Wow..it's been too long since I've wrote in my blog!! Anyways, the month of April was pretty much filled up with workin, teaching, and my trip to ROME/ISTANBUL!
First of all, work has been going great. I really enjoy the kids and adults I am teaching and having conversation with. They are all great families with amazing children. I am lucky to have found them. I've gotten my work schedule into a routine now for the week with 4 families, 7 kids total, 1 private lesson with a female adult, and of course, my time with the host family's son, Giuseppe. I think I could take on a few more lessons honestly, and I am currently looking for some takers. My friend that is in charge of a large student organization for the University of Palermo put my picture and an advertisement on the Erasmus website..you can check out the website if you want..it's a great site to learn about the city, culture, and food of Palermo, student life in Palermo, and the main attractions all over Sicily! Check out the website: Palermo Erasmus Life. If you look at any of the Erasmus photos, you will notice that I am pretty much an Erasmus student! It's been a great experience getting to know so many people in this group because I now have friends from all over the world, literally! It's amazing to know you have connections like that- and I know some of these people will be great friends of mine for the rest of my life!
My trip to Istanbul was amazing! I got to see my friend, Nazli, who lives and is from Istanbul. She went to Coe College with me and is a great friend! It was great to see her and her life in Istanbul. She showed me an amazing time and what a week in her life is like..which was unforgettable! I got to take a boat tour along the Bosphorous Sea that separates the Asian and European sides of Istanbul. It was beautiful! I also enjoyed many delicious Turkish foods and restaurants, visited their awesome mall while we did some shoppin for Nazli's big birthday/graduation party! That party was definately one of the highlights of my trip..along with this night and many other great nights at the fantastic clubs they have, I got to meet some of Nazli's friends. They were all great people and showed me a good time! Her family was also very generous, treated me well, gave me a place to stay in their wonderful home, and made me feel so comfortable. It was really nice to spend time with her family, because mine is in the States and I miss them so much! So it was great to feel a part of another for awhile :) Istanbul is definitely a place I want to visit in the future again and could even see myself possibly living there...if I can stand being away from my family again for so long!! :)
I have definitely been a bit homesick lately..I've been missing "the small stuff"...little things here remind me of characteristics of my family and friends that I miss so much. It is hard being away from the people that you used to be able to see everyday and now don't and haven't in 4 months! I knew it would be this way, and I'm not regretting the decision to come to Italy, but I have really learned a lot about myself and my relationships back home and how important they are to me. I feel almost a bit lucky because a lot of the time, like they say, you don't know how much something means to you until they're gone- well, I have luckily been able to realize these things now and can still write, talk, and see (on skype) the people that really mean the world to me. I am having a great time here in Palermo and traveling, but the people back home still and always be an important part of me.
On a not so deep subject, :) , I am enjoying my students and lessons..I am still growing as a teacher and it is definitely a challenge to learn how to teach without any prior experience, lessons/books to go by, or any techniques taught to teach ages 5-37! Like my students, I have found that I really am growing as a teacher and learning just like they are. Each week I learn something new that could help my students or learn from mistakes I have made. Maybe I have not been the best private English teacher these families have ever seen, but I think I have made a difference in each of these students..which is something that I am proud of. I am continuing to grow and have learned a lot from the experience of teaching..a lot that I would not have learned if I was only being a nanny for children. I will only be teaching the children for a little while longer because in the summer, I will only be an au pair for my host family and another family that is relatives of theirs. I may keep some of my older private lesson students and make the trip back to Palermo once in awhile. Not sure the definite schedule and plan for the summer yet..it is still being decided.
To this day, I still meet new people every week and I love it! Every time I go somewhere, there are new opportunities, experiences, and people to see and meet! I have been to some new clubs and restaurants, ran to some new parts of the city, and continued to make great lifelong relationships with some great friends. Sometimes, the best days are just being able to lay on the beach in the sun with friends, some locally made vino, music, throw around a ball, and relax...I have a feeling that these kind of days are setting me up for a preview of a great summer to come! I am very excited for the summer because I get to live closer to the beach in Mondello with my host family, have some great adventures and trips planned with my amazing friends, hopefully getting a chance to visit HOME in July!!, my friend from High School is coming to visit in early June, and right after that my mom is coming to visit!! I can tell already that this will be a summer I will never forget! :)
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