Wednesday, February 25, 2009
il blog di gus- Londra
One day we went to London for six days and ‘giovedì’ (Thursday) we went and saw some buskers at Covent Garden. There were acrobats and comedians and here are some pictures of how talented they were:
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Ipercoop, no 5
last question in the quiz- if you've been grocery shopping in Italy even once, you'll probably get it right away:
Q. How do you choose and purchase produce in an Italian grocery store?
A. If you said grab a bag off the roll and put the fruit or veggies of you choice inside then throw it into your cart, one of two bad things will happen to you: 1) you will get dirty looks from your fellow shoppers because you just touched that produce with YOUR BARE HANDS, and 2) you will be send back to the produce department to weigh all your purchases and get price stickers while the whole line of customers waits, rolling their eyes. All over Italy you must first put on a plastic glove (available right next to the plastic bags) before touching any produce unless you are a fully trained and authorized greengrocer. In France, right next door, using all these plastic gloves would be considered wasteful and polluting, but here they are an essential part of self-serve produce. There are signs at greengrocers that say- Do Not Touch! Weighing your fruits and veggies is becoming more common even in the states, but at one local supermarket you choose on the screen if you are weighing a fruit or vegetable first and then you can select the item- FYI: tomatoes are vegetables and avocados are fruits.
sorry for the photo quality- one is of an official Italian produce-handling glove, the other is of a weighing station
Monday, February 16, 2009
Ipercoop, no 4
And now question 4 in the 5 question Italian grocery culture survey:
Q. Where should you find flour?
A. By the sugar, oil, and other baking supplies, right? Not here. Flour is by the pasta for those who want to make their own at home. Sugar is with other sweeteners and is near the coffee and a next to few cake mixes. Oil is by the spices and there are more varieties of olive oil than there are other kids of oil by a factor of ten- yesterday there was even an olive oil tasting booth like you might find for wine at a fancy liquor store.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Ipercoop, no 3
here's question #3 in a 5 Question Culture survey:
Q. How many aisles should be dedicated to chips and crackers?
A. In the states it’s at least 2- here it’s about 1/4 of an aisle- no cheetos, no dorritos, just a few potato chips and our favorite: smilzys. Snacking as Americans know it just isn't a thing here.
pictured here: smilzys and summit (enjoyed after a care package from Josh and Mary) :) Smilzys are one of two kinds of snacks made from puffed rice and potato with vaguely American sounding names.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Ipercoop, no 2
here's question #2 in a 5 Question Culture survey:
Q. How many aisles should be dedicated to pasta at the supermarket?
A. If you said one, two or three, you’re not thinking Italian yet. There are four full aisles of Pasta at our super market: one for dry egg pasta, one for dry semolina pasta, one for ‘fresh’ packaged brands, and one for fresh-made-on-site pasta (local recipes which here means lots of tortellini, no ravioli).
Friday, February 13, 2009
Ipercoop, no1
We developed a theory based on our early experiences here that you can tell a lot about a culture from the grocery store. I mean think, about it, what you can buy, how much space is dedicated to what kinds of products, where things are located, how things work… it’s all very culturally relative.
Little stores with lots of personal attention were out of our league when we first arrived (too much conversation required!), so we started shopping at the place that seemed the most anonymous and culturally accessible for us- Ipercoop (eee-pair-cop, a huge supermarket/co-op). Even so, we got big headaches the first few times.
To find out why, take this simple Italian Culture quiz we failed miserably in August. I’ll put one question and answer up per day along with photos I took like the spy that I am (please forgive the framing and lack of focus).
Q. What kinds of food should be available in a supermarket?
A. If you answered with any of the following: refried beans, cheddar cheese, peanut butter, Crisco, sliced bread, whole turkeys, 'Italian' sausage, Polish Sausage, bacon, jars of spaghetti sauce, long grain rice, cilantro, vanilla extract, dill, cumin, chicken stock or sweet potatoes you will be disappointed- 99% of the foods available in our supermarket here are Italian, not American Italian, but local Bolognese-Italian. The ‘ethnic foods’ section is two feet wide and includes Uncle Ben’s Mexican Beans (sugary whole kidney beans!?!) and instant friend rice. Experimenting with exotic cooking here means trying foods from other Italian regions, like Sicily. If you like prosciutto, parmesan cheese, or mortadella (bologna)- you are in luck! The quantities available for purchase are astounding!!! Whole parma hams, 30-40 kg wheels of aged parmigiano-reggiano, and the mortadella as big as a car (OK, that one you can’t buy the whole thing, but around the holidays you can have a piece cut off the huge one and vacuum-packed before your eyes) are all featured prominently.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Comportimento e scuola, senza foto
Please forgive the length, parents and teachers will be most interested in what is to follow. I should also add that I state what I do with humility, knowing that I don't know everything. This is draft 2:
One of the biggest challenges here at school has been adjusting to a different interpretation of what falls under the scope of the teacher’s job. Most notably, discipline and supporting positive classroom behavior is not on the list, at least not in our experience here so far.
