United 967 was a really nice flight. (Rome to DC)
It was not one of the really huge planes...2-3-2 seating....so at times you could feel turbulence, but generally it was a nice flight. Many of the students appeared to get some sleep....I had a couple of nice naps, took a few strolls down the aisle and chatted with the attendants a bit.
If the students appear rested and energetic upon their return, I still caution parents not to turn them loose for a night on the town too soon. Jet lag affects everyone differently, but the goal is to get back to your USA schedule as quickly as possible. Getting to bed tonight well before MIDNIGHT on USA time should be the goal. Thursday should be spent resting, completing journals and printing photos.
The J- term grade will be based upon the quality of what is written in the journal. (Creative liberties are encouraged in writing styles and journaling.) We are looking for content of discoveries and such, not a time line of activities.
Each student is also to turn in his/her camera card(s) or a cd copy of the cards to Mr. Darnell by the luncheon on Friday. This is also a part of the academic grade and part of their contribution to the photo cd...mandatory.
Students are not to be on campus on Thursday.
Mandatory Luncheon on Friday...also part of the grade. You should have received information from the school and parents might have also been invited. Mr. Salerno does a great job with this activity, so be sure to attend. (This was optional last year ONLY due to the snow day and late arrival to the states.) I believe it is scheduled around lunchtime, so please contact Kelly in the school office to indicate the number of people that will be attending so the events class will be prepared.
By the time this posts, your young people should be home again. Most of them had some of their favorite American foods in the DC airport. Their new friends from Cornerstone headed off for their flight to Chicago and Jimmy was able to reschedule through Atlanta and is on his way to Dallas.
Customs in DC was an interesting experience and I could make some political comments about our borders, but I will use another platform for my 'hobby.' Let's just say that they were very thorough and the agents mean business. You do not cut in line and you do not argue with them. (We observed some who tried...not our group though)
Some of us experienced the new body scans in security and at least one had the pat down. Our kids look so dangerous, don't they? And we got to enjoy the drug beagle scout out my own luggage. (I was transporting a fresh cannoli). The humorous thing is that no matter when or where I travel...I get stopped for something. At least my bag was not dumped out this time, and I did not have to give up the canoli!
We all understand the importance of guarding your American passport as the precious and valuable document that it is......and though we loved our time abroad....it is really good to be back in the USA.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Daylight
In that there was only one post written from the time I sat on the couch until daylight....I guess I dozed. Ok, I dozed.
The power went out upstairs. Oh, not everywhere, just in the rooms. Just on two floors...in the rooms. In Italian terms "ah, why does it matter, we should be sleeping, yes?" But WE are Americans...we call the emergency number for the power company and they fix it NOW...right? Aha...but we were in IT-lee, remember....their culture.
They do not worry about much, they just adapt....
So... I tried to charge my ipad from the plug in the lobby. That worked moderately because an ipad does not charge quickly when you are using it. (Quite unlike my macpro!) No problem, right....because airports now have charging stations for all of our electronic necessities...press onward and wait for daylight to arrive. (Right....when in Rome, even the airport....do as the Romans do, and they do not live life connected to electronic devices!)
Daylight found almost everyone up and at 'em BEFORE the appointed 5:50...be in the lobby time. We had to rouse a few, but we were ready for the walk to the bus by around 6. Well....WE were ready....but not the bus. Italian time, baby!
We went ahead and formulated our backup plan, which was to drag those suitcases to the train station and purchase tickets for the train ride to the airport (more expensive than the bus)....about the time that we thought we might start moving to the bus station, our driver arrived, so off to the bus we headed.
Clippity clappity...the sound of the wheels of the suitcases going across the cobblestones, and only occasionally getting stuck in the cracks. Clearly, Italians travel lighter than we do! I failed to mention earlier that Catherine lost a leg and a wheel when we arrived in Rome...and my wheel split and dragged on the way to the bus. Two of us did the drag-a-bag routine!
We discovered along the way that a little market was being set up just down the street from our hotel....shopping, and we were going to miss it!
We loaded up and headed out to Fiumucino Airport....and I think just about everyone took a quick power nap...it was SO quiet!
