The Dolomites this week

Hello everyone,

Here I am again, this time writing from the Dolomites in Belluno. It's just breathtaking here, very different from the countryside I was used to down south.

Last week was just wonderful for me. The family I stayed with spoiled me rotten and I really enjoyed their company. The parents spoke beautiful English and were eager to practice with me. We did yoga every day after camp (I think the parents liked it more than the three kids). I got to be quite close with the mother, Michela, in particular. On Thursday after dinner, they had a treasure hunt for me. It was so sweet, there were presents and everything, for no reason in particular. There was a book in Italian, chosen specifically because it's a level of language they thought I could cope with. Next there was a camisole and panty set. I'm assuming this was chosen because all the clothes I brought to Italy are ones I don't care about, aka kind of old and ugly, so Michel must think I don't own anything nice and wanted to treat me to something. I thought it was funny, haha. And finally a framed pictures of the three children. Honestly it was so nice, I was blown away. 

They wanted to take me to their lake house on Lake Garda on Saturday, but when I called my new camp director to see if i could arrive a day late ( I was supposed to change camps on Saturday) I was very surprised and disappointed that she wouldn't give me the extra time with the family. Usually the camp directors are very easy going and understanding. But alas, it was not to be. But rather than taking the train, my family insisted on driving me the two hours to Belluno, and we made a nice day of the trip, packed a picnic lunch and stopped in some beautiful mountain towns along the way.

It's always sad to say goodbye, but it's also fun to be somewhere new. My family this week is also working out very well. It's a little more relaxed than last week, a single mom and her 8 year old son. The catch is that they speak no English so this is my first week of Italian immersion. It's fun, I'm enjoying it and learning a lot already. Lorenzo is really good, eager to learn English and to engage me in conversation (but mostly in Italian).

I had a meeting today with the other tutors. There will be 6 of us this week working with 51 children. The tutors seem pretty nice, though the camp directors do seem pretty strict, which is to bad. It's been my experience so far that everyone has more fun (including the kids) when the atmosphere is more relaxed, but we'll make it work.

So that's the news on my end. Thank you for the updates, I really enjoy them. Now that I'm living with families, it's beginning to strike me that I'm not with my own at the moment, so I'm a little homesick, so it's nice to hear from everyone! Hope things are good!

Thiene/Venezia

Ciao tutti!

So now I'm in Thiene, outside of Vicenza and Venice. One of the tutors I worked with last week is working with me again here. He's very nice, but a little obsessed with his new Italian girlfriend who he is texting constantly. It gets a little old. But if that's the only thing to complain about, we're doing pretty good.

I'm staying with a wonderful family who actually took me on a spur of the moment trip to Venice today. It really is as amazing as I thought it would be. We wandered around, went to Piazzo San Marco and several cathedrals. It doesn't feel like a city because there are no cars or scooters. Its much more relaxed than the other cities I've visited here. And yes, there are gondolas, which are actually much bigger than I thought they would be. The city is full of steep bridges and windy narrow streets lined with artsy stores selling masks, glass and lace. It's so easy to get lost, but at the same time, who cares, you're in Venice!

So tomorrow my fifth week of camp begins. It's at the local middle school and we have I think 45 students split amongst 4 tutors. I have a meeting tonight with my camp director and the other tutors. I'm hoping I might already know some of them, but we shall see. 

Anyhoo I should hop off the computer so I don't monopolize it, but hopefully I'll have a chance to use it some this week. Love to all, let me know what's new!

Capua/Caserta (aka middle of nowhere)

Hey Guys!

This is actually 2 emails Ive written pasted together, so bear with me!

Things here are fantastic. Pompeii was cooler than I possibly imagined. It was one of those things where when you first enter you are just blown away, but you're actually only on the outskirts of the city, so as you keep going, it gets even more amazing. Unbelievable. The artistry of that society blows my mind. I mean, I think of them as a primitive culture, but in their hey-day, these buildings would have been stunning. Murals on the wall, ornate tiling, mosaics, fountains, just blew my mind. We took tons of pictures, so you will get to see, I promise.

