Both Ingrid and I are burning out on traveling so it is a good thing I'll be home in less than a week.
So, after Mostar....we went to Plitivice Lakes National Park in Croatia--pretty but I didn't feel like it was any bit prettier than most of the Sierra Nevadas. I guess I am just spoiled.
After that we went to Zagreb which was incredibly boring. We spent most of our time in this huge bookstore with a massive English section. It was so strange reading all those books, we both forgot we were abroad. The other highlight of Zagreb was the Naive Art Museum--an awesome (but sadly quite small) museum filled with works by untrained peasant artists. Very cool and totally made Zagreb's slowness worth it.
After Zagreb we headed to the lovely Lake Bled region of Slovania. And man, do I ever want to go back. I'm gonna try to convince my parents that they want to vacation there--just so crazy beautiful and there is a lot to do. We both really wish we had cut down our time in Croatia and spent more time in both Slovania and Bosnia. Oh, well.
So yea, Bled. A beautiful area with a lovely lake and great desserts. Yum. There is a summer toboggan run where the ski slope is and we went down the toboggans. There are also a bunch of activities--you can rent boats (which we also did), go scubaing in the lake, mountaineering, and canyoning. I barely convinced Inga to go canyoning with me and it was good but it was a beginners thing. I want to go on the advanced. I have no issues jumping from heights or with zip lines or any of that jazz. I wanted to do the more advanced excursion but there wasn't time. All in all an awesome place and def one of the highlights of our trip.
We are currently back in Croatia...bummer. Before even getting back here we realized that we were over Croatia and we feel like we have exhausted it, but here we are, in Pula. So we have two more days here---today we are taking it easy and tomorrow we got to a nearby city that is supposed to be more exciting. After that we head back to Italy (to Bologna) and I head home after 3 nights there. Wow. I'm sad it is coming to an end, cos it has been really fun traveling with Inga and we have been getting along swimmingly, but I'm also so looking forward to just passing out in a cool room with a comfy bed and sleeping for days. My body and brain our tired. We have met so many people who travel for months and months and I have no idea how they can do that. Three months abroad and I am hankering for a comfy bed, air conditioning, and my brothers. Oh, well.
s
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Mostar
So South of Italy...
We were really looking forward to going to Lecce which is called the Florence of the South. Turns out that it just kinda sucks. Nothing to do, everything was closed and I was still sick...so no fun. The next day we went to the caves and that was fun. We went around deciding what all the stalagtites and stalamites looked like and were informed by other members of the group that we are quite entertaining. So yea, good times. The day after the caves we just stayed in Bari---walked around, bought some wine, and went to the park to relax. Besides getting hit on by some creepy guys in the park, it was a good day. That night we took a ferry to the island of Mljet. The ferry was crazy cold but nice enough. We got there early and got a booth so we were comfortable.
So we arrived in Mljet and had the devil of a time finding accomodations. It was the only part of our trip we had not pre-booked and we almost did not find a place to sleep. We lucked out however, and got a nice, though expensive and small room. Mljet was lovely--we were staying in Polače, which is right next to the national park. So yea, we spent most of our time in the park. There was a great place to go swimming and I swam a bunch. It really made me realize how much I miss swimming and I am determined to find myself a cheap pool membership when I get back to the states. We biked around a bit, hiked up to the top of the mountain for beautiful views, and just spent the entire 3 days we were there chilling. Also in Mljet we added another member to our party, Donkey. Donkey is our traveling buddy and we take a lot of pictures with him. You will see.
After Mljet we went to Dubrovnik for the night, and stayed in the same place Emily and I stayed over two years ago. It has barely changed. Inga and I actually ended up in the same exact room as Em and I had so that was pretty fun. We also went to the same pizzeria that Em and I went to and it is still awesome. The next day we caught a bus to Mostar, we we currently are.
Mostar is awesome. It is a European city with a Muslim feel. You sit my the river wearing your bikini while the Muslim call to prayer goes off. Just such a weird feeling. You cannot really do that in most Muslim places. Why it is kosher here is that the city is a mix--Muslim, Catholic, and Orthodox. So it just has a very interesting feel. Besides the cool feel, it also still has manz reminants of the recent war. You walk along some of the streets, and see buildings riddled with bullet holes. It is all very sureal. A lot of the buildings have yet to be repaired, so they have signs warning people to not go in. The signs all say something along the lines of "do not enter the ruins." It is just so strange--I am used to seeing the word ruin and assuming that it means something ancient. It is just weird to be surrounded by modern day ruins.
Anywho, so I really like Mostar and wish we had planned for more time in Bosnia--cos it is cool and cheap. Yesterday we went on an excursion through the hostel and we went to these awesome waterfalls. And I went rock jumping, so yea, way fun, but quite chilly. Tomorrow we are heading back into Croatia--I will write again soon.
s
We were really looking forward to going to Lecce which is called the Florence of the South. Turns out that it just kinda sucks. Nothing to do, everything was closed and I was still sick...so no fun. The next day we went to the caves and that was fun. We went around deciding what all the stalagtites and stalamites looked like and were informed by other members of the group that we are quite entertaining. So yea, good times. The day after the caves we just stayed in Bari---walked around, bought some wine, and went to the park to relax. Besides getting hit on by some creepy guys in the park, it was a good day. That night we took a ferry to the island of Mljet. The ferry was crazy cold but nice enough. We got there early and got a booth so we were comfortable.