Airport check in was pretty easy. They did not have a large crowd at all for this morning flight. Jimmy checked on everything the evening before, finding that our flight was in good shape, Cornerstone's connection to Chicago was 'iffy' and his flight to Dallas through JFK had been cancelled. Snow in the USA...lots of snow. It brought back memories of our London snow day.....only this year, we have trip insurance, so it was much less stressful for me!
Checked baggage....gone. Onward to Italian TSA. Oh my, it is NOT like USA TSA. What a breeze! It made me miss the old days!
The Fiumicino terminals are very nice. The shopping is expensive with many many of the designer shops represented along the way. The food stands are delicious though and even though the hotel packed a sack breakfast for us (in a 'sack-ih-TEE-no), almost everyone still found something they just had to buy. These kids spent a lot of money on food....they guys especially love to eat, and I guess they budgeted for it.
Some of the students had no seat assignment, which clearly made them nervous. Sometimes you just have to be patient though, and they were....though some were better at it than others. Their patience paid off by the time they hit the plane though...since they were upgraded to Economy Plus and had a bit of leg room. Lesson....BE PATIENT. Americans so often are not patient, we want immediate answers and results.
Thank you United Airways for making our morning go smoothly. Lydia had a ticket with no problems, and everyone had a seat! Off to America and the promise of a great future and excitement of waking up in our own beds......in the morning! Ah daylight....God provides it every morning with the promise of a bright new day!
The power went out upstairs. Oh, not everywhere, just in the rooms. Just on two floors...in the rooms. In Italian terms "ah, why does it matter, we should be sleeping, yes?" But WE are Americans...we call the emergency number for the power company and they fix it NOW...right? Aha...but we were in IT-lee, remember....their culture.
They do not worry about much, they just adapt....
So... I tried to charge my ipad from the plug in the lobby. That worked moderately because an ipad does not charge quickly when you are using it. (Quite unlike my macpro!) No problem, right....because airports now have charging stations for all of our electronic necessities...press onward and wait for daylight to arrive. (Right....when in Rome, even the airport....do as the Romans do, and they do not live life connected to electronic devices!)
Daylight found almost everyone up and at 'em BEFORE the appointed 5:50...be in the lobby time. We had to rouse a few, but we were ready for the walk to the bus by around 6. Well....WE were ready....but not the bus. Italian time, baby!
We went ahead and formulated our backup plan, which was to drag those suitcases to the train station and purchase tickets for the train ride to the airport (more expensive than the bus)....about the time that we thought we might start moving to the bus station, our driver arrived, so off to the bus we headed.
Clippity clappity...the sound of the wheels of the suitcases going across the cobblestones, and only occasionally getting stuck in the cracks. Clearly, Italians travel lighter than we do! I failed to mention earlier that Catherine lost a leg and a wheel when we arrived in Rome...and my wheel split and dragged on the way to the bus. Two of us did the drag-a-bag routine!
We discovered along the way that a little market was being set up just down the street from our hotel....shopping, and we were going to miss it!
We loaded up and headed out to Fiumucino Airport....and I think just about everyone took a quick power nap...it was SO quiet!
Airport check in was pretty easy. They did not have a large crowd at all for this morning flight. Jimmy checked on everything the evening before, finding that our flight was in good shape, Cornerstone's connection to Chicago was 'iffy' and his flight to Dallas through JFK had been cancelled. Snow in the USA...lots of snow. It brought back memories of our London snow day.....only this year, we have trip insurance, so it was much less stressful for me!
Checked baggage....gone. Onward to Italian TSA. Oh my, it is NOT like USA TSA. What a breeze! It made me miss the old days!
The Fiumicino terminals are very nice. The shopping is expensive with many many of the designer shops represented along the way. The food stands are delicious though and even though the hotel packed a sack breakfast for us (in a 'sack-ih-TEE-no), almost everyone still found something they just had to buy. These kids spent a lot of money on food....they guys especially love to eat, and I guess they budgeted for it.
Some of the students had no seat assignment, which clearly made them nervous. Sometimes you just have to be patient though, and they were....though some were better at it than others. Their patience paid off by the time they hit the plane though...since they were upgraded to Economy Plus and had a bit of leg room. Lesson....BE PATIENT. Americans so often are not patient, we want immediate answers and results.
