This week is FLYING like Tinkerbell

I was “Mama Tinkerbell” today and all my girls were baby Tinkerbells. Their imaginations and creativity keep me laughing every day.

The one little boy, Gianandrea, who speaks little to no English (the only English he knows are the prayers, please/thank you, bathroom, and our names.) Yesterday, I was leading an activity, the first group understood very well and completed it quickly. The second group, which had Gianandrea, was a little more difficult. Gianandrea got extremely frustrated, crumbled up his paper, threw markers on the floor, and when I went over to him he had the meanest facial expression on. He shouted something at me in Italian, and I had to go ask Melinda to translate. He said, “I’m mad at you because you didn’t look at my work when I finished.” We worked it out and crossed that hurdle. Today was a new day and Gianandrea was ten times better. He finished his math so quickly, which never happens, and did it perfectly. And… the best one yet… he spoke in English to me!!!! One full sentence. It put the biggest smile on my face.  

Music and art yesterday were… I don’t think there’s a word for it. They watched videos of Fantasia in music. The same exact ones they watched last Tuesday. Please tell me how you expect four year olds to sit through 30 minutes of videos… that they have already seen. They won’t. Don’t try. Art was better than last week… they did oil pastel drawings but they are still out of control because it’s at the end of the day. Today in PE, I wanted to scream. The two kids who need to exercise the most were told to sit out for not listening. Yes, that makes SO much sense. Sit the kids out who have the most energy. Gianandrea started crying and telling me something in Italian. I take the kids to PE by myself and the PE teacher speaks very little English. I kept asking for the two boys to join back in, he didn’t understand.

The students are learning “Hey Diddle Diddle.” Ale came up to me yesterday, grabbed my hand, and said “the dish ran away with the spoon.” I just love him. He has a fascination with making masks. 

I started picking up that my kids say “me no” instead of “not me” or “I did not.” It’s actually the cutest thing ever. We’ll say “who has to go to the bathroom?” “Me no.” Today, my diamond (Diamante) came up to me at the garden and said, “my finger really hurts Miss Heitz” and flicks me off. Haha, it was rather funny cause she just held it there for so incredibly long. We decided to have a boat ceremony today and named our pirate ship “Snake Fish Pirate.” The teacher (one from England) said when pirates really name their boats they take champagne bottles and make them break against the ship. Then took our pear juice and said “here’s our champagne.” Strange, right? I got very weird vibes when my two teachers were talking to each other today and got the impression they aren’t the biggest fans of each other. They balance each other out well and do work well together, they just have opposite styles of teaching and dealing with the kids. It can get confusing, especially for the kids, what they are allowed to do with one teacher and vice versa.   

Those were a few school stories... yesterday, Lauren, Katie S, Katie C, Kate, Kara, and I went shopping right after school. You know when you get in those “I want to spend money” kind of moods… well I had one… so you know what that means… I didn’t find ANYTHING. So we decided to go to a restaurant for appertivos, Gusto. It was awesome. 10 euros for a drink and all you can eat appetizers. I don’t think when the waiter said, “eat as much as you’d like” we’d actually take him seriously. On our way to the restaurant this man passed, got very close to me, and in the creepiest voice says, “I like to move it move it.” These men do not hold back. We found our way back like true City Girls.

For any of you who read this entire post, sorry it wasn’t more entertaining. 

Just another manic Monday

Despite the rain and not being able to go outside, today went by pretty fast. But man oh man, was it an interesting one right off the bat. Not even an hour into school and one girl started itching her body like crazy. A woman was in our class observing and said we should probably take her to the nurse. We assumed bug bite or something common like that… well 15-20 minutes later the teacher brings the child back and says she needs to stay in the office because she has scarlet fever. That still exists??? I was slightly, or more than slightly, freaked out because I was around the girl the entire morning (all of an hour… but still.) The saddest part is that this little girl’s mother has cancer and is extremely sick. Now she has to be quarantined and can’t be around her mom. So prayers please for this little girl and her family. But later in the day the nurse comes in and brings school health notices… it says a 2^nd grader has had scarlet fever.. and listed precautions to take/symptoms to look for. Our teacher called the nurse and asked who the student is in 2^nd grade who had it… it ended up being an older sibling of a boy in our class. They believe somehow he carried it and gave it to the girl. The boy had the nastiest cough all week last week and was out two days. It would have been nice for the mom to inform us what was going on dontcha think? I was a little paranoid the rest of the day… but no worrying while in Italy.

