Category: Italy

Grace’s Last Week of Camp

Post author By rcahcommunications
Post date 27 Aug 2019
No Comments on Grace’s Last Week of Camp

My last week of camp with ACLE took me to the beautiful beach town of Marotta, in the east-central region of Marche on the Adriatic Sea. With a completely new crew of coworkers, the sea a brief walk from our school, and activities planned each and every evening; it was an exciting way to end my time with ACLE.

The beautiful beach at Marotta

Because my host family lived a bit further away from the sea than the other families, we were able to enjoy both the bustle of the beaches and the tranquility of the countryside. At first, I worried that I would feel isolated amongst the fields and small hills around their house, but it proved to be exactly the haven I needed to decompress after work and connect with my host family before our daily excursions with the others.

My host grandfather and I playing soccer after camp.

Due to the timing of Marotta’s camp, I was fortunate enough to be at the house when my host-grandparents were visiting from the northern region of Aosta-Valley. With little to no English between the two of them, we had a lovely time speaking to one another in Italian and trading different Italian, English, and dialect words across the table during breakfast or dinner. My eleven-year-old host brother Marco and I also began a routine of playing soccer with his grandfather nearly every day after camp (at which time I learned the hard way that the eighty-year-old grandfather had been a gifted soccer-player in his youth and still maintained an incredible amount of skill and agility with the sport). By the end of each scrimmage, we were always thoroughly drenched in sweat and exhausted but somehow managed to freshen up and recharge within the short hour between dinner and evening activities.

This being my first and only one week camp of the summer, I wondered if we would have time to complete a diverse-enough mix of activities with our campers due to the time constraint—but oh did I quickly realize just how much we could do. In our short week of camp, we managed to fit in a scavenger hunt, two days of water games, habitat games, orienteering, the camp song, a camp craft, and camp safari (a game in which the counselors paint themselves to resemble animals and the campers must chase them and bring them to the designated “zookeeper” to receive points—all while answering questions in English and asking questions in turn).

Me painted for the zookeeper activity.

After each of these packed days, we did various exciting post-camp excursions including visits to two nearby towns: Senegalia and Fano. At both places, we strolled through the city streets, ate gelato, and learned some of the local history that our host families and director knew about the main squares, old gates, restored churches, and other beautiful, hidden corners. In Fano after we had finished our gelato and walked a bit further into the city center, we stumbled upon a pop-up salsa event that a friend of our camp director happened to be leading. After a few brief minutes of encouragement, our director Sara convinced all of my coworkers and our teenage helpers, as well as me to take part in the free lesson and “show off our moves.” The sheer energy and joy emanating from our group was invigorating; by the end of the first song, we were all stepping, spinning, and shimmying without a care in the world.

Celebrating at the Festa Dei Desideri.

We ended this whirlwind week at the Festa Dei Desideri. The festival comprised of various pop-up market stalls along the beach, a live DJ and dance pit, a firework show, and many, many balloons. People were encouraged to purchase white balloons from various vendors and write a wish or desire on the paper attached to the balloon. After the fireworks show, everyone flocked to the shoreline and after a moment, hundreds of white balloons were suddenly floating in unison from the beach, from the street, from apartments, from every direction all toward the sea. Each balloon carried its owner’s wish higher and higher over the waves until we could only faintly make out their white dots along the horizon. It was a truly lovely way to end my time with ACLE.

We let go of white balloons at the beach.

I’m so grateful for all of the host families I’ve had, friends I’ve made, people I’ve met, places I’ve seen, things I’ve tried, and lessons I’ve learned (most often from the children). For all of the nearly missed train connections, the long days, the late nights, the short breaks, and the difficult times, there were also many spontaneous adventures, engaging dinners, new friends, inside jokes, and many more wonderful things. Through all of the difficulties that this summer has brought me, I’ve grown to love the work I’m doing that much more. This experience has taught me to always say yes to new things, to be curious, to be silly, that gelato is always necessary, that sleep can happen anywhere, and above all: there is no such thing as too much bug spray.

Tags Michigan State University, Residential College in the Arts and Humanities

Grace Koepele Italy

Third Time’s The Charm

My third camp of the summer brought me to Cimadolmo, a small town nestled among the Prosecco hills of the northern Veneto region of Italy. Along with a South-African, a Canadian, and a fellow Michigander, we had an incredibly eventful first week.

At the beginning of the camp, the children were quite timid with our morning circle songs and activities—something that is not uncommon — but their level of apparent disinterest made me worry that they would be an unenthusiastic bunch. Thankfully, the first afternoon of habitat games came around and my worries were alleviated. In habitat games, we divide the campers into teams and have them compete in various relays to select the animals, colors, adjectives, and places that will become their team names. By the second game, practically every kid was invested in the competition and in the fate of their groupʼs name. Once the names were selected and each group began designing their team crests, every camper had at least one marker in hand and was making some contribution to the artwork. After this activity we soon came to know that any artistic endeavor required at least 30 extra minutes because the kids loved so much to draw and create absolutely anything.

