Rho

I apologize for not updating sooner, but my computer access is restricted by my eleven year-old host brother who is obsessed with computer games... And when I'm not at school, I'm ususally sleeping. I am loving this job, but it is the most exhausting thing I have ever done!! I wake up at 6:45, go to the school, come home, eat dinner, read a chapter of my book, and go to bed at 10:00 (with the exception of tonight).

As I mentioned earlier, this job isn't just teaching a class... most of the time it's more of a summer-camp atmosphere, so I'm chasing little kids around all day. I've never felt so old in my life... I don't remember having that much energy when I was younger.

Anyway....Rho. I am in a suburb of Milan called Rho, which is a quiet little town just a metro ride away from the big city. It actually reminds me a lot of my hometown of Nixa... it's not big and fancy, but it covers all the bases. And my host family here isn't much different than my real family either. My host family in Piacenza was very nice and accomodating, but I felt like I was just renting a room from them and eating their food. This family (the Stucchi's) is very close-knit and they have really made me feel like a part of the family. It's a husband and wife, their 17 year-old daughter (Giulia), and their 11 year-old son (Francesco- who is in my class). Every night at dinner, we have really great conversations and we all laugh at eachother... and we laugh at the father's numerous failed attempts to form grammatically-correct sentences in English. Tonight I had them busting up laughing because we were talking about my brother (my real brother, Barrett) and they asked what he studies. They obviously didn't understand the words Wildlife Conservation... but when I looked up the word "wildlife" in the dictionary, I accidentally read the translation of the previous word... which was "wild goose-chase". It took me a solid two minutes to realize why they were laughing so hard.

The flat we live in is very small. I feel a little bad because they gave me the kids' bedroom, and now the kids sleep on the couch... but I guess it's only two weeks for them. The only challenge living here is that all 5 of us share one bathroom. The shower is right in front of a full-length mirror... which can make one very self-aware while one is drying off. Yesterday, when I opened the shower door, I was a little bit disturbed by what I saw in the mirror. My fully-developed farmer's tan makes me look like one of those tubs of vanilla ice-cream with caramel swirls. I've heard it said that people in Italy have beautiful bodies... but mine just looks completely ridiculous!

Hmm... that serves as a nice segue to one of my favorite things here... gelato. I've spent more money on gelato than anything else since my plane landed three weeks ago. Why doesn't America have more gelaterias like these?? There are SOOO many flavors. I think my favourite (spelled with a U because I am required to teach British English at the camps) so far is mango.
Saturday, I spent the day in Milan... it is a beautiful place, but nothing like I imagined. Being the fashion capital of the world, I suppose I expected the clothing shops to be on grand (metaphorical) pedestals with Vegas-like advertising signs. But high-end fashion is such a part of the Italian culture and everyday life that it's really not highlighted anymore than in other cities. Anyway, the main piazza is home to the Duomo Milano, which is an enormous cathedral. We climbed the stairs to the top and had an amazing view of the city. Then when we went inside, the guard wouldn't let Giulia in because she was wearing a tank-top (I'm thinking "Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."). Then thye took me to see Teatro alla Scalla: one of the most distinguished opera houses in the world. It honestly doesn't look like much from the outside compared to the other grand architectural features of the city. I was hoping to see Aida, but it was sold out (and I didn't pack a coat and tie). After that, we went to happy hour at a local bar, and I purchased alcohol for the first time in my life. At the risk of sounding like a complete wimp, I ordered a strawberry daqueri (...pausing for laughter and sneering...).

At the camp in Rho, I have a class of 12 eleven and twelve year-olds. Although it's nice to have students who understand complete English sentences, it makes it more challenging to come up with games and activities that they don't think are stupid. My proudest moment was being able to get them all doing a can-can kickline in sync. One of my girls wanted a kickline to be at the end of the final show that we put on for the parents on Friday. Although the show (which I wrote based on characters they wanted to play) is "James Bond and the Horror House", I managed to make up a song at the end where they could all do a kick-line. It may sound easy, but there is nothing easy about getting pubescent twelve year-old boys to kick their legs up in unison!
Well, I better get off the computer and write my lesson plan to teach comparatives in the morning. Italy is wonderful; I am happy, healthy, and over-fed... life is good.

PS: I am finishing an amazing book right now, if anyone is searching for something inspiring and eye-opening to read. It is titled "Three Cups of Tea". It is about a mountain-climber who promises to return to Pakistan to help the village that saved his life after his failed attempt to summit K2. He ends up building dozens of schools across Pakistan and Afghanistan, especially for girls, who are discouraged from being educated. It gives an end-depth look at humanitarianism, Central-Asia politics leading to and during 9\11, and the philosophy that bombs will not prevent terrorism... only education will.
(Dear publisher, please send Taylor Martin of Nixa, MO a large check for his positive review and advertisement on a public forum!)