Ciao a tutti!
It’s been a while since I’ve checked in… Alex and I have been quite busy from prepping and finalizing all our orientation courses at the Rome EUR YMCA… we’ve been lucky enough to have been taught a wealth of knowledge about the Rome education system at the school and university level, the Italian electoral system, methods and strategies in place to prevent cyber-bullying and educating students in the online world!
As I mentioned before, Alex and I have been able to do small presentations on the same subject matter but in Canada… our representative from YMCA(Beatrice) has been very helpful in providing us all this information and allowing us to learn from one another.
Turn on the brain in the online world – Erasmus+, CPM, CIP, ILEWASI & Fondazione YMCA of Italia
To wrap up our orientation, Alex and I were invited to partake and sit-in on a professional development conference held in Catania, Sicily. “Turn on the brain in the online world” is funded by Erasmus+ whose objective is to support, through lifelong learning, the educational, professional and personal development of people in education, training, youth and sport, in Europe and beyond (so it’s amazing we were able to be there since we will be spreading the knowledge we learned outside of the EU).
This conference brought together partners from four different countries:
- Slovakia: CPM – Youth prevention center of Slovakia
- Cyprus: C.I.P – Citizens in Power of Cyprus
- Spain: ILEWASI
- Italy: Fondazione YMCA of Italia
The project began at the beginning of 2021 and is estimated to end near the end of 2023! The conference covered two days of professional development sessions where Alex and I were able to sit in and participate in presentations done by each partner country. We covered information and activities to implement in the classroom to help students identify trolls and hoaxes online, resources for teachers and students around cyberbullying, student autonomy and choice in the online world and many other topics around digital safety!
Alex and I were able to partake invaluable discussion with and alongside all the partners, as well as sharing our insights from a Canadian perspective.
Sea Views
Sicilian Culture
Besides the professional development we were given, Alex and I were able to fully and truly experience Sicilian culture! Here’s some notes:
- Food you must try here: arancino (or arancina, depending where in Sicily you are), cannoli, involtini (fish or meat) and anything pistachio.
- Other food that is available: seafood (Alex and I aren’t huge seafood fans, but we did however explore the fish market), horse (AH!). As a lover of horses this shocked me… however, horse is a delicacy here and has been for ages, most remote parts of Italy actually have horse a a cultural staple… Sicily, Sardinia etc.).
- The way of life: Italy in general takes things slow (comparatively to Canada). They take the day as it comes, they have their siestas (mid-day breaks, helpful for sun exposure too)… Sicily takes this to a whole other level! Lunch breaks are long – you’re encouraged to truly nourish and experience the food… you then finish your meal with a limoncello shot which is to be sipped, and an espresso.
- The night starts late (again, comparatively to Canada), around 10 or 11PM
- Sicily is similar to Amalfi in the aesthetics sense, the art and design is quite similar
Castello Buskers – Catania, Sicily
The last night, Alex and I (alongside members from each partner country) were able to attend a festival held in Catania… “Castello Buskers”. It was held right outside our Airbnb surrounding Castello Ursino… there were circus-type performances, live music from so many different musicians (marching bands, folk-type music, etc.), theatre performances, street food (some of which seemed to be African x Italian fusion since Catania is so close to Africa), local artisan beer, local vendors and beautiful lights. We ate lots of good food and danced to live music for most of the night, it was the perfect way to conclude our time in Sicily.
All in all, our visit to Catania was amazing! We were able to develop so much more cultural depth, as well as lots of information we will be able to take into our teaching practice. We got to experience the Mediterranean sea, amazing food, ideologies in education from across the EU… because of this, Catania has been one of our favorite cities during TAB.
Tomorrow we start teaching… we aren’t sure at the moment what exactly our role will be, we believe this first week will be similar to field one where you take more of an observer role… we are scheduled to be in many different classes each day so that will be amazing to broaden our perspectives and experience with the Italian school system. When/if teaching “full-on” comes around, we believe Alex and I will be in different classes. During our conversation with the school on our last visit, Alex and I were both able to voice our teachable and desirable subject areas so we are under the impression that Alex will be assigned with the youngest students in the school and I will be given an opportunity with any ages of students, focusing on sciences wherever possible.
Until then… ciao for now,
