Professional Experience in a New Light

Have you ever changed jobs after being somewhere for a significant amount of time?  I have.  And not just jobs, but countries and type of employment as well.

Up until now I've taught only in public schools in rural (well some urban - but mostly rural) Saskatchewan where traditions are valued, precedents set and followed, and a continued school system behavioural matrix from when I went to school. After 9 yrs of this life what did I decide to do?  Travel overseas to a foreign country to perform the same career, teaching, on new turf.  What I've experienced is very interesting.  Is it typical to Italy?  Who's to say.  Is it different from where I came from? Yes.

So I'd like to invite you into the world of ISG (The International School of Genoa)....

Our entrance gates

Welcome! 

(Front entrance)

Double set of  automatic, sliding doors

(second set is locked with reception in between)

We begin our day at 8:10am - well at least one out of 5 days.  See all students in elementary (grades 1-5) meet in the gym every morning.  Therefore, we teachers need to be present to provide supervision.  However, we've split up the days so that each grade level is responsible to report for duty one day a week.  The rest of us ensure we are in the gym by 8:20am for the anthem.

What anthem is played at an international school?  That's a good question!  Each week a new anthem is played.  Talk about incorporating all nationalities.

From the gym we proceed to our classrooms for our daily activities.  One thing new to me this year is that our school does not have bells.  What?  I know!  Not for class change, recess, lunch or dismissal.  All class time changes are based on the teacher being aware of when.  It's kind of refreshing not to have the bell, and interesting to see the difference in students - they can tell the time (in grade 3 at least) but are very unaware, for the most part, due to the no bell system.

There's a double flight of stairs I take

every day, and quite a few times a day :p 

Recycling is very prevalent in our school.

You can see recycling bins like these for paper, plastic,

cans, etc. all over the school.

Clothing lost and found section.

Our hallowed halls (ground floor).

Snack is a new "concept" to me this year.  I am used to students having snack prior to "recess' and doing a read aloud.  However, snack here is where students take their snack to the courtyard (all gr 1-5 in the same place at the same time at the front of the school) and walk around, eat and visit.  There is to be not running for fear of falling on the rocks and hurting each other.  So really, it's a snack time as opposed to what I know as a recess.  Thankfully, I only have to supervise this event 3 times a month (it gets quite chaotic when the children finish eating and just want to run).

My schedule is amazing this year though,  In Saskatchewan, as an elementary teacher I was responsible for teaching math, language arts, science, social, arts ed (dance, music, drama, visual arts), health, and phys ed.  Now while some of these subjects (aka health and phys ed) were taught by others in order to meet prep period regulations, it was still a heavy courseload for many teachers. Here - only math, language arts and IPC are on my teaching agenda (IPC = science/social studies subjects combined into 8-10 wk units).  Therefore, I get at least an hour of "Specials" aka prep a day, sometimes more.  Now while many would think this lack of instructional time would be detrimental to their class, I'm finding it to work out just as well as previous teaching years for myself.  I now have more planning and assessment time and do not feel as burnt out as I have in prior years.

Snack container box - for when "Specials" follow snack time

Grade 1-3 hallway.

Welcome to 3rd Grade Purple

Our beautiful classroom.  Student oriented.

I love our school bathrooms!  Some history on our school is that it used to be an old monastery.  So our classrooms, it could be inferred, were where the monks lived.  As for the washrooms, not sure if they are historical or a product of a small renovation environment.  There are actually rooms in our school building that are walled off and not in use.  The school's goal is to expand in the coming years to provide more classroom space as our enrolment grows.

Sink and drinking fountain.

Toilet cubicles with hand washing stations in each.

So there are no water fountains in the school.  Rather, students either a) bring water bottles and fill them in the sink at school, or b) drink from the sinks in the bathroom.  In the washrooms, there are cubicles and students can actually wash their hands in there prior to exiting.  I really like this concept!  Should cut down on germs from the handles.

School runs until 3:30pm here but..... there is no afternoon recess.  So after students each lunch and have a half hour recess, it's work time until they are dismissed.  For our elementary students, this means 12:50-3:30 without a break.  :/  Therefore, students in 3rd grade purple often have a few brain breaks in the afternoons (and we're lucky that we have a few specials then too).

All in all, there are many things about ISG that have taken some getting used to.  But it's definitely been a breath of fresh air for me.  While things are different and strange, they're not bad.  And it's fun to be a "new teacher" while still having the wealth of experience and training that I do.  

Foods - the "What?" and "Wow!"

