Tina Eucker

Journey Home

May 29th, 2018-June 8th, 2018

We were up late packing and were up early heading for the airport for the long day ahead of travel and severe Italy withdrawals. We had a very talented taxi driver who was a firefighter and a taxi driver on his off days. Once we got to the airport, we made our way through check-in and through security. Despite the fact that I got stopped by security, the security checks were much less intense and more easy going than in America. Immediately, I thought that it had to do with Italians welcoming people easier than Americans do. It sure made life at the airport a lot easier and a lot less stressful. (Hi Tina, it's Anna. Here's the link about hair checks: https://www.tsa.gov/blog/2016/04/21/asktsa-travel-tips-over-140-characters-hair-pat-downs)

When I was stopped again at the gate for additional screening, Anna told me that I was being stopped because my hair was in a bun and they would test my hands to see if there was bomb or gun powder residue on my hands from touching my bun. I was shocked, this made so much sense. As a White female, I'm not on the list of stereotyped terrorists or plane bombers. I like that the way that I was being tested made logical sense and was based off logic rather than prejudice. On the contrary, I can take my hair out of a bun and remove myself from getting stopped at extra security checks. Whereas people who's ethnicity falls under the societal stereotype of a potential bomber can't just change their hair and not be discriminated against. It's definitely a White Privilege. I actually tested Anna's theory in my next flight flying home from Greensboro. With my hair down, I did not get stopped for extra security.

We made it through customs easily, almost lost Kayli's bag, and ate our first typical American food in weeks. The sadness and jet lag were really kicking in. It was a bittersweet feeling landing back in Greensboro. I was ecstatic to see my mother, and incredibly grateful for how much I have grown culturally in just a few weeks. However, a part of me was really sad that this opportunity has ended. I feel as if there is so much more I need to learn to continue to better myself.

Being home for a week, I noticed a lot of differences and things I questioned with American society. The strangest adjustment was going from living with strangers who turned to friends to being alone most of the time. It was weird not having Kayli to make fun of, Spencer laughing at all my jokes, Hannah to appreciate my nerd comic book nature, Marimar making fun of everyone for being so White,Lilly always being cold, Vanessa drinking wine with me, Anna being absent-minded, and Fabio explaining everything. It was like I suddenly became so close with all these people and just like that they weren't next to me. Another major adaption change is that I felt rushed through a lot of meals. I found myself really wanting to sit and talk with my family, friends, old teammates, or whoever I was at the table with. I found myself trying to eat the olive oil I brought back on everything that I can. I even found that things I used to love like cheese and coffee just don't taste nearly as good as they did in Italy.

Rome

May 27th-28th, 2018

We started the day off by going to breakfast as the seven of us. The food was good, I even ate three croissants. I could already feel the dynamic culture differences between here and Bernalda. Although both places had similar pastries for breakfast, the people working at the coffee bar warned us about people pick-pocketing. I have heard of this happening before, and had experienced it in other parts of Europe. But, it was strange now having to be aware of something that never even occurred to me during the first few weeks of the vacation in Bernalda. We spent a lot of time in class talking about differences between the north and south regions of Italy. Walking into Rome I felt as if I was in a completely new country.

Later that day, we went to McDonald's for a snack. Looking at this restaurant with my American eye, it was very strange to see people drinking beer at the restaurant. Most of the food options were things that we do not have in American McDonald's, such as the bacon egg burger and banana milkshake. The food was exceptionally better than any American McDonald's I've ever been to. Italians care much more about their food than Americans do. And even though Rome is a tourist place, the fast food joints still depict some of the very important things to Italians.

On our second day in Rome we had an American style breakfast in the Vatican and toured the place with an audio tour guide. As a person who does not like crowded spaces, I had been preparing myself for a week to go to a crowded museum. Vatican was so beautiful I was able to hold my own in the crowds for a long time. Normally, I'm not very interested in art or knowing the history behind it. But every room I walked into I was taken aback by how beautiful every part of the room was: the boarders, the walls, the ground, and the ceiling. It was stressful trying to keep everyone together at the same pace. Our individualistic values from the American society was evident during this. We said that we wanted to stick together but people were always going at the pace they wanted. When I was stressing about losing people, it made me really value the collectivist society to avoid this situation. After getting lost from each other multiple times and stressing over the time, we made our way to the Coliseum.