Thank you United Airways for making our morning go smoothly. Lydia had a ticket with no problems, and everyone had a seat! Off to America and the promise of a great future and excitement of waking up in our own beds......in the morning! Ah daylight....God provides it every morning with the promise of a bright new day!
Foods of the gods
There has been no shortage of eating for this past week. We started each day with a "breakfast of champions." We generally had a buffet with offerings of things like yoghurt (European, no sugar), cereals of various sorts,breads, croissants or other Italian sweet breads, canned fruits, fresh fruit, sliced ham, sliced cheese, sometimes scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage. Pineapple juice seemed to be an Italian staple, along with a mixed berry juice and always water (fizzy or naturale) (nat-YOUR-al-AYE)
Lunch was generally on our own so we found varieties of pizza or pasta dishes or sandwiches (paninis) at lunch stands, grocery shops or dine in restaurants. Dinner was generally pizza, a pasta dish, or what seemed to be their meat staple - roast chicken and potatoes, which interestingly, I did not consider to be Italian at all. Tomatoes were abundant in EVERY form.
REAL Italian pizza is so different from American Italian pizza. The crust is very thin and not oily at all. Imagine taking fresh tomatoes, pureeing them in the blender and putting them on the dough...and calling it tomato sauce. Yes, it is a little runny and if you try to eat the pizza immediately, all of the sauce and toppings slide right off. You must RELAX and let it set up for a moment or two. I also never saw a pizza with more than three toppings. We excessive Americans...really, a pizza supreme?
All of the meals could be considered generally healthy, but everyone still has a meal of choice that they can hardly wait to eat upon our return. I have heard requests for things like "a REAL McDonald's burger," an Outback steak, and Mrs. Wagner's lasagna (which supposedly tops anything we had in Italy) to my personal favorite......Vegetables (other than roasted eggplant, zucchini or tomatoes. (oh yes, like the Brits, they serve fresh tomatoes for breakfast as well)
We also learned of food and excess during the time of the Roman Empire. The trip up to Palatine Hill was pretty interesting. When you hear "palatine" just think PALaces....up on a hill. We have an area near Orlando Regional Hospital called "Pill Hill,". Same thing....back in the early days of Orlando the doctors tended to build large homes in the area just east of the hospital, thus, Pill Hill (doctors/pills). And so in Rome the Emperors...those people with great wealth....chose the hill with the panoramic view of Rome and the Empire. I marveled at the way they built the palaces into the hill. The shear size of what remains of the palaces is an indicator of how huge and how elaborate they were. The fact that they could actually engineer these things was astounding to me.
They had running water and fountains everywhere...because they could. Rome had what others did not....water, good water...via an aqueduct system...and some of that system still stands today.
So, how does this relate to food? Excess. The Roman Empire was about excess, and plenty of it. Food, included. I was brought back to recollections of the stories of the emperors table. We can see illustrations in paintings......but just think of large a quantities of food, food from all over the world, rich food. Now imagine people close to the emperor joining together for a meal, imagine the meal lasting for 24 hours...food coming non- stop. Now imagine the flowing waters running through the palaces and I guess the nicest way to describe the activity is....binging and purging.......and continuing to eat. It is hard for us to imagine such a thing, yet that was a normal activity.
Just ask the kids to explain this to you. I am sure their terms will be more graphic than mine....the water was useful for taking the 'remains' out of the dining halls. I don't recall ever studying about more than the excesses, but standing on the Paletine Hill and imagining the happenings of centuries ago, just made a visual impression on me that I will not likely forget. Excess....and in America, we too have way too much of it.
Today I pondered the "food of the gods" ......god, of course, meaning the emperors. Plenty of food. Plenty of Emperors. I pondered also the food of OUR GOD....you know, the one and only, Jehovah God. He provides, every day. Not only does He provide for our physical needs, but He has a provided the wealth...the abundance of His wisdom, found in His love letters to us...The Bible. That kind of excess is healthy for us!
Lunch was generally on our own so we found varieties of pizza or pasta dishes or sandwiches (paninis) at lunch stands, grocery shops or dine in restaurants. Dinner was generally pizza, a pasta dish, or what seemed to be their meat staple - roast chicken and potatoes, which interestingly, I did not consider to be Italian at all. Tomatoes were abundant in EVERY form.
