Sunday, June 28, 2009

Palermo






I can't believe two weeks have passed since I last wrote in Messina. I have already left Palermo and have been moved to Aversa, a small town outside of Naples. I think it will be a bit cooler here, which my skin is quite glad for. After two weeks, my heat rash seems to finally be disappearing. Of course, "cooler" is a relative term for July in Italy, so I guess we'll have to see how that will be. Anyway, back to Palermo......

I stayed with the sweetest family. They have a 7 year old daughter, Sara, and an 8-1/2 year old son, Davide. The mother is very proficient with her english, and we had so many good laughs. They live outside of Palermo in a town on the Meditteranean Sea called Carini. Everyday, our drive to school was gorgeous. Sometimes I stop and wonder how I got here or what on earth I'm doing, but we're having such a blast, it doesn't really even matter. The camp in Palermo was two weeks long, and a bit bigger than our last one. We had 5 tutors: Kim, the girl I've been travelling with from Cananda, Jackie, an awesome teacher from Wisconsin, and Eugene and Maria, a really fantastic couple from New Zealand. We ran a great camp and really enjoyed being together, which they say doesn't happen all the time, so we are all counting our blessings.

Palermo was incredible. Though it is infamous for its large mafia presence, we never had an encounter and had no safety issues. The town is rich with history and culture, and I almost think it's more fun to see a city when you know nothing of the history and have no expectations. My families have been excellent about telling me the stories of the places we go to, and I can barely retain all the history lessons I am getting. At least I can still teach English....

I think that's about it for now. I could recount stories for hours, but I think this will keep you all sufficiently up-to-date. Miss you guys lots, but more than anything, I wish you were here to experience these amazing places with me!

1 comment:

  1. i'm so glad you are doing well.
    I hope you stay cool.
    I miss you too and I wish i was there too!
    I love you

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