The Best Summer Ever | Cremona and Camp Tutoring

That time I was in charge of a group of Italian kids for a week....

Warning: I get a little bit enthusiastic and excited in parts of this. Read at your own risk.

This part of my journey brings me to Cremona, where I will be spending one week teaching in a summer camp, as well as living with an Italian family for the duration of my stay.

So, my last post recalled the last few moments on the train before we met our host families in Cremona. My host mum Giovanna was waiting on the platform for me and straight away I was received with a huge hug, before I even knew who she was! We hopped in the car and off we went, to their lovely house in the countryside of Cremona. It is a beautiful place in the north of Italy, near (ish) to Milan, and the 'Pini' family took me in for the week and provided me with lovely Italian food, culture and experiences. 

First meeting with Giovanna at the station

My host family had requested a sociable girl to stay with them. I thought this was brilliant that I had been chosen to fill these shoes.. However, the reason the family specified this is because they had Church Club activities scheduled for every night that I would be with them. Now, I'm not a religious person. However, I am well up for trying most things, and going to church and singing along to all the Italian choral tunes on the (specially reserved for me) front row seat is quite something. I didn't have a clue what was going on and my host family and everyone around me started shaking my hand during one part of the mass which was quite bizarre, but fun all the same! 

Welcome banners!

Every morning, Giovanna made me an espresso, packed lunch and then took me to school bright and early. It was really strange being mothered so much after being at uni for a year without my wonderful Mama doing those things for me. After an exhausting day at camp, G would come and pick me up at 4.30pm and I'd go home ready for a smashing night at church club. Orrrrr feel really bad when I told the family I wanted a night off to sleep! Mostly I made the most of these opportunities to try something new though, however tired I was.

Bike ride along the River Po with the family

These new experiences even led me to going on a mammoth bike ride in the midday Sunday sun- aren't Sundays for resting?! But it was lovely. We went on a tour of the area all through the countryside and even stopped off at their Nonna's house for a chat. On the way back, coming along a busy main road, my flipflop came off and I threw myself off the bike to save it. In hindsight, this was not a good idea as it meant I was shouting "OIIIIII, OIII!!" to Bea, my beautiful host sister who is pictured above, as I clambered about looking for my flipflop as well as my dignity, whilst a lorry came towards me. This is why I don't ride a bike on the regular...

Host family dinner selfie!

As well as my beloved Church Club outings, my host family also treated me to dinner and late night ice cream which was brilliant. It seems heading out of the house at 11pm to go sit in the main piazza and eat gelato is absolutely normal in Italy . I loved it anyway, and really appreciated my host family trying to show me the Italian way of life all the time.

Awkward, tired family photo

Let's talk about CAMP!

There were around 60 children at our camp based at a school in Cremona, between the ages of around 5 and 12. There were five of us tutors, and after living together for up to two weeks we were great pals so we had a whale of a time. I had a class of 13 ten/eleven-year-olds and they were a dream to work with! They knew just enough English to communicate with me so I could actually teach them and be effective. Whereas some of the younger kids would simply respond with a shoulder shrug and a "che?" and then run away, slice of focaccia in hand.  

Cremona camp tutors

Each morning, as soon as the kids arrived we gathered them all together to do a SONG CIRCLE (best part of the day) and leapt around in front of them looking like fools. The first time we ever did this, the kids just looked at us like we were aliens. Like, seriously. They were waaaayy too cool to do the frog song. So I looked each one of them in the eye as I put my HEART AND SOUL into that damn frog song and broke down those barriers! Soon they were loving it, and by day two they performed so well that their parents who looked on from the other side of the school gates even wanted to join in. That, my friends, is the power of the song circle.

Someone was excited for the fashion show...

So then we each split off into our classes. This is when my class realised that I was really a sweaty, panting mess (maybe a little too enthusiastic in song circle) and I didn't really have a clue how to teach English to these Italian dudes. So I blagged it. And it was incredible. Through being an utter weirdo, the kids were fascinated and really paid attention to the strange person who would randomly sing the camp songs or excessively high-5 them. And although  we were not supposed to speak any Italian to the kids, I may have cracked the odd phrase out which would have them in hysterics because I apparently didn't have a clue what I was saying!

