End of Week 2 in Firenze

Can you believe that the program ends this upcoming Saturday, July 6th?! I actually cannot believe that suddenly 3 weeks will have quite literally FLOWN by. Over the last week, we did so many fun activities. Yesterday, we returned from a weekend trip to Lake Passignano. It was a truly relaxing and beautiful weekend of hanging poolside (with amazing floaties that Daniele, our CIEE program manager, purchased!), going to the beach to use paddle boards and boats, and eating the most amazing food and of course gelato. Florence was super busy the past week, with the Tour De France actually starting in Florence’s city center with loads of people coming in from all over the world. We were quite overwhelmed by the amount of even more tourists coming in, so this weekend escape was much needed and welcomed. After being jam-packed with so many activities these days, it was nice to have two days of relaxation. 

 

The students have really been enjoying art class and taking their sketchbook to any and all locations. I had to ask myself, as an art teacher, why would we stay indoors and draw when we are currently living in one of the most beautiful cities in the entire world?! The students' portfolio of artwork is going to be priceless to bring back home and our instructor Sussann has been incredible in encouraging the students to push their limits and taking us to great spots in the city to sit down and sketch. When your student returns home, ask to see their sketchbook and I am sure you will be amazed by their work and feel the essence of all the places we went to draw. 

 

Lastly, we have been doing many peer to peer activities with Italiano high school students. We played games outside such as soccer and volleyball and I loved watching our US students interact and play with the italian kids. Truly, it was a magical day that made us all feel so emotional. Even the Casale manager, Riccardo, played soccer with the kids. We shared a meal with the italian students after going grocery shopping together and I was reminded of how much differences in language and culture do not matter when you can bond over sports and food. This is why traveling is so important and that I am so grateful our students get to enjoy and experience a cross-cultural journey through CIEE Florence’s careful planning in their programming. To start the day today, students got to climb the Duomo and as I am writing this blog, they are about to engage in art class followed by free time and dinner. It is safe to say that I am going to be quite sad for this program to be ending and having to say goodbye to our students and all of the staff and faculty in Florence who have made our experience completely unforgettable.