The kids were tiring today… having play time inside really makes them rowdy. Four year olds need their outside play time to run, hop, skip, and jump like wild animals. I was actually mean, or I like to use the word stern, with some of them today to get them to listen to me. It worked. I guess I can’t always be the nice teacher that gets taken advantage of/run all over by her students. One little boy, the class trouble maker, was in the “exile chair” more than he was participating in activities today… yup, one of those kind of days.

After a long school day Kara, Katie C., Lauren, and I did insanity. We had to move our entire apartment to fit the four of us… but we made it work. During the middle, Max came to our door… and asked if we just came back from a run. He saw we were actually in the middle of a workout and started laughing at us.

We ended the day with a trip to the market... which has become our Monday routine. 

I’ve officially given up hope that I’ll have clean feet during this trip. And also, since the cappuccinos are so, so strong.. I’ve been having to add sugar to it.. not really sure what kind of sugar I’m adding since I can’t read Italian. But my face has been breaking out and I look like a freaking pizza… so today it struck me what my professor from my food class told us last semester. She used Splenda every day, and finally noticed her face would break out along her cheek bones… she researched and learned Splenda causes the blockage of a hormone that causes your face to break out. Well, I’ve most likely been using Italian Splenda (if such thing exists) and my face hasn’t liked it one bit. It also could have been the fishy Venice water… but I’ll give up the sugar and see what happens.

Another Monday down… can’t believe there is only one left! 

Can't get better than this

Our last day in Venice was spent exploring, shopping, and seeing the prettiest view of a city I’ve ever seen. We went to the Bell Tower, in Saint Mark’s square, and got to look out across the entire city of Venice. Pictures don’t do it justice. It was 8 euros to climb to the top and well worth it.

Kate and I decided to have some best friend time after a long day of shopping and went to sit by the water before it was time to head back. It was us and about five couples sitting on this dock. Well, the biggest seagull I’ve ever seen in my entire life flew straight at us... we screamed, made a scene, and the seagull sat right above us on a pole. Oh, but it gets better. All of a sudden the seagull shakes its back end feathers and we get some nice bird pee straight to the face. I haven’t laughed that hard in awhile. We had all of the couples laughing at us.

On our way back… I kept thinking how getting on a plane is so different from a train. Why is there no security for a train? Can’t someone just as easily blow up a train? I kept looking at every single person and getting freaked out… so then I decided just to fall asleep and was passed out the entire ride home. Unfortunately we were right next to a door.. which every time it opened made the worst noise ever, worse than fingernails on a chalkboard. We wanted to put a “do not enter” sign on the door… or stand up and announce no one was allowed to pass through the door. Lori also suggested tripping someone and having them fly through the glass so the door wouldn’t have to open for people to get through… hah yes, it was this bad. Lori finally decided to stick her flip flop in the door… which eventually broke the door and it no longer closed. Success.

Oh, a funny story… so continuing with my poop pant story… I borrowed a tide to go pen… managed to get the poop out… soaked the pants in soap and water… and hung them on a wood chair to dry over night. I woke up this morning, picked up the pants, and saw this. I think it’s safe to say white pants and I don’t mix. I think I’m going to just throw them in the trash L

One thing I’m excited for in the states: free water. One thing I will NOT miss about Italy: the smoke. Everyone smokes. My lungs are taking a beating.

It was weird not seeing cars for the couple of days… but Venice was absolutely the prettiest and most romantic place I’ve ever been. 

The back of your pants is ridiculous

Despite sitting in poop, spilling on my new longchamp (good thing I didn’t buy the white purse), and someone losing their shoe in the water… today was the second best day of the entire trip. Stunningly beautiful is the perfect way to describe it.