Fun and games!! (They survived)

During break times and daily camp competitions we would all come together and have a laugh playing various games, receiving about 5 loom bands a day, and even home made food items from their nonni (grandparents). The children were so lovely and the idea that 'Italian children are naughty' completely diminished almost immediately.

Post- camp drinks and 'meeting'

We put on a fashion show one day which was soooo fun! I think I enjoyed it more than the kids did, judging by the pictures, Some of the children really embraced it, by bringing in their special clothes that they wanted to show off, or even by making clothes in class. Us camp tutors strutted down the catwalk before the kids did to show them not to be afraid and just to have fun. This meant borrowing various 'fashion' items off the kids. See pictures below!

Tom and I strutting our stuff

Fashion show antics

Throughout the week we were working towards creating a 'spettacolo'- a final show. I wanted the kids to write it themselves so then they could really enjoy performing it in front of their families. So my class ended up with an 'explorers' theme, in which the actors would travel to various different countries and do something that the country is famous for. Therefore, we had one guy acting as Adam Richman from Man vs Food (that was Leonardo's choice), another acting the role of footballer Neymar, and the girls were Brazillian festival dancers,.. just with clothes on. So somehow, these ten- year- old Italian children wrote, learned and acted the whole of an English script that I helped them create, just in one week. Proud moment. However, how rubbish is it that we are not taught such a high level of language in schools in the UK?

MY AWESOME CLASS!!

 The spettacolo marked the end of our time at camp. It was incredible to see how well the kids had done and progressed. Some parents even came up to me and thanked me in very broken English for helping their children, and that they had seen a big improvement. During the last few speeches and thank-yous of the show whilst us tutors were on stage, my class were chanting my name. It was such a good feeling to be the cool teacher that the children liked. I can definitely see how teachers get so much satisfaction out of their jobs. However, I am unsure about my future in a teaching career.....

Thank you to LSF for providing such a unique opportunity and also to my awesome host family for putting up with me all week! I would definitely recommend that anybody steps out of their comfort zone and does something like this. You don't need to know any foreign languages for most of these types of jobs, and you may meet some brill people and create life long memories like I did. ;)

Enough of the soppy bullsh. We're going to Florence next!!

A presto!

Olivia xx

The Best Summer Ever | Sanremo and Blue Beach

Staying in Sanremo and Training for camp at Blue Beach

Before I start, I want to confess to being a crap blogger and not posting in MONTHS. I lost my mojo sometime around Christmas and I think I saw it peeping behind the curtain earlier, so, lets see how this goes. I'll try not to bore you with loads of info!

Flatmates and fellow tutors

Sanremo was the next destination for Louise and I. It is a city on the coast of northern Italy which is really near to the border of France. Before I went there I had never heard of it, but apparently it is quite the tourist destination! It holds a huge music festival each year which I've heard is pretty good.

We spent one glorious week in Sanremo and another in Blue Beach, which is a lovely town very nearby which we moved to after our week in Sanremo for training to prepare us for camp. (In case you're only just joining my journey here, go check out my introductory post in which I explain what the hell we were doing gallivanting round Italy for six weeks.)

Our lovely little flat

 To cut a long story short, LSF made some changes to dates but we had already booked flights and hostels around our Sanremo dates. This meant that we shared a flat which was provided by the company we were working with, Lingue Senza Frontiere, with four other girls from the UK. They were all awesome and we hit it off straight away- especially after the first beaut night drinking vino together!

B-e-a-utiful church

We spent the week laying in the sunshine, visiting the beach, sightseeing, having a laugh and going to the local bars at night. I actually spent a whole day in bed after one of these aforementioned nights in the bar which was a bit of a shame.. but it was a bloody good night! And Louise was there to cook me fried potatoes and Nesquik as I nursed my terrible hangover, so it wasn't all bad I guess!

