I can’t believe we are already half-way through the semester. My class schedule changed this past week. It seems just as we get used to the schedule it changes. I will continue to have Justice & Liberty, Italy Today, Italian and service learning. I will no longer have Travel to Learn and Art History. Art History was an accelerated class and it surely kept me busy. I’m looking forward to having more time to focus on my other classes.
As a part of our service learning here in Italy, we must teach at a school in Sansepolcro. I’m am teaching elementary school children. My first class has about fifteen 5th grade children and the other class has about twenty-five 4th graders. The children have a standardized exam in April to test each child’s basic English language knowledge. I was given a booklet with the specific topics that will be on the exam. I will go to the school every Monday to help the children enrich their English vocabulary. My first lesson is to teach the class body parts and months of the year. The children speak mostly Italian and are more than helpful with trying to explain what they are saying. It’s really adorable.
On my first visit to the school I already learned a lot more about the Italian culture. Each student has a supplies trapper with scissors, colored pencils, crayons, erasers and pens. For the most part, the girls had pink High School Musical trappers and the boys had superhero trappers with Superman or Spiderman. I find it fascinating these American themes have spread all the way to Italy, even to the children. Another surprise is that one of the children asked me if I have ever met Chuck Norris or Johnny Depp; they all assumed since I was from America I would know at least one celebrity. The children were also very interested in asking questions about mio ragazzo, my boyfriend. I wear his class ring and they thought that meant I was married. I tried in my best Italian to explain that many studenti di comprare gli anelli per celebrare il completamento della scuola superiore (students buy a ring to celebrate completing high school). They wanted to know if they could get a ring once they went to middle school. So the children got to ask me several questions in Italian; it was very beneficial for me to learn more vocabulary. It was then time to focus on their English. I was surprised at how well many of the children spoke English. Most were able to say introductions, feelings, days of the week, months of the year and use various other vocabulary. It was very impressive. I’m looking forward to going back next week.
This past weekend I went with Shannon to Venice to meet up with her mom. We left on Friday afternoon after our Italian midterm. Due to our class schedule, we missed the only InterCity (IC) train of the day in Arezzo by a couple of minutes. IC are the cheaper trains and tend to take longer getting to one’s destination. So we both had to pay an extra twenty euro for a Eurostar (ES) train. It was certainly a new experience. The train is a little more modern with electronic screens announcing each stop. The section we stayed in had sections of four with a table. The bonus on this train was that there were outlets to charge computers. Other than that there was no huge difference from IC trains. However, ES trains are normally faster, but since we had a stop in Florence with a forty minute wait, the overall trip was not faster than an IC train would have been. Final conclusion: IC trains are little to no different from EuroStar trains; but now at least we know. Plus, we can say we’ve ridden an ES train…it’s always good to look for the positive in a situation!
Our journey took about six hours. We left Sansepolcro at 12:45 for a bus to Arezzo then waited an hour for our train to Florence. We had a forty minute wait in Florence for our ES train to Venice. We arrived in Venice at 6:33 p.m. After walking to our Bed & Breakfast to drop off our luggage, we had an Italian dinner at 8 o’clock. The restaurant was called Agli Artiste. I had the most delicious fettuccini alfredo. This is one of my favorite meals in the whole world; so it surprises me that it took me about a month and a half to have alfredo in Italy.
The following day’s big adventure was to the Doges’ Palace. For the people of Venice, this building has always been the symbol of the state: the residence of the Doge, the supreme leader of the city, the place where government and the court of law met. This three floor building has Gothic architecture exterior. I learned in my Art History class that the Gothic style evolved from the Romanesque period during the 12th century. My favorite part of the palace was the main staircase; it was covered in gold plating and marvelous frescoes. The Chamber of the Great Council was spectacular and it was the largest room. I found it most interesting how much detail went into the main rooms and how basic the prisons were. I understand that the prisons were for criminals, but by just going down a set of stairs, I found a completely different atmosphere. The main rooms were very large and elegant whereas the prison rooms were gray, very cold and miserable.
Our next stop was the Basilica of St. Mark. The architecture of this cathedral is very different from the Doges’ Palace. The Basilica has more of a Byzantine architectural influence; this style has a great emphasis on a gold pattern. This church has three different naves and very impressive architecture both inside and out. Once inside the gold altarpiece on the great altar caught my eye. It really has superb craftsmanship, which was first created in the 10th century and later enhanced with details in the 14th century. I have noticed that many historical artifacts in Italy pay particular attention to detailing and I appreciate the quality of workmanship that is not comparable to that of today.
I was entranced with the architecture, history and art of Venice’s past; and now it was time to climb the Torre of St. Mark’s Square. It turned out that this tower is not for climbing but rather to reach the top by elevator. It was a huge let down to me because so far in almost every city the group has climbed a tower. It cost eight euro to be lifted to the top. Granted, I note this is very considerate of people who are not able to climb stairs; this service allows them to be taken to the top in a matter of seconds. However, I’m love the thrill of walking up the stairs hoping the view is worth the burn in my legs; then reaching the top, having the feeling of conquering the tower with the reward of a spectacular view. The lift was a definite disappointment but the view was incomparable; I really enjoyed seeing all of Venice from the water to the many buildings.
The rest of the day was spent having a delicious lunch, walking over the Rialto Bridge and searching for the perfect present for my brothers. The next day was travel day back to Sansepolcro. We ate breakfast at the hotel where we met a group of older people from Britain. It is very interesting to stay in a smaller hotel because it encourages one to meet new people from all over the world. Shannon and I spoke to our new friends and found out that they had just visited friends in Bath, where John Rose is from; what a small world after all.
A traditional gondola ride costs one hundred euro during the day and one hundred and fifty at night. However, the water taxi, that happened to transport us from our hotel to the train station, cost only about seven euro and toured the Grand Canal. I took about a hundred pictures and it was the perfect way to end a visit to Venice.
Next weekend marks another independent travel break. Where to this time? Kim, Kelsey and I are headed to Rome. I’m really looking forward to climbing a tower or something during my next adventure to make up for my little misadventure elevator ride in Venice. But also to explore the Vatican, throw a euro in the Trevi fountain, scale the Spanish steps, discover the Pantheon and so much more!
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