My travels over from 27 May to the present day have included nine different camps, and that means nine new Italian Cities. In order from my first location to where I am going to be ending my summer tutoring Italian children in English are as follows:
1. Chiari, Italy --> 1 Week Camp
2. Rome, Italy --> 1 Week Camp
3. Salvaterra, Italy --> 1 Week Camp
4. Sesto Fiorentino, Italy --> 1 Week Camp
5. Marcheno, Italy --> 1 Week Camp
6. Gandellino, Italy --> 2 Week Camp
7. Borno, Italy --> 1 Week Camp
8. Belluno, Italy --> 2 Week Camp
9. Villasanta, Italy --> 2 Week Camp
Every city besides for Rome and Sesto Fiorentino I had already been too. The seven other cities were never place I would have thought of going to if I were just a tourist traveling Italy. I must say I have been to some of the loveliest little towns and met some great people and some not so great...LOL.
The perception of Italians from, at least an American point of view, is their advanced abilities in the kitchen, wine, and love. Let me clear some of these things up for you. Italians for sure can cook but honestly who wants to eat a panini with a brick of bread and two of three circles of salami in the middle??? Not me for sure. SHOOT. Another thing is why is tuna and mayonnaise a staple? And then who thought...well let's make some rice and add anything we have in the fridge into it and eat it all cold? YUCK! But mind you, my opinion is coming from someone who likes ketchup...a lot! Of course having wine with dinner is lovely and having a Peroni beer every once and awhile is a definite bonus. Oh and they have gelato too.
Love can be looked at in different angles. Before studying abroad in Florence in January 2009 I thought that all Italians were friendly and happy go lucky. There are of course some Italian that surely live up to that standard but then there are those others that just fall way short of that expectation. One city I will never go back to visit is Belluno. No offense to any of you that may like this city or have family or any type of connection to this city but I am about to bash it to pieces. The people of Belluno were very trendy and stylish but something the tour books will not tell you is how absolutely WHINEY these cats are!!! Goodness gracious I believe Belluno is one of the most depressed cities in Italy. Of course there were some cool people in Belluno...wait but they were not even Italian...forget that! Just kidding but seriously get your city checked out Belluno! Many of the kids I have had at my camps would come up to us saying, "Mi fa male la testa." My response to this is "Ooo Dio!" (tranlastion: My head hurts, and Oh God). Since when did kids get headaches at sporadic moments at age 6? Time to get up and run it off! hahaha.
But to be kind I have had more pleasurable experiences with Italian children and adults. Overall the Italians are very kind and loving. I will miss many kids I have had at my camps and I only hope the best for them in their future adventures. Even more so, many of the families who were kind enough to host me for one or two weeks have been fabulous and I will miss them incredibly.
As for right now I think that is enough! Time to go back home and eat some yummy Italian food without tuna, mayonnaise, or any of that cold rice crap!
Peace, Love, and Laughter
Stephanie
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