 |
| Tom, Marlene & Adult Students |
 |
| Ancient Masseria |
 |
| Chapel Door at Masseria |
 |
| The Odor is So Fresh! |
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Adult Students - Photos from Countryside and Nearby Ancient Masseria (farm)
More news from Monopoli...sorry, I am a few days behind! This is Tuesday and today we deviate from what will be our typical schedule, that is, school in the morning and tutoring in the afternoon. Today, we will tutor for most of the day. In the morning, we tutor a young female architect, a young woman who is a singer in a choral unit and a female dentist. The dentist, Carmella and the archite...ct, Antonella live in Monopoli and the singer, Sylvia lives in Bari and must travel by train from Bari, about an hour north of Monopoli. The volunteers enjoyed their sessions with the adults, especially because the conversations were mutually beneficial. This is ‘real world education’ - teachers learning from students and students learning from teachers. Their topics range from music to fashion to food to history to genealogy, etc. The variety of conversational topics is endless. Sylvia is a beginner and needs more elementary tutoring, while the others just need to continue to practice conversational techniques.
In the afternoon, we traveled to Polignano a Mare by train – a 5 minute ride. We plan to have lunch there and meet two high school students from Scuola Classico. They will provide us with an English tour of the old town area and we will practice and enforce conversational techniques with them during the tour. Before we meet them, we find a small ristorante for il pranzo. We really lucked out with our choice. We dined on ravioli stuffed with eggplant with a pesto sauce followed by panna cotta…..now remember, we didn’t get any last night! One of the volunteers remarked it would remain in her ‘top ten’ meals. It was a very good experience, but alas, we go back to panini tomorrow. Now a laudable word about the panino – they are filled with all sorts of delicious foods and it’s sort of like gelato; you never get a bad one.
After lunch we searched for the police station, where we were to meet the students, who sadly did not arrive, due to a schedule change in their afternoon extracurricular activity schedule. Since flexibility is the key to success in Italy, we courageously set out on a self-guided expedition. It was a delightful day and we arrived back at the hotel, weary from walking.
Now, for those in the agricultural aspects of this region, at present the focus is on cool weather vegetables, colorful spring wild flowers, and colorful trees dotting the landscape with lemon, oranges and tangerines. The most beautiful trees in blossom now are the almond trees. They are always the first to bloom here in Puglia and they provide the winter countryside with a stunning backdrop. The almond tree coupled with the yellow and white wildflowers are a sight to see.
- Phyllis
In the afternoon, we traveled to Polignano a Mare by train – a 5 minute ride. We plan to have lunch there and meet two high school students from Scuola Classico. They will provide us with an English tour of the old town area and we will practice and enforce conversational techniques with them during the tour. Before we meet them, we find a small ristorante for il pranzo. We really lucked out with our choice. We dined on ravioli stuffed with eggplant with a pesto sauce followed by panna cotta…..now remember, we didn’t get any last night! One of the volunteers remarked it would remain in her ‘top ten’ meals. It was a very good experience, but alas, we go back to panini tomorrow. Now a laudable word about the panino – they are filled with all sorts of delicious foods and it’s sort of like gelato; you never get a bad one.
After lunch we searched for the police station, where we were to meet the students, who sadly did not arrive, due to a schedule change in their afternoon extracurricular activity schedule. Since flexibility is the key to success in Italy, we courageously set out on a self-guided expedition. It was a delightful day and we arrived back at the hotel, weary from walking.
Now, for those in the agricultural aspects of this region, at present the focus is on cool weather vegetables, colorful spring wild flowers, and colorful trees dotting the landscape with lemon, oranges and tangerines. The most beautiful trees in blossom now are the almond trees. They are always the first to bloom here in Puglia and they provide the winter countryside with a stunning backdrop. The almond tree coupled with the yellow and white wildflowers are a sight to see.
- Phyllis
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Our School, Students and Italian Teacher, Rita
 |
| School Door -Site of Former Ancient Cloistered Convent |
 |
| Tom with Students - very attentive! |
 |
| Marlene Teaching a Lesson |
Our first day in the classroom went very well. After a few minor changes in our schedule, the volunteers began conversing with the energetic and lively Italian students. We will be teaching with Rita, our Italian teacher for the two weeks and be based in two high schools. One site is the Scuola Media Statale Galileo Galilei Scientifico and the other is the Scuola Secondaria Galil...eo Galilei Liceo Classico. For sale of brevity, I will refer to them as Scientifico and Classico, respectively. Both are comprised of fourteen to eighteen year olds, most of whom study English for 5 years.
We were welcomed by the Presidenza (principal). He plans to give us a tour of Monopoli, when free time is available. He is a gracious and most obliging host, whose demeanor and personality make him most comfortable to be with. He is also a journalist and plans to write about Global Volunteers for the local newspaper. This is a good thing! The Presidenza is responsible for 4 schools with over 800 students and 80+teachers.
