Saturday, October 10, 2015

Living in the Moment

Good Afternoon from Italy!  These last few days haven't been as easy in the classroom.  I think the excitement somewhat wore off and my attempts to keep their attention were not as successful, especially once we started to work on "boring stuff" like grammar, conjugating verbs, and practicing possessives.  I really challenged myself to come up with things to do that would keep them engaged but just culturally the children are rowdy and restless.  It's definitely something I need to plan for and that is my goal for next week, to keep them engaged a bit more.  I feel like my mother, except they probably don't understand that I am scolding them because I am doing so in English. :)  I am however pretty proud of myself, I've been out running errands around town and I have challenged myself to try to communicate with people in Italian.  Who knew it would feel so rewarding to ask a store clerk where the shampoo is and how much it costs?  Haha that's been my excitement for the week.  I am super excited to visit Florence tomorrow and see the beautiful sights!  The weekend after next I will be going to Venice.  Isn't my life grand?  I am just overwhelmed by the amount of people who have reached out to tell me they enjoy reading my blog.  I didn't know it would be so popular and I am so flattered that I am not sitting here typing to myself. :) The maids at the school are such sweethearts, they try so hard to communicate and half the time I just sit there and nod my head, having no idea what I am agreeing with.  I have come to the conclusion that kindness is not seen or heard because I feel so much kindness around me without having understood anything.  However, I did just ask them where the towels were located though and they understood!  That's a feat because Katie and I have been using scarves as towels the last few days.  The food the school has been making us this week has been so interesting.  Last night we had pasta with a creamy sauce and mushrooms and it was delicious!  The school food is always given in two courses, the first is always some sort of pasta and the second is usually a salad and some sort of meat.  It's always so so good.  It puts the American school food to shame.  We did some exploring later at night the other day and Macerata really comes alive at night!  Store's business hours are really weird most of the time, they are open really late and usually close down a few hours early during the afternoon.  I can't tell you how many times I have gone to get something and the store ends up being closed.  I signed up for the gym this week!!  I'm so excited to use some of these carbs I am taking in.  I had my first workout Thursday and that was the first night I slept through the night.  It's taking me a lot longer to adjust to the time difference than I was expecting.  My main thoughts at the end of this week is just how much time I spend at home really living in the moment and being present.  Here most of the time I don't have the option to use my phone or be talking to people 24/7.  That break has really opened my eyes to how much real life I have been missing out on looking at a screen.  Now that is the only way I can connect with my loved ones, but when I get home that is something I am going to try and be better at.  I hope everyone had a great week and I will update everyone on beautiful Florence!

"Love the moment and the energy of that moment will spread beyond all boundaries." -Corita Kent

Ciao!
Linsey

1 comment:

  1. I loved your insights on the amount of time we all are missing from our lives now that cell phones and computers have entered them. Good conversation is losing ground because of the distraction when we are trying to give someone our undivided attention. (We aren't!... nor are they giving it to us.) I'm guilty of it, too, and your observations are reminding me that it's time to connect more with those I love. Thanks, Lins!

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