I was forewarned upon coming to Italy that food was NOT going to be the same.  Even though it’s beef, it won’t look or taste the same.  Even though it’s soup, it won’t look or taste the same (or even be cooked in the same manner). 

Did I believe this?  Yes......and no.  I knew, and could accept, that things would be different.  Did I think it would be so drastic in some cases?  No.  So I’ve had some good and interesting surprises when it’s come to food here.

So here is my list of “What?” and “Wow!”

“What?” = surprises; interesting new things

“Wow!” = can’t believe it’s the same, or that I’d find it here

What?

Hamburger – does NOT look the same.  It’s much bigger and squiggly.  Really actually resembles worms so when children back in Canada make that connection, well.....have I the picture for them.  As for the taste, pretty close to back home.  

Indiana ice cream – this would NOT be politically correct back home.  Nope, didn’t buy just saw and my mouth dropped.

Seafood – seafood is SUPER huge here!  Makes sense since I live right on the Ligurian Sea.  But even the grocery store has a huge selection of fresh seafood to buy each day (including eel and octopus).

Wine – it is SUPER cheap here!  Yes I know I’m in Italy and have walked beside the grape fields that are in abundance here.  But it’s still shocking as to how cheap.  Kinda feel ripped off at the wine prices back home (although I know it was imported but still).

Milk – Being lactose intolerant is not an easy thing in a country where cheese is a staple and gelato is a great treat.  *sigh*  But even trying to find regular milk for a science experiment or almond/soy milk has been quite the task.  I’ve bought quite a few different containers of soy and almond milk only to find it too sweet to drink.  Will have to keep on trying I guess. J

Beer – SO not the same here.  Much harsher, even the “blonde” beer. Beer also goes by some interesting categories: blonde, red, dark.  I’m sure this is normal for many places throughout the world, but new to me.

Baking Powder - another packaging flaw.  These things still shock me that it's allowed and acceptable here.

Salad Dressing – No such thing here.  If you have a salad, then expect to put olive oil and/or balsamic vinegar on it, or eat it plain.  There is nothing that resembles salad dressing here (Kraft could take on a huge expat market here if they invaded).

Soup – Not usual.  I’ve found a couple different ones (which have been very tasty) but soup often comes in a bag and is cooked very differently.  I have found a few cans and boxes of soup, but the bag is the most favoured packaging for stores to carry.

Rice – Minute Rice was one of my best friends.  Now, I’m learning to cook rice much differently.  To make rice here, regardless of the kind as there are many, you boil the water, throw in the rice, and boil it until it is cooked.  Then you strain it (like pasta – weird I know!) and voila!  I learned this fine art the other night making supper for friends.  Luckily I was successful but also found that the rice is stickier.

Fun fact: You need to put on gloves when buying unpackaged (bulk) produce at the grocery store.  Health and food hygiene (kinda hypocritical to use the word hygiene here) are quite important here.

Wow!

Steak – I bought what I could only determine from looks was a steak for stir fry the other night.  Super scrumptious and tasted just like a steak I’d buy from back home.

Pringles – Yes!  I found a snack food from back home that I know and tastes the same (not that I’m not into trying new things – but it’s nice to find something familiar that you know you’ll like).

Grocery Store Pasta Sauce – I’ve never tasted such GREAT pasta sauce in my life. And it’s just the store brand!  Way to go Coop!

(This flavour not so much.  Too sweet. LOVE the Pomodoro)

Skippy peanut butter – Yes!  Carrefour carried it and a friend found it for me.  This was also the friend who tried the peanut butter found here (not a brand I’d recognized) and told me it was NOT the same lol.

Nutella – a staple here it seems.  You can even get Nutella brioche at many restaurants.  I’ve never tried it before moving here (kinda scoffed at it) but now it’s one of those things I eat since it’s familiar and actually tastes pretty good.

Bread – The store makes their own bread but it’s too tough for my sensitive teeth.  Therefore, I’ve bought the preservative filled bread (that’s not even kept in the bread area but on shelves elsewhere) and it tastes pretty scrumptious to me.

Tea - There is some decent tea to be found at the Coop here, but it's even better when you find a familiar brand, with english packaging ;), that you enjoy.

Plum cakes – I’ve always enjoyed white cake without icing.  Now I’ve found my new favourite treat here – plum cakes.  Plum cakes are little cakes (I know, great description) that you can buy pre-packaged (yes, preservatives here I come).  They are so delicious and there are some with chocolate chips too!

Condiments – While I did not expect to find Frenchs mustard I was completely shocked to find Heinz ketchup and Kikkomen soya sauce.  Not that’s not my usual soya sauce from back home, but I know it and will adopt it as mine whilst I’m here.