We had a quick lunch and I had a cafe latte the size of my face in order to try and prevent the migraine I could feel coming. Our tour was delayed slightly so we had a long time before our tour. When the tour started, we spent a lot of the time away from the Coliseum in the Rome Gardens. The gardens were beautiful and as hard as I was trying to listen to the information our tour guide was giving, I was distracted by the pain on the right side of my head and Spencer and Marimar making fun of the lady saying "hm" after everything that she said.

I held up pretty good for the first two hours of the tour, and once we went into the Coliseum my head started throbbing almost unbearably and I got so nauseated I actually thought I was going to puke in the middle of the Coliseum. I sat down on the steps and was comforted by Spencer and Marimar. I was trying really hard not to throw my latte up everywhere, or act all individualistic in a collectivist society. Once the tour was over, we went back to Rome to meet up with Anna and Fabio for dinner. I was trying my best to go to dinner but Hannah and Anna could tell something was up. Anna was rubbing the tight nerves out of my neck, while Hannah brought me pain killers. Fabio even made sure I had bread so I could take my medicine. I'm so incredibly grateful that everyone was trying to make me feel better with our last day together. I think that it's shown us how close we've all gotten together over the past few weeks.

We spent our final moments in Rome together eating Gelato by the fountain. I loved having everyone around, even in the crowd. It was just starting to hit me how much I was going to miss everyone.

Pompeii

May 26th, 2018

We packed Vernon up tight and sadly said our final goodbyes to Bernalda as we took off for Pompeii and Rome for the remanding of the trip. I went to Pompeii once when I was seven, and though I didn't have much memory of the physical features of the city, I remember being infatuated with the concept of a city being buried and preserved under ashes. I was so excited to get to see it again.

I was immediately taken aback by the traffic in the city. There were people and cars everywhere. It also took me an hour or so to adjust to being in a tourist place. When we were walking down the crowded streets, there were a lot of venues on the side of the road. One lady who was working there said hi to me, I said hi back and she then followed me a ways to try and get me to buy a hat. I was thrown off by the aggressivness of the sales people. Spencer and Vanessa told me that, from their experienes, if you talk to them they will follow you and continue to try and get you to buy something even if you are walking away. I never remembered seeing this type of sales tactic in the United States.

The first thing that I noticed when walking through the entrance is how incredible the architecture was. .I felt so small compared to the arena that surrounded us. It shows how advanced the Roman society was. The city was massive, and more of it is getting discovered. A part of me felt really humbled walking through the city. I was trying to wrap my head around the idea that an entire city, essentially just vanished. This is something that in today's society, would be on national news. It made me wonder, since Pompeii was a tourist city for wealthy people, what did others think happen to the city?

I think seeing the display of people really took a toll on my heart. I couldn't place it right away, but I think it really put into perspective that anything can happen without warning. These people, having similar economical status to me, woke up one day thinking it was a normal day just to lose everyone within their town. The fear and horror these people endured was evident by their body positions and had placement. Many people had their hands over their mouths while being curled in the fetal position on the ground. The mass terror that the people must've been feeling in their last minutes of life is an emotion that I am incapable of understanding, as I've never experienced something as dramatic as this.It's amazing how things like this never crossed my mind. That anything can happen and days should not be taken for granted.

Farewell Assembly

May 24th, 2018

We started our morning by meeting in a coffee bar to put together the final touches on the small gifts we brought for the teachers and administrators, who warmly opened opened their hearts and school to us during the intense period of testing. No gift will ever be able to demonstrate how incredibly grateful we are to be here. I was given the responsibility to keep Paola's orchid safe, making sure its leafs did not touch anything to cause them to brown.

Once we got to the school, we watched a 30 minute video that some of the students we worked with put together. There was dancing, speeches, acting, and singing involved in it.

After watching the video, a small group of students and Antonio performed a little concert. During one of the songs, basically all the students in room got up and started dancing the Tarantella, a traditional Italian dance, around the auditorium and invited us to join. We sat down and listen to a few more songs. A few of the students came over and grabbed us for dancing. I'm not a dancer, and most of the students could tell. However, we were all smiles and giggles while attempting to dance together. We broke up into two lines of boys and girls. Fortunately, my partner Leo knew exactly what he was doing and was incredibly patient with my lack of rythem.

