Back on the Bike!!

May 8, 2009

I didn’t have class until 10 so I woke up around 8:30 and got ready for school.  Rita has a couple of bikes that she lets kids who stay with her ride.  I rode the bike into the city for the first time this morning.  It was sort of scary because I forgot what’s its like to ride the bike Italy. The whole time I felt reminded of my time in Verona and riding the bike as a missionary in a skirt.  This time it was a lot better because I was wearing pants and I didn’t have to wear a dorky beat up helmet.   Also, I noticed that I’m really out of shape since I haven’t exercised for a couple of weeks.  It’s really hilly here in Siena so there are a lot of ups and downs.  Hopefully I can get in shape soon.  As I got into the city, I locked up my bike in Piazza Gramsci, which is the piazza where the buses stop and walked over to the school. 

Today was pretty interesting.  There was another girl that observed Prof Monaci’s first two classes.  She is from New Jersey and she’s here studying at the University of Foreigners in Siena.  Her name was Liz.  She primarily studies Italian, which is her major at the University of Maryland.  The first class was a 2^nd class.  During that hour, 4 girls from California who are here on an exchange program also joined us.  They were all about sixteen years old.  They were all of Mexican descent which is pretty typical of Californians.  They had been in Italy only about a week but they were all dressed like Italians.  I think they were trying to fit in.   Professor Monaci started with presenting the girls but as soon as he started class everyone just turned around and started chatting and he spent time trying to get them to be quiet.  It seems like the same cycle over and over again.  Finally, Liz suggested that the teacher divide the class into groups and have one of the exchanged students in each group.  He was like, “Oh yeah, that’s a good idea.”  He divided them into four groups and then had each American student join one of the groups.  I think Professor Monaci was really surprised at how well this works.  He commented to me, “This is SO not traditional here in Italy!”  I told him how it is fairly common in the US because so many people can have a change to practice the language at once instead of just one person being able to talk and everyone else sitting around bored.  Liz, and I started walking around and making sure that everyone was staying on task.  I helped out some of the students who had questions about how to form certain questions in English.  I seriously couldn’t believe how awesome group work really is.  In one particular group the girl from California was named Tzitziqui, (it’s an Aztec name).  The Italian girls were so cute because they were asking really good questions in English about what she liked to do on the weekends and whether she had a boyfriend or had a car.  I suggested to Professor Monaci that during the last 5 minutes or so someone from each group give a little introduction to the girl that they had been interviewing.  He was like, “Oh yeah, that’s a good idea also!”  They all did pretty well but not once did I hear him say something positive to the students.  Man, these teachers really need to learn how to lighten up!

Our next class that we taught was another 2^nd class and we didn’t have the exchange students anymore so Liz and I did a bit of conversation with the students.  We went around the room and had each student say a little bit about her/himself and then we asked any questions that we had for them.  They told us about their hobbies and soccer teams.  I really wish that we could have divided into two groups and Liz could have taken on group and I could have taken the other but neither of us suggested it and even though I thought it had worked out in the prior class I don’t know how the Professor felt about it.  So there were a few of problems with kids chit-chatting but from the very first time it happened I gave them one of my scary stern looks and let the know who’s boss when the boss is speaking.  They were pretty good after that.  I really think that smaller groups are the key, especially if you have more than one person managing the class. 

The next class that we taught was a 5^th class.  The teacher started right away with an interrogation of one student on the Poem of T.S. Eliot, The love song of J. Alfred Prufrock.  I was like, “YAWN!”  It was mostly because I haven’t read the poem but Professor Monaci was such a stud!!  He was drilling into one poor student about the comparison between Victorian age poetry compared to contemporary poetry and making him draw connections from Lord of the flies and Ulysses and Charles Dickens!  I would have probably died right on the spot but the student did fairly well.  The teacher threw so many things at him that it was difficult for him to stay on topic but I think he used really good vocabulary and that he did well overall.  I think that that interrogation was more of a university level.  I was impressed.  The student said really good things about good and evil and how the things they have read bring up the question if it is something innate or if it is something that results from our surroundings.  He brought in a little bit of Freud and…pretty much, I think he did awesome. 

After class I came to the library.  I got to talk to JR on video chat, which is like the best thing that’s happened all week!  And now hillary and I are going to take a walk about the city.  We’re going to Lucca tomorrow so I’ll write all about that on Monday.  I love you all!!