Coke Products - Italy is BIG on Coke products.  I've had to scrounge to find Pepsi (which I successfully did however due to the availability of Coke I may convert due to convenience of purchasing).  However, if you only want a single bottle and not the 6-pack then feel free to rip open the package their in and take only one (or two).  They are inputted at the grocery store as single entities anyways.

Ritz Crackers - Yep! Another product that is found overseas and tastes even better here (as far as I'm concerned).  Definitely not as salty - which is true for many of the foods here. 

I’m sure I’ll find many more surprises and wonders as I spend more time getting to know my local grocery store.  It definitely keeps even the little things, like grocery shopping, interesting around here!

‘Til next time. J

Thankful - Depth of a Meaning

Prior to beginning, I would like to attribute this post to a friend. A colleague and fellow writer who's own blog post got me thinking and reflecting.  To him, I'm thankful for the perspective it's spurred in me.

This weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving.  A time when we Canadians get together with family & friends, share what we're thankful for, eat turkey with all the trimmings and share times full of love and laughter.  A time when in my "selfish" world I could only think of how much I was missing out on while being a billion miles overseas in Italy.

Generally, our (or at least my) "thankfuls" are often attributed to family, love, support, and success.  Now these are usually celebrated on a very personal level.  But this weekend as I sit here in a new country, still foreign to me, I experienced a heart-breaking situation in Genova that showed me the effects of these on a global level.

This weekend in Genova residents in many parts of the city suffered devastation.  Rain started pouring down last week, seemingly unending.

Then, Thursday came.

The sky opened up and dropped buckets of sadness onto Genova, and it was only a few hours later that the river Bisagno reared it's ugly head onto the city.  Incapable of sustaining that which plowed down upon it, the banks of the river succumbed to the pressure and the river broke - fleeing with apparent hatred, or was it freedom, into the city.  As it eagerly raced between buildings and slid along streets people could only take cover and hope for the best.  As morning came, it was quickly apparent as to what was left in the wake of the ravenous water.

Mud, immobilized vehicles, sunken earth, shards of life  - these were only a part of what residents in the downtown core and other parts started to deal with.  Shops, homes, lives....forever changed.  Where was one to start?

And what did Genoa do?  What any great city would do.

They answered the rallied cry of a community not willing to stay down when pummelled.  People, young and old, born and raised in Genoa, new to the area, Italian and expat, with caring heart, collaborated their efforts and raised Genoa's head to say "You can't keep me down!".  Now while I did not witness this beautiful form of human spirit first hand, I've heard numerous accounts from friends of that which happened in the wake of Breaking Bisagno.

The physical effects on me: a few days off school and a blocked route out of my area meaning a little longer trek.
The impact of those effects: NIL!  Absolutely nil compared to those of many of my fellow Genovians.
The mental & emotional effects: feeling the spirit of a strong community, experiencing a love that made me hold my head up high and call Genova "home" with conviction.

Original route to school.  Wall collapsed blocking the street.

So this weekend, as I sit here missing my family, wishing I was over indulging in turkey and stuffing, heartbroken for that which I'm missing out on back home in Canada, my mind reflects upon being thankful.  So here is my "I'm Thankful For" list for 2014:

Yes, I'm still and always will be thankful for an extremely supportive and loving family.  I wouldn't be where I am today without them. They are my rocks, my conscience, my inner core - to which I can only hope everyone in the world has at least one person like I have in their lives.

I'm thankful that our world has people who, in the face of tragedy, come together to show their love for a community. I've seen and been a part of this time and time again, but it hit close to home during this time of year for me while being away from family.

I'm thankful to see the beautiful face of humanity shine through at all ages and in all places.

I'm thankful to be living in a community that has so much love, patriotism, pride, and courage.

I'm thankful for the love people have in this world.......


For more information on the flooding in Genoa October 2014:
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/10/12/us-italy-flood-idUKKCN0I00G620141012

http://www.ilsecoloxix.it/p/genova/2014/10/10/ARauaGDC-straripano_fereggiano_abitanti.shtml

What I Know Now

I did a previous post about a change in perspective – how the little things in life can change for you when you’re in a new country and the luxury of convenience is no longer.

As I was pondering this, it hit me….. the realization that there are many similarities and differences that I’m experiencing both for the better and, not for the worse, for the different.