REAL Italian pizza is so different from American Italian pizza. The crust is very thin and not oily at all. Imagine taking fresh tomatoes, pureeing them in the blender and putting them on the dough...and calling it tomato sauce. Yes, it is a little runny and if you try to eat the pizza immediately, all of the sauce and toppings slide right off. You must RELAX and let it set up for a moment or two. I also never saw a pizza with more than three toppings. We excessive Americans...really, a pizza supreme?
All of the meals could be considered generally healthy, but everyone still has a meal of choice that they can hardly wait to eat upon our return. I have heard requests for things like "a REAL McDonald's burger," an Outback steak, and Mrs. Wagner's lasagna (which supposedly tops anything we had in Italy) to my personal favorite......Vegetables (other than roasted eggplant, zucchini or tomatoes. (oh yes, like the Brits, they serve fresh tomatoes for breakfast as well)
We also learned of food and excess during the time of the Roman Empire. The trip up to Palatine Hill was pretty interesting. When you hear "palatine" just think PALaces....up on a hill. We have an area near Orlando Regional Hospital called "Pill Hill,". Same thing....back in the early days of Orlando the doctors tended to build large homes in the area just east of the hospital, thus, Pill Hill (doctors/pills). And so in Rome the Emperors...those people with great wealth....chose the hill with the panoramic view of Rome and the Empire. I marveled at the way they built the palaces into the hill. The shear size of what remains of the palaces is an indicator of how huge and how elaborate they were. The fact that they could actually engineer these things was astounding to me.
They had running water and fountains everywhere...because they could. Rome had what others did not....water, good water...via an aqueduct system...and some of that system still stands today.
So, how does this relate to food? Excess. The Roman Empire was about excess, and plenty of it. Food, included. I was brought back to recollections of the stories of the emperors table. We can see illustrations in paintings......but just think of large a quantities of food, food from all over the world, rich food. Now imagine people close to the emperor joining together for a meal, imagine the meal lasting for 24 hours...food coming non- stop. Now imagine the flowing waters running through the palaces and I guess the nicest way to describe the activity is....binging and purging.......and continuing to eat. It is hard for us to imagine such a thing, yet that was a normal activity.
Just ask the kids to explain this to you. I am sure their terms will be more graphic than mine....the water was useful for taking the 'remains' out of the dining halls. I don't recall ever studying about more than the excesses, but standing on the Paletine Hill and imagining the happenings of centuries ago, just made a visual impression on me that I will not likely forget. Excess....and in America, we too have way too much of it.
Today I pondered the "food of the gods" ......god, of course, meaning the emperors. Plenty of food. Plenty of Emperors. I pondered also the food of OUR GOD....you know, the one and only, Jehovah God. He provides, every day. Not only does He provide for our physical needs, but He has a provided the wealth...the abundance of His wisdom, found in His love letters to us...The Bible. That kind of excess is healthy for us!
Mornings
Backing up to posts written without benefit of internet access.....
Mornings
Being anything but a morning person, these early morning wake-up calls are among the most difficult part of travel for me. I have learned that I am not the only one who was a bit afraid to miss a wake up call since almost half of the students packed fairly quickly after our return to the hotel on Tuesday, and proceeded to do things like play cards, talk and recall their various experiences, and give each other foot massages. (What servants, eh?) I expect them to fall asleep at some point....my expectations may be too high, however....so we shall see...in the morning.
A lot of the kids seem to be on my floor at the Rome hotel, which also has very limited space for gathering, so it is nice to be able to allow them to have their room doors open and hear them gathering together, in the halls and such. This has been a really great group of kids to travel with. I can not speak highly enough of their ability to get along, not only with each other, but to welcome and enjoy the group of students from Cornerstone. Most of the time you would not have known that they were from two different schools. They each have their group of friends, of course...but it has been neat to see them get to know others better. I hope new friendships are being formed because travel helps you to see people in a new light...differently than in the course of a school day.