This ceremony brought tears to my eyes multiple times. It helped me further realize how heartwarming and loving the profession of teaching is. I met so many wonderful faculty members, teachers, and students during my time here. I'm no where near ready to go home. I wish we could have gotten more time here! Maybe, Anna will let me come back next year too!

The photograph in "Farewell Assembly" was taken by Anna Pennell, 2018

Lecce and Gallipoli

May 21st, 2018

After checking out of our mini get away, we made a spontaneous decision to head to a traditional beach town, Gallipoli, on the other side of town in order to keep the ocean breeze during this unpredictably hot day. We ended up crossing a few town and as Anna says "you're never really lost in Italy, you just see something you weren't planning on seeing." And this piece applied as we drove Vernon down the narrow roads of another beautiful city in Southern Italy. Eventually, we ended up at a coastal town with more breathtaking waters and beautiful architecture. Fabio asked us about what the origin of the churches we passed were, as he taught us ways to tell the differences such as the decor along the outside and the type of arches.

We had a lunch by the sea of fresh seafood and traditional southern Italian food. After walking around and shopping a little bit more, we went to Lecce. Lecce architecture is different than any of the other cities we've seen. The city is Baroque style. It was absolutely beautiful. I couldn't even fathom how small I felt walking next to the massive buildings. We dressed very touristy and entered the churches against the rules (wearing tank tops from the hot weather). I was absolutely blown away at how beautiful and detailed the artwork was within the church. People must've spent a great deal of time making the church look perfect. This also shows how much people value religion, as they wanted it to be presented beautifully. Not only that, there were multiple churches around within the city that were all put together magnificently.

We saw a lot more tourist here than any other city we've gone to. A lot of street salesman had paints, sunglasses, and jewelry out. Women balancing baskets of beads on their heads dressed in bright African clothing offered necklaces for sales. The shops were priced higher than any other places, and a lot of stores were together. It was so different going from Bernalda to Lecce. I feel as if I took for granite how beautiful it was to walk down the streets in Bernalda free of other tourist and recognizing majority of people who pass by, going home to streets full of traffic is going to be a real shocker.

After walking around until a few other students and I couldn't walk anymore from being so tired and under the weather, we decided to head home to Bernalda for a pizza dinner.

Cool Caves and Sulfur Swims

May 20th, 2018

Sunny and 75 degrees, the first thing we did to celebrate our day off consisted of laying out by the pool before the boat tour. The water was cold, but the sunshine felt amazing.

After laying out for a few ours, we all got in Vernon the Van and took off to go on our boat tour. We saw some beautiful cliffs, and some clear waters. After going into two beautiful caves, we stopped at a third. Our guide told us that 60,000 year old skeletons were found in it... as well as some woolly mammoths skeletons. Kayli even got excited to see the skeletons. The age of the skeletons shows how long people have been in this area.

We even got to jump in the water and swim to some rocks. I even got a workout in swimming with Kayli on my back after she got nervous in the water. I still cannot get over how beautiful the water was. There were so many different shades of blue and the water was virtually crystal clear. We even stopped at a sulfur springs, which our guide let us jump into before telling us we would smell like sulfur for three days. The water was bubbly and much warmer in places than it was in the other area we went. Being from Florida, I love the ocean. However, the water here is so beautiful I don't think I can ever see the same joy in the Atlantic than I did before.

While I was on the boat in the middle of the water, I realized what a privileged it is to experience the Mediterranean sea in a boat and voluntarily swimming. So may migrants drown in this sea trying to get to a better life, while we're here swimming and talking about how cold the water feels. It's impossible to imagine the fear that the migrants who end up drowning in the sea feel in their last few moments of life. Kayli was panicking when we were swimming and she couldn't touch, as she has a fear of swimming. But trying to imagine being nowhere near shore and having to swim in the cold water is absolutely unimaginable. It definitely made me feel so privileged.