So I woke up at 7:30 when MK woke up to go to the museum… my body clock is freaking bizarre and I can’t sleep in. We only get internet on the first floor… and since we’re on the third.. I brought my computer down and finished my blog. Jo-ell, Katie C, Kaitlyn, and I got some breakfast (had to take advantage of the free breakfast) and then 11 of us started our adventure. We left the hotel at 10:15… walked to Saint Marco square and hailed a ferry boat to Murano. It was 18 euro (for 12 hours) but decided it would be worth it. I wasn’t expecting it to be that much… but when in Venice, right? We all got on the boat… well, what we thought was the boat and ended up in the “waiting room.” This man told us we weren’t on the boat and had to find the right number to get to Murano. We almost got on the boat to the airport. Ciao bellas. Stare at the horizon. Stare at the horizon. I was getting so boat sick. If anyone from my family is reading this… I was reliving the one boating adventure at the beach. Yuck. We finally arrived in Murano… and went straight for a glass blowing factory. It was remarkable. We felt the silicone sand they use, saw one man make a vase and horse (in about 1 minute… it was crazy), and saw the ONE thing I was set on buying brake right in front of my eyes. Yup, since my mom is obsessed with candles… I knew my one glass purchase would be a candle holder. Okay, so I go to purchase it and the woman begins to take off the price sticker and the glass goes flying over the counter and shatters everywhere. Everyone starts shouting in Italian… I started sweating. Then I saw a wine cork I really wanted to buy my dad, but I got to thinking and decided when they open bottles.. they either drink it or don’t take the time to put a cute wine cork in. Sorry Pops. I took some pictures. I was also going to buy a glass cheese slicer for my mama and pops but somehow decided against it. Women are SO easy to shop for here… John, Will, and Pops… I apologize before I even get home for the lack of purchases for you all.

the waiting room

Katie C. blowing glass!

Murano

After the glass place, we roamed Murano for quite some time… lost a couple people… had some wine boxes (juice boxes… but with wine… for 1 euro!!!) and had the time of our lives. We were the happiest humans. Katie C. and I bought SO much fruit before leaving for Murano so we had fruit and wine for lunch. We all walked in one shop… I saw a sailboat picture made out of glass and I wanted it so, so bad. Oh, 150 euros??? That’s not too bad is it. HA… I wanted it for Liam’s room. Katie C. started to pick it up and I looked at her, and said, “be careful with it!!” this Italian man started laughing at me… and said, “I’m laughing for you.” No good looking man, you’re laughing AT me. After that store we lost Lori, Lauren, and Katie C. The rest of our group looked around the island for quite awhile… and finally decided they abandoned us… well… we found them right before we were about to leave for Burano. We all shared multiple bellinis (in huge wine bottles.. yummmmm!) and off to Burano (famous for lace!) we went. While we were standing in line there was the cutest light house looking thing, I wanted a picture… so kaitlyn and I ran to it… after the picture, I stood up, felt a wet spot… and sat in bird poop. My luck. In my white pants.. of course. Ugh… never buying anything white again. I people watched hardcore on the boat ride to Burano. Seriously, so many couples… everywhere. Everyone is so freaking touchy feeling. It kind of freaks me out… but it’s also kind of cute. Burano was BEAUTIFUL!!!! Such a perfect little island. I didn’t buy anything but it was SO worth going. On the ride from Burano to Venice, it was about an hour boat ride. There was the cutest baby on the bus (not cuter than my nephew) that made me miss Liam so, so much. It’s weird the things I miss here. If I were at school, I wouldn’t be seeing the same things… but wouldn’t really miss them either.

the before poop picture

poop pants

Burano

So for the rest of the day I walked around with poop pants… awesome. I decided I wanted to come back to the hotel, shower, and look like a normal human. Katie S and I came back to go to dinner with the other group. The restaurant was called Antira Trattoria… the most romantic restaurant I’ve ever been to. Kyle, Mariel, Logan, Kara, Kelly and I sat at one table, shared two bottles of wine, had complimentary champagne, and had a wonderful dinner. I had gnocchi with lobster and then the best tiramisu of my life. Mariel and I shared it… and decided we will never be able to order one again because it will never be as good. After dinner, the group went to this outside bar under our hotel. It was such a fun night... until this one Italian man (even though extremely good looking) asked me if my boobs were real. Really? Thanks for basically telling me I’m eating too much gelato. Time to cut back.