As I was sitting in the cafeteria at lunch today eating my bowl of pasta, slices of meat, salad, bread, and fruit cup, all for only 3 euro, I realized: Hey! I didn’t have to pack a lunch, buy groceries for lunch or take any time out of my day to prepare a meal for myself.  No, I had the CONVENIENCE of a cafeteria where I could buy a lunch ticket, pick up a meal and eat without any trouble to myself.  Hmmmm… couldn’t do that back home.  If I didn’t have a lunch and couldn’t go out, then I didn’t eat.   The system here has definitely meant I’m more healthy.  Plus the food is REALLY GOOD! (Although I sometimes need a variation from pasta once in awhile - hence the grocery store just a 5 minute walk away).

The bathrooms are another interesting factor here.  Every stall in school has a sink in it.  Therefore, students wash their hands before they leave their “cubicle”.  However, there are no water fountains so they fill their water bottles and drink from the taps in the main area of the bathroom.  Saves on line-ups since hand washers do so in the cubicles and there are 3 taps in each bathroom for drinks and other washing opportunities. 

Also, ALL bathrooms I’ve encountered so far in Genoa have the double flush water saving system.  I have yet to come across the usual handle flush that Canada has everywhere.  Interesting that they’re just starting to adopt this in many places in Canada (again from what I know) but in Italy it’s the going thing.  However Italy is still having issues with paper work procedures, timely manner to do things, regular working hours and cleanliness.  Each to their own I guess. ;)

Walking.  Things really aren’t that far away from each other.  I would’ve scoffed, loudly, last year if someone had said I could walk to school and back every day.  It’s too far, I’d say.  Now while weather can definitely be a factor back in Saskatchewan, I now have a different thought on the walking.  It’s great!  My body is much healthier, my legs are stronger (and look pretty amazing if I do say so myself), and things really aren’t that much farther.  I think it’s deceiving here.  Where I came from, there was much space between buildings so everything seemed more spread out.  Here, the buildings are close so the space wise and time factor seem to meld and become unknown (unless of course you’re doing a mad dash to catch the bus).  Also, the culture of walking is so prevalent here.  I love that!  To walk back home, was not seem as a norm or usual for the culture.  It was more of a lack of convenience (especially if taking stuff home to work on) or lack of monetary gain.  I’m really hoping that I’ll keep up this culture of walking everywhere as I’m liking the health benefits it’s having on me.  Perhaps it’s also the laid back culture that helps to promote this here.

Did you know that I don’t have a school key?  Nope!  Can’t go to the school when I want, only when it’s open.  Now there are some teachers with a key (who’ve been here many years) but they’re not given out to anyone, or many people for that matter.  At first I was a little uneasy with this.  It was almost like a loss of control.  Can’t go to work when I want?  Must only work during certain hours?  (Remember: have to walk home so too far to carry home loads of marking and no Internet yet so can’t do too much work/research) How many teachers can fall into that category – only work within certain hours?  That’s TOTALLY a new change of pace for me.  But a good one! Now I can start to live my life and not just work, work, work.  Especially here.  That’s why I needed a change in my career – to get balance back in my life between work and “play”.  I definitely utilize time more wisely and am spending more time enjoying life and taking time for myself.

I just find it interesting that things I’ve done without, and felt I could do without, that are now a definite part of my life are things that are changing me for the better.  Would I have done them on my own?  Probably not.  But since I’ve been forced to accept them I can say this for certain: change has its benefits and I’m going to be more open to it in the future.

A Weekend At Home

Funny to title a post that way while thinking that "home" is now in Italy.  I'm actually still torn between calling my place here 'home' and calling Yorkton 'home'.  We'll see in the next few months how I start to differentiate between the two.

Regardless, this weekend I was a homebody and stayed within the confines of my new city of residence, Genova.  Poor me, I know lol.  A weekend at home in Italy?  That's a tough life I'll tell you ;)  Let's just say after seeing the pictures of the snow and bundled up people back home, there's some things that are quickly ending up on the "not missing" list.

This weekend a few of us decided to get to know our new city of residence better.  And what better way to do that then act like a tourist.  That's right!  We took a city sightseeing bus tour on Saturday.

It was actually a lot of fun!  It was one of those hop-on, hop-of tours and even though the length of the entire trip was only an hour, we saw many new places we hadn't known about before as well as got our bearings in location to those places we already knew.  I now feel like I could take on the downtown core a little more and broaden my horizons (aka take new streets off ones I have down pat) without getting completely lost.

Statue of Christopher Columbus

(Genova is his birthplace)

Marine Station

The great thing about this tour was that our tickets were good for 48 hours after the time of purchase.  Therefore, if we wanted to do the tour again the next day we could.  Also, with the company we used if you keep your ticket stub you can use it to get a 10% discount off a tour from the same company in a different city.