So we arrived in Mljet and had the devil of a time finding accomodations. It was the only part of our trip we had not pre-booked and we almost did not find a place to sleep. We lucked out however, and got a nice, though expensive and small room. Mljet was lovely--we were staying in Polače, which is right next to the national park. So yea, we spent most of our time in the park. There was a great place to go swimming and I swam a bunch. It really made me realize how much I miss swimming and I am determined to find myself a cheap pool membership when I get back to the states. We biked around a bit, hiked up to the top of the mountain for beautiful views, and just spent the entire 3 days we were there chilling. Also in Mljet we added another member to our party, Donkey. Donkey is our traveling buddy and we take a lot of pictures with him. You will see.
After Mljet we went to Dubrovnik for the night, and stayed in the same place Emily and I stayed over two years ago. It has barely changed. Inga and I actually ended up in the same exact room as Em and I had so that was pretty fun. We also went to the same pizzeria that Em and I went to and it is still awesome. The next day we caught a bus to Mostar, we we currently are.
Mostar is awesome. It is a European city with a Muslim feel. You sit my the river wearing your bikini while the Muslim call to prayer goes off. Just such a weird feeling. You cannot really do that in most Muslim places. Why it is kosher here is that the city is a mix--Muslim, Catholic, and Orthodox. So it just has a very interesting feel. Besides the cool feel, it also still has manz reminants of the recent war. You walk along some of the streets, and see buildings riddled with bullet holes. It is all very sureal. A lot of the buildings have yet to be repaired, so they have signs warning people to not go in. The signs all say something along the lines of "do not enter the ruins." It is just so strange--I am used to seeing the word ruin and assuming that it means something ancient. It is just weird to be surrounded by modern day ruins.
Anywho, so I really like Mostar and wish we had planned for more time in Bosnia--cos it is cool and cheap. Yesterday we went on an excursion through the hostel and we went to these awesome waterfalls. And I went rock jumping, so yea, way fun, but quite chilly. Tomorrow we are heading back into Croatia--I will write again soon.
s
Saturday, July 31, 2010
The south of Italy...
So, since I was staying with host families in the north I got to hear a bunch of complaints about people from the south. Northerners say they are lazy--they never work, they don't pay their taxes, etc... And, open minded me thought they were full of it. But the more I see of the south the more what the northerners said makes sense.
We are currently in Bari which is the second largest city in the south (second after Napoli) so Bari is lively enough. But everyother town we have been to thus far is completely dead during the day. None of the shops open until 5pm and most of them close by 9 or 10. Meaning that people here only work like 4 or 5 hours a day. It isn't quite as bad in Bari as elsewhere--about half of the nearby shops are closed now, but they will most likely open before 5. It is just so strange walking around large cities here (Matera, Trani, Alberobello) and not seeing anyone in the streets. Then suddenly around 4.30-5, the world comes alive and you finally see other people for the first time that day. Inga and I are under the impression that they must stay up really late and sleep all day, but honestly we have no clue. The one thing we are sure of is that nothing is ever open when we want it to be.
Anywho, Matera (the above picture) was cool. It is a whole city carved out of the mountain--just a bunch of cave houses. Eventually they started laying brick around the caves to give them more protection---but you can go inside the buildings and see the cave dwellings that have been inhabited for more than 9,000 years. Awesome.
After that we headed to Bari (where we still are). We have been doing day trips. The first day we went to Trani (and of course everything was closed so we just had a very long lunch and went swimming in the ocean). Yesterday we went to Alberobello which was lovely but pretty boring. Today we slept in late and I'm feeling sick so we are taking it easy. But tomorrow we are heading to Lecce and on Monday to the Grotte di Castellana (the largest underground cave system in Italy). Tuesday evening we head to Croatia. Yay!
I have uploaded pics from the rest of the teaching camps...to view them, go here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2309596&id=6710589&l=d966383040
I have also uploaded my pics from Lucca and some from Firenze, here's the link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2311238&id=6710589&l=f532bde8b6
Monday, July 26, 2010
Wooooo
So...Inga is here now and I'm already enjoying traveling with her. It is nice to now be able to share my travels with someone else. We have gotten totally lost like twice in the past two days so I hope she isn't holding that against me.
Before she got here however, I went to the Vatican Museums which I have decided I full on hate. Yes, they have a bunch of amazing works, but they are too big, have too many pieces, and admit too many people. They really ought to only allow a select number of people into the museums every day. Anyways, despite those issues, I enjoyed it. Esp since I got my ticket half price since I was wearing an AS Roma football jersey. The workers there all love me. I even wasn't charged cover charge at the restaurant because of my shirt. Gotta love Romans.
