And so begins the busyness!

Time for catch-up ... I slacked off on a post for Monday, so today I'll try to cover both yesterday and today :)

The start of the school week marked the beginning of my time with i bambini in the mornings. I help out my dear friend Sara, who is also the associate director of the program, by watching the kids in the mornings so she can be at school. She heads home around lunchtime and then I come back to do things with/for the school in the afternoons. Once Italian schools start in mid-September I will only have Veronica, but for now all three are still at home and need looking after.

Yesterday I tag-teamed with Sara's mother; she came over shortly after Sara left for school and we took out for a walk, making our way to a local park within the city walls. There were quite a few other children with a parent, or more frequently, grandparent, so Leonardo in particular enjoyed playing with them. Ginevra continues to be particularly clingy to me - it's so funny! Sara and I always laugh because Gigia took the longest to warm up to me when I lived with them last summer, but after a month or two had passed she was clearly the most attached and devoted to me. Well, I was out of the country for nearly eight months and very little changed! Within the first minute of my seeing them again she was in my arms and had to be pried away when it was time for them to leave - it's so sweet!

Of course, this annoys Leonardo to no end because he wants me to play with him too. It takes quite a bit of maneuvering and diplomacy on my part to keep the peace! So we are not only learning to share la palla (the ball), we are learning to share Bekah too :)

Veronica is the least interested in me right now because she doesn't remember me as well, if at all, as the other two do. Yesterday, like I said earlier, we had Sara's mother to help and Veronica stuck close to her. Well today I had both Patrizio and his mother to help (I think they're trying to ease into this, or else just worried that having all three would be too much for me - which, they very well could be!), and Veronica wanted to be with babbo or nonna all morning! We had a great time though ... instead of staying at home or heading to the park, we got in the car and went to play in the River Tiber! Patrizio's mother had two other grandchildren (Patrizio's sister has two little boys that are a little bit older than Leo), so it was easier for three adults to cover five children than divided forces.

The sun made things pretty hot on land, but then we got to the water and it was freddissima - so incredibly cold! Now, I enjoy a nice, cold water source to rest my feet in when it's super hot outside, but this water was so cold that it actually hurt to keep your skin in for very long. I couldn't believe it! It felt like the water was mere degrees away from being ice ...

Around midday we parted ways with the river and Leonardo went home with his nonna and cugini to play for the rest of the afternoon. Meanwhile, Patrizio and I took the little girls over to Sara's parents house before he dropped me off at the palazzo. There's a look at Italy childcare for you! The grandparents play an enormous role in the modern family - in varying degrees of course, but the point is, in many cases they are essentially co-raising the children along with the parents. It's very interesting to watch, and while there are some downsides and natural complications that arise, it is good to see so many grandparents be involved in the lives of the their grandchildren. This is an especially intriguing concept to consider in contrast with the States, where many children get to see their grandparents only around family holidays or special events. Since both of my grandparents live in North Carolina (and one set in the same town as my family), I got to see them all quite often growing up and they played an active part in my growing up years, so I actually relate more to the Italian setup - and I'm grateful for that!

In other news ... well, you are probably wondering what the afternoons look like for me. The answer isn't straightforward as far as details go because I do different things each day. But primarily, I've been working on formatting or creating documents for the school, such as a community contract, roommate contract, laundry room guidelines, etc. The long-term project is for me to complete a student handbook specifically for this program, but during these first few weeks we are knocking out the more time-sensitive bits and focusing on getting the program up and running smoothly. For example, this afternoon I oversaw the reading, discussing, and signing of the community contract for life in the palazzo. We covered issues of common courtesy (noise level), safety (ensuring the door locks behind you), and general living guidelines (kitchen care), etc. It went very well - mainly because we have such an excellent group of students this semester - and had its fair share of amusing moments besides.

I think what is encouraging about this inaugural group is that everyone seems to want to function well as a group. I also think that they recognize how unique this semester is, and how special they are as a small, dedicated student body. I look forward to seeing how the semester unfolds from here!

And now I must sign out for now - we have a travel meeting to discuss tactics and planning in fifteen minutes :)

Until I write again ... thanks for listening!

Bekah


P.S. Next time I will try to get some pictures up of the kids! I pulled my camera out to take pictures at the river today and realized I had left my memory card in my computer ... I could have SPIT I was so mad at myself! UGHHHHH!! But anyway, more photos to come soon :)