The tour led us to get off at one of the stops on our second round of the tour.  We found a few historic places in various nooks and crannies, and a cute little shopping area that we perused for a couple hours.  Next it was lunch by the port.   Gotta love the views that many of the restaurants around the port and seaside have.  Nothing like this back home!

Candy vendor was in town! ;)

View from our lunch restaurant: Eataly.

After some more hop-on, hop-off bus touring and shopping we headed home.  But definitely not empty handed!

Luckily I am now heading home to my new bff: Internet!!  Getting things done in Italy is a major process, no matter what it is.  Even ordering food can be a challenge but the Internet getting was something I did not think would be so tedious.  Here are the steps to get Internet in Genova (at least with the company I used):
1 - go to the company and request the service; fill out paperwork
2 - wait for the call to confirm your address and your request; btw the call is in Italian so you need to be near someone fluent in it or you are SOL (I had this happen 3x before they called while I was at school and had a native Italian speaker near me)
3 - wait for the second, third, maybe fourth call to do the same as #2
4 - wait for the call from the line technician (not part of the Internet company but from telecommunications Italy) and book an appt
5 - meet line technician to confirm line eligibility for Internet
6 - wait for call from company for station (aka modem) technician
7 - book appt for station technician
8 - meet station technician and FINALLY get Internet!!
(A total of 3-4 wks minimum after initial process start up)
Yep!  I'll tell you, I've never had a greater appreciation for Sasktel until this moment.  However, the price I'm paying for Internet here doesn't make me miss it too much. ;)

Now to somehow access tv from Canada......Hmmmmm.......

On Sunday we headed downtown to the Florence markets.  A few vendors from Florence bring their goods to Genova once or twice a year and hold a market down by the port.  This was quite an interesting experience as there is haggling, prices range from cheap to 'oh my word' and good are great leather to cheap knickknacks.  There wasn't much that tickled my fancy there but the cool thing about being downtown today was there was also a garage sale like markets other squares (piazzas) downtown too.  A great day to just walk, eat gelato, and shop!  Thankfully the weather here is still holding out so we could enjoy ourselves immensely and even enjoy a western lunch outdoors at the Wild Wild West down by the port.

The tents are the various vendors at the market.

Port

Enjoying our wagon venue at the Wild Wild West.

Can't say that a weekend at home wasn't eventful and beautiful! ;)  I'm enjoying getting to know more about my lovely new place of residence: Genova.

Florence - Part 2

Well, the second day of our Florence adventure didn't start as vicariously as the first day, which actually was kind of nice.  Woke up leisurely and enjoyed our last few moments at casa Air bnb Firenze.

Ever have that moment where you just crave food from home?  Well that's pretty much every day here.  However, for a brief moment in Florence this desire was squashed.  One of our group members (kinda makes me sound like we're a band or something) found a terrific breakfast place called "The Diner".  One thing we've noticed is that the really good food places are usually off the beaten path and you need to search for them.  When you travel, it's very beneficial to look up places to eat at, read the reviews and spend time searching for them.  You won't often be disappointed!

Breakfast.  What can one say when they get pancakes, coffee, orange juice, bacon, hashbrowns, eggs, etc. just like home?!  It was amazing!!  I didn't even mind that my orange juice had pulp in it.  Usually would detest this, but actually relished it in this moment.

We continued our day with a walk down the "jewelry bridge" - a bridge that has only jewelry (high end that is) shop along it.  Then we took a hike up the hill to a spot that overlooks Florence - Piazza Michelangelo.  It was a beautiful view and surreal to be overlooking a city that I only every imagined I would see.

Next, we were off to the train station to head back to Genova.  One of the interesting things about the trains here is that while they are often and go many places, you sometimes have to transfer and take routes you wouldn't normally think of.  This is what has led us to Pisa on our first leg home.  While note ideal, such as direct fast trains are, it gave us the advantage of getting to see......The Leaning Tower of Pisa (or in this case, The Tower lol).

So we only had a 1 hr "layover" in Pisa which didn't make for a lot of time.  Luckily, when there's four of you it's easy to share costs to make quick trips via cab.  And that's just what we did.  So off the train, into a cab, run to the Tower, take pictures, buy souvenirs, cab it back and make it just in time for our train.

 

All-in-all, I had one of the best weekends of my life.  The beauty of the city, the fun of my companions and the adventure of a lifetime.  A girl couldn't ask for more!