The first day Inga was here we just walked around our old neighborhood, went to the Victorio Emanuel monument in the hopes that there would be good views, went to a museum of WWII resistence (pretty cool and free!), and went to the Jewish Ghetto. Oh, and I found €50 on the ground so that was cool. We finally went to a restaurant in the ghetto that we had wanted to go to since we lived here. And man, it was good.
The next day we went to Lago Bracciano (a lake north of Rome). We swam and just had a lazy day. It was so nice to escape the heat of the city. And just so beautiful. Right now along the Tiber there is a arts/food festival going on so that night we ate there and bought some earings. It is all just so cool how much the city comes alive in the summer. I hate all the tourists (even though I know that I am one of them), but man, Trestevere is awesome right now.
Yesterday we got totally lost but eventually made it to the Appian Way, rented bikes and biked the ancient road---another thing we had wanted to do the last time we were here. It was absolutely beautiful and I would love to do it again since we weren't even able to bike the whole thing (we had to return the bikes by 5). Anywho, today we are taking it easy--shopping a bit, going to a couple of churches, and hopefully making it back to a restaurant we really enjoyed when we lived here---Cacio e Pepe.
Tomorrow we wake up early and make our way to Matera. If I ever am able to find fast internet, I'll upload my pictures. Seriously, the lack of good internet has been pissing me off. That is all.
Before she got here however, I went to the Vatican Museums which I have decided I full on hate. Yes, they have a bunch of amazing works, but they are too big, have too many pieces, and admit too many people. They really ought to only allow a select number of people into the museums every day. Anyways, despite those issues, I enjoyed it. Esp since I got my ticket half price since I was wearing an AS Roma football jersey. The workers there all love me. I even wasn't charged cover charge at the restaurant because of my shirt. Gotta love Romans.
The first day Inga was here we just walked around our old neighborhood, went to the Victorio Emanuel monument in the hopes that there would be good views, went to a museum of WWII resistence (pretty cool and free!), and went to the Jewish Ghetto. Oh, and I found €50 on the ground so that was cool. We finally went to a restaurant in the ghetto that we had wanted to go to since we lived here. And man, it was good.
The next day we went to Lago Bracciano (a lake north of Rome). We swam and just had a lazy day. It was so nice to escape the heat of the city. And just so beautiful. Right now along the Tiber there is a arts/food festival going on so that night we ate there and bought some earings. It is all just so cool how much the city comes alive in the summer. I hate all the tourists (even though I know that I am one of them), but man, Trestevere is awesome right now.
Yesterday we got totally lost but eventually made it to the Appian Way, rented bikes and biked the ancient road---another thing we had wanted to do the last time we were here. It was absolutely beautiful and I would love to do it again since we weren't even able to bike the whole thing (we had to return the bikes by 5). Anywho, today we are taking it easy--shopping a bit, going to a couple of churches, and hopefully making it back to a restaurant we really enjoyed when we lived here---Cacio e Pepe.
Tomorrow we wake up early and make our way to Matera. If I ever am able to find fast internet, I'll upload my pictures. Seriously, the lack of good internet has been pissing me off. That is all.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
I have returned!!
And it is crazy fucking hot.
So before I get to that...Lucca was lovely, but I decided I didn't want to stay there for as long as I had booked. So yesterday I headed to Firenze and I'm so happy I did. In the past two years between this visit and my previous visit to Firenze I took a class on Renaissance Italy--history and art--and thanks to my new knowledge, I have a new found respect and love for Firenze. Oh, and on top of that I had just finished reading a book my dad gave me---Brunelleschi's Dome. So climbing up that dome, my feet passing over the steps used by those who labored under the dome for years and year...well, it was all like a pilgrimage for me. Very very cool. And a beautiful view.
Earlier today I made it into Rome and yea, crazy fucking hot. Thankfully I had the foresight to book a place with air conditioning. Yay! Unfortunately, it doesn't have internet however, so I may be a bit MIA for the next couple of days. It is weird being back in Rome. I'm currently in the area of where I lived and stuff has changed. Stuff has changed in the eternal city...that just seems wrong and like an oxymoron. The stores are different, it is just weird.
Weirdness aside, I am so happy to be back, though admittably I wish it wasn't in the summer. It is too hot and there are too many tourists. I long for the Rome I came to know and love. Meh. Today I went to Museo Burghese and to the surrounding park. Then I decided I would try to find my way over to where I used to live without a map...and with a few wrong turns, I made it! I'm kinda proud of myself. Tomorrow I am going to the Vatican Museums in the morning and around 7:30pm Ingrid will be coming in!! Yay!! I am so looking forward to no longer being by myself. It is lonely traveling by yourself. You want to share your joy and anger and everything with someone else.