Eight of us decided to go sit by the water and get to know each other on a “deeper level.” MK and I immediately looked at each other and somehow knew what each other were thinking… we wanted to leave and HATE that game. One of my goals for myself on this trip was to open up to people, not have that guard up that I always have, and let people in. I’ve succeeded a little bit… I told MK about Adam and she gave the sweetest and perfect response ever. But then when I was in the hot seat… I couldn’t tell the rest of the group… it’s something so personal that has really shaped me into who I am today… and sometimes people’s reactions makes it more awkward/worse than it actually is. We decided to come back when it started raining on us… MK and I went up to our room, changed into comfy PJs and called it a night. Mariel and Kate came back after us and let me just say… my abs hurt this morning from laughing… they were the funniest humans ever.

Second best day of the trip.

Did they build Venice first… or the water?

Surprisingly, I was not the one to ask this question, although I was maybe thinking it. Venice is everything I thought it would be and more. I thought Rome was pretty, I thought Florence was pretty, I thought the Tuscany countryside was beautiful… but Venice is perfect and so picturesque.

So let’s back up. Today (this is actually yesterday.. because it's now Saturday morning) started when Mariel’s alarm went off at 6 AM.. I thought I was in some sort of video game and had that weird feeling where I didn’t know where I was. I got up around 6:15, finished packing, ran across the street to grab some juice and a croissant (it wasn’t even open but she opened early for me J) We met out front at 7 and started our adventure. The bus we needed to take was way too crowded to fit 25 people and 25 suitcases.. so we decided to walk to the bus station to catch an empty bus. Success. Our bus driver was driving a million miles a minute and I started feeling so incredibly sick. Finally, after what felt like the longest bus ride of my life, we got to the train station. I had quite the experience with the bathrooms yet again… let me just say thank goodness for Mariel or I would have possibly pulled a scene from Bridesmaids. We made it to the train (we actually got on the right one this time!) and I slept the entire way. After arriving, we were going to take a water taxi but the line was too long, so we decided we could all use some exercise and got to walking. Thank goodness for Kyle and his good sense of direction.. cause he maneuvered us all through the streets of Venice (fat/large people could not live here... the alleyways are literally the size of one person) and got us to our hotel, Albergo Guerrato. I need to look this up but someone said it was built in the 1200s and was first a nunnery. Some of the furniture is from when it first opened.. how nuts! Our rooms are so adorable… we decided to split up and draw random roommates this weekend. I’m rooming with Chelsea, Kaitlyn, Mary Katherine, and Katie C. (original roommates J.) The building layout is pretty neat.. we're not all near each other or on the same floor but we can look across and see the other rooms. Kate is staying in the lower window, we can see her sleeping which is actually kinda creepy, and I said I should just throw things across to get her attention. 

As we start our walk to find a place to eat, I see all the seagulls flocking, look at Kate, and say, “someone is definitely going to get pooped on.” Two seconds later, MK and Dana get pooped on. Let me just say… girls don’t deal well with getting pooped on (except MK and Dana handled it way better than I ever would)… screaming and laughter went on for quite awhile and we made quite the scene. We just wanted to let all of Venice know that JMU has arrived. 

We split into two groups since 20 people is a huge group.. and our group went to this restaurant called Al Nono Risorto. I ate an entire pizza… and felt as a big as a whale. The atmosphere was perfect and it was a great way to start off the weekend. After lunch, we decided to retrace our tracks and try to find a pastry shop we saw on the way in. Somehow we managed to get there and it was yummmmmm in my tum. Okay, an entire pizza and a cream puff. John I hope you’re ready to be my personal trainer when I return!!!

