love thursday: new experiences

17 CommentsThursday • February 1, 2007 • by michelle

Some of you know, although most of you don’t, that yesterday I was initiated into the Expats Club. Yes, I’ve been here over 3 years, but time has nothing to do with this membership. You see, in order to be a true Expat in any non-English speaking country, you must teach English.

And I’m finally in.

I’m working for a private language school, but my classes are at a local ; the students are high school age except for one who’s somewhere around my age. After Day 1, I am appreciating and loving new experiences.

The students are motivated, excited, and love to speak. I asked them to introduce themselves to one another, and they went ahead and had mostly correct conversations in English. I was just looking for “Nice to meet you.”

I have two classes, two hours each, back to back, twice a week. The first class has 4 students, and the second has just 2, so they’ll be sure to get a lot of attention. The school supplies all the materials *and* lesson plans, and from the pay they’re offering, I also won’t feel exploited, which is nice.

During the lessons, we’re the only ones in the building except for the cleaning crew. I’ve always loved schools when they’re empty, and I’m free to roam and explore. I hardly think it comes from a naughty “What can I do while others aren’t around?” vibe, as that’s so not me–more of a geeky “all these school supplies to play with” thing.

Of course, in Italian schools, Mother Hubbard’s cupboard is rather bare in that sense, I learned–can you even see the tiny bits of chalk in that picture above on the left?

I did find this, though, which, as far as I can guess, is either used to direct traffic, signal kids to be quiet, or, you know, “signal kids to be quiet”:

In my wandering, I also found one of those nifty coffee-making vending machines. I put in 2 euro because there were no prices listed but figured that should cover it, and then tried to get a cappuccino. Nothing. Caffè macchiato (espresso with a splash of milk)? Nothing. Espresso? Nope.

Finally I pressed some kind of chocolatey thing, which I was sincerely hoping was not the Ciobar-like delight I’ve praised in the past. Even though I love the rich, creamy mixture, I just wanted something to drink for caffeine’s sake.

My new friend delivered. Big time. And then gave me 1, 70 back. That was a 30 centissimi cup of heaven, my friends, and it wasn’t just one of those little espresso shot cups either. How many of those do you think I had during my 4 hours? If you guessed more than one, you’re catching on.

And then, in a move which (yet again) exposed me as a weird foreigner, while a normal person may have been pouring over the first day’s lesson plan, I was taking pictures.

I may be an English teacher, but don’t worry–I’m still a blogger first. I think you’ll see some big differences from those hospital photos I posted (thank goodness).

The atrium:

Some of the decor:

Part of the courtyard:

And finally, the view from the courtyard.

If you look on the left where the houses meet the sea, you can see a tiny bit of the beach:

Happy Love Thursday everyone!

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[tags] love thursday, soverato, calabria, ionian sea, schools, liceo, don bosco, teaching, ESL teaching, terra cotta jars, erasers, desks, courtyards, atria[/tags]