Why did the camel cross the road?

I was speaking with several people this week and they asked me to keep blogging and when I responded that everything is just an every day mundane event they told me not for them. So let me tell you a story that I considered just an average day here.

I was on my way to pick up my dry cleaning (that alone is odd that I even have dry cleaning!) when we came to a red light. And crossing the street was a camel. Ha my taxi driver and I couldn't stop laughing at how out of place this camel looked amongst all the land cruisers and busy streets. But it wasn't even a strange thing to see for me anymore! That was the shocking thing for me to realize that it doesn't even seem odd to me anymore.

Back to Reality

Well my Italian adventures ended and I went back to work yesterday. Actually I went back on the weekend and worked about 8 hours on the weekend first. I was really nervous for this first day back because of all the complications we have been having as a grade level lately. We spent our entire PD week before the break trying to revamp the 7th grade to give these kids the best classroom management we could. The fact of the matter is that the 7th grade boys have gotten so out of hand that all of the administration is now involved in our grade, and unfortunately one teacher was let go. And on the first day back all of the 7th graders were forced to go to an assembly with our principal and administration leading it.

Anyways as you can guess things are getting pretty serious with my grade which can make it more stressful. But what makes it the most stressful is how all of us teachers really want to find solutions that will WORK for these specific boys and how so far nothing seems to be working. It feels like we are all barely keeping our heads above the water. But I am positive that we will find some sort of solution soon. And when I saw all the kids walking into the assembly I couldn't stop smiling. It was so nice to see all my kiddos again I didn't even realize how much I missed them! The boys were cracking me up the entire day with stories and questions about my vacation. Two boys especially, Fares and Abdulla, kept talking to me about their "girlfriends" who they hung out with all break. They even wrote their journal in class all about how it. I laugh because neither boy has a girlfriend and I know that for a fact. But it was cracking me up that their interpretation of American boys is and I quote, "Miss my friend in America. He have 16 girlfriends! Wala! And he lies to them all about the others. Miss this why I go to America someday." I forgot how funny the boys could be. It was especially cute to see how sad they were when my class was over and how they kept calling out to me whenever they saw me. They missed me too :).

The girls were also really great to see. It was so sweet several girls brought me flowers the first day back and another girl, named May, brought me a bracelet with my name carved into it. It was so delicate and pretty it made my day. I know that having the oldest kids at the school has a lot of disadvantages. They are the furtherest behind academically and probably always will be due to their late arrival in the school (5th grade), they have raging hormones, most of them are bigger than me, they tend to not listen and can be violent. But the little moments like what I just described make it worth it. They are great kids. Even though they think their adults.

I have to turn in my letter of intent for next year this week and I am going to sign for another year. I don't care much where I will be or what I teach, but since they are moving all the females out of the male campus and to their own campus I think I will be there. The administration wants the middle school boys to only be with male teachers as they get older (7th and 8th grade). And as the girls get older they don't really want male teachers either. So, who knows what next year will hold for me as far as positions go, either way boys or girls it will be a fun challenge. I figured if I could kind of survive this year I might be able to thrive next year. Plus, there is so much left of the world to see!

Goodbye to Italy

I haven't written at all this second leg of the journey because I have rarely had wifi. It seems as I met more people I was busier and the further I got from Rome wifi lessened. I am on my phone now so it doesn't let me label each picture but I will do that when I'm home!

Let me fill you in on all that has happened to me since Assisi.

Florence didn't start out well at all. When I arrived it was dark and my phone with directions to the hostel was dead. So I got a cab rather than get lost.  Like an idiot I set the small bag with my camera, guide books, and some gifts in the cab while I put my hefty bag on my back.  Unfortunately, I forgot it. I realized right away my mistake and the hostel was really great about calling the cab companies several times each day to help me find it. But the cab driver never returned it. It was that night that I made friends with some guys who took pity on me and helped me track around Florence in hunt of my missing camera.

Afterwards to cheer me up we all went and sang karaoke. It didn't cheer me up 100% but was nice to make new friends. The next day I had planned to meet up with Wilson, one of the guys who was at midnight mass with me, and another friend of his that he met in Rome. Jennifer (his other friend) happened to be from Scotland and with the two of them and the friends I made in my hostel we quickly all became travel buddies. We would tour around Florence together for three days and go out for amazing food at night (Florence had the best food of all the cities). But, the highlight of Florence was definitely seeing the original David.  I have seen numerous copies but the real deal was jaw dropping.  We weren't supposed to take photos but Jennifer and I kept sneaking our phones out and getting in trouble. I also saw the bronze David. It sits high above the city and is a killer view at night of Florence. My second favourite part of Florence were the amazing market places and just the city atmosphere in general. Very vibrant and alive. Reminded me quite a bit of the atmosphere you get in Portland.

After Florence I took a day trip with Tom from my hostel to Pisa for a "photoshoot." After a quick hour at Pisa's tower (nothing else to see there) we hoped on a train to Venice to meet up with Wilson and Jennifer. At this point it was now the four of us all staying at the same hostel randomly. And while we met new people, and our group would grow as people we met in other cities arrived, our traveling group remained us four consistently. 

In Venice there really isn't a ton to do we found.  But while others hated the boats (our hostel wasn't on the main island) I loved it. Even when we ended up on the wrong bus and an hour in the wrong direction on New Years Eve! We did go to St. Marks, which I found to be more commercialized than a church should be, and to the top of the church. We also went to the world renowned island of Murano. On this island the most famous glass blowers of all time do their work. To top off Venice we rode in a gondola at sunset on new years eve. Even though the water smelled (don't go in summer I cannot imagine how bad it would be then) it was beautiful! After the ride we went to the White Out Masquerade Party in St. Marks square.  Wow. Talk about a new years to remember.  I met so many interesting people, saw some amazing fireworks,  danced to every kind of music (yes, I also waltzed ha), and rang in 2014 in Venice.

We finished our stay in Venice last night with a touch of culture. There was a play and dinner that we all decided to go to. I loved it. The play brought to life the Venice of the past and helped me understand the city better. The almost sleepy city seemed to be the Vegas of the Renaissance. I wish I could have seen how vibrant it was back then.  After Venice I rushed to Milan today (hostels are to spendy to stay the night) saw the Dumuo and took tons of pictures on my phone.  I think that this gothic styled church was my absolute favourite second only to the ones in Assisi.

I have eaten more than I ever should, lost more than one pair of gloves, and a camera, walked more than I ever wanted to, got lost in each city I traveled to, and made some great new friends. And now I am boarding a delayed flight to Cairo (I hope I make my connection) to Abu Dhabi. As amazing as this journey has been I cannot wait for a good nights rest and my own bed. It has only been twelve days but it seems as if I have been gone much longer.