Since I split up from my roommates at lunch, I come back and ask for the key (at hotels in Europe you always return the key to the front desk before leaving.) I go upstairs… walk in my room and decide to go see the other room… as soon as I step outside the door slams and I’m locked out. Oh, this poor lady. She’s sweet as can be but I’m sure she’s already sick of us. After everyone got ready (all 20 of us) we venture out. The plan was for those who hadn’t already been on a gondola to ride one and then get dinner and meet up with the others…. But when you have 20 girls plans don’t always go as planned. 13 of us ended up splitting up and getting dinner at this very cute little restaurant. We all got salads (too much pasta and pizza recently) but then ended with dessert… so we didn’t feel too bad about ourselves. I’ve spent entirely too much money today. Venice is veryyyyy expensive. After dinner we stopped at this little mart (Lori called it the 7-11) and got some mini wine bottles which we took on our gondola ride. It was perfect. Fabio (our gondolier) told us there are 118 islands and every island has its own church… and there are 420 total bridges. There are bridges every which way… but when the city is made around water what do you expect.

We passed Marco Polo’s house… and Fabio showed us the place that is sinking the quickest. Pretty neat I’ll be able to say I saw it J After the gondola ride we met up with the rest of the group… but drinks were basically 12 US dollars (9.5 euros) and a few of us we’ve had enough food, drinks, and calories for the day and called it a night pretty early. Venice doesn't have the best nightlife but I am 100% okay with getting home early and getting a good night sleep... we aren't getting enough of it these days. 

Tanti auguri to mi mama

Happy birthday to the best mother, friend, and role model I could ever ask for J May is the month of birthdays, clearly. And I hope you are having a very special day today. Wish you were with me in Italy to enjoy a glass of wine!

The day started off quite oddly. The kids can come in around 8:30 but theater (circle time) doesn’t start until 9 AM, so until then they have free time. Well, one student drew a lovely pictures, brought it up to me, and said “this is for your mommy. For her birthday.” This little child had NO IDEA it was my mom’s birthday. I never spoke a word about my mom’s birthday… they asked about my parents and siblings before… but never about birthdays. So freaky. I just stared at her… because I sware this little child is psychic. One day I was in a daze, and quite frustrated, and she looked at me and said, “Put a smile on. Don’t be angry.” She’s starting to freak me out. So mamasita, I have you a birthday picture from psychic child.

The garden was so, so funny today. First of all, the kids don’t just run straight past me to the next available human. I am no longer an alien with two heads… and they come running to me with problems. I guess that’s good and bad at the same time. We found a frog on the playground and one boy wanted to take it home so badly he started crying his eyes out. You would have sworn he’d been hit in the head (or something even worse) but nope, just crying over a frog. My favorite little girl, our Diamond, was back today from being sick.. she’s my little side kick and I’ve missed her this whole week.

my little pirate being a firefighter

the gardens (their playground!)

We’re learning about firefighters this whole week and read a little story before lunch today. All I kept thinking about as the movie john would watch when he was younger and “steel toed rubber boots.” Maybe we should pass that movie down to Liam someday soon.

EC1 (3 year olds) through kindergarten had a ceremony for Mary today since May is the month of Mary. They all sang songs and delivered flowers to the statue. This may be horrible but it was HYSTERICAL. We were telling the kids how they’re going to bring flowers to Mary and one boy kept saying something in Italian with the word “malta.” I knew he was saying “but she’s dead.” And the teacher kept responding, “well, she’s always in our hearts and in our minds.” He kept repeating malta over and over. I had to laugh. Then the same boy asked if he could draw Mary a horse. A horse? Whatever floats your boat kiddo.

Huge language barrier story: Matteo was drawing a flower and drew this huge lump of green… which I thought to be a hill… he told me he was drawing grass and then he drew a huge semi circle of grass… so it made sense. I asked what he was drawing and he kept saying “aches pullo!” (probably not the correct spelling.) I always have to remind them to speak English to me (because Italians use their hands so much.. I’m starting to understand, which means they think I speak their language… no.) The conversation went something like this… “aches pullo Miss Heitz!” “Okay Matteo, a hill?” “ACHES PULLO!!!!!” “OHHHHHHH okay, a lump of grass!” “Miss Heitz… no. ACHES PULLO!!!!!” Hmmm. A translator would be nice every now and then. A teacher came to the rescue, thank goodness.

At the end of the day, Ale’s grandma picked him up. She came in to meet me because Ale “has told me all about you.” Goodness gracious… I’m obsessed. So now I have met his mother, father, grandpa, and grandma. Cutest four year old ever.

