Jaime's Italian Adventures

 Today was the first day that I did not fully listen to Tori. I took my sweater off the bus and that turned out to be very beneficial when in Florence it started raining and the temperature dropped quite a bit. I was very glad that I had my poncho, rain jacket (which leaks through), and my umbrella. My shoes got halfway soaked through, but it was a better experience with the rain than last week. I went to Palazza di Vecchio with Stephanie and Robin, but was really jealous that Tori—and later Lisa, along with some undergrads—went up about 29 flights of stairs to the botanical gardens. I am not a garden person, but the walk would’ve been great, and the view was absolutely stunning. Instead I felt very confined and sad that I only did one thing.  Tori and Lisa said that they were in the Galileo museum with the undergrads, so I went to meet up with them, but they had actually left. So I did the museum on my own and felt even more sad. I think the biggest thing that threw me off, other than

I finally got a picture of the sunrise today! We had a language scavenger hunt today which was more fun than expected, especially after finding the visitor's center. The man there wouldn't accept gelato as a thank you. I know it's his job, but he had a bunch of Americans hound him today and he was SO helpful! It was frustrating to be told in the middle we couldn't use a bike and that everyone in the group needed to be with us when there were no rules about bikes, the undergrad groups weren't told everyone needed to be there, and there was clearly no advantage because another USC group got the last clue at the same time as us. We only didn't win because we weren't allowed to read lyrics offline of a song Tori knew but didn't know all the words of. I was taken aback when we were told that we "know at least one Italian song." Maybe I should have added that to my homework, but I don't know how I would know that if it wasn't already part of

Arlecchino Scuola Comunale d'Infanzia -- Parma Back at Manzoni Valeria... Great Find! References Arlecchino Scuola Comunale d'Infanzia -- Parma As I walked in, I could feel and see that this school was Reggio-inspired. Students were working at lit tables, artwork was displayed all over the walls, there was a reading nook that the coordinator explained was the library area, a dressing area with mirrors was in the main space, and there was a large outdoor area that had recycled materials to ornament the natural materials (including tires as small flower beds). I could immediately tell the school was aiming for a collaborative space aligned with Reggio ateliers (Malaguzzi, 1993/1994; McNally & Slutsky, 2017; Wurm, 2005). However, the setting in the classrooms were very similar, indicting the fact that the school is Reggio- inspired  and not a true Reggio school.           Outdoor Area      Dressing area      The library area Each of the six classrooms included multiple tables

Middle School Manzoni Valeria--at University for the class 2 students The Malaguzzi Center Tour The rest of the day  Middle School Manzoni Valeria--at University for the class 2 students Valeria explained the high school system here. There are four routes, but a 5th path is more of a tech school. Engineering - more based on math, sciences, and technology Students go into university and need the scientific background  Mechanics - focused on hospitality, design, etc. These students almost all go into jobs Classics - Greek, literature, etc. These students almost all go to uni and typically follow a more professorial route  Languages - other than English, students study other languages, namely European. Both Valeria and Guilia did German and French. Students go into university and study an extra-European language: Russian for Valeria and Chinese for Guilia Technical- these are the trades, including informatics and marketing. Some students go into uni while others go into jobs  This is all

 I realized after I posted the reflection on day 8 that the pictures are turning out blurry. It’s time to see if keeping the pictures’ hyperlinks helps with that. Today was a slow day, which is good. I went to St. Andrew’s church before realizing the 9 am mass was at St. Rocco’s. Because there was no singing, mass was less than half an hour. It also helped that the homily was three minutes long. What was very weird though was there was essentially no sign of peace of peace, and the priest went right into the Lamb of God. I walked around with most of the other grad students and found a place that had salad loaded with vegetables that were “easy to make without sale o olio.” My first real lunch of the trip! The trip home was quick and almost uneventful. I got a very, very rough draft of my paper for this course finished and then started catching up on missing podcasts. I saw the alps shortly after we left too. Look at those sharp peaks in the very back! Then at home the boys had made bis

  The ride to Cinque Terrre was beautiful, and I'm glad we got here as the rain stopped. It was an easy hop on the train which took a little more than the anticipated 20 minutes to arrive to Levanto. Then we trekked to the hostel, where four of the six grad students holed up overnight. As the other five went to lunch, I wandered around, talked to some family and friends, and realized that while I never loved the seaside, I can change my mind for Cinque Terre. The area is stunning. I must come back on vacation with my husband.  Walking to the hostel  View from my room                               First row: on my walk Second row: Castle of Levanto, lemon trees, cacti Third row: Crimson bottlebrush, living my best life The other grad students and I later followed Tori's lead and signed up for a three-hour boat tour of the villages, ending with the sunset back in Levanto. I don't like boats and thought I'd be cold, but I figured that I might as well join the others.  Not