We ended the day with dinner at the same restaurant we ate at the night before. This time we ordered the cheapest wine off the list... and it was still delicious. We were the only people in the restaurant tonight, so the meal went much faster. Everything was so fresh. It's so different going to a restaurant here and having all the food be fresh. Everything tastes so good, it's great that everything eaten here is so fresh and lacks all the GMO's. One of the things I am definitely going to take away from this cultural exchange is creating a greater appreciate for food and fresh food.

Americans take on Alberello

May 19th, 2018

We started our journey to Castro by stopping in a town outside of Bari called Alberello. Our American tourist ways showed as we sat down on the ground and ate lunch in a parking lot. This is something that Italians would never do. Italian culture values cleanliness, and would never put their food near something as dirty as the pavement in a parking lot that is filled with an unthinkable amount of unknown germs. They also really value their food, and would not put their food near where peoples feet are, or where dogs poop.

When we walked around the city, I noticed the shape of the roof. Fabio, our cultural broker, pointed out that this city built their roof in circle shapes. After playing a multitude of guessing games, it was discovered that Alberello built their roofs in circular shapes without cement. It was finally reveled that the roofs were circular and could be removed easily to avoid tax collectors. Tax collectors took taxes from the houses who had roofs, so therefore removing the roofs would save families money that they needed. The tax collectors were ruthless, and would take anything if the people did not have the money to pay them. This means that they would take their livestock among other things that were essential for surviving.

The cities physical markers were a lot different than those in cities we had seen before. The city resembled Greek architecture, with white buildings and markings on the roofs. The city roofs had zodiac, Christian, primitive symbols on them. Each of the Zodiac signs had a symbol that was different from the tradition. They were astrologically assigned instead of just animals. For example, I am a Cancer. My traditional symbol is a crab. However, here my symbol moon. There was a variety of Christian symbols such as omega, the trident, and many circular symbols. As a person with the perspective of a non religious person, I only know many basic symbols for Christianity such as a cross or a fish. The towns primitive symbols showed a unity between religions. Such as including a Menorah. As my time in Italy increases, I have found truly embedded religion is to the society.

My Florida legs and weak immune system were quickly compromised by steep hills and radiating sun rays. After sitting in the shade and getting some gelato, we left the beautiful, unique, Greek influenced city to continue our vacation to Castro.

After viewing our homes for the next few nights, getting some drinks, and exploring the beauty of the Adriatic sea it was time for dinner. We sat at a different table than Fabio and Anna, and decided to order Presecco. However, we accidentally ended up ordering the most expensive wine on the menu. We definitely really looked like under aged tourists. However, the wine was very delicious. Our American side continued through the night as the dinner prolonged longer than what we were used to for American meals. The food was good, but it was difficult for us to stay awake during all five courses. After four hours, we headed to our rooms to get a good nights sleep.

The photograph in "Americans take on Alberello" was taken by Anna Pennell, 2018

Matera

May 15th, 2018

My class and I read Carlo Levi's "Christ Stopped at Eboli." When Levi's sister came to visit him, the train dropped her off in Matera. She told him about her surprising encounters, which he recounts in the book, detailing the children who were sick with malaria and begging her for food, money, and/or medicine. She was welcomed into the caves that the people lived in, and was distraught by the children wrapped in blankets on the ground, shivering with fever chills. Levi also went on to talk about how people were living in Matera's caves (the sassi) as recently as 1952 and were very poor. Once this book was released, Southern Italy was called "the Shame of Italy." This part of Italy received little financial support from the Italian government after the war, which left Southern Italy to struggle financially compared to Northern Italy.

Matera is going to be named the capital of European Culture in 2019. Almost every time I talked to the students at school, they asked me if I had gone to Matera yet. And when I said no, they said I should go. I could tell that the students were proud of Matera and how it was being recognized by all of Europe.

I've seen a lot of places across the world and I can honestly say that Matera might be one of the most beautiful. I really did not know what to expect about going, but had a feeling it was going to be beautiful. Levi often discussed how the mountains within this region were dusty, brown, and gross. On our way to Matera, I noticed how green and lifelike the mountains were. Everything was so aesthetically pleasing and the mountains look healthy instead of dying as Levi described.

