The Things I Did in Italy Besides Eating...

Because let's be honest...I could probably write a rather lengthy post about the food that I ate. The last few weeks have been a great combination of new and old things. For the old, I was able to drop my jaw like a bass (this is no joke, I feel like I walked around Italy with my mouth open half the time haha) and see Pompeii, Rome, and the history of Italy. I was able to see some friends and share our joint experiences of living overseas. And for the new, my beliefs on childhood were challenged and I learned about cultures and traditions through new friends.

While I was in Italy, I spent the majority of my time in Reggio Emilia, a small town with a lot of charm close to Bologna. Besides the fact that I was STILL not able to escape the snow while I was in Italy, it was a beautiful experience there. The reason that I traveled to Reggio Emilia was because it is birthplace of the Reggio Emilia philosophy (I know, the name is real creative, right?). The school movement very first began after WWII, when schools were created for the new era of life. This movement continued into the 1960’s, when it began to take more shape into the philosophy that is recognized now. Inspired by educational philosophers, the Reggio Emilia way of teaching was created to be more in tune with the Democratic society that Italy was becoming. The schools are intertwined with the city, a cooperative initiative, making the city one of the most child friendly cities in Italy. This statistic is based off of the fact that the pre-schools are accessible to all families, and that over 90% of children in Reggio Emilia attend a toddler center. So, you can imagine why I ventured there, huh?

The Reggio Emilia philosophy was one of the reasons that I designed my proposal around exploring educational philosophies. My mother works in a Reggio Emilia inspired pre-school and that is how I was introduced to the world of alternative education. Being at the source got me thinking and it got me a little frustrated. The seed was planted last year at Sewanee in one of my courses and, reading this article, it was revisited. What Waldorf, Montessori, and Reggio Emilia have in common is that they were born from modest beginning. They were also born from people who believe in children. Now, each of these philosophies represent privileged educations—educations that continue to be “successful” (I use the quotes because what defines them as successful can be subjective) because they empower children and believe in children. Soooo what the heck happened? When did society lose their respect for children? Of course children have their own unique needs. And when that was more recognized, we gave them their own rights. In doing so, however, did we alienate them? We keep children inside school walls, in playgrounds. Granted, they can’t vote, drive a car, or shop for food, but does that mean that they are less superior beings of society? If we allow children to believe that they belong in their city as much as adults do, will that change the way that they grow-up? Children are capable. So, how can we change society’s perception on childhood? Here lies my frustration, as well as the frustration of countless educators and policy makers that I have met. These are just thoughts, and lord knows that I’m not going to find any answers while I am abraod, but, I figured that I’d share a little of what was challenging me while I was in Italy.

NOW onto something completely different…

Naples and Rome. First, the fact that I was not hit by a motorcycle in either city is a shock in itself. Good lord people in Italy drive like crazy people! I went to Naples first, and had no idea what to expect….besides pizza, let’s be honest. And besides the deliciousss pizza that I had there, the highlight was visiting Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvious. Pompeii was absolutely nothing like what I thought it would be. When I learned about it in history, we saw the pictures of the ash, of course, and so I expected it to be this depressing ashen place, frozen in time. And granted, I did feel frozen in time, as I did visiting many places in Italy, but, since the volcano, Pompeii has been cleaned up. First off, it is GIGANTIC! The old city of Pompeii is absolutely huge and not designed for people who get lost easily. I would like to add to that statement: ITALY is not designed for people (like me!) who get lost easily. I was lost in Italy all the time. All the time. But, it is not all bad. In fact, there are many fantastic things that I have found when lost! Anyways…Pompeii. Fantastic. The city would have been a beautiful place and although it is cleaned up, it was still a haunting place to be. I loved visiting there and getting to go on top of Mt. Vesuvious was a remarkable experience. Who would have thought that you could spend more than an hour walking around the top of a volcano?? That is how in awe I was with its vastness.

Rome was marvelous for two reasons: 1) I have never felt so small and young amidst all the history and 2) I got to have a SEWANEE REUNION! Luckily, it turned out that there were three Sewanee folks in Rome at the same time! So Mary Gray, Andrew Bradshaw, and I shared a lovely pasta dinner and got to catch-up. It was the absolute perfect time to see some Sewanee people and I am so grateful that I got to see both of them. It was the perfect start to the weekend. Rome, for me at least, was one of those places where I was always just in awe over something. I absolutely loved the city. It was the type of place where I was both grateful and sad to be traveling by myself. There was so much to see there, that I was really glad that I was able to have my own schedule and pick what I wanted to do each day. The beauty in traveling alone is that you do not have to comment on something with someone. I could walk around the perimeter of the Coliseum and just be alone with my own thoughts and emotions and not worry about having to put my feelings to words. On the flip side, experiencing places as historically significant and well known makes you want to be with someone else. It was a bizarre mix of emotions, but in the end, being alone allowed me to have random conversations with strangers and be lost all the time. Because, lord, anyone’s sense of direction is better than mine! Side note, I LOVE how strangers talk to each other when they are traveling! I’ve never been in the super market and gone up to someone and introduced myself randomly.  Like being a freshman in college, travelers seek conversations and new connections with people. Changing strangers to friends while you are traveling is one of the beautiful things in the world.

Now, I’m in Germany! I’ve only been here a week, but it has been a jam packed week of awesomeness so far! I spent last week in Munich, where I was able to visit my friend Kristen from studying abroad, Neuschwanstein Castle, a freaking cool adventure playground, attend an Avett Brothers concert, and go to the dark beer festival. Ya, I said it was a busy week! I feel like I should include a Germany post separately, as to not make this one super long….I’ll have to do that then.