There is not a principal in the school to whom you can send kids who are not doing what they should, there is no use of corporal punishment (though Gus has gotten lots of kisses from his teachers), there isn’t even a chair in the corner of the room for a time-out.
I had a hint on the first day of school we were in for big changes when one of Gus' teachers introduced him to the class. I estimate 60% of the class was paying attention. The rest of the kids were running around, playing with their friends. I kept waiting for her to say, 'Alright, that's enough!' and pause for a minute until everyone was listening. When I told this story to the other Moms, they laughed, 60% listening? That's pretty good.
When I first realized managing Gus’ classroom behavior was mostly, if not entirely my job, and that he was struggling, I offered to come to school and observe class. Imagining the can of worms this might open- namely that if everyone did this, there would be a row of Italian mothers (Mamme) dope-slapping their children here and there throughout the day, they said ‘absolutely not!’ So where does that leave us?
We get notes in Gus’ agenda, and on his notebooks, we’ve had conferences, we even got a phone call once. On my end with Gus I’ve tried friendly chats, yelling, incentives and consequences (the most severe was not going to basketball for two nights, his basketball coach told me I was ‘sbagliata’ misguided, wrong for that and after some thought, I agreed). On their end, the teachers do one of two things- tell him what to do and if he doesn’t they either keep telling him again and again or they give up.
At home now we have a system where Gus looses and earns computer privileges if he does or does not do two basic things: respect teachers’ first request, and refrain from hurting other children (not so much of a problem now, though at the beginning of the year he was talking with his fists, shall we say). It’s not that effective, but I’m not sure anything could be… honestly, the thing that has helped most was this advice from the other mamme: to take with a huge grain of salt what goes on at school.
As an example, our last ‘communicazione’ from one of Gus’ teachers read, ‘For the last ten days, Gus has not been following directions at school, he has not been doing his lesson, instead he is very attentive to what his classmate Ahmed* has been doing, just thought you would want to know.’ Of course, my first question was, ‘What’s so interesting that Ahmed is doing all day.’ Gus’ response, ‘Oh, he crawls around under the desks, gets up and writes on the chalk board, steals things from other kids, and tries to get me in trouble.’
Ahmed was Gus last year, the new kid at school from a foreign family. He’s bright like Gus and learned well from his teachers that he could do what was fun, and the only consequence would be yelling or ignoring. Now he doesn’t read or do his homework, and among the other kids and even some of their parents there is a growing resentment towards him for holding up class. Holy crap! Way too much negative pressure for a little boy of 7- innocent in every way, for now… How do you get out of a predicament like this? I think this kind of situation is a breeding ground for Mafiosi on one side and racists on the other.
To all my friends, family and colleagues back at home who care about every kid in their classroom, regardless of origin and appearances, and who work everyday for equity of opportunity, I salute you. You work so that the promise of a free society can be fulfilled and without you, my neighborhood in North Minneapolis, and all the communities the country over would be in much worse shape. Thank you. On behalf of all of us.
*not his real name
One of the biggest challenges here at school has been adjusting to a different interpretation of what falls under the scope of the teacher’s job. Most notably, discipline and supporting positive classroom behavior is not on the list, at least not in our experience here so far.
There is not a principal in the school to whom you can send kids who are not doing what they should, there is no use of corporal punishment (though Gus has gotten lots of kisses from his teachers), there isn’t even a chair in the corner of the room for a time-out.
I had a hint on the first day of school we were in for big changes when one of Gus' teachers introduced him to the class. I estimate 60% of the class was paying attention. The rest of the kids were running around, playing with their friends. I kept waiting for her to say, 'Alright, that's enough!' and pause for a minute until everyone was listening. When I told this story to the other Moms, they laughed, 60% listening? That's pretty good.
When I first realized managing Gus’ classroom behavior was mostly, if not entirely my job, and that he was struggling, I offered to come to school and observe class. Imagining the can of worms this might open- namely that if everyone did this, there would be a row of Italian mothers (Mamme) dope-slapping their children here and there throughout the day, they said ‘absolutely not!’ So where does that leave us?
