Sciopero

Sciopero. The Italian word for "strike". As in, the workers went on strike because they wanted higher wages. And that is just what happened today. It was my first day of class and there was a strike for all the busses and trains, so I had to take a taxi to get to school...but you know, that's part of the adventure, right? Strikes. Scioperi. So normal for Italy.

The class was great and there are alot of fun people taking the course with me...everyone is mostly from America, one from Canada, and one from Croatia. This course is very informative, alot of work, but a lot of fun! (think of a semester long master's course crammed into 4 weeks)

And I am already seeing how I can apply a lot of this information into my ESL classes this coming school year. And definitely see how this will help me create better English lessons when I go down in teach in Ecuador next summer.

Stay tuned for more....Next Wednesday I start my first day of student teaching!

Ale Viola!!! Forza Fiorentina!

This morning Nicole and I went to the outdoor market by the stadium so I can do a little grocery shopping for vegetables and fruit and such. I LOVE shopping for groceries this way! Anyways, on our way back, we saw all these people wearing purple (the AC Fiorentina color) lined up at the stadium entrance. Naturally, we wanted to find out what was going on, so we walked over there and asked an old man what the commotion was about and we found out that a new player was signing on to join the team and they had this huge ceremony to welcome him...SO fun! I don't know exactly who he was, but he sure was a very handsome Italian soccer player, and that's what matters, right? Ha ha.

Too bad I didn't have my camera with me....

The Italian Adventure begins....

My journey to Florence, Italy, has been a long and eventful one so far, and I am not even in Italy yet! I am sitting at a diner in the London Gatwick airport right now. Just finished lunch - burgers and fries (of course, those of you know about my quest for the world's greatest burger...so far no one has topped Rusty's...but that's another story) - note: now I know why the Brits are not known for their hamburgers. But I am getting ahead of myself and getting off track here. How did I get to this point you may ask? I SHOULD be on a plane halfway to Florence by now, but I'm not.....

Yesterday I departed from Houston and arrived in Atlanta with no problems. Boarded my British Airways flight with ease and settled into my seat, preparing for the long voyage to London. Shortly after, I fell asleep, fully knowing that we would be taking off at any minute. Well, 30 minutes pass by and I awake to the fact that were still sitting on the runway. We hadn't moved one inch! Fantastic. From then on I knew that this journey was going to be an adventure! As expected, we arrived 40 minutes late this morning. Customs was just a sea of people! And now, instead of 2 hrs of a connection time, I was now down to 1 hr 20 min to clear customs, collect my bag from baggage claim, take the train to the international terminal, re-check my bag and get my ticket, go through security - all to make my flight to Florence. Yeah, that didn't happen. By the time I got to the international terminal, I had missed my flight. Praise the Lord! I was able to get on the 3pm flight!! Hence the reason why I am writing to you from a diner in the London airport and not from the air....

Stay tuned for more! This Italian Adventure has only just begun!!!

ps - yes, I DO have my laptop with me this time around!