That is all for now.
baci e amore
sarah
So before I get to that...Lucca was lovely, but I decided I didn't want to stay there for as long as I had booked. So yesterday I headed to Firenze and I'm so happy I did. In the past two years between this visit and my previous visit to Firenze I took a class on Renaissance Italy--history and art--and thanks to my new knowledge, I have a new found respect and love for Firenze. Oh, and on top of that I had just finished reading a book my dad gave me---Brunelleschi's Dome. So climbing up that dome, my feet passing over the steps used by those who labored under the dome for years and year...well, it was all like a pilgrimage for me. Very very cool. And a beautiful view.
Earlier today I made it into Rome and yea, crazy fucking hot. Thankfully I had the foresight to book a place with air conditioning. Yay! Unfortunately, it doesn't have internet however, so I may be a bit MIA for the next couple of days. It is weird being back in Rome. I'm currently in the area of where I lived and stuff has changed. Stuff has changed in the eternal city...that just seems wrong and like an oxymoron. The stores are different, it is just weird.
Weirdness aside, I am so happy to be back, though admittably I wish it wasn't in the summer. It is too hot and there are too many tourists. I long for the Rome I came to know and love. Meh. Today I went to Museo Burghese and to the surrounding park. Then I decided I would try to find my way over to where I used to live without a map...and with a few wrong turns, I made it! I'm kinda proud of myself. Tomorrow I am going to the Vatican Museums in the morning and around 7:30pm Ingrid will be coming in!! Yay!! I am so looking forward to no longer being by myself. It is lonely traveling by yourself. You want to share your joy and anger and everything with someone else.
That is all for now.
baci e amore
sarah
Saturday, July 17, 2010
And so begins my travels
So A.C.L.E. has very few camps next week, so they don't need me. And Inga and I aren't meeting up until Friday...So, I am spending 4 nights in Lucca and then heading to Rome (I am sooo excited to go to all of my favorite places!!)
The rest of the week in Casteggio went alright. I was def ready for a break though so I am happy that they haven't placed me in another camp. I plan on sleeping in very late tomorrow.
So, I made it to Lucca and to my hostel around 4, took a shower, and then decided to get lost. And man, did I get lost. It was a lot a fun. During my lost adventures I found an antiques market and ran right into a festival that I had no idea was even happening. So, while I am here their is a music festival. And tomorrow night Crosby, Stills, and Nash are playing. I think I will go. It is just so strange that this is all happening and I had no idea.
This internet place sucks. I came here to upload pictures but it costs 1.5 euro per 5 minutes so I will just have to wait until another time to upload.
That is it, hope everyone is doing well.
s
The rest of the week in Casteggio went alright. I was def ready for a break though so I am happy that they haven't placed me in another camp. I plan on sleeping in very late tomorrow.
So, I made it to Lucca and to my hostel around 4, took a shower, and then decided to get lost. And man, did I get lost. It was a lot a fun. During my lost adventures I found an antiques market and ran right into a festival that I had no idea was even happening. So, while I am here their is a music festival. And tomorrow night Crosby, Stills, and Nash are playing. I think I will go. It is just so strange that this is all happening and I had no idea.
This internet place sucks. I came here to upload pictures but it costs 1.5 euro per 5 minutes so I will just have to wait until another time to upload.
That is it, hope everyone is doing well.
s
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Casteggio
My new camp is in a wee town south of Milan called Casteggio. The kids are smart, though a bit overly lively at times, but I am having a lot of fun. I'm staying with a host family who actually lives up in the hills above Casteggio in another town of only 100 people. It is awesome. We are surrounded by hills full of vineyards. It is just crazy beautiful. My host family also has a pool which makes the heat almost bearable. There are of course, still too many mosquitos, and I am covered in bites.
I absolutely love my host family. The mother grew up in South Africa so speaks perfect English. The father also speaks awesome English. The kids (Valentina and Francesco) are adorable, friendly, and just awesome. I feel so lucky to have been placed with them. I'm taking a bunch of pictures and even though I probably won't upload any or have another chance to update this week, I will update the blog and my facebook again soon.
I absolutely love my host family. The mother grew up in South Africa so speaks perfect English. The father also speaks awesome English. The kids (Valentina and Francesco) are adorable, friendly, and just awesome. I feel so lucky to have been placed with them. I'm taking a bunch of pictures and even though I probably won't upload any or have another chance to update this week, I will update the blog and my facebook again soon.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
quick update
the apartment sucks--far away from anything, not airconditioned, and pretty gross.
Lago Maggiore was fun. We ended up inviting the helper at our camp (who is 14). I was already feeling like an old woman before I hung out with her--but then I hung out with her and now I feel full on elderly. I'm almost 10 years older than her and she's like already a person (not that kids aren't person but they don't have abstract reasoning and all that jazz). It is weird.
I'm teaching red and orange group this week--that is kids from two very different levels all in one class. And I've got one student (whom I also had last week) who is making my life hard...Anna. She fights with all the boys, is constantly screaming, and cusses. I have come to the conclusion that in every class there will be one kid that just is a pain. And she is def it. I am going to sit her far away from her friends tomorrow and see how that goes. Anyways, that's about it. ciao
Lago Maggiore was fun. We ended up inviting the helper at our camp (who is 14). I was already feeling like an old woman before I hung out with her--but then I hung out with her and now I feel full on elderly. I'm almost 10 years older than her and she's like already a person (not that kids aren't person but they don't have abstract reasoning and all that jazz). It is weird.
