I learned so much during my time in the Maymester CofC in Italy: Art Education. We spent most of our time in Reggio Emilia, Italy learning about the Reggio approach to early childhood learning. As an Early Childhood Education major and pre-service teacher, I learned so much that will help me to be the best possible educator in the future. I also learned a lot about the Italian language. For my CofC language requirement, I have taken Italian, and I feel so lucky to have spent time in the country and gotten to practice and learn more about the language.

During my time in Italy, I stayed at a host’s house with five other girls. Our host spoke very little English, so there were definitely communication barriers at times. However, it pushed me to converse and practice my Italian. I learned and began to feel more comfortable with the language as I spent a good amount of time speaking in Italian with our host.

Furthermore, when shadowing in different schools, I loved to practice my Italian by conversing with the students. During the Maymester, I spent three days in a 5th grade classroom. I loved to talk with the students. They were so sweet and curious and asked a lot of questions. I talked to them in Italian, and they would help me out and teach me when I did not know how to say something. I also helped them with their English!

We also spent three days in different preschools, and I got to practice my Italian with the young students. My favorite moment was probably speaking to a group of students at a table while they were waiting for lunch. There were about six children sitting at the table. In Italian, I asked all of them what their names were, how old they were, and if they were hungry. They all in unison responded that they were hungry. Then one of the girls asked me, “Come si dice ‘fame’ in americano?” or, “How do you say hungry in American?” It was so adorable, and I was happy to teach her an English word.

I learned so much and had such a great time in Italy. I am so thankful I got to participate in this awesome program. I am already wanting to go back! Arrivederci, Italia!