We get notes in Gus’ agenda, and on his notebooks, we’ve had conferences, we even got a phone call once. On my end with Gus I’ve tried friendly chats, yelling, incentives and consequences (the most severe was not going to basketball for two nights, his basketball coach told me I was ‘sbagliata’ misguided, wrong for that and after some thought, I agreed). On their end, the teachers do one of two things- tell him what to do and if he doesn’t they either keep telling him again and again or they give up.
At home now we have a system where Gus looses and earns computer privileges if he does or does not do two basic things: respect teachers’ first request, and refrain from hurting other children (not so much of a problem now, though at the beginning of the year he was talking with his fists, shall we say). It’s not that effective, but I’m not sure anything could be… honestly, the thing that has helped most was this advice from the other mamme: to take with a huge grain of salt what goes on at school.
As an example, our last ‘communicazione’ from one of Gus’ teachers read, ‘For the last ten days, Gus has not been following directions at school, he has not been doing his lesson, instead he is very attentive to what his classmate Ahmed* has been doing, just thought you would want to know.’ Of course, my first question was, ‘What’s so interesting that Ahmed is doing all day.’ Gus’ response, ‘Oh, he crawls around under the desks, gets up and writes on the chalk board, steals things from other kids, and tries to get me in trouble.’
Ahmed was Gus last year, the new kid at school from a foreign family. He’s bright like Gus and learned well from his teachers that he could do what was fun, and the only consequence would be yelling or ignoring. Now he doesn’t read or do his homework, and among the other kids and even some of their parents there is a growing resentment towards him for holding up class. Holy crap! Way too much negative pressure for a little boy of 7- innocent in every way, for now… How do you get out of a predicament like this? I think this kind of situation is a breeding ground for Mafiosi on one side and racists on the other.
To all my friends, family and colleagues back at home who care about every kid in their classroom, regardless of origin and appearances, and who work everyday for equity of opportunity, I salute you. You work so that the promise of a free society can be fulfilled and without you, my neighborhood in North Minneapolis, and all the communities the country over would be in much worse shape. Thank you. On behalf of all of us.
*not his real name
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
il blog di maddy- la scuola
Maddy also dictated three things that might surprise you about school at Pizzano, one thing she'd like to bring home and one she'll be glad to leave behind:
You go to school on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday for 8 hours, while on Tuesday and Friday you go to school for four hours. And in many other schools across the country, you go to school on Saturday, too (I'm glad we don't).
I'm glad there are half-days, because I have the time to do my homework. I have a bunch of homework, seeing that some of my subjects I do twice a week or three times.
You cannot bring a school lunch, but you have to bring a mid-morning snack for each day. For lunch instead of bringing a lunch we either get to stay at school and eat school lunch, or go home. I stay at school with most of the people from my class. (The people who unfortunately go home for lunch and get sick at home, leave all of their school supplies at school) For school lunch we have first course and second course. First course is a pasta or rice usually, and second course contains a meat and a vegetable. Most of the food is really good, but egg and spinach lasagne is not always appetizing. For merenda, alot of kids bring crackers, biscotti, or candy with a juice box, even pizza. I often bring a small sandwich or homemade cookies, once or twice I brought pizza.
There are three teachers for two or three grades. my three teachers teach fifth grade and first grade, while Gus' three teachers teach second grade, and some of third and some of fourth grades. I take Italiano, English, Math, Geography, History, Science, Music, History of Music, and Geometry. Geometry here is not just working with shapes, it's also adding and subtracting weights and other measurements. It's kind of like having two maths. And the English here is British English, so I'm not quite sure if English is my favourite subject.
I really like the school supplies and agendas they have because you are responsible for your own things. And it's nice to be able to keep track of your homework. The pencil cases here can be expensive, but that's because all of the markers and colored pencils and pens come in them (they open like a book).
I will gladly leave behind the expected homework and the periodic tests. You know that there's going to be a lot of homework right before a test, leaving less time to study. But, since I am not from Italy and I am going back to America next year, I do not have to pass any test whatsoever. I try to pass my tests, but I try not to feel bad if I don't.
photos: Maddy doing homework, the astucci (pencil cases), a grade from school
You go to school on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday for 8 hours, while on Tuesday and Friday you go to school for four hours. And in many other schools across the country, you go to school on Saturday, too (I'm glad we don't).
I'm glad there are half-days, because I have the time to do my homework. I have a bunch of homework, seeing that some of my subjects I do twice a week or three times.
You cannot bring a school lunch, but you have to bring a mid-morning snack for each day. For lunch instead of bringing a lunch we either get to stay at school and eat school lunch, or go home. I stay at school with most of the people from my class. (The people who unfortunately go home for lunch and get sick at home, leave all of their school supplies at school) For school lunch we have first course and second course. First course is a pasta or rice usually, and second course contains a meat and a vegetable. Most of the food is really good, but egg and spinach lasagne is not always appetizing. For merenda, alot of kids bring crackers, biscotti, or candy with a juice box, even pizza. I often bring a small sandwich or homemade cookies, once or twice I brought pizza.