I'm teaching red and orange group this week--that is kids from two very different levels all in one class. And I've got one student (whom I also had last week) who is making my life hard...Anna. She fights with all the boys, is constantly screaming, and cusses. I have come to the conclusion that in every class there will be one kid that just is a pain. And she is def it. I am going to sit her far away from her friends tomorrow and see how that goes. Anyways, that's about it. ciao
Friday, July 2, 2010
the last couple of days
It continues to be hot and I continue to be covered in bug bites. So yea, not much has changed. I am however, now 23. And I feel so freaking old. I don't feel 23, so knowing that I am 23 makes me feel pretty awful. And then not only am I 23 and I don't have my life together at all, I also have gained like 8 lbs already. So yea, I'm just a chubby old lady now. Uncool.
So yesterday was my birthday, and so we went out for our staff dinner yesterday. Jon and Nicole from my last camp came into the city and so did Ingrid. It was awesome to see her. I'm really looking forward to traveling with her. I think we will be combatable as travel buddies as long as we both aren't passive.
This weeks camp is over, and all my favorite kids have left, leaving me only the annoying/lazy students. Super. Actually, one of my favorites will still be here. He is so freaking cute. Today we had a little skit thing and he was Michael Jackson. He can dance like nobodies business. I'll post a video in a couple of days.
This weekend we (all the tutors at my camp) are staying in Milan cos hotels/hostels around the lakes are expensive. But we are gonna do a day trip to Lago Maggiore tomorrow and depending on how we feel, we may hit up another lake or a local town on Sunday also. So yea, pretty fun.
We move into the apartment we will be in for the next week tonight. Fingers crossed that we have internet or at very least a washing machine. Oooo...an a/c would be nice but I don't think there is any chance of that.
So yesterday was my birthday, and so we went out for our staff dinner yesterday. Jon and Nicole from my last camp came into the city and so did Ingrid. It was awesome to see her. I'm really looking forward to traveling with her. I think we will be combatable as travel buddies as long as we both aren't passive.
This weeks camp is over, and all my favorite kids have left, leaving me only the annoying/lazy students. Super. Actually, one of my favorites will still be here. He is so freaking cute. Today we had a little skit thing and he was Michael Jackson. He can dance like nobodies business. I'll post a video in a couple of days.
This weekend we (all the tutors at my camp) are staying in Milan cos hotels/hostels around the lakes are expensive. But we are gonna do a day trip to Lago Maggiore tomorrow and depending on how we feel, we may hit up another lake or a local town on Sunday also. So yea, pretty fun.
We move into the apartment we will be in for the next week tonight. Fingers crossed that we have internet or at very least a washing machine. Oooo...an a/c would be nice but I don't think there is any chance of that.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Milano
So, I am in Milan. It is hot, I have constant swamp ass, and I'm covered in bug bites. This city really isn't trying to make me not hate it.
Despite that fact that Milan sucks, the camp stuff is going alright. The other two tutors besides myself and Allison (who I was with in the previous camp--Allison says to say that she is wicked awesome) are nice...they are actually a couple, so we lucked out when the director decided to let us all stay at her apartment. Originally, only 3 of the 4 tutors were supposed to stay with her and one elsewhere. They wouldn't split up the couple--meaning that either Alison or I would have to be the third wheel. Fortunately, the camp director is awesome and found a way to let us all stay there. It is actually pretty crazy--she just gave us her apartment (she is staying in her mother's apartment nearby). Its all very cool.
Yesterday we headed north to see the traghetto (a sort of a boat) that Leonardo Da Vinci designed that crosses the Adda river. It was nice to get out of the city and we got to meet some of her friends which was pretty cool.
Today was our first day of camp..I am workign with the red group which is the same age I worked with last week. The kids are better behaved her but not as cute. So it is kinda a trade off. Allison and I are the experienced tutors, so it feels like more work that it was the past two weeks. And our directors (we have two here) aren't as involved as Tannith was. So yea, I'm exhausted.
Ingrid is also in Milan, but at a different camp. Hopefully we will be able to meet up soon.
That is it. I am crazy hungry, very tired, and nasty sweaty.
Despite that fact that Milan sucks, the camp stuff is going alright. The other two tutors besides myself and Allison (who I was with in the previous camp--Allison says to say that she is wicked awesome) are nice...they are actually a couple, so we lucked out when the director decided to let us all stay at her apartment. Originally, only 3 of the 4 tutors were supposed to stay with her and one elsewhere. They wouldn't split up the couple--meaning that either Alison or I would have to be the third wheel. Fortunately, the camp director is awesome and found a way to let us all stay there. It is actually pretty crazy--she just gave us her apartment (she is staying in her mother's apartment nearby). Its all very cool.
