MaritaUndergraduate
Exceptional Education |
MaritaUndergraduate
Exceptional Education |
Week four was the week of spring break. I went on a mini tour of Italy with my best friend. My closest friend since preschool flew into Florence the Friday of break and we spent the next nine days traveling over Italy. We spent a few days in Florence exploring the sights and nightlife. Florence is always a fun city. We spent one day in Pisa to see the leaning tower and the quad. Seeing the iconic tower in person is rather surreal. The tower, Duomo, and Baptistry are an absolutely stunning sight. I find it so incredible that people hundreds of years ago built these beautiful buildings. The carvings in the walls are smooth and perfectly carved. The buildings are all incredibly tall, made from marble floor to ceiling. The majority of our trip was spent in Cinque Terre, five medieval fishing towns, now a large tourist attraction. Since we went in April, there were very few tourists so we were able to enjoy the cities with fewer people. The weather was unfortunately cold, windy and a little rainy. The weather did not stop us, however, from hiking between the cities. We are both fairly avid hikers and were somewhat prepared for the trails. We did not anticipate how steep some parts of the trail would be or how difficult some of the terrain would be. These unexpected parts were a fun challenge. The steep rocks we climbed were incredibly rewarding to look down on after we hiked to the top. Every step we took gave us a stunning view of the hillside and sea. The breathtaking view distracted us from the tough trail. At the top of the hill between Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare, we stumbled upon a stray cat hotel. Someone had built small homes and left out food for the stray cats on the hill. This person had also named the cats and had their names carved into a piece of wood above where the cats ate. The cats were very friendly and the cat hotel was a lovely surprise at the top of the hill. When we finally made it to Monterosso after hiking all day, the weather had taken a turn for the worst. The wind was cold and the sun was completely hidden behind the dark clouds. This did not stop us however from taking a dip in the sea. We stood on the beach in our suits contemplating whether we were making the right decision by getting into the water for quite a while. After some back and forth we counted down and ran into the sea. The water was shockingly cold and once it was above our chest we ran out because it was far too cold to be just wading in. We dried off in the cold wind and watched a little boy try to use a piece of driftwood to surf, he was clearly unbothered by the freezing cold water. We went out to dinner in Monterosso. By the end of dinner we were both delusionally tired from the hike and were a giggling mess on the train ride back to Riomaggiore. We slept like rocks that night. We spent the next day recovering from the hike and by laying out by the water and exploring the shops in town. The next day we hiked between Riomaggoire and Manarola. This hike is the shortest in distance, but we quickly learned it was also the steepest. This hike required a lot of our strength to climb the uneven rocky trail. This hike was also incredibly rewarding to finish. We celebrated with gelato in Manarola, both discovering new flavors that became our favorite from the whole trip. Cinque Terre is unbelievably gorgeous. The hill sides are completely carved with terraced farming, growing grapes, lemons and oranges, and other vegetables on a smaller scale. Cinque Terre was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. As a finale to our vacation, we did a cultural immersion with my host family. My host family was very excited to have another American stay in the house for a few days. My host mother and brother welcomed me back with open arms and dried fruit. They were both very welcoming of my friend. We all chatted for sometime before dinner. We continued to chat over dessert. For lunch on Saturday, after wandering the city, my friend and I went to a small restaurant in town. As we were being sat, my host mother and her fiancé walked into the restaurant. We had a fantastic lunch together, my host family was excited to have my friend try all the different classic Italian foods and wine. By the end of lunch my friend was stuffed and had a few more glasses of wine than she anticipated. We then went to my host mothers favorite coffee shop for an after lunch expresso. It was a wonderful adult Italian hangout. In the evening we hung out with my host brother and a few of his friends, which was a different experience. Meowleena missed me very much while I was away, she spelt on my bed everyday I was gone. I am reminded of how incredibly lucky I am to be in the situation I am in. My host family are some of the most warm and caring people I have ever met. I could not imagine spending two months with anyone else.
I am also so lucky to have my lifelong friend visit me while I am away. While I am not very homesick, I do miss my friends back in the states. It was great to see one of my closest friends.
3 Comments
Dr. Patti
4/19/2023 04:49:22 pm
Hi Marita. It is wonderful to view your blog posts and see what an amazing experience you are having student teaching in Italy. I loved reading about your hike in Cinque Terre. I have only been to Italy once but I visited Florence and Cinque Terre and remember them fondly. I also really enjoyed reading about your experiences teaching. In particular, I like the way you really thoughtfully reflected on what went well and not so well in your lessons. I could not be more happy for you to be finishing up your undergrad journey in this way. Enjoy every moment!!
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Dr. Rafferty
4/19/2023 05:41:59 pm
Marita! I am so glad that you're having a wonderful time and taking advantage of all the opportunities! I LOVE Italy. It is one of my favorite countries that I've visited; your pictures are awesome and making me miss it! Continue your deep reflections on your experiences inside and outside of the classroom--what a wonderful way to finish your last semester as an undergraduate student. Kind regards, Dr. Rafferty
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Dr. Budin
4/19/2023 06:10:32 pm
I'm so glad you are doing well there. Your photos are just gorgeous. I'm sure you are learning just as much through all of the sight seeing as you are in the classroom. You will be a well rounded teacher in the end!
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AuthorHi! I'm Marita Miller an exceptional education student at Buffalo State student teaching in Siena Italy. Follow my journey! Archives
May 2023
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