There are three teachers for two or three grades. my three teachers teach fifth grade and first grade, while Gus' three teachers teach second grade, and some of third and some of fourth grades. I take Italiano, English, Math, Geography, History, Science, Music, History of Music, and Geometry. Geometry here is not just working with shapes, it's also adding and subtracting weights and other measurements. It's kind of like having two maths. And the English here is British English, so I'm not quite sure if English is my favourite subject.
I really like the school supplies and agendas they have because you are responsible for your own things. And it's nice to be able to keep track of your homework. The pencil cases here can be expensive, but that's because all of the markers and colored pencils and pens come in them (they open like a book).
I will gladly leave behind the expected homework and the periodic tests. You know that there's going to be a lot of homework right before a test, leaving less time to study. But, since I am not from Italy and I am going back to America next year, I do not have to pass any test whatsoever. I try to pass my tests, but I try not to feel bad if I don't.
photos: Maddy doing homework, the astucci (pencil cases), a grade from school
il blog di gus- scuola
Gus dictated three things that might surprise you about school at Pizzano, one thing he'd like to bring home and one he'll be glad to leave behind:
There are two recesses in second grade- recess is in the classroom when it's winter and outside on the asphalt (no play equipment, but there is one wall that's nice to climb) when it isn't even cold. There are three gates to get out, and two separate areas. We play aruba bandiera (capture the flag) & calcio (soccer) with a crumpled piece of paper (dad says it's like tape-ball), chiapparella con la priggione (it's technically freeze tag, but instead of standing still, you go to priggione and wait for someone to get you out). During the winter, they almost never let you outside to play There's a foosball table we can use before and after school, but there isn't a ball for it right now. They actually use desks and a blackboard instead of tables and a paper chart. There are either two or three people stuck together. We all face the blackboard. My compagno di banco is Alessio, it used to be Elisa. We sometimes do Gym, only on Wednesdays, up on the third level. My Gym teacher is Paula (also my teacher for science and math). We do things like jump over stuff, crawl in stuff, climb up one ladder, switch to the other ladder and climb down. One thing I would like to bring home from school in Italy is my friends. My mom says that's nice, but I need to think of another aspect of school. I choose the gym, because it's a nice and big place to run around. I think I'd be glad to leave the school yard, because even though it's got a secret passageway, my school yard at home has grass, turf, woods and play equipment.
ps: these pictures are of Gus doing homework and a compito (assignment) that Gus was proud of.
la scuola Italiana
'Maddy & Gus meet the Italian School System' won by a landslide. I will keep the rest up for a new poll next week, and so on, so never fear if you were the one who voted for hearing about which motor vehicle Gibbs wants to buy next, your day will come!
I'm not sure where to start with this topic, and it may take a few entries to do it justice. School in Italy is a huge part of our experience, and in and of itself, it has not been a particularly positive one. Yet, going to school has been key to nearly every other profoundly positive experience we've had here. It's how the kids have learned Italian, it's how we all have met people and made friends, it is what has solidified our sense of belonging here in Monterenzio. A necessary evil?
I asked the kids to tell you what were the three aspects of their school lives at Pizzano that might surprise you the most, and then to choose one element of school they wish they could bring home and one they would be happy to leave. They had a lot to say, so I typed and then used each response for a blog entry.
I'm not sure where to start with this topic, and it may take a few entries to do it justice. School in Italy is a huge part of our experience, and in and of itself, it has not been a particularly positive one. Yet, going to school has been key to nearly every other profoundly positive experience we've had here. It's how the kids have learned Italian, it's how we all have met people and made friends, it is what has solidified our sense of belonging here in Monterenzio. A necessary evil?
I asked the kids to tell you what were the three aspects of their school lives at Pizzano that might surprise you the most, and then to choose one element of school they wish they could bring home and one they would be happy to leave. They had a lot to say, so I typed and then used each response for a blog entry.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
compleanno di Gibbs
Gibbs turned 39 (for the first time) today. We celebrated with chocolate chip cookies and a few gifts from the Ducati outlet. Yes! He did get a motorcycle. The good news is the shipping costs to get it home are negligible, the bad new is it's a little small for freeway riding (or really any riding...)
We have taken to using La Repubblica (the newspaper) for wrapping paper, and today's paper did not disappoint- there was a feature on how 4-8 years in the white house ages a person. So far, I'd say Gibbs' term has been much kinder to him than Carter's.
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