After the longest bus ride home (took us almost two hours….) and turning down gelato AND exercising… the entire group went to a delicious restaurant (the same one Max took us to in the very beginning of the trip), with all you can eat pasta, wine, and deliciousness. Ahhhh heavenly. A group of us went to an Italian pub after but came back relatively early because we have to be up and ready by 7 am for Venice! 

My new Longchamp... picture for Aunt Bethers :)

Ciao Ciao Ciao Ciao Ciao

…. For some odd reason Italians end their phone conversations with “bye bye bye bye bye.” We would look like crazy Americans if we did that.

I am HOOKED on pistachio yogurt. Like a “I want to wake up at 6:45 and go straight to the fridge” type of hooked. Could be dangerous when I will no longer be able to get it back in Virginia. Sunshine and the hot Vatican guard made for one great morning which led to one great day. The Pope comes out every Wednesday, so we had to walk around the Vatican, instead of going right in front, and people were already lined up at 7:30 as we were passing through. I should take a picture of where I walk every morning... I think we take advantage of it now.

Some school stories:

• I was arranging a alphabet scavenger hunt in the hall ways and this man comes up to me and says something in Italian. I answer, “Excuse me?” And he repeats in English. He was looking for my classroom and delivered something from Kuwait Embassy in Rome (or something of that sort.) One of my students is from Kuwait, and I asked my teacher if that was her father. She chuckled and said, “no it was a driver from the embassy.” Oh, excuse me. This driver was delivering birthday invitations to the class. Why couldn’t the child just bring them in like a normal child? These kids live crazy insane lives… it’s ridiculous.

• The kids had P.E. today and it was out of control. The teacher decided to do “circuit training,” which is just an obstacle course, and at one part the children had to do a somersault. I really thought someone was going to snap their neck. Here are a couple pictures of my crazy chillins… and the PE building… which is just one room in the middle of buildings (we have to go outside to get to PE.

• Alessandro was coloring a picture and the other kids started laughing. The teacher explained how it’s not nice to make fun of him and he can’t help it. He came up to me and showed me his picture (his ocean was colored purple.) I asked the teacher if he is colorblind and she said yes. They just figured it out this year. My teacher told me Ale said, “there’s something wrong with my brain” in the beginning of the year. Break my heart. Seriously, this kid is adorable and I better have kids just like him. (Sorry my entire blog is basically about him….. maybe it’s a little weird.)

• At the gardens today, one little girl, Malbi, ran up to us and said “ouch ouch ouch!!! LOOK!” And she had ants all over her body. Nastiest thing ever. We made it into a game, or else I think we all would have been screaming/crying/yelling. And then after that one boy, Fede, came up to me and said, “AH miss heitz you have a bug in your hair! Don’t freak out!” HAHA I yelled (of course) and said FEDE GET IT OUT OF MY HAIR! And he goes “MISS HEITZ I CAN’T TOUCH IT!” We were just yelling back and forth… I went up to Dana and she said there was no spider in my hair. It was a fly. Thanks Fede.

• My class is taking a field trip to the fire station on Friday. Unfortunately, or fortunately, I’ll be in Venice and won’t be going with them. My teachers were so bummed because they wanted an extra pair of hands. The firefighters uninvited the parents because the children don’t listen when parents are around. I thought that was interesting.

My silly sausages

I’m turning more into my mother every day. I thought I lost my sunglasses today… so when we went out shopping I had to get sunglasses (luckily they were only 5 euros.) Before leaving, I emptied EVERYTHING in my drawers, purses, bags, etc. Nothing. When I came home with new sunglasses, I found my old sunglasses in my hair bag. Sunglasses in my hair bag? Clearly losing my mind.

I bought a Longchamp bag today J It’s beautiful and I’ve wanted one for so long, so I caved. I’m excited for the purchase. Thank you Erin and Will J A big group of us just went to dinner and met up with some JMU boys who were back packing through Rome. It was a wonderful night and ended with some delicious gelato. 

Ciao Ciao Ciao Ciao Ciao! Until tomorrow!