May 25th- Met the Mayor and More Bambini
This morning we met the mayor of Marano sul Panaro, Emelia Muratori. Her staff and her welcomed us with their arms wide open. At the entrance they had placed the American flags and a welcome sign on the door. The secretary was so nice to us. She led the way to the conference room. Shortly Emilia met us and welcomed us with a huge smile. We introduced ourselves and Dr.Marciano handed her gifts. Oh, how excited the Mayor was with the gifts. Also we met another man, who's name I can not remember. He spoke English and I believe he was just to be like an interpreter or translator. Well later on in the day it turns out that this man, was not only the interpreter but also the head master (principal) of the Elementary school that we would shortly be attending.
Emilia gave us some history information about the place. She had order for a table of snacks for us. Those snacks could of been my lunch. You know, I would have never thought that small pieces of pizza would count as a snack. Then it was pretty early in the morning. I am not complaining because it was really good. The pizza as a snack or finger food must be something pretty normal here in Italy. On the table there were chocolate bars, fruit (my pear was sweet and yummy), pizza, cookies, juice, and water. After the snacks we snapped a few pictures and looked at the models of some building that the children had built.
After the pictures, Emilia accompanied us to the elementary school that was near by. We're we in for a surprise! As we approached the school we say children along the fence. I just thought maybe it was their recess and they were curious as of who is walking in a group towards their direction. Well as soon as we faced the front of the gate or entrance there were more children. In a blink of an eye they start to sing and play music. I got so teary and emotional. I wasn't expecting anything like this. They played one song after another and they made us feel so welcomed. They even had children. Who were assigned to a solo. "So how long had they been preparing for our arrival?". In my opinion the entire school knew of our arrival, exact date, and time.
Do you remember the man who was to be the translator?.....well this is when I find out that he was the head master of the school. Apparently he is the principal of three schools but only getting paid for one! :( Well earlier that morning when we were meeting with the mayor and the time came closer to leave, I saw him making a fee phone calls. I don't know maybe he had some important business to handle OR he was warning the school that we were in our way!
After the beautiful songs and introduction to the entire school, we had a quick little tour of the school and a quick peek into the classes we would visit shortly after lunch. Well guess where we had lunch at?...We had lunch in the SCHOOL! "My thoughts were, 'oh no, here comes the school lunches!' " Well, how about I enjoyed this school lunch and I could eat that all the time if I was working in a school like that. Okay, we may of had an exception with our meal because they brought us juice and the potion "may" have been bigger (don't quote me on that) BUT we all had a three course meal. We had pasta for the first dish, meats and cheese for the second dish, and pie for dessert. Mmmmm, it was good! I observed that the children had the exact same thing and they were allowed for SECONDS! In America, instead of making the meals better, it's more like they are taking a portion of meals, in other words it's less food. Here in Italy, I was amazed by their school lunch, choice, and even the way the table was set up. They had their cups and utensils layer out and a basket of bread! Wow!
After lunch, we headed for the classrooms we had peeked into earlier for the actual teaching of a lesson. The children were so happy to see us! I could see their curiosity in their eyes! Again the lesson started with a quick introduction of us and them, they asked questions and we asked questions. We went into reading "Where's Walrus!", which they enjoyed! They would laugh here and there, then came the art work! Their drawings were amazing! Some drew Walrus in the park, others in a restaurant, some in a store, etc. We did two classes on this day! They were both amazing! During their time of drawing, they would ask me questions. They would try to help each other out when having trouble knowing the right English word in order to ask the question so that I understood. Which made me give them a plus for their participation! They were excellent!
Last but not least, the day ended with the wonderful Silvana and Coci having us over for dinner. My oh my, can Silvana cook!
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