Our closing thoughts

Valerie: Despite some disappointments -- no taxi at the airport, lost sunglasses, and twisted ankle --the totality of this experience has exceeded any expectations I had. The warmth and enthusiasm of the students and the humor, generosity and support of my fellow team members filled me with enormousgratitude. Then there was the biggest party that will remain in my memory forever.

Philip: It's not so much the "where", it's the people you know there.

Michelle: This journey and my new friends -- all add incredible flavor and memories that I will carry back to Seattle. Ciao!

RC: "All we have to divides what to do with the time that is given us" (J. R. R. Tolkien)

Larae: Good food, good friends, good times!

Currie: "You will always be in my heart, even though we are far apart". ...

E.K: Thanks for the memories of fun, new friendships and great Italian food!

Jake: Even though I may lose a friend today I realize I've gained so many on this trip and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I'm going to miss all of my Italian friends and Global friends that I've made. Through this journey I've learned to live in the moment and it's the little things that make us happy.

Shirley: A presto...I will not say "goodbye", but "see you later"...happy travels and keep in touch. Also remember...what happens in Italy stays in Italy.

Martha: Grazie mi amigos per la dolce vita!

Melanie: Today's sights and sounds: smiles, screeches, laughter, joy, tears.

Jeff: Travel is food for the soul. Bon appetit!

As I walk through the streets of Monopoli, I think back on our two weeks here. It seems like just yesterday Currie and I were making our way into the city and trying to find our Hotel Clio. All we knew was that it was on the Adriatic Sea. Now the streets have become so familiar that I feel a part of the community. At breakfast after all the announcements, we sang Happy Birthday to Valerie and gave her a card signed by all of the group.

Everyone went to their groups at the different schools. I feel like such a local as I walked to the patisserie for the bread for our picnic. There were people lined up in the shop to pick up their bread and pastries for the day. A nice Italian lady helped me explain what all I wanted since I was getting cookies for Carmen's party tonight as well. The picnic was held down at the dock by the beautiful Adriatic Sea. We feasted on sandwiches made with different types of meat and cheeses, fresh fruit, and a surprise birthday cake for Valerie. Everyone seemed to enjoy our time together. Some of the church group will leave early tonight in order to drive out to Carmen's for dinner. She is so nice to do this for us. We are all looking forward to seeing her Masseria. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Carmen and Vito's. It included delicious pasta with seafood, a nice dish with tuna and vegetables, and a shrimp dish, a type of potato salad, meats, cheeses, cookies and fruit for dessert. We were all so stuffed! Everyone was so nice and friendly. We all enjoyed their hospitality.

-EK

"A friend i a gift you give yourself."

Like most other mornings in Monopoli, I was reminded by the 7:30 AM bells and chanting, that I could no longer hit the snooze button on my alarm clock. My first thought of the days\ was, “Wow, is it Wednesday already?” This statement was repeated at the breakfast table as the discussion centered around how time flies. It was only a few days ago that we walked into the dining area as strangers but now we know who likes fizzy water, who eat meat, who eats dessert first and who will eat just about anything (Jeff!). I don’t think any of us expected the time to pass so quickly.

After breakfast it was another day at the church school for Jeff and Martha. I can tell from their faces that they are excited to meet with their students no matter who they might be this particular day. While most of the group headed to the high school for another day of classes, Michelle, RC and Philip headed to the San Dominico School for a “quick” tour and then one-on-one tutoring of a few new students. Valerie, Melanie and Shirley had toured the school the day before and had raved about the view of Monopoli from the very top.

After class, E.K., Currie and I headed to Cafe Venezia for a light lunch and some party planning. Then it was time to go in search of our picnic items before hitting the beach--if only all errands could be this fun! The afternoon passed quickly and before I knew it, it was time for evening classes at the church school. Valeria and I had a full house--all of our students were present except for one. We took the opportunity to take some group photos which was followed by a highly-competitive game of hangman. After class, the group headed to Upendi for dinner. E.K., Currie and I headed to the old town to pick up materials for the farewell party. Walking in old town has become quite an adventure because we run into someone we know at every corner. After grabbing some pizza, E.K., Currie and I, along with Fabrizio’s mother and father, went back to Cafe Venezia to listen to a U2 cover band. We also happen to know the lead singer, Francesco, and he had saved the best seats in the house for us. Throughout the evening, we ran into even more acquaintances, including the owner of Cafe Venezia who had remembered us from lunch. Before we knew it, our table was full with what seemed like old friends. The language barrier did not inhibit the laughter and through broken English and a few Italian phrases, communication was easy and fun. At the end of the night my only thought was, “my cup runneth over.”

- Larae

"Everyone smiles in the same language."

The adventure continues. A new component was added to the team repertoire as Michelle tutored a student who had failed her English exam. Working one-on-one at the Galileo High School, Michelle assisted her student in the proper use of various verb tenses. Initially withdrawn, her student soon opened up and a successful session quickly went by.

Other members of the team continued their work at the Linguistic High School, with either students or teachers, helping them improve their knowledge and understanding of this often-confusing language. Martha and I continue to work at the church school. I have listened to Martha's work on verbs, sentences and pronunciation as I await the arrival of my students. I am thankful that she chose to work with the less advanced students. Here ability to connect with her students and her passion to teach come through with each lesson. I cannot imagine a better person for this group.