The volunteers spent the remainder of the morning in the classroom with Rita and were impressed with the students and the level and caliber of the curriculum they are studying. We are also being asked to work with a special group of the students, who are translating an Italian guidebook about Monopoli from Italian to English. In the afternoon, we provided tutoring to two local residents. We expect this group to grow to 4 by the end of the week. One is very advanced in English and the other is truly a beginner. The volunteers will split up and address their needs accordingly.
It was a long hard first day…and I haven’t shared our food experiences. Everyone always wants to know ‘what did you eat?’ Well, food is KING in Italy and we are very fortunate to be seaside and have access to delicious seafood daily. Breakfast is pretty much the same every day. Lunch is always very simple with a panini, our lunch of choice. Dinner, on the other hand, is a more elaborate culinary adventure. We dined on pasta with salmon and zucchini for our primi and grilled steak for our secondi. Dessert was panna cotta, but we didn’t get any because we were not fast enough. By time we were ready for dessert, it had vanished. The other diners appeared to be very satisfied, while we had to find another choice. So fruit was my choice – the peeled tangerine and the volunteers tried and enjoyed an apricot torte. Oh and I almost forgot, the antipasti bar was superlative tonight – at least for me – clams, mussels, small pieces of grilled fish filet as well as the usually cheeses, salads and meats. I know it sounds like a lot – you just have pace yourself and take small portions.
So now, another day has passed and we all retired feeling the anticipation of the day to come. Buona Notte
-Phyllis
We were welcomed by the Presidenza (principal). He plans to give us a tour of Monopoli, when free time is available. He is a gracious and most obliging host, whose demeanor and personality make him most comfortable to be with. He is also a journalist and plans to write about Global Volunteers for the local newspaper. This is a good thing! The Presidenza is responsible for 4 schools with over 800 students and 80+teachers.
The volunteers spent the remainder of the morning in the classroom with Rita and were impressed with the students and the level and caliber of the curriculum they are studying. We are also being asked to work with a special group of the students, who are translating an Italian guidebook about Monopoli from Italian to English. In the afternoon, we provided tutoring to two local residents. We expect this group to grow to 4 by the end of the week. One is very advanced in English and the other is truly a beginner. The volunteers will split up and address their needs accordingly.
It was a long hard first day…and I haven’t shared our food experiences. Everyone always wants to know ‘what did you eat?’ Well, food is KING in Italy and we are very fortunate to be seaside and have access to delicious seafood daily. Breakfast is pretty much the same every day. Lunch is always very simple with a panini, our lunch of choice. Dinner, on the other hand, is a more elaborate culinary adventure. We dined on pasta with salmon and zucchini for our primi and grilled steak for our secondi. Dessert was panna cotta, but we didn’t get any because we were not fast enough. By time we were ready for dessert, it had vanished. The other diners appeared to be very satisfied, while we had to find another choice. So fruit was my choice – the peeled tangerine and the volunteers tried and enjoyed an apricot torte. Oh and I almost forgot, the antipasti bar was superlative tonight – at least for me – clams, mussels, small pieces of grilled fish filet as well as the usually cheeses, salads and meats. I know it sounds like a lot – you just have pace yourself and take small portions.
So now, another day has passed and we all retired feeling the anticipation of the day to come. Buona Notte
-Phyllis
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
March in Puglia as a Volunteer
So to get back to the food – our first dinner consisted of antipasti bar, orechiette (a small ear shaped pasta, indigenous to Puglia) with tomato sauce and our second course was grilled shrimp. For dessert a variety of fruit and pastries were offered. I am trying to keep with the fruit, especially since they peel the tangerines for you! After much needed sleep, on Sunday, we had breakfast, which is typically a cold buffet like in the US, except the pastries are Italian and taste very good. There are a variety of cereals, yogurt, fruit and I cannot forget to mention all the delicious coffees. The Sunday program is devoted to orientation, so I spent most of the day sharing Global Volunteer information – mission, goals, program context, and project explanations. Two of the Italian teachers came to welcome us and delighted us by taking us for a ride in the Italian country side. We visited an ancient masseria (old farm), which has been converted to a B and B, with a restaurant we cannot afford to dine in – very expensive, beautiful and ever so old. You can Google it if you want – Masseria Spina Monopoli Italy - what a place!
We then prepare for Monday, our first day at school. For the volunteers, I think they might be a little apprehensive, but they are both attorneys and I am certain they will do well. Attorneys are known for their ability to stand, talk and listen and this is what they will be doing. The students are most fortunate to have their experiences and expertise. Now, I look forward to a new day. Ciao
- Phyllis
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)