Yesterday we went to a beach on the Amalfi Coast. It was beautiful and the water was perfect. My friend Eva and I met a couple Italian boys (you knew it was bound to happen, lol). Guerino and Giuseppe must both be over 6 ft 2, pastry chefs and amateur soccer players. Haha, anyway, they're taking us for gelato tonight or tomorrow. 

Today we went kayaking along the Amalfi Coast. It was fantastic. We went to beaches that you could only reach by boat and our guide packed homemade tomato and basil sandwiches. He also picked us up in his jeep right from the hostel so we didn't need to pay for food or transportation. The whole expedition (from 8 this morning to 5 this evening) was only 25 euros. Pretty good, eh?? But we've had lots of sun 3 days in a row so we're going to take it easey tomorrow, and then we're off to somewhere new on Saturday.

There's a barbecue tonight with the other tutors and we are hopefully finding out where to next, and getting 60 euros each for our food expenditures this week. Sadly our good friend Chad is off to Rome tomorrow. He's a really good guy, and looks out for us girls. It will be sad to see him go.

So now I'm here in a tiny town near Capua and Caserta with two other tutors, Kate and Jonathan. So far they are really nice. We're staying with the camp director who is also really nice, and an excellent cook. Only downside is that she's really loopy. Like, we have conversations just riddled with non sequiturs on her part. It's entertaining though, and she has a really sweet dog, which I'm loving of course.

Today me and the other tutors went to Naples. We had true neapolitan pizza (which lives up to its reputation, let me tell you!) and we took a tour of the neapolitan underground, which is a series of cisterns that were part of the Greek and Roman aqueducts for the city. In WWII it was used as a bomb shelter. It was pretty cool.

My friend and I did manage to go out with Guerino and Giuseppe for gelato and a tour of their home town. It was fun, and entertaining to get a dose of Italian romance. They are super generous with the compliments, which Eva and I just find funny, lol. I'm only an hour away from where they live this week, so I may have a chance to meet up with Guerino again. We'll see. So that's what's new. Probably no internet this week, fyi.

Let me know how things are at home! Miss you guys lots!

Hugs to everyone,

Love Melissa

Salerno this week

Hello everyone!

Sorry I've been out of touch! This past week I was still in Sicily but this time working as a counselor in an overnight camp so the hours were insane. We would wake the kids up at 7:30 am and had to make sure they were safe in their rooms after midnight. We were literally on our feet with the kids for 17 hours a day. Needless to say it was pretty exhausting and I haven't had a chance to find any internet.

On the plus side I got to teach yoga every day to some of the kids which was a lot of fun. They thought it was a little goofy but I think they enjoyed it. I tried to make it fun by doing the craziest poses I could think of, but as I was teaching, I realized how effective it is for learning body parts and prepositions. Cool! My lessons group was pretty well behaved but it was still a shock after the group I'd had for the first two weeks. I went from 4 girls and 2 boys ages 7-10 to a group of 7 boys and 2 girls ages 10-13. my approach had to change entirely which was a bit rough but in the end it was fun.

Last saturday four of us went to Taormina, a beautiful ancient town on a hill overlooking the sea. The main attraction is a 3rd century BC Greek theater with fantastic views of the ocean and Mt Etna. I also had a chance to try granita which is what American "

Italian ice" is based on.

My birthday on Wednesday was nice. The kids all sang to me (in English of course!) and we had chocolate pudding for dessert instead of our usual plate of fruit. I was able to have a couple of hours off in the afternoon to nap and relax by the pool. Then in the evening some of my favorite girls presented me with happy birthday posters. This is the first chance I've had to check my email in more than a weeks, so I'm just getting birthday messages now. Thank you so much for all your happy wishes!

Because last week was so exhausting, I've opted to take a week off this coming week. The organization has an apartment in Castello San Giorgio which is outside of Salerno, not far from Pompeii and Capri. Counselors get to stay there for free, and I'm traveling with 2 of the people I worked with this last week, Chad and Eva. I had the option of working a second week of overnight camp and then taking a break, but actually this works out better because the end of July and the first week of August there's generally no work to go around (because all the Italians are on vacation!). This way I'll have a week off, then be able to work a bit more before a second break at that time (Agustina let me know what your plans are!!!).

So things are good - I'm working hard but having a wonderful time. I hope everyone is well. Miss you guys!

Love Mia