Festa Di Cultura

The Aviano Cultural Festival was this past weekend.  All the area schools--elementary to highschool--participated with various types of performances.  The teacher's and parents had told us how important this festival is to their school calendar...that it was "beautiful!"  Each of the boys' classes would be doing a cultural dance.   Prior to going, I grilled the boys on the need for good manners, and respect for the event and what it meant to their Italian friends and teachers...you know, no giggling when things seems different or funny to them.  Perhaps I should have made that same little "mommy speech" to Tim and I.  The Festival was truly the oddest thing we have attended since our arrival.  We did not find it beautiful or amazing...but truly chaotic and bizzare! Tim and I had all we could do not to laugh out loud.  Okay, so we actually did a few times.  We couldn't help it.  Tim said we should have taped the whole thing so that we could share it on this blog, but alas I only got fragments of it.  What made it so odd?  Well...it could have been the Italian theatrical rendition of Peter Pan turned into a musical by the addition of the Grease soundtrack...or all the handmade pinwheels that we were supposed to wave following each class' performance,...or the "American Hokey-Pokey" that wasn't American at all, but the crazy Italian version of this American favorite,...or was it the black-tie caterers handing out hor dourves amoung the crowd as if we were at an extravagant dinner party?...Maybe it was the organized tug-of-war competition that was smack dab in the middle of all these "artistic expressions".... could have been just watching my children sing and dance in a foreign language...whatever it was, it was fun to experience and surely brought a smile to our confused American faces.

Bradey and some of his classmates

Mason and his class friends

Festival Caterers...hmmmmm????

Mac's first word!

In Italy the children call their fathers "Papa."  Mac will only say a few words, but calling for Tim is his favorite!  We caught him on video...you can see him looking for Tim in it too...so sweet!

A Pictoral Update

Bradey lost his first tooth!

We love all the micro cars here!

It rained all last weekend...when we woke up on Monday morning, this is what we saw!

Mason trained for weeks for the Kids of the Armed Forces Run this past weekend.  He ran in the 1 mile race.

Bradey entered the 1/2 mile run at the last minute.  He did well and had a fun time!

Mason placed 1st in his age division and 2nd overall.  The 14 year old in the picture only beat Mason by 5 seconds!  We were so proud of his hard work!

So...Italian School

So...two weeks ago as my homeschool buddies back in Texas were attending a bookfair to buy their curriculum, I was signing my children up for Italian Elementary School.  It was intimidating, yet exciting...and oddly ironic.  We have always homeschooled, so this was a huge step for us as a family.  The boys have now attended Marsure Primary School for two weeks.  We love it!  Don't get me wrong--there have been HUGE adjustments to make for the entire family.   There have been tough days for my boys and I miss having them home all day, but we are so thankful for this opportunity.  Mason and Bradey are not required to be enrolled full time in the Italian school, so we still continue with some homeschool.  They both attend school part-time and have several days a week that they are only there for a partial day. 

So...why Italian school?  Well, we wanted the boys to learn the language while we are here and after looking into several options, we felt that this was the best one.  The school year will conclude in the middle of June, so we felt that it would give us a "trial period" to see how the boys did before the new school year in the fall.   So far the past two weeks have gone really well and the boys are adjusting well.  We will re-group as a family at the conclusion of the year and make a plan for next year.

So...what is Italian school like?  Italian School reminds me of my elementary education...simple...back to basics.  Instead of smart boards there are chalk boards.   Math is REALLY, REALLY important...hours daily are spent on this one subject.  The kids are...kids! (Media, tv, and computers have not dominated the youngest generation of this culture yet!)  They play ball, tag, jump rope, clapping games, kick ball, etc.  The school that the boys attend is very small.  It houses 1st - 5th grade, a small gym room, a tiny library, and a lunch room.  Aaaah...the lunch room.  A highlight of the boys' day is the family style 1 hour lunch that they get.  They are served several courses that begin with homemade bread from a local baker.  Second, a homemade pasta dish, risotto, or soup.  Third is their main dish of meat and a vegetable.  They receive a piece of fresh fruit from a local farm for dessert.  That is about as far from "cafeteria food" as there is!  Mealtime is a huge deal for the Italians!  They believe it is a time for conversation and relaxing with friends and family. 

