Reflection

On this trip I will have switched back and forth time zones six times by the time I get back home. My sleep schedule is going to be pretty whack for the next couple days. I tried to stay up pretty late last night in a desperate attempt to get myself back on track. I...

Preparing for Abroad

Many stressful questions come up when you decide to study abroad. Some are about money, traveling, food, safety, and clothing. I know I had a million. My best mode of discovering the answers to these questions was asking people who have been. I asked friends, family,...

ciao for now

I am now five days post-travel home and have had plenty of time to reflect on my experience in Italy studying the Reggio approach to learning and teaching. I have also thought a lot about the difference between the United States and Italy. I was surprised by how much...

Back in the States!

Today has been a long day of travel. We left Hotel San Marco at 3:30 am to depart for the Bologna airport. Our flight schedule today was Bologna to Rome to Chicago to Birmingham. We will have been traveling well over 24 hours by the time we arrive back in Bama! (We...

a teacher’s role

Day ‘tre’: such a neat day visiting a local Catholic school, recycling center, and University of UNIMORE. The private Catholic school consisted of a lower level of kindergarten students (ages 3-5), as well as a second level with primary students (6-10) and...

Arrivederci, America!

  As I am sitting in the Chicago O’Hare International Airport, during a f i v e hour layover, I am already reflecting on how this experience will change my perspective on so many different things. Early this morning, several girls and I went to Chick-fil-A in the...

Italy, here I come…

To be completely honest, the thought of traveling gives me an unsettled feeling. This feeling shows no discrimination to distance, as I become anxious over a simple trip to a neighboring state. That being said, you can only imagine the emotions I am going through as I...

Bring on the Pasta!!

On a typical day during the fall semester of 2017, my best friend and I were sitting in our night class when a former professor came to speak to our group about a trip that she had in the works to Reggio Emilia, Italy. Jokingly, I looked at my friend and said “let’s...

After Abroad

So now you’ve been to some fascinating places, made wonderful friends, learned a lot about yourself, what now? Returning to my home campus was a reality check, that life is a little more simple on a daily basis than the last month I spent in Rome, and a few...