“If you are served a plate of fish with head still on, just go with it!”

Reality set in this morning….We all realized that we were finally going to meet our students and get down to "business". Gulp! We really ARE going to left alone with groups of unknown sizes for HOW long?!?!

Anticipation, trepidation, exhilaration...these are only some of the emotions being felt by members of Italy Team 175 during breakfast. Phyllis led the HS teachers (Michelle, Jake, RC, EK, Currie, Shirley, Philip and me) to our school. Students showed up and we were divided into groups. Most were high school age, but at the last minute EK learned one of Phyllis' "F" words -flexibility- and she was recruited to do a private session with a female dentist instead.

The floor of the school that we were all on soon was full of noise - conversation, laughter from inside the classrooms and construction and traffic noise from outside. Michelle and Jake had a class of enthusiastic, willing and talkative students. While EK was learning the meaning of flexibility, RC was left with a group of girls who got not only an English lesson, but an astronomy lesson as well.
Currie and Shirley spent the morning with the advanced students. Philip and I had a mixed group of 17-year- old girls. Two have a good command of English and are very confident in their ability. Two have a good command of the language, but did not seem to be comfortable speaking. The fifth girl looked to the others for some help whenever it was her turn to speak. Hopefully during the next two weeks she
can gain the confidence she needs.

Meanwhile, back at the Mission School Jeff, Martha, Valerie and Larae met with some young adults (20s and 30s) for some stimulating conversation. Basics such as numbers were reviewed as well as some advanced topics.

Lunch was at Semraldo - "al fresco". Panini (which means more than one panino or sandwich) and salads were shared. The gelato was a big hit as well. All of the morning's trepidation was gone and everyone shared their successes and rocky moments. Energy levels were high and curiosity about each others' morning replaced the earlier anxieties. Everyone went their separate ways after
lunch. Jake and Philip got a private tour of the Old City and beaches
provided by four of Jake / Michelle's students. Some went to beaches or swam in the pool while others prepared lessons for upcoming classes or napped.
Phyllis provided Italian Lesson Number One at 5 PM. Pronunciation/phonetics were the topic of the day. Those of us who attended repeated the various vowel and consonant sounds, some of which change depending on the subsequent letters.

Then it was off to evening classes at the Mission school, where the students kept coming, and coming....and coming. Thirty-five students later, we were all somewhat settled in. Martha had one-on-one time with Pere Luca's girlfriend, which she later labeled as a "very intense" conversation about the tourism industry and other topics. Jeff and Philip started off with five students but ended up with a
final tally of fifteen. Shirley and Jake had a large group of giggling teenage girls and one phenomenal nine-year-old boy who quizzed Shirley on topics ranging
from the "publications" she read and American politics (Democrats and Republicans!). Jake attempted to keep the conversation lighter by discussing the names of body parts.

RC and I had seven beginning students - six men and the eleven-year-old daughter of one of them. Numbers, days of the week, colors, shapes and month names were the topics. When we learned that it was one student's birthday, we also included the American version of Happy Birthday in the lesson. Other classes, also brimming with students, covered a variety of topics. Currie had stayed behind at the Clio for a private lesson with an architect, a woman who she said spoke extremely well.

After a later dinner (sans "swordfish") all of Team 175 said "buono notte" to each other and headed off to dreamland and thoughts of what are to come tomorrow.

- Melanie