best of both worlds: mountains and beach. I have never ever seen more windy roads than I did on this trip. AND these crazy Elba people would bike up the side of the mountains. They have to be the most in shape people I’ve ever seen. I really wish we had more time to experience the island. Guess I’ll just have to come back J