04/20/2026

Dear reader, 

Just last week, I officially found out that I will be staying with the same host family, and I was so excited! Reading their letter and messaging them that I officially knew was amazing. I definitely felt a wave of relief knowing that I would not have to make new connections and learn a new family's dynamics. With that in mind, I will remain flexible and know that even though I'm with the same family routines, dynamics, and people change over time. My biggest worry is that I NEED to learn how to ride a bike. Well, need in the sense that Ilara and her friend want to "go by bike" with me to school. UMMMM I am a grown woman who never learned to ride a bike.  I haven't tried, though. I told my host mom that I will attempt to learn. What's the worst? I bust by butt on Jayhawk Blvd? It won't be the first or last time...   

Since I was assigned my Italian family, I went ahead and finished my shopping and stitching for family gifts, since I knew  I would be with my Italian family. I got Ilara a dandelion that is trapped in resin (because I taught her about wishing on a dandelion), I got Fede a mini FIFA cup because the USA is hosting FIFA this year, and I made two felt bookmarks for Michele and Alessia. 

Today I got my school and class placements. I am so excited to be in third and fourth grade because I love upper elementary and will be student teaching in second grade this fall. I am beyond excited and have so many activities and craft ideas planned. I am planning on emailing both 3*b and 4*b teachers this week, introducing myself, and sharing some lesson ideas with them. I will most likely send it in English, and then, below, use Google Translate to put it in Italian. I will disclose that I used google translate incase something doesn't make sense. 

For my class gifts, I purchased sunflower keychains and a couple of Kansas books. One idea I am really excited about is using the S is for Sunflower (Kansas ABCs) to create an Italian or Carpi ABC book with the class. I think this could be a great way to share both cultures and get students excited. I also found a book called One Kansas Farmer, which is about agriculture in Kansas and is a math book. I also plan to make paper bag puppets with Are You My Mother and have the kids re-enact the story with the animals they create. Lastly, I want to do parts of speech self-portraits. I did this with my literacy focal student as a test run, and she loved it. It is so crafty, funky, and incorporates grammar. Obviously, these are all ideas, and I am going to remember to be flexible and open to everything. 

Overall, I am excited to get back to Italy and cannot wait to see my family overseas. ❤️

03/21/2026 

Dear reader, 

It's crazy to think but in less than 50 days, I will be traveling across the world to Italy! I am so excited to go back, but also anxious and worried. I like to think I am a pretty chill traveler, but leading up to the travel is always full of anxiety for me. Originally, my anxiety revolved around ICE and a wrongful illegal deportation. Now that we are possibly living at the start of WWIII, it's about nuclear and missile strikes. Lucky for me, all my anxiety goes away once I am on the plane. I know realistically, planes are safer than cars, I am a USA citizen,  and everything is figure-outable.  

This spring break, I have started collecting small Kansas goodies and checking Dollar Tree for gifts! I purchased a magnet way back when I saw the Wizard of Oz museum in October, and in Lawrence, I picked out a cute key kansas chain, and a miniature World Cup trophy.  I spent some time quilting some small gifts as well. I made a red, white, and blue table runner with a set of matching coasters. I chose red, white, and blue fabric with poppy flowers because it reminds me of the poppy field my host family and I would pass on our walks. Yes, I made and picked these small gifts out with them in mind, but they will work and be gifted to whoever ends up hosting me. 

For teaching goodies, I have been to Dollar Tree, and I picked out some silly punny English stickers for teaching. I think they will work for both 3rd through 5th and in middle school. I am on the search for a set of pencils, last time I gave USA pencils, but with the state of our country, I am unsure if I want to do that again. But also, KU pencils do not come in bulk and are $0.75 at the bookstore EACH. So I am on the hunt for something that isn't pricey but also isn't USA! (insert bald eagle screech) 

I am feeling very excited about going back to Carpi, but I am worried about my navigation and language knowledge. I know the basics when it comes to speaking Italian and am working on some more phrases for when I am observing lessons, like molto bello, buon larvo,  and puoi farlo. I will say I am very excited to make more connections while my host teacher is teaching, because I have now been in school for 3 years and will be going into student teaching in the fall. 

When it comes to Italian culture, I am excited for the afternoon seistas and food, but am feeling insecure about the possibility of others from KU seeing me as a "leader" or constantly asking me questions. I saw this happen to Easton, and I am so not a travel guru. I will always help others and give advice, but if it becomes crazy, then I might cry. 