So...how do the boys understand what is going on?  Mason and Bradey are both already picking up on the language.  They have patient teachers...who actually speak no English.  (I think there are alot of charades going on! ha ha!)  They are COMPLETELY submersed in the language daily.  Both of the boys have a student in their class that speaks pretty good English.  They are not American but were taught English in their home.  They are a huge help to Mason and Bradey when they get stuck on something.  There are 7 other Americans in the school, just none in the boys' classes. 

So...we are busier than ever, but loving it.  I run back and forth to the school often and try to keep up with the boys' homeschool in between.  We will keep you posted about this newest adventure!

Ciao!

First day of school

Bradey in his classroom with two new friends.  (They wear uniform smocks over their clothes)

Venice

When we were stationed in NC we had a good friend Tyler who is now stationed here also.  So cool!...and even cooler is that he is married now to an awesome girl!  Tyler and his wife Tessa have been such a huge help and encouragement to us since we arrived in Italy.  They let us borrow their car, took us out for pizza, watched our kiddos, and have helped us adjust to life here.  We are so thankful for them and many others who have been so kind to us. 

This past weekend we went to Venice with Tyler, Tessa, and some other new friends.  We took the train from a nearby town right into Venice.  It is just a little over an hour from where we live.  It was amazing to step off the train and literally be right on the canal!  Venice was a little more "touristy" than I had anticipated, but was so incredible none the less.  There were street vendors, gelato shops, pizzarias, and little stores galore!  We did not ride on a gondola this time but will at some point while we are here in Italy.  The gondoliers wear the traditional striped shirt and hat with the red ribbon!  It was so cool to see!  We walked across the famous Rialto Bridge--built in 1591.  We also went to San Marcos Square.  The cathederals were beautiful...and get this--the Pope was there too!  We spent some time racing around the square trying to figure out where he was based on the crowds but then realized he wasn't due to speak for another hour or so.   Would have been interesting to actually see him though.   After a water taxi ride down the canal back to the train station, we headed home.  Everyone was worn out but we had a great time.

View from the Rialto Bridge

The Boys LOVE gelato!

A gondolier

Street Musicians outside the Ristorante where we ate lunch.

 Mmmm...pizza and caprese salad

Street in Venice

 San Marcos Square

San Marcos Square

San Marcos Square

Ventetian house along the canal

The whole gang...(left to right) O.G., Chrissy, The Shine clan, Tyler, and Tessa

Standing on the Rialto Bridge

Random Pictures

 The Italian easter bunny!

 Mac's first egg hunt.

Rotisserie ribs from the market.

 First Gelato!  Sooooo yummy!

 First authentic pizza...ordering was a hilarious display of charades and mispronounced Italian from a pocket dictionary.

That big grin is a result of all the chocolate samples he consumed at this confection shop!

The Market

On Friday we visited a local market in a town called Porcia.  These markets are where the local folks get their fresh meats, seafood, produce, breads, and cheeses.  It was so cool to see giant cheese rounds and all the fresh fruits and veggies.  There was also a vendor that was cooking meats and pasta favorites to munch on.  We got some rotisserie ribs and they were delicious!  The fish vendors were so interesting--fresh octopus, squid, snails, and various fishes.  The buckets holding the very much alive snails were so crazy! At one fish vendor, a snail had managed to escape the bucket and onto the shelf. The boys thought it was so funny.  The Italian lady running the fish stand scooped up the wayward snail, put him in a bag, and gave him to Bradey.  It was so sweet! "Luigi" the snail now lives in a tupperware container in Bradey's room.  He spends his days munching lettuce, happy to have  escaped someone's dinner table.

 Cheese Vendor

 Fish vendor where Bradey got Luigi.

 Calamari anyone?

More fishy favorites!

 Mmmm...escargot...shhhh, don't tell Luigi. ( This was a different vendor than we got our little friend.)

 Bradey and Luigi!

Luigi loves to come out of his shell when Bradey holds him.

The View From Here...

The beauty here is just incredible.  I love the old vine covered buildings, the street cafes, the cobblestone streets. The towns are so picturesque...like they belong on a postcard. 

 All the homes here have shutters and little balconies.

 I really like the olive trees...and the olives too!

 This bar/cafe used to be part of a prison.

Typical Italian street.

 We ate lunch here.

Mason walking the cobblestone streets of our nearest "big city," Pordenone.