I had already planned to stay awake and do my sleeping on the plane, planning instead to catch up on blogging...for as long as my fingers can take it on the ipad. Italy (or 'IT-lee) is such an interesting place. They really run at their own pace and it really does not matter what we think the pace, or service for that matter, should be. I purchased internet service so I could sit on my moderately comfortable bed (that might be stretching it a bit) and blog....but the service did not work in my room. It worked until I passed through the doorway of my room, but not inside my room. So for much of this post I am sitting on the floor in the hallway outside my room. Kids interject funny stories as I type, so I keep proofing...there is no telling what this might end up saying! Occasionally I get reminders that I "COULD' go downstairs and be more comfortable. Hmmm...are they trying to get rid of me? Do they not understand that I quite enjoy their company?
My reflection on mornings is that each morning brings us a whole new day. No matter what happened the day before, each new morning will bring new adventures, new opportunities, and the chance to do things 'better.' While we may have to live with the consequences of decisions we made 'in the past', we still have the opportunity to do it better with each new day. We have a few suggestions of things they might do in Italy to make things better each new day, but that is not really our job. When traveling, we are supposed to be embracing THEIR culture, not trying to change them to our culture. We often forget that. I will do another post about rooms and service at Hotel Eurpoa. In hind site, we might find it funny...now that we can put things into perspective.
"Numbbums" Have you ever heard of that? It is when you sit on a marble floor too long and the stinging is from numbness from where you are sitting. I am going to take a stretch break and move to the couch downstairs........more posts to follow!
If I doze off.....I guess someone will wake me up by....morning!
Mornings
Being anything but a morning person, these early morning wake-up calls are among the most difficult part of travel for me. I have learned that I am not the only one who was a bit afraid to miss a wake up call since almost half of the students packed fairly quickly after our return to the hotel on Tuesday, and proceeded to do things like play cards, talk and recall their various experiences, and give each other foot massages. (What servants, eh?) I expect them to fall asleep at some point....my expectations may be too high, however....so we shall see...in the morning.
A lot of the kids seem to be on my floor at the Rome hotel, which also has very limited space for gathering, so it is nice to be able to allow them to have their room doors open and hear them gathering together, in the halls and such. This has been a really great group of kids to travel with. I can not speak highly enough of their ability to get along, not only with each other, but to welcome and enjoy the group of students from Cornerstone. Most of the time you would not have known that they were from two different schools. They each have their group of friends, of course...but it has been neat to see them get to know others better. I hope new friendships are being formed because travel helps you to see people in a new light...differently than in the course of a school day.
I had already planned to stay awake and do my sleeping on the plane, planning instead to catch up on blogging...for as long as my fingers can take it on the ipad. Italy (or 'IT-lee) is such an interesting place. They really run at their own pace and it really does not matter what we think the pace, or service for that matter, should be. I purchased internet service so I could sit on my moderately comfortable bed (that might be stretching it a bit) and blog....but the service did not work in my room. It worked until I passed through the doorway of my room, but not inside my room. So for much of this post I am sitting on the floor in the hallway outside my room. Kids interject funny stories as I type, so I keep proofing...there is no telling what this might end up saying! Occasionally I get reminders that I "COULD' go downstairs and be more comfortable. Hmmm...are they trying to get rid of me? Do they not understand that I quite enjoy their company?
My reflection on mornings is that each morning brings us a whole new day. No matter what happened the day before, each new morning will bring new adventures, new opportunities, and the chance to do things 'better.' While we may have to live with the consequences of decisions we made 'in the past', we still have the opportunity to do it better with each new day. We have a few suggestions of things they might do in Italy to make things better each new day, but that is not really our job. When traveling, we are supposed to be embracing THEIR culture, not trying to change them to our culture. We often forget that. I will do another post about rooms and service at Hotel Eurpoa. In hind site, we might find it funny...now that we can put things into perspective.
"Numbbums" Have you ever heard of that? It is when you sit on a marble floor too long and the stinging is from numbness from where you are sitting. I am going to take a stretch break and move to the couch downstairs........more posts to follow!
If I doze off.....I guess someone will wake me up by....morning!
Internet
Now that I have internet access and a computer with a real keyboard, I will start posting some of the blogs from the last few days. I hope you check back often for other parts of the trip that come to mind as we review journals and recall wonderful memories of our studies abroad. We made it home safely and not as weary as we could have been. It was great to see all of the parents at the end of the hallway welcoming us back. What a great team!
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