Other afternoon activities fortunately proved to stir similar levels of excitement throughout the week; during our camp-wide scavenger hunt we had one Freddy Mercury impersonator, three human pyramids, four love letters to for us tutors, and 35 giddy campers running from one side of the school to another in an effort to solve all of the tasks first.

Once water games day came around we were in for a treat. Not only did we have 200+ water balloons to launch at one another but also a surprise “celebrity” participant (a camper impersonating Johnny Depp), a couple “Baby Shark” references, three water-war waging tutors (including myself), four completely soaked helpers, 10+ water relays, and countless buckets of water poured on anyone within range.

We ended the first week of camp with an eclectic talent show featuring everything from magic tricks, to the Macarena (courtesy of our lovely camp director and assistant), to gymnastics, to a re-telling of a Roman battle, to a dramatic reenactment of the time I was chased by a moose (which featured one of our camp helpers giving another a piggy-back ride so that they could chase me around the stage pretending to be a moose).

In addition to the excitement of camp, during my first few days in Cimadolmo, the Prosecco hills surrounding the town were officially named a UNESCO heritage site! Over the weekend, my host family and I visited a castle on one of the hills, where we made friends with some donkeys, admired the panoramic view of the nearby towns and countryside, and hurried down the hill back to the car when a hail-storm began aggressively pelting us with hail. Due to the storm, we spent 30 minutes hiding under trees, bridges, and overhangs in our car rather than drinking Prosecco but the adventure was lovely just the same (although I think Prosecco would have improved my sentiments toward the situation…. and lowered my panic as we scurried from one partially-safe spot to another).

All in all I enjoyed my first week in Cimadolmo and I look forward to what little adventures come my way next week!

Til then, ciao for now!

Tags adventure, Cimadolmo, education away, Italy, Michigan State University, MSU, RCAH, Residential College in the Arts and Humanities, student blog, study abroad

Grace Koepele Italy

Hot, Hotter, Hottest

The first half of my second two-week camp with ACLE was one of superlatives.

While my previous camp in Vicenza brought what I thought to be many coworkers, campers, and hot days, this week in Mogliano-Veneto boasted the most. Though the ratio of tutor to camper remained roughly the same, there were 9 tutors (including me) and 92 campers ranging from six to thirteen years old! The sheer energy and volume that each morning circle musters feels as though we may have the whole city singing “Good Morning The Sun Is Up” or “Itʼs Not Hard” along with us in no time.

It became so hot each day at camp that I did not even try to wear the same work shirt twice. Within the first 15 minutes of arriving to the school, I would begin to sweat without even registering that it was hot. Due to this awful heat wave, every day only grew hotter. On Thursday, our camp reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit (but apparently felt like 110)!

In an effort to keep everyone hydrated, engaged, and sane, many standing games became sitting games, meditation breaks became our norm, and one tutor even created a “water dance” to encourage the campers to stay hydrated while also teaching them directions (e.g. up, down, right, left, etc).

Despite feeling like I was living in inferno, I was blessed again with an absolutely amazing host family. My host parents, Sabrina and Massimo, are always happy to talk, swap stories, go somewhere, or simply spend time with me and their six-year-old son, Riccardo. Together, we had some of the busiest days yet this summer; every day after camp brought new trips the pool, pilates classes, and a night out in Treviso (a cute nearby town with canals like Venice but not nearly as many tourists, pigeons, or confusing dead-ends).

After a long, hot, and somewhat hectic week, we took a day trip to the beautiful beach-town of Iesolo and quickly forgot about our exhaustion. We swam, tanned, and played a lively game of Bocce Ball—which prompted an important distinction in regards to the new nickname that Massimo has given me: Michigan. We decided that saying “Go Michigan” is not an acceptable form of moral support when we play a family game as it wrongfully supports my collegiate competitors (although we decided saying “Nice try, Michigan” is alright if I lose in a game).

While the past week may have been the hottest, busiest, and most tiresome week Iʼve seen with ACLE so far, I cannot wait to begin the second half of this adventure in Mogliano-Veneto and see what our massive camp accomplishes together next.

‘Til then, ciao for now!

Tags Italy, Michigan State University, MSU, RCAH, Residential College in the Arts and Humanities, study abroad

Grace Koepele Italy

When in Doubt, Sing it Out

Post author By rcahcommunications
Post date 24 Jun 2019
No Comments on When in Doubt, Sing it Out

The past two weeks in Vicenza were a whirlwind, but in the best possible way. With four host sisters, five coworkers, 30+ mosquito bites, and 60+ campers—there was never a dull moment.

Vicenza is a cozy city which rests between Verona and Venice in the north-eastern region of Veneto. It is well regarded as the ‘salon of Veniceʼ due to its comfortable, tranquil, and welcoming nature. With many masterfully built and beautifully-aging buildings, Vicenza sets a gorgeous landscape for the lively, yet quiet, stream of people that pass through its stone streets.