I am going to practice packing over Easter weekend when I am home next, and I plan to take two carry ons just like I did two years ago! 

Until next time, 

Ciao!!!1

01/25/2026

Helllo long time no see! 

Did you forget about me? I sure hope not because I am BACK!! As of last night, it is official, I am going to Italy for a second time to teach American English and learn more about myself and others. Purchasing my plane ticket was so nerve racking and made everything seem so real again. The second semester always goes by so fast, but it will fly by even faster with Italy on my mind. 

Over the past couple of years, I have stayed in touch with my previous host family, specifically Alissia, the mom, and Ilara, my host sister. I love them all so much and have so much joy in my heart, especially for Ila and Fede. I have sent letters to them and had short phone calls with them. Last spring, we FaceTimed a little, and just seeing their home in the background made me homesick for them. I really do hope I am paired with them again, but that is in VLC's hands and not mine. (At least that's what I tell myself) 

I have already made my packing list and started working on gifts for my host family and even one for the VLC office...shhhhh don't tell them. I am sewing red, white, and navy floral table runners that will be quilted, and I plan to add an embroidered tag on the back similar to the quilt I made in 2024. I also know I wanna make Ila and Fede gifts too, but I won't 100% commit to making them until I know I am with my same family. 

My little sister is sad I am going again, although she is 11, she doesn't quite understand why, and thinks I don't want to be home, which is untrue. I think I just need to do more front loading this time with her and actually spend time with her leading up to it, versus just being home for 2 days and then gone for another month in her eyes. 

OH! and not going to lie, the USA's political and social climate right now has me reconsidering a lot and honestly makes me nervous to travel outside of the US. I know I am a US born citizen and am leaving for a good reason and planning on coming back, but what if something God-awful happens and my passport is canceled? Will I have to rush to the embassy? I just pray for safe travels for all of us, but especially me. 

Until next time! 

Ciao! 

04/17/2024

Dear Reader, 

Yesterday morning I received my school placement information. I am pleased I am getting to teach a class of elder elementary students. (that is what I call 4th / 5th graders ) According to the letter, I will have two classes of 38! which is so exciting for me. I assumed Italian class sizes would be smaller BUT 38 students in 1 homeroom class is the same here in the states. I also liked how they included tons of pictures for me. My future students already know Baby Shark! Which I find so funny and I am not sure why?! They are asking me to prepare an about me PowerPoint, an action song, a nursery rhyme, inside and outside games, fill-in-the-blank activities, flashcards, and even some arts and crafts! So far I have TONS of ideas. 

• I plan to read and do an activity with the 5 little monkeys (and gift the book to the class) Does this count as a nursery rhyme? 

• I want to teach head, shoulders, knees, and toes + eyes and ears and mouth and nose. Since it teaches the body parts with actions. 

• I purchased googly eyes and brown lunch sacks for the students to create hand puppets of the animals from Market to Market. 

• I need help coming up with inside/outdoor activities. I had the idea to have an obstacle course for the students where they use English verbs. I am unsure how successful this would be but it's a start. :) 

• As of the fill in the fill-in-the-blank activity... what does that mean? Could I play four corners with the students similar to how Dr.Rocha and Dr.Bradley did? Would that be "fill in the blank"? 

Lastly, since I was expecting one class of 40 students I am going to need to purchase another set of patriotic pencils. Do I need to buy another copy of 5 Little Monkeys? Should I gift them more books? Could I use GoNoodle as an indoor activity? Will they have YouTube? 

Only 16 days till I am in Italy! 

Ciao!!!!!!

04/07/2024

Dear Reader, 

As of two days ago I received my host family information and school placement. I was ecstatic when I opened the downloaded document that VLC sent my way. I reread the letter about four times before calling my parents to share the news. When reading the letter a million times I felt like a secret spy trying to sift out any details I could about their life! The best part about their letter was that my host madre gave me her Instagram username so I could find her. I instantly found her and followed her page. I direct messaged her as well. I introduced myself and told her how excited I was to become a part of their family for one month. I wondered if they did the same to my letter. Probably... I feel like it is almost human nature to search through to learn more. I learned that I will have two host siblings who are tweens, one boy (12) and one girl (14). They both learn English and German as part of their school curriculum. The tween boy likes video games, and the girl likes playing soccer. They have two cats,  a mother and a father. According to her Instagram, they go out for dinner every 31st of the month "per the usual" and spend lots of time in nature. 