Yesterday we headed north to see the traghetto (a sort of a boat) that Leonardo Da Vinci designed that crosses the Adda river. It was nice to get out of the city and we got to meet some of her friends which was pretty cool.
Today was our first day of camp..I am workign with the red group which is the same age I worked with last week. The kids are better behaved her but not as cute. So it is kinda a trade off. Allison and I are the experienced tutors, so it feels like more work that it was the past two weeks. And our directors (we have two here) aren't as involved as Tannith was. So yea, I'm exhausted.
Ingrid is also in Milan, but at a different camp. Hopefully we will be able to meet up soon.
That is it. I am crazy hungry, very tired, and nasty sweaty.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
The next two weeks...
So today I found out where I am going next. And of course it is the one place I had said that I didn't want to go to---Milan. Super.
Bad news: 1. The camp has been around for a long time so the kids already know all the songs and games so we have to be really creative. 2. The camp has all the different english levels jammed into 4 classes (for example one class has three different levels in one class---that is far far far too many). 3. Its in the smack dab center of Milan--a nasty ass industrial city that doesn't feel a thing like the rest of Italy. 4. Its another 2 week camp and I was really hoping for just a week camp.
Good news: 1. Another tutor at my camp here, Alison will be going to the same camp as me. First off she's nice and second off she studied in Milan so she knows all the places to go. 2. Although we are doing home stays for the first week (could be awesome or awful) the second week we are staying in an apartment with all the tutors together (aka party central).
So even though I'm bummed I'm going to Milan and there are some shitty circumstances. All things concidered, I still think it will be really fun. I really feel like I lucked out. If I had to be sent to Milan, I'm happy I'm being sent with Alison and that we get an apartment the second week. We are already planning on going clubbing and drinking too much. Joy!
Bad news: 1. The camp has been around for a long time so the kids already know all the songs and games so we have to be really creative. 2. The camp has all the different english levels jammed into 4 classes (for example one class has three different levels in one class---that is far far far too many). 3. Its in the smack dab center of Milan--a nasty ass industrial city that doesn't feel a thing like the rest of Italy. 4. Its another 2 week camp and I was really hoping for just a week camp.
Good news: 1. Another tutor at my camp here, Alison will be going to the same camp as me. First off she's nice and second off she studied in Milan so she knows all the places to go. 2. Although we are doing home stays for the first week (could be awesome or awful) the second week we are staying in an apartment with all the tutors together (aka party central).
So even though I'm bummed I'm going to Milan and there are some shitty circumstances. All things concidered, I still think it will be really fun. I really feel like I lucked out. If I had to be sent to Milan, I'm happy I'm being sent with Alison and that we get an apartment the second week. We are already planning on going clubbing and drinking too much. Joy!
Monday, June 21, 2010
Let's make this quick
Hokey so,
The rest of last week went alright. The kids weren't too awful and we had some fun.
Now to this weekend:
On Saturday we (my host family and I) tried to go for a bike ride, were out about 10 minutes and then it started raining. So we rode to a nearby park that has tents set up for us to huddle under. Of course instead of waiting it out like we hoped to the rain turned into full on pounding rain, with lightning and thunder. A bit upsetting since I wanted to bike but it was all very very pretty and a really fun experience. Everyone ws at the park--including my student from last week Gloria and her parents, and my old student Giovanni. Too cute. Nicola (the father) came and picked us up in the car. Thank goodness. That night we had a meal with all of us tutors, our host families, and the director. We all had pizza--I had kebab pizza, it was a bit strange.
On Sunday all of us tutors and the director drove to Lago Garda in the hopes that the weather would be better there. No dice. Still crazy rain, too much wind, and of course I got car sick. All the same, it was very pretty, and I'll probably put up photos later this week. On our way back we stopped off at one of the largest malls in Europe (based outside of Bergamo). And it was a mall (aka pretty lame).
Today was my first day teaching the red group (aprox. ages 9-11). They are all awesome, except for one student, Davide.He spends the entire time yelling and disobeying me. It is one thing to totally not respect me but to keep it to yourself, this kid does not hide his disrespect at all and by the afternoon I was pretty fed up with kids in general. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to last a little longer before wanting to kill someone. Bleh. Besides him, it is a good class. They are all pretty bright and they all are attentive and sweet.
That is it for now. I'll write again later in the week.
S
The rest of last week went alright. The kids weren't too awful and we had some fun.
Now to this weekend:
On Saturday we (my host family and I) tried to go for a bike ride, were out about 10 minutes and then it started raining. So we rode to a nearby park that has tents set up for us to huddle under. Of course instead of waiting it out like we hoped to the rain turned into full on pounding rain, with lightning and thunder. A bit upsetting since I wanted to bike but it was all very very pretty and a really fun experience. Everyone ws at the park--including my student from last week Gloria and her parents, and my old student Giovanni. Too cute. Nicola (the father) came and picked us up in the car. Thank goodness. That night we had a meal with all of us tutors, our host families, and the director. We all had pizza--I had kebab pizza, it was a bit strange.