As for me, I had two students this morning, Salvatore and Roberto. Changing work schedules continue to shift my students between the morning and evening classes. I spent time with Salvatore talking about his work installing solar panels around the world. He has clients from China coming in this week. A trip to Shanghai may be in his future. Working one-on-one with him I can see and hear his confidence increase almost by the minute. This is why I am here. Roberto is 40 and is a sometimes-employed electrician and bartender. Although his English-speaking ability is a little less developed, he eagerly spoke about his four tattoos which were designed and inked by his friend, who is Monopoli's best tattoo artist, Antonio Todisco (Macko Tattoo). As all of my students now know, I love maps and they are my favorite teaching tools. Roberto took my map of Monopoli and gladly added the name and location of Monopoli's best tattoo shop to my heavily-marked-up map which already showed Monopoli's best restaurant, gelato, pizzeria, beaches, etc. I have found that regardless of a person's ability to speak English, they will always tell you with pride about the place they live in, their city and their country. After a wonderful, almost "vegetarian" lunch at Portofoca we returned to the hotel by various routes.

This evening at the church school it was pretty much business as usual, with the exception of EK filling in for Valerie after she twisted her ankle on some uneven pavement earlier in the day. Philip began our session with seven students by talking about his metal, reusable water bottle and why there doesn't seem to be any discernible local recycling effort. Recycling eventually led to waste disposal and how the Mafia controls the waste disposal business (particularly in Naples). We were assured that the Mafia no longer operates in Monopoli, not since the conviction of "Easy Gun" ten years ago. The Italian vs. US penal systems were compared--and then it was 8:00pm. Once again we have been fortunate to find the correct sequence of topics to take us magically through the entire session.

- Jeff

“I realize what I do is but a drop in the ocean, but the ocean would not be as full without that drop”…..paraphrasing Mother Theresa

We all woke up at different times today with some of us resuming our teaching obligations at the church and others being featured as show and tell. The rest of our group got to sleep in and get some well-deserved rest. Since everyone had such an amazing time touring the local cities the day before Larae, Currie, E.K., and Jake got to experience the cities of Ostuni, Alberobello and Cisternino in a different light while everyone else had a recovery day at the hotel preparing for the week ahead. We also had to be ready to go for our 4:30…I mean 4 o’clock meeting.

The wind had died down since the weekend and our beautiful weather still covered the city like a blanket so everyone seemed to enjoy their day. Jake, Larae, E.K., and Currie bought several souvenirs from their excursion and made it just in time to listen in on the meeting scheduled for the day. At the meeting Phyllis went over some slight changes for the week ahead while we enjoyed our tea and biscuits. We talked over our team goals and expectation s and how they have changed in great detail making for the longest meeting of the trip! After the meeting the picnic committee consisting of: Jake, Martha and Shirley, discussed plans with Phyllis followed by the meeting with the party committee who included: Larae, Currie and E.K. After all the meetings we all went to our designated teaching venues and all seemed to have a wonderful time teaching our students. Alfredo, (one of Jeff and Philip’s students) invited some of us to come see him and his friends play soccer the following day and experience some of the city in the latter portions of the night.

Dinner was fantastic at the restaurant where we talked about film while trying to get requests for food correctly ordered. Everyone seemed to be very happy with their days’ events, especially for a Monday.

- Jake

"Peace between countries begins with friendship between people."

We've been in Porto Ceseareo, on the western coast of Italian for 2 days. We've come to love this town despite its initial impression (in our eyes the Mexico of Italy though it’s rumored to be the Maldives of Italy to the local population - the vote could go either way). We now appreciate it more than when we first pulled into town, and there is even chat about staying here forever.

After being hurried out of our rooms and chastised for parking Italian style (blocking people in), we head out of town on one of the many roads to Gallipoli- in 3 days we've found 4 roads to Gallipoli, and never the same 1 twice. Finding these roads and driving on them is a true cultural and historical experience, some might say we were bewildered a time or two. About now the rest of the GV gang is soaking up the truly unique atmosphere of Alberobello, and then onto the beautiful white city of Ostuni. Their travels today involve trains so fingers crossed for a stress free day! For us 3, we headed onwards to the tip of Italy where the Adriatic and Ionian Seas merge. Fear not- we braved the tough winds and winding roads on around the stilletto.

Lesson to learn while travelling overseas: If the waiter asks you if you want 3 of a dish that you are not sure about, say no only 1 please. We learned this after being served 3 heaping portions of meat popetti. So for lunch when the waiter chatted to us in perfect Italian about the specials of the day, we agreed to only 1... 1 bottle of wine, 1 course of antipasto, which did in fact turn out to be 10+ plates of seafood and other marine life cooked in various ways. After lunch, we visited Otranto briefly and made our way to Lecce. We knew we were in the right spot when we saw the McDonald's that Phyllis had mentioned earlier in the week. We did the historical tour of the city; we shopped at Zara and even found a market. The light began to fade in the Centro stoic and the wind began to blow debris in our eyes - time to go.

Back on the road again to Monopoli - our home away from home. By the time we got to Monopoli it was quite late and we needed fuel for the car and our bodies. Thankfully a little osteria could provide the body fuel. At last we made it back to the Clio. From all accounts it was a good day for all.

It's hard to imagine that 1 week from today the friends that I have come to hold so dear will be off on new adventures. I will miss their company, their thoughts on life and the world at large and most of all the sound of their laughter.

- Currie