Once we got there, we walked around the town, went into caves, went into churches, took lots of pictures, went through museums, and were around tourists for the first time since we got to Italy. The caves were so cool, and everything was intelligently put together, such as making sure that the caves were at a good level to be warmed or cooled by the sun to provide a form of air conditioning. Also, everything in the caves were used in practicality. For example, a second small bed was in front of the larger bed. The smallest child would sleep in this during the day, then would sleep in bed with the parents at night, and the larger child would sleep in the small bed to allow for the most room in the big bed. The families had room for their chickens under the bed, and their house across from the bed. The wild life were essential for financial reasons, so families would do anything that they could to keep their wildlife from being stolen or taken by the ruthless tax collectors.

The churches were spectacular. The paintings on the wall were so detailed and preserved so well. Being built into the center of the caves, I could tell that religion was a central foundation for the Italian society. Both Muslims and Christians lived in this area, which showed that people of all religions got along and religion was valued in everyone. This shows how collectivist Southern Italy has been. The people made sure that everyone got the opportunity to attend a church service for the religion that they associated with.

All photographs taken in "Matera" were taken by Anna Pennell, 2018

Market Shopping and Mountain Jumping

May 13th, 2018

Kayli really wanted to go market shopping, so Hannah, Lilly, and I all agreed to wake up early on our day off and go to the market. Personally, I'm not a big fan of shopping or crowded spaces. I did not know how long I was going to last.

We took a beautiful trip to the Southern Dolomites for a little excursion. The ride there was hilly with sharp turns. The town was so beautiful, it was a lot more mountainous than Bernalda. Being from Florida, I'm not used to all the mountain walking. We walked around the town a little bit and then got a ride up to the zip line spot. From there, the bus driver told me in hard signals and some English we had to walk up to the top. I got out of it that the walk was going to take about 20 minutes, and we had a series of turns and walks uphill.

To start off, we were one of the first people there and spent about an hour and a half there before the place got busy... and another hour before it got uncomfortably busy. The clothes on the market were inexpensive and some items could even be bargained down further. If this market would have been in America, the place would have been jammed packed by 7:30 AM. I believe that this shows how the people here are much less materialistic than the people in America. Nonessential materials, such as lots of clothes and name brand items, mean a lot more to Americans than Italians. Also, the market crowd showed that time is a lot less important in Italy than in America. Americans would have been there bright and early, and Italians here are a lot more laid back about time.

All photographs in "Market Shopping and Mountain Jumping" were taken by Anna Pennell, 2018

We gave Spencer a GoPro to video everyone. When I was strapping into the zip line, I was the entertainment for everyone because I was struggling so much to get into the harness. I gave a good laugh to the people who were nervous to go on the zip line. Fortunately, Spencer had gone first so there is no video evidence of my struggle. Both parts of the zip line had breathtaking beauty. They went so fast, it was so much fun.

I'm thankful that I used my inhaler that morning, because it was such a hike to get to the top of the mountain. My legs felt the burn. However, the view was absolutely incredible and that distracted me from how tired my legs and body were. Kayli, Lilly, Hannah, Marimar, Spencer, and I all thought we did not have to hike up a super steep part of the mountain that appeared so far away from us. However, we were wrong. I'm really proud of us for all sticking together and making sure that no one got left behind. We spent the time hiking discussing the order which we would go across the zip line to keep everyone's anxiety at a minimum. I decided I would go whenever because I was not nervous for the zip line.

Welcoming the New Americans

May 12th, 2018

The school we are at in Bernalda is very different than the ones in America. The very first thing I noticed was quality of materials. The desks and chairs looked discolored and I assumed had been used by many students over many years. Also, every classroom had lots of windows, which is very different from America because many classrooms I've been in have no windows. The windows and natural light created a more welcoming and homey vibe in the Italian classrooms. The classrooms had some form of sheets that were used as blinds. I thought this was innovative and creative, but also showed that finances are low.

The students were eager to talk to us and asked a lot of questions. The questions ranged from why Americans eat pineapple on pizza to how American schools are different and similar to Italian schools. Students would talk to us in small groups and they would often talk in Italian to each other to try and collectively form an English sentence. It was obvious that students wanted each other to succeed as a collective goal, showing a much more collectivist society than America. The different levels of English generally varied based on grade level. Typically, older students spoke English at a higher level than younger students. Many students dressed similarly, what I would call "hipster" or "edgy." This involves lose jeans and darker colored clothing.