On Sunday all of us tutors and the director drove to Lago Garda in the hopes that the weather would be better there. No dice. Still crazy rain, too much wind, and of course I got car sick. All the same, it was very pretty, and I'll probably put up photos later this week. On our way back we stopped off at one of the largest malls in Europe (based outside of Bergamo). And it was a mall (aka pretty lame).
Today was my first day teaching the red group (aprox. ages 9-11). They are all awesome, except for one student, Davide.He spends the entire time yelling and disobeying me. It is one thing to totally not respect me but to keep it to yourself, this kid does not hide his disrespect at all and by the afternoon I was pretty fed up with kids in general. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to last a little longer before wanting to kill someone. Bleh. Besides him, it is a good class. They are all pretty bright and they all are attentive and sweet.
That is it for now. I'll write again later in the week.
S
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Three days down...only 5.5 more weeks of teaching to go...
Okay so, teaching...
Yea. So if you asked me yesterday what I felt about it, I would have told you that I'm having a lot of fun--making some mistakes, but all in all, enjoying myself. Today it didn't go too smoothly and it is going to totally color this post.
Mostly its just hard to get anything done when you are teaching and the children don't understand 90% of the things you say. So you break it down--make everything smaller. You don't say "what color is this?" you say "what color?" or even "what?" & point. meh. But the langauge barrier isn't awful except when we do things in a large group. Today that is mostly what we were doing. I had to entertain children for like 30 minutes by myself when the other tutors were getting things ready and it just drained me and made me feel like a complete dumbass. It is nearly impossible to convey anything to 40+ kids when they don't understand your language. So yea, not a great day. Oh, and to make matters worse, I didn't get much sleep last night. And one of my kids is overly clingly and is always hanging off of me and it is getting on my nerves. I know I shouldn't be all peeved. But honestly, I don't mind hugging or holding hands, but doing it constantly is just weird.
Despite my bitching, I lucked out. Our camp director is English so she speaks perfect English. Most camp directors are Italian and have very limited English so the tutors have to go just as slow with them as they do with the children. On top of being fluent, Tannith (our director) used to also be a tutor with A.C.L.E. so she knows what we need help with/when to back of/how we are feeling. So, in sum, she is amazing, and we are soo lucky.
Speaking of Tannith, she took us (being the tutors) and our two assistants (two native Italians that speak very good English) to Bergamo on Monday. We went to the città alta (which is the old city--lit. translation the high city because it is above the new city). There is an interesting story that goes along with la città alta. So there was this total badass ruler who was so badass people used to say he had three balls. And so there are litteraly three balls on the Bergamo crest. Check out my facebook pictures for some pictures of his three balls on local gates. It is just strange. If I hadn't seen them myself I would have thought she was lying. Anywho, the città alta was very cool...very pretty. So all in all, despite today, I have been enjoying myself.
Okay I am tired of typing....I was going to try to put a link up to my facebook. But I can't figure out copy/paste on this crazy Italian keyboard...so I will try to type it. If this link doesn't work, oh well...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2299115&id=6710589&1=4cbd1ffd2f
Sarah
Yea. So if you asked me yesterday what I felt about it, I would have told you that I'm having a lot of fun--making some mistakes, but all in all, enjoying myself. Today it didn't go too smoothly and it is going to totally color this post.
Mostly its just hard to get anything done when you are teaching and the children don't understand 90% of the things you say. So you break it down--make everything smaller. You don't say "what color is this?" you say "what color?" or even "what?" & point. meh. But the langauge barrier isn't awful except when we do things in a large group. Today that is mostly what we were doing. I had to entertain children for like 30 minutes by myself when the other tutors were getting things ready and it just drained me and made me feel like a complete dumbass. It is nearly impossible to convey anything to 40+ kids when they don't understand your language. So yea, not a great day. Oh, and to make matters worse, I didn't get much sleep last night. And one of my kids is overly clingly and is always hanging off of me and it is getting on my nerves. I know I shouldn't be all peeved. But honestly, I don't mind hugging or holding hands, but doing it constantly is just weird.
Despite my bitching, I lucked out. Our camp director is English so she speaks perfect English. Most camp directors are Italian and have very limited English so the tutors have to go just as slow with them as they do with the children. On top of being fluent, Tannith (our director) used to also be a tutor with A.C.L.E. so she knows what we need help with/when to back of/how we are feeling. So, in sum, she is amazing, and we are soo lucky.
Speaking of Tannith, she took us (being the tutors) and our two assistants (two native Italians that speak very good English) to Bergamo on Monday. We went to the città alta (which is the old city--lit. translation the high city because it is above the new city). There is an interesting story that goes along with la città alta. So there was this total badass ruler who was so badass people used to say he had three balls. And so there are litteraly three balls on the Bergamo crest. Check out my facebook pictures for some pictures of his three balls on local gates. It is just strange. If I hadn't seen them myself I would have thought she was lying. Anywho, the città alta was very cool...very pretty. So all in all, despite today, I have been enjoying myself.