When looking into my school placement I attempted to do some research about the school and the community.  I will be teaching at Collodi Elementary School in Carpi, Italy.  I have created my photo album, and PowerPoint, purchased American flag pencils, and stickers, and created a quilted welcome sign for the classroom. I also have a five-little Monkeys book I would love to share with my class depending on their grade. I chose Little Monkeys since the layout of the story is similar to the market-to-market book we are using. I also purchased googly eyes since I want to have the students create animals inside the book with either paper plates or brown lunch sacks as an art craft to go with the story. I am also wanting to teach American currency and a two-party voting system. I think all of these activities would be so much fun to do with my future Italian students. 

I spent a good chunk of my Sunday afternoon planning activities and creating a real budget for my Florence and Venice trips. While in Florence I plan to visit the Uffizi Museum, The Acidemia, and see the Bobalee Gardens. I am extra excited about Venice since I remember my grandma telling me about it as a young girl. While in Venice I want to spend one whole day in St.Mark's Square seeing the Basilica, campanile, museum, and Dodges Place if I have time. I also would like to take a gondola ride with classmates and try lots of new foods. I only have three and a half weeks till I'm there! 

Until next time, 

Ciao! 

03/01/2024

Dear Reader, 

It's beyond official that I am traveling abroad to Italy this May to teach American English to Italian students. I had help from a family friend purchasing my fight tickets to and from Milan. I'll have a connection going both ways which makes me nervous. I am 19 and I've never flown alone or traveled alone. It's nerve-racking but exciting at the same time. 

I'm not sure how I feel about living with a host family. I realized while writing my cultural autobiography for a C&T course that I've never lived under the same roof or shared space as a man. I know that sounds kinda silly but it's true, which makes me wonder how I will react to having a host padre or host figlio. I'm open to it, but it just adds to the experience. 

I am beyond excited to teach. I have started looking into some lessons I'd like to share with them and even tried to figure out what small and meaning full gifts I could bring. I would love to do a lesson on voting and democracy with 2nd or 3rd graders. I think it could be so fun to vote between two Italian treats like gelato and lecca lecca. They could even get a "I voted" sticker. Although it might be too complex to teach in Italian/ English to young students, I think teaching American English comes with teaching our traditions and policies. 

As far as being a culturally and linguistically diverse learner, I think that it's a good thing to experience for both myself and the Italian students. As a future educator I want to be able to learn continuously and experience new places and beliefs. Doing this will help me keep an open mind and even give me new skills to help serve those around me. Yes, I will admit speaking Italian as an American makes my stomach drop but I try my best to practice with friends, to my stuffed animals, and even do Doulingo 15-20 minutes a day. Overall, I know that no matter how much I prepare, surprises will come up and plans will change and that's okay. It's part of why I'm studying abroad, this experience will force me out of my comfort zone and give me life long memories. 

Ciao! 

Dear reader, 

when Barbra Bradley says to practice packing, use a checklist, and make sure you can lift your suitcase, she wasn't joking. I did this all two years ago, and everyone would think I knew better... but clearly not. I packed at 8 pm the night before my plane left with no physical practice pack or checklist. JEEZ, was I dumb because it was clearly only my guardian angel keeping my mother from bopping me upside the head. 

I packed in about two hours this time around and had a mental list of everything I wanted to bring. Luckily, I was determined not to check a bag and make it all fit in two carry ons. Now, whether I purchase a checked bag for the way back will be a problem for later. 

Getting on my flight at KCI was easy peasy, and once I got to AL, I stopped by one of the historical displays. I think the MLK one was the coolest, partially because it was on my way and I was en route. 

As I was waiting in Atlanta, I was eavesdropping on all of the conversations around me while doing my key Italian phrases quizlet. I ended up overhearing about a group of girls going to Italy and making lesson plans. So I was brave and apologized for eavesdropping and then asked what program they were going to. Turns out, VLC partners with the University of Georgia. It was really fun to connect with girls my age, with similar interests, and who were doing practically the same thing. It was funny because their program director said to me, “You look like you're mine, but you're not mine,” which I found so funny. After all, I guess a 21-year-old girl on a laptop talking to all of “his girls” blended in. 

My flight from Atlanta to Milan was great! I watched movies, chatted with the UG girls, and woke up to the Alps below me. Then once I landed, all three of my moms texted me. I was also very proud of myself for navigating both KCI, AL, and MXP by myself.