Entry 3: July 22, 2011

The last week we have been in Sansepolcro has gone by too fast. We have been enjoying the Italian culture here in Sansepolcro, as we have not traveled to any new places. On Monday night the entire Child Development group went to dinner for one of the girl’s birthdays. That was fun to get us all out and have the opportunity to talk away from the classroom setting. We have had class everyday which has been exciting to talk about what we have learned from this culture related to children. We did get the opportunity to visit a playground and observe children playing in an outdoor environment. This was exciting to see the differences between how children play in America and how children play in Italy. It has been a great trip and I have learned so much about Italy and how children are educated, treated and valued.  This has been a great experience and I have taken away so much.

Entry 2: July 17, 2011

Our second week in Italy has been just as fun as the first. Our child development group had the opportunity to observe a kindergarten, church service, and a summer camp. Being able to see these children in these three separate settings was very exciting, considering there were differences between Italy and America, but also some similarities. We visited Reggio Emelia on Thursday and seeing the elaborate projects that those children work on was very neat. 

Friday we headed off to Rome which was incredible. Getting to see the Vatican, the Coliseum, the Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps was such an amazing experience. Rome was such a different feel than San Sepolcro. I am glad I had the opportunity to experience both a smaller town and a larger city in Italy. I have really gotten to see and do a lot so far on this trip, and believe I have gotten a great feel of the Italian culture. I can’t believe we only have one more week in this beautiful country.

Entry 1: July 10, 2011

This first week in Italy has been amazing. We have already done so much and have had great opportunities to visit many places. Walking down the streets of Sansepolcro has such a different cultural feel to it, but I am enjoying every second.

Experiencing this new culture has been a great experience so far. I am a child development major and with this program we have visited schools in Italy. I feel I have learned a lot about the schools here and being able to compare them to schools in Raleigh has been fun.

We have taken day trips to places including Anghiari, Assisi, Perugia and Florence. We toured the Busatti looms in Anghiari and saw how they made their fabrics, which was neat. When we went to Perugia the child development group visited the Montessori school which was very exciting to see. The classroom and program was beautiful. In Assisi there were a few churches we went in. The painting and structure of the cathedrals were so different from churches in Raleigh.

In our classes, we talk about our observations we have seen at the schools. It is nice being able to have the chance to reflect on what we are learning about because I feel I have gotten more out of these places this way.

Florence was my favorite place we have been to so far. It was fun sitting outside eating great Italian food and watching people walk by. I felt I got to experience their culture in the best way. The shopping was incredible and looking at the Italian fashion was fun.