My host family, the Horatz family, lives right in the city center—which blessed me with a blissful five-minute walk to camp each morning. Though only the younger two sisters—Ludovica and Vittoria—attended camp with me, I was able to spend time with the older two—Sofia and Anna—in the evenings as well. In all honesty, I could not have asked for a better family to begin my summer with. Their parents—Christopher and Francesca—were always excited to talk in English or Italian, with the occasional conversation in German amongst themselves or with their children. Their multi-lingual household always kept me on my toes and made every conversation a fun combination of speaking and also exchanging new words with one another. (Christopher found it especially comical when words between Italian and English seemed to only change in pronunciation but were still different enough that we had to ask one another for the equivalent on a number of occasions).

Francesca is an absolute master in the kitchen, and so every meal was truly delicious (and incredibly healthy). Each meal became something I looked forward to not only for the food but for the company as well; from the very beginning I felt as though I was a part of the family and as the days passed I only grew closer with each of them.

The only downside to my time in Vicenza was the mosquito population from hell; it became a running joke with my host family that I was too nice or that I sweat sugar because the mosquitoes seemed to fly past absolutely everyone just to bite me! Some heavy-duty insect repellent and lots of long shirts and pants (much to my host motherʼs dismay) seemed to only slightly sway their advances. Never-the-less, any time spent outside— especially with my family—was well worth the free blood drive! (Although I must admit the bite on the inside of my palm was particularly rude).

Every camp day began with two extremely enthusiastic ACLE songs and a game or two. Due to the fact that I led the youngest children, between the ages of six and eight, my days almost entirely consisted of games and songs —something I enjoyed immensely but which also contributed to the loss of my voice over my birthday weekend! But alas, with the vocal assistance of my helper Maria and even more gesticulating and emoting throughout the few camp days where I was practically mute, we had an exciting time learning and playing together. One game in particular was so popular with the kids (it consisted of asking to go to the bathroom and being chased by “toilet monsters”) that I ended up having each of my kids sing “Can I Go To The Toilet Please” to me before they used the bathroom in an effort to teach them this important, and seemingly somewhat difficult to pronounce, question. After the success of the toilet monster song and game, it became even more evident how impactful the melodies and rhymes of ACLEʼs curriculum have on helping the children connect with and master English.

In these two weeks I may have needed to use 50+ stickers, I may have mysteriously lost absolutely all of my pink or red markers, I may have been actually handed spit and snot, and I may have taken a power nap on the floor of the staff room (more than once) but there is no doubt in my mind that these stumbling blocks happened for a reason; Each kid left camp with at least five new English songs, an extremely colorful and heavily-stickered activity book, a snazzy ACLE T-shirt, many variations of the game “Captainʼs Coming” (each adaptation complete with whatever set of vocabulary the tutor who played it decided we needed to learn or practice), and a smile.

Though I am already plagued by the horror that is realizing I now have ACLE songs such as “Bananas, Coconuts, and Grapes” or “P-A-R-T-Y” on repeat in my head when I do almost anything, I am eager to meet more people, sing more songs, see more places, and continue the work. I wouldnʼt have it any other way (except maybe without the mosquitoes). ‘Til then, ciao for now!

Grace Koepele Italy

Starting in Sanremo

After landing in Milan exploring for a day, I took a train to the gorgeous city of Sanremo to begin my orientation training for ACLE. The orientation took place at the mountaintop Nyala Suite Hotel along with 45 other native English speakers from America, Australia, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Uruguay. The hotelʼs breathtaking rooftop views of the Mediterranean Sea and the mountains helped ease the exhaustion that immediately settled in after long days of training.

Each day brought new games, techniques, songs, and excitement for the summer of teaching, connecting, and exploring ahead of me.

“Emotions generate learning”: This is the idea that Arrigo Speziali, the founder of ACLE, based the entire theater and play-rooted approach to language learning on. While ACLE has grown significantly since it first began more than 10 years ago, Speziali took the time to visit our orientation during the week to see our progress, talk with us, and share advice for our upcoming endeavors in Italy. He spoke most prominently of how love and connection help foster learning and the intrinsic motivation to learn.

(continues after photos)

ACLEʼs playful approach to learning shows children that grammar and precision are not so important at the end of the day: instead, their ability to connect with others through their journeys to fluency is what will help them grow most.

Another key element of ACLEʼs teaching approach includes “Process Drama,” a technique in which tutors and students assume certain roles within the story that they are following (e.g., a United Nations meeting, a job interview, etc.) and act how they imagine their character would act in these situations. Process Drama allows the campers to worry less about how their own opinions may be perceived and focus more on their ability to understand and speak English. It also helps foster their creativity and teach them about important topics such as this yearʼs theme of environmental protection.

I am excited to see how these theatrical techniques help the campers grow more confident in their English, learn new things, and connect with one another in a fun and playful way!

Tags Grace