The structure of school is much different in this school than any other high school I have heard of in America. For starters, it's five years instead of four. Also, the teachers change classrooms instead of the students. I have a lot of mixed feelings about this because I think it's good that less people are moving in the hallways, but I wonder if students get restless being in the same room all day. When I would ask the students about this, they often responded by saying it's always what they have done and they do not know differently. I thought this was really interesting because the students did not judge how other schools switched classes and therefore, I should not judge how they switch classes. There is also no prom or type of dance like there is in America, I thought this was really interesting because I thought prom was universal in Western society. Also, the tests that allow students to go to university appears a lot more strict than that in America. Finally, students go to school on Saturday because they only go to school for five hours at a time. Students were also indifferent about going to school on Saturday because they said they did not know differently.

I noticed that students were often on their cell phones, holding side conversations, or sleeping when certain teachers would lecture. In one lesson I observed that took place in Italian, it appeared as if some students were not paying attention. However, when stern teachers came to lecture, like Paola, students paid a lot more attention. I thought that this was really interesting to observe. This happens in American high schools as well, sometimes the teacher has an affect on how well a student pays attention during class.

The Italian gym class I observed put together a really good volleyball game. I've sat through a lot of ugly gym class volleyball games in my life and this was probably the best gym class volleyball I've ever seen. We all worked together to find ways to communicate to each other through pointing, facial expressions, hand signals, talking slowly, and attempting to speak the opposite language. It was so much fun. Hannah had not played volleyball in a long time and was a little bit nervous to play, so whenever she did something well we would clap. Eventually, the students picked up on this and started to clap too.

All pictures taken in this blog post "Welcoming the New Americans" were taken by Anna Pennell, 2018

Internship at 11, Beach at Noon

May 11th, 2018

We left the school for the day to head to Fabio's brothers farm in Metaponto. To my surprise, we made a quick stop at the beach. The beach is my happy place. The six of us spent a lot of time walking around, talking, joking, and admiring the beautiful site. Anna is quite the photographer, and some of the pictures turned out amazing. I even forgot to take my name tag off so I really looked like a teacher on the beach. The jellyfish were huge! And, the beaches were much more clear and much more calm than the beaches I'm used to going to in Florida. It really amazes me how someone could say that this place is not beautiful.

Next, we stopped at Fabio's brother's house for lunch. The lunch was fantastic and the scenery was beautiful. The architecture of the house was gorgeous and the farmland was breathtaking. Since we were on the farm, everything was fresh and grown and cooked by Fabio's family. I felt so special being able to eat such incredible food. And a bonus, Fabio's brother even taught Kayli how to peal an orange on her own so I no longer have to peal all her oranges for her.

As if life could get any better, we had some furry friends and some not so furry friends as company at our stay at Anna's in laws. They had five dogs and they were so friendly, sweet, and adorable. My favorite animals are turtles and boy, was I happy to see a turtle who was friendly enough to stay out of his shell. Metaphorically speaking, I think this shows how connected the people are in Bernalda to each other. The fact that the turtle did not hide from a total stranger shows its comfort level. This demonstrates that the people and creatures of Bernalda are a close knit community who warmly welcome outsiders.

Anna's sister in law told us we could have a cooking lesson. I was so excited about this because I always want to eat fresh food. She helped us make a calzone from scratch. The recipe was simple. I know there was a long time in Bernaldean history that there was a time that the only food available was flour and water. And because of this, most of their food is cooked just with those ingredients. With the addition of yeast, those were basically the only ingredients in the crust of the calzone. The dough was a lot tougher than I thought, but I had so much fun trying to communicate with his family who did not speak English.

After spending lots of time with some good food, good people, and good furry friends, we made our way to the ruins of Metaponto. I would think by now that I would become used to the beauty of Bernalda, but somehow I am blown away every time. The tour group of the ruins was lead by three boys who I had worked with in a group at school. The boys were sweet and spoke English well. However, after telling us a few facts about the city, it started to rain and the ruins tour was cut very short.