Okay I am tired of typing....I was going to try to put a link up to my facebook. But I can't figure out copy/paste on this crazy Italian keyboard...so I will try to type it. If this link doesn't work, oh well...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2299115&id=6710589&1=4cbd1ffd2f
Sarah
Sunday, June 13, 2010
back in italy
WARNING: I am unable to spellcheck in English...so I appologise for my spelling...
So I haven't writen in this blog for two years. Two years since I went anywhere that was truly adventursome. But here I am, back in Italy.
So this adventure started with me arriving in Milan. I stayed there two nights before heading to San Remo. During the day I went to the duomo, the piazza della Scala (and boy, do I want to go see an opera there just so I can go into La Scala), and the castel Sforza. All of which were kinda cool since I've studied a bit of Milan Renassiance art and history, but for hte most part I have decided that I am not a fan of Milan. Not to mention I realized that even though traveling by oneself they get to do as they please, it is also quite lonely....So...then I was off to San Remo...
As you all know, I'm here working for an organization called A.C.L.E. They have English immersion camps set up all over Italy, and last week I had a week long orientation to learn how to teach English to none native speakers.
The orienation went alright. I made friends with a few of the people, but I was for the most part the shy person I am when I'm surrounded by people I don't know. Or at least I was until they served us wine every night at dinner. = )
Anywho, that is all good and done and now I have been shipped out to Nembro, a town near Bergamo (in Lombardy). Camp starts tomorrow and I was practically quaking in my boots a few hours ago. But since then I have sat down and made lesson plans and I feel so much better already. I'll be teaching the post-beginner, pre-elementary age level (ages 8-10), so keep your fingers crossed that I won't make a complete ass of my self.
So, here in Nembro I am staying with a host family--two parents and three kids. And then a bunch of lively family that live nearby. The brother of the father lives nearby and today I met his girlfriend. In a house in the back (which actually extends above my host family's) is where the father's parents live. They don't speak a word of English, but they are awesome. His father makes a bunch of jokes (only some of which I understand). However, when I do understand, he always gives me a little wink. It is just so cute.
Anyways...my host family is great. The mother understands English pretty well but is embaressed to speak, and the father doesn't understand much but loves to speak, so it is a pretty great house to be placed in. The kids understand very very limited English. I'll have the eldest in my class tomorrow so we'll see how that goes. As for the kids--there is Camilla (the oldest--and she is a total sweetheart), Fillipo (who is currently sick and just today went to the hospital), and a two year old named Ciara (whom I absolutely adore---she doesn't really speak any language, just invents her own, and it rocks).
Okay, that is it for now, I have to get back to preparing for my class.
Baci e amore,
Sarah
So I haven't writen in this blog for two years. Two years since I went anywhere that was truly adventursome. But here I am, back in Italy.
So this adventure started with me arriving in Milan. I stayed there two nights before heading to San Remo. During the day I went to the duomo, the piazza della Scala (and boy, do I want to go see an opera there just so I can go into La Scala), and the castel Sforza. All of which were kinda cool since I've studied a bit of Milan Renassiance art and history, but for hte most part I have decided that I am not a fan of Milan. Not to mention I realized that even though traveling by oneself they get to do as they please, it is also quite lonely....So...then I was off to San Remo...
As you all know, I'm here working for an organization called A.C.L.E. They have English immersion camps set up all over Italy, and last week I had a week long orientation to learn how to teach English to none native speakers.
The orienation went alright. I made friends with a few of the people, but I was for the most part the shy person I am when I'm surrounded by people I don't know. Or at least I was until they served us wine every night at dinner. = )
Anywho, that is all good and done and now I have been shipped out to Nembro, a town near Bergamo (in Lombardy). Camp starts tomorrow and I was practically quaking in my boots a few hours ago. But since then I have sat down and made lesson plans and I feel so much better already. I'll be teaching the post-beginner, pre-elementary age level (ages 8-10), so keep your fingers crossed that I won't make a complete ass of my self.
So, here in Nembro I am staying with a host family--two parents and three kids. And then a bunch of lively family that live nearby. The brother of the father lives nearby and today I met his girlfriend. In a house in the back (which actually extends above my host family's) is where the father's parents live. They don't speak a word of English, but they are awesome. His father makes a bunch of jokes (only some of which I understand). However, when I do understand, he always gives me a little wink. It is just so cute.
Anyways...my host family is great. The mother understands English pretty well but is embaressed to speak, and the father doesn't understand much but loves to speak, so it is a pretty great house to be placed in. The kids understand very very limited English. I'll have the eldest in my class tomorrow so we'll see how that goes. As for the kids--there is Camilla (the oldest--and she is a total sweetheart), Fillipo (who is currently sick and just today went to the hospital), and a two year old named Ciara (whom I absolutely adore---she doesn't really speak any language, just invents her own, and it rocks).
Okay, that is it for now, I have to get back to preparing for my class.
Baci e amore,
Sarah
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