So today was my craziest day in Italy yet. My very first day of actually teaching and I have never felt more unprepared for something. I feel qualified and confident, but there were a few reasons why I was hesitant about today: 1. the teachers manual is in Italian (yeahhh), 2. I have not been around 20 4-5 year olds since I was 4-5, 3. I had no idea where the school was (of course, I got lost on my way today), 4. no one at the school I was going to knew English and they didn't know I don't understand Italian well. So, needless to say, I was extremely nervous. The commute for this job is absolutely insane and I will never agree to a job again until I look at a map--but my boss told me to ask the bus driver where to get dropped off. I did, and he told me to get off at a stop no where near the school. So I was literally running with two bags a purse and a backpack to make it to this no where to be found destination on the outskirts of Rome. When I finally arrived in the classroom there were 20 of the cutest little Italian kids I have ever seen sitting in a circle around me and I realized I had absolutely NO IDEA what I was going to do. It was a crazy crazy morning and I somehow made it through. It took a lot of smiling and singing (yes-singing, those poor unfortunate little children are scarred for life!). THEN I had to go and interview over 20 Italians and determine their English level for over a period of 6 hours regarding a prestigious opportunity to work for a business in China (I am not too sure how Carmen, the woman who gave me the teaching job hooked me up with this), but I met a lot of very kind people. Kindness is a common theme among most of the people I have met in Italy. Strangers who help me out on a daily basis for no reason, my roommates who try to help me out and feed me whenever they can, students who I have worked with and smiling faces I see on the streets here everyday. Even in those stressful moments when the bus driver drops me off at the wrong stop, or I get lost, or I am in a classroom feeling completely lost--I am grateful for those around me who have been so kind so far :)

I miss everyone from home though!!

the past two weeks...

My past few weeks have been insanely busy and crazy and very, very unpredictable. Last week was probably the busiest week I’ve ever had in my life. I had school (I finished up the work to get the TEFL teaching certificate), and going to interviews all around Rome. 

On Saturday I decided my mission would be to find a place to live. I had been living in Cesano (a small town on the outskirts of Italy) while I was taking the TEFL course. But since that was done it was time to move…

            I bought a Porta Portese, which is an Italian newspaper that comes out on Tuesdays and Fridays and started looking for places to live. All places are advertised in Italian so deciphering the classifieds was an adventure in itself. The first places that struck me was the place I ended up moving into. It is right near St. Peters, which is the city center of Rome and a very ideal place to live but also very expensive. I found out when I visited why it is so cheap…I have 5 roommates, and I share a room with 2 other girls. Although this is very overwhelming considering I don’t understand 95% (no...99%)of all the conversations they have, I am adapting to life in this crazy flat and I am slowly getting better at Italian (I have no choice but to speak it!). 

The move to the Italian girls apartment was crazy. Absolute madness. My previous roommates offered to help me and I said I could handle it (that was a bad decision). My luggage weighs well over 150 pounds all combined and I had to go from a bus, to a train, to a bus, to another bus. That might not sound too difficult but when you are crossing Rome's wild streets full of traffic and people, it is very very hard. 

Getting off the train was a little bit stressful because you only have so long before the doors shut and it can get super crowded. Luckily two very nice Italian men helped me make it to my bus stop. At the bus stop I had the pleasure of meeting Sebastian and Valeria, two older Italians who didn’t know each other or me, but made it their mission to help me get to my destination (I have no idea why they were so insistent on helping me, all I know is that I am so grateful that they were there). They rode with me on bus 64, took me across this crazy busy street to bus 881 (Valeria bravely stood out in traffic with her hands up to make all the mopeds stop), and rode that bus with me. The whole time they stayed with me, they were talking to me like I was fluent in Italian. I responded as best as I could in my broken Italian but kept having to repeat “non capito” (I don’t understand) several times. That didn’t stop them from trying to have a full fledged in depth conversation about my plans in Italy though.  I mostly just smiled and nodded.

While we were on our way to my new apartment on bus 881, Sebastian and Valeria(by the way Val, I told Valeria that my sisters name was Valerie and she gave me a hug, haha!) started talking to people on the bus and before I knew it everyone riding 881 was involved in my move, shouting back and forth about where I should stop and who was going to help me. Even an older Italian woman who could not have been any younger than 80 got very involved in my move….a young Italian teenager was the one who ended up taking all of my luggage off the bus for me.

When I arrived at my apartment I met all five of my Italian roommates who are all between 20 and 30. Only one speaks English…they are all very kind and they are AMAZING cooks. Before this, I had been feeling like I was an ok cook, but now I am dreading when I cook in front of them. They also are all very open to sharing all their food with me and all offer me food whenever they can.

Besides the move, I have also been busy with the job search. I have been going to numerous interviews. I finalized at least one job with the Mac Language school. I met with Carmen the woman who is in charge of hiring today. She does not speak English very well (and I can bearly speak Italian) so we have also had some troubles communicating. But today I understood her very clearly when she told me that on Wendsday at my first job, I am going to a school and teaching two classes that are one hour each. Not so bad right? Ok, but they are 2 classrooms full of 20 4-5 year old Italians who can't really speak English. I am worried about keeping control of the classrooms (luckily the classes are early in the morning). Carmen also told me, "You just tell them, you say you have work many times with children." HAHAHA. Yikes. And after that, I am going to evaluate 20 Italians to determine what level of English they are at. Wednesday should be an interesting day...one among many.  

WISH ME LUCK!!! Missing everyone!!! :) xoxoxo.

 

~*roma, italia*~

"Oh Rome, my country...city of the soul."-Lord Byron

Coming back to Rome and teaching English is truly fulfilling a dream of mine. Studying abroad my junior year of college changed my life and I just knew that I had to come back and try to make a life for myself here. I feel so blessed and fortunate to have this opportunity and I know that I could not have done it without the support of my family and friends...it was so hard to say goodbye. 

I left on January 14th and arrived on the 15th after traveling for over 24 hours straight. I finally made it to my apartment in Cesano, which is a suburb on the outskirts of Rome. I will be staying here for one more week and finishing up my TEFL course, and then, hopefully moving into the city. The class has been time consuming and at times nerve wracking-but definitely worth everything. Because it has taken up so much of my time, I haven't had much of an opportunity to revisit the places I came to love so much while I was living here two years ago. Last Tuesday, though, we had a break and I walked up to a park above Piazza del Popolo. It had been a long day, I was tired and still making up the time difference (9 hours), but the sun was going down and I knew I could not miss out on this Roman sunset... 

...I am so glad I didn't.

I have already met some incredibly interesting, funny, kind and unique people. In my TEFL class alone I have people of all ages from all over the US, the UK and Singapore. I am so lucky...

Today I took my roommate Jon around Rome and we saw some of the sights:

I'm blurry but I am in St. Peters square, which is by far the best place I have ever been.

The Colosseum

You always have to make 3 wishes at the Fontana di Trevi, and throw 3 coins over your left shoulder using your right hand...1. wish to return to Rome, 2. wish for happiness in Rome, 3. wish for love in Rome.

The Angels that crown the city. There are probably thousands of statues of angles in Rome, but these two are my favorite.

"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it within us or we find it not." -Ralph Waldo Emerson 

I miss everyone!!! xoxo