Heat waaaaave!

Hi all,

Man, did it get hot outside in the last few days! To beat the heat, tomorrow we'll be heading to the pool, then on Saturday we're going to the beach, and then on Sunday we'll be back at the pool--gotta keep these kids cool! This kind of heat makes you understand why things close down between 1:30 and 3:00 pm here, we would melt otherwise.

Another must is a daily gelato. And a lot of water.

The heat, however, is not keeping us from having a lot of fun. Two days ago, the students filled out their 1st Evaluations of the program, in which they had an opportunity to give the staff and the program feedback. Last night, during our catered dinner, the staff addressed the feedback, providing simple solutions to the students' quandaries. These included replenishing the apartments' garbage bags and paper towels (that was an easy fix), to discussing how to make a proper grocery list, to offering a seminar on how to blend in in Italia ("Incognito in Italia," I can't wait!), to listing places of where to meet locals (the pool!). The students seemed pleased that their suggestions had been taken seriously, and to encourage them to provide further feedback we have placed a suggestion box in the residence.

After dinner last night, we broke up into groups. Giovanna accompanied some students to the Carmina Burana in the Boboli Gardens, I took a group to a concert in the courtyard of Palazzo Strozzi, and Antonio and Lindsay opened up the Art Studio to students wanting to continue their art works. The students that went to Carmina Burana reported that the stage was incredibly beautiful and the surroundings of the garden and the open night sky infused the music with an ethereal quality.

As for the students that came with me to the classical concert--we were surprised and pleased to learn upon arrival that the Oversea Orchestra had planned a program of Beatles tunes set to orchestral music. If you've never heard a string orchestra rock out to Beatles tunes, I highly recommend it--we were dancing in our seats! Of course, the orchestra had three front-women to provide the vocals, all sisters, and they intermingled the tunes with historical background on the rise of the Beatles and a photo montage of the mop-topped group appeared on a large screen next to the stage. What a night!

After the concert, we met up with a group of students taking free time, and we walked to a large piazza on the outskirts of the center of town, where only Italians hang out. We got fresh-blended fruit drinks, and enjoyed a jazz combo that was jamming on the summer stage.

Dan reported that he used a three-foot-long brush in the art studio as others looked on...I can't wait to see what effect that had on his work!

This morning, after the group meeting, the students were off to class, and I accompanied the Italian students to the Lorenzo de Medici School, where they take their language lessons. Francesca, their professoressa, is a wonderful teacher committed to getting the students involved. She speaks slowly and clearly to the students only in her native Italian, and it's amazing how much they have absorbed in this short time. They're learning to express their likes and dislikes--and today in a game of Bingo (or TOMBOLA in Italian), the students surveyed one another on who likes Chinese food, Britney Spears, watching television etc. Next up for the Italian students, a cooking class on Friday, and then trips to the market, a gelateria, Florence's Central Park (called Le Cascine), and the Boboli Gardens. What a great way to learn the language!

This afternoon, students were given the options to visit the Galileo Museum and the Ferraggamo Musem (for those who weren't able to go last week) and free time. The Galileo Museum was spectacular--unfortunately photos weren't permitted, so I can't share with you pictures of the wonders that are inside, but there we found old texts written by Tolemeo and Galileo, a working reproduction of a Planetary Clock that Lorenzo de Medici commissioned, which used weights and gears to imitate the movements of the planets, the moon and the sun. Also, we learned quite a bit about Arabic and European early philosophies on the beginnings of the universe. It's so interesting to see how scientific and how thoroughly studied their ideas were on the Celestial Bodies and Ether. These early studies paved the way for modern studies in astrology and mathematics.

Oh, and we saw Galileo's finger, preserved under glass....

For the ladies that visited the Ferragamo Museum--all I can say is: shoe heaven. There are examples of heels and stylish footwear dating back one hundred years, and you can find the molds of feet that Ferragamo used as models to dress the most famous starlets of the 20th and 21st Centuries.

After this, afternoon classes met again, and in a bit we will meet for cooking groups, have a photo exhibition of the Tableaux Vivant on the terrace, and head out to see Harry Potter in the Odeon, a beautiful, old cinema that has a balcony and a grand chandelier, where old-time celebs like Ella Fitzgerald visited and performed during her heyday.

Buona serata a tutti!
Janet