Metaponto was the city that Greek legends believed Gods would come to eat and live. The city, even though it was just ruins, was beautiful and large enough to be a city of some sort. I think it's really interesting how even though it is a Greek legend, Italians still told it. I knew that the Greeks lived in parts of Bernalda because it was so close to Greece. However, with the way Italians talked about the city and history led me to believe that the history between the two ethnic groups is good. Anna mentioned that Bernalda was one of the few places in the world where people from all different cultures and religions lived together. I think the kindness, welcoming nature, and wanting everyone to succeed is still evident in this culture.

After leaving the Ruins, we went to a museum that identified and explained the different type of artifacts found within the area. I was so impressed by the conditions of the artifacts, some of them looked like they had been in dirt, but others almost looked brand new. Anna told me the ground was very sandy and it helped keep them in shape. Other artifacts were found in tombs that prevented them from aging quickly. I normally do not have much interest in museums and historical artifacts this was holding my attention very well. One really exciting thing I learned that the Greeks used lions as borders for their buildings because it symbolizes courage.

We went back to Fabio's brother house for dinner. Fabio's sister in law finished cooking the calzones for us so dinner would not eat too late. Everything we ate that night was so good. The wine, beer, thick pizza, calzones, salad, and pies for dessert were just amazing. Our day spent with Fabio's family was incredible, so as a class, we decided we wanted to cook for them to repay them for their hospitality.

All phtographs in this post "Internship at 11, Beach at Noon" were taken by Anna Pennell, 2018

Introducing Your 2018 Jet Lag Champions

May 7th, 2018

What an adventure I have had so far and it has only been a few days! After four airplane trips, airplane coffee, a five hour car ride, and attempting to function on little sleep for three days, I finally made it. The lack of sleep and jet lag was so rough I actually fell asleep in the car on the way to Bernalda... one of only a few times that has happened in my life. When I was awake, the drive down from Rome was beautiful. However, there were multiple low clouds and rain that made some views difficult.I thought this was ironic because Anna told us it hardly rains in the southern region of Italy! Fortunately, there is a whole car ride back to experience the beauty all over again.

I have family from Cyrus and have been to Europe a few times when I was younger. Because of having family over here, I knew a little bit about Western European culture. Because of this, I had a feeling I would not feel or act like a total American. However, I was completely wrong. After reading multiple articles about things Americans do, trying to order things with people who do not speak English, and drinking much stronger and shorter coffee I realized I am 100% American. Italian coffee tastes much better than American coffee, however it's much stronger and shorter-like than American coffee. I love milk or cream in my coffee. I had expected to have cappuccinos multiple times a day. I did not know that Italians did not drink cappuccinos after breakfast time. Therefore, my plan of spending all my money on cappuccinos is out the window.

Once we arrived in Bernalda, I laugh at myself for the amount of American things that happened. For example, Kayli ordered chocolate chip gelato thinking it was strawberry. Then she was so embarrassed, she just kept her chocolate chip. The coffee shop guy laughed at me, but found joy, in me wanting to drink cappuccinos at all times of the day. We ordered food slower than Italians, I smiled at everyone who stared at me, we do not stand to eat, and many many more. I 100% stick out as a foreigner.

I'm really happy we have Fabio as a cultural broker for us. It makes me feel slightly less of an outsider. It takes a certain kind of talent to be able to balance two cultures so well. He has explained a lot of the Italian ways of culture: such as what to say when thanking hosts, the different types of olive oil, how you never leave food on your plate, the history of Bernalda, the pace which Italians walk, what wine to order when... and so many more things. Without him, I wouldn't have picked up on these things. This could've caused me to do something that would be offensive to the people here.

I can already tell the three weeks I spend here will change my perception of life, teaching, and things that I value. I have been the new kid before, so I can relate to students that are new to school.

Once when my boyfriend was telling me about his ADD, he said "people can say they understand what it's like, but because they do not experience it, they will never fully understand." Now that I am in a country where I do not speak the language, I feel as if my perception is changed and I will have gained a relationship for second English speaking students that I could have never gained without this experience.

All Photographs in this blog post, "Introducing the Jet Lag Champions of 2018" were taken by Anna Pennell, 2018

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