Tag: Grace

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Grace Koepele

No Limits

The second half of camp in Mogliano-Veneto brought a new wave of post-camp activities, tested limits, and Independence Day traditions—both exciting and slightly terrifying.

My host family began the week with a day-trip to the Dolomites, promising a hike and lots of sheep. I cannot claim to be an avid hiker, but I do enjoy walking, being outdoors, and exercise enough to think of myself as somewhat capable when it comes to these types of excursions. At best, I envisioned a long, steady climb up some mountain in the Alps where I could celebrate the hike with a photo or two of the land below. At worst, I thought we may only climb partway up a hill while my young host brother chased sheep. Neither of these expectations were remotely close to the host parentsʼ actual plans.

The author, a young woman, poses with a young boy in a car.
A beautiful landscape photo of two mountains covered in trees in Italy.

After a lovely lunch in between two mountains, with sheep and cows grazing in the field beside us, my host parents led me to an “adventure park” in the forest next to us, where they cheerfully handed me a wristband to complete the high ropes course that curves between the trees. If my family in the States knows anything about me, it is that I have always had an intense fear of heights. I will not step near the edge of a balcony if it is too high off the ground, let alone climb any sort of tree even part-way. Whether due to an ever-present desire to please or some buried wish to redeem my 11 year-old selfʼs decision to sit out of a class trip to a ropes course some ten years ago, I do not know, but after what felt like two seconds to decide my fate, I followed my host dad inside a small hut to grab a harness and helmet before hooking myself up to a wire and beginning my ascent into the trees.

After my hands stopped shaking violently and the panic attack subsided a little, the course was actually quite fun: there were zip lines, jumping and swinging, and unstable portions, and even a stretch where I had to shimmy sideways across a wire. But, were it not for the photos and videos that my host dad—Massimo—promised to take during this horrific half-hour of playing Indiana Jones, I honestly would not be able to recall much about the first few obstacles.

The author, a young woman, poses with a young boy while both wear climbing gear.

While I was initially petrified of climbing and swinging (and falling) through the course, I am proud of myself for doing it and also glad that I didnʼt back out and have to choose the righteous path of redemption some ten years from now.

After I finished the course, my host mom—Sabrina—coined the phrase that has now become a bit of a mantra for me during this time in Italy: no limits. Obviously, it is healthy to have some limits, but I quite like the idea of pushing myself to really try things that I would otherwise decide are either for other people or for another time in my life.

The author, a young woman, stands in front of two forested mountains in Italy.

Following this mantra, I also ate octopus for the first time in my life—this being significant because I have been a vegetarian for a few years now and am not necessarily grossed out by meat, but I do stand by the fact that I donʼt love to see suction cups on my food when I eat it. Keeping with last weekʼs post-camp tradition of going to a friendʼs pool, I also finally managed to sit (and stay on) their massively cute (and unstable) unicorn floaty!

The author, a young woman, swims in a pool on a giant inflated winged unicorn floaty.

On Wednesday, my coworker Niamh and I took our two groups to Venice for a scavenger hunt full of lions, water wells, tourists, and as many gondolas as we could find (bonus points if the gondolier is in the vicinity of their gondola)! After this long day of interviewing tourists, taking photos, fending off ferocious pigeons, and successfully not having to fish any children out of the canals, both Niamh and I were able to learn and use some Venetian slang and enjoy a well-earned gelato. Nothing takes the cake for tested limits like agreeing to supervise two groups of hangry tweens alone right after youʼve told them that they must create their own pop song about how much they adore English camp before they can buy ice cream. We also agreed to share the bonus points amongst our teams from Niamhʼs human re-enactment of a gondolier with their gondola (my idea and her physical implementation).

On a street in Venice, a young woman lies on the ground pretending to be a gondola while a gondolier stands over her, pretending to paddle.
Three young women in red camp counselor uniforms pose with three young campers in Venice.

To end the week, I celebrated Independence Day with my host family by cooking them dinner, instigating a family spa evening, and simulating fireworks with sparkling candles in toast. 

A person sits on a patio in a folding chair with cucumber slices over their eyes.
A table is set with a striped tablecloth and a blue plate that has three candles pressed into a piece of toast.

All in all, I had an absolutely incredible time working in Mogliano-Veneto. While the camp was gigantic and the campers were many (sometimes too many), my coworkers were an amazing support system for laughs, moral reassurance, and company throughout the two weeks. Seeing as my next camp is a mere 23 kilometers away and still in the Veneto region, I have a feeling I will be returning to Venice soon with my campers for another exciting adventure!

Til then, ciao for now!

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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!