The night that ruined me. Terrible quality, soz

One evening, after another night at the bar, our fellow male trainee camp tutors came back to our place for more drinks. After a while, it appeared that we had two scary Italian police officers banging down the door. I couldn't believe what was happening. Turns out, the neighbours complained about the noise coming from our flat, so there we were, staring blankly at two cross Italian coppers! They woke up the rest of the girls, even though they weren't involved in the ruckus, and asked everyone for their passport numbers! This scared us ALL to death because, 1: we were all there to teach children and needed clean records; 2: The company could get in trouble and 3: We needed our passports to get home! It turns out, this is just a formality in Italy and isn't something to be particularly worried about. Somehow, in my half drunken state I managed to use my Italian skillz enough to sort it all and dig my panicky companions out of trouble. Might pop that one on the CV.

A few days after this little altercation, it was time for us all to move to Blue Beach resort, where we were staying for the next week whilst completing our training for camp.

Swimming pool fun feat. Me, Chloe, Emily, Lottie, Louise

Our time at Blue Beach was indescribably AWESOME! Let's just say, the first things we saw were the resort swimming pool and the sea which was about 35ft from our rooms. We all got straight into the pool and became acquainted with the other guys and girls who were going to be training with us. We had the weekend to chill and lay by the pool, then on Monday hardcore training started. So before the early mornings began, we went to the beach each night and 'enjoyed' a few €1.50 bottles of  Carrefour wine.

Evening on the beach. Spot the cheap wine....

The truth is, we weren't only there to sun ourselves silly and have a wicked holiday; we were there to prepare ourselves for our week of teaching Italian children at an English summer camp. Training began bright and early on Monday morning and we all met in the training area which I can only describe as a dusty mosquito haven. Our camp trainers soon wiped our 'we're too cool for this' attitudes away when they presented us with the first song circle of training. Song circle is when we all come together each morning and several times throughout the day, and sing the songs we were going to teach the kids at camp. All I can say now, is that I wish I could still do song circle every single day during normal life because it's just so much fun!! 

Training also consisted of teaching us all the games and teaching techniques that we would use at camp, as well as performing other tasks that would be of use to us. One of these tasks was to re-write Happy by Pharrell Williams in a group in SEVEN minutes and come up with a dance, too. Of course, my team were brill and we won! 

Maeve and Olivia, camp tutors in training!

During lunch breaks and after training, we were free to do whatever we liked, so I mostly spent this time loving life in the pool! Some days, during training we were required to plan our individual lessons for camp. This could be done wherever we liked: by the pool, in our rooms, in the mosquito pit, in the basement (for delicate skinned Louise) or on the beach, where I was found doing everything BUT planning. Norty. But not that norty, if that's what you're thinking. Sickos.

Fun times in the mosquito pit with Tom

Whilst staying at Blue Beach for training, we were provided with our accommodation and food which was brilliant! So each day we would all head down to the cantina for our food and eat together, in true Italian style. One evening, we had a BBQ by the pool accompanied by a live saxophonist, which was lovely. Everybody was dressed up nicely for it, and I had on my pristine white dress. It was really lovely of the pool guy to bring us round glasses of sangria, however having a whole tray of it dropped over me was not so brilliant. In a white dress. The poor man clearly felt really bad and gave me a bottle of wine on the house which I thoroughly enjoyed after I had successfully washed the purple stain out of my dress!

What an AWESOME bunch!

On our last night of training, we all headed up the mountain to a town called Bussana Vecchia. It is a former ghost town which was abandoned many years ago due to an earthquake. A bunch of artists and hippies moved there and repopulated the area, and now people live there very simply. The place we went to shows this by providing food and drink for visitors like us and only asks for any donations to keep them going. It was a really nice place to visit on our last night, as we enjoyed their homemade wine and very strange conversations with men with no shoes and extremely long beards. I really want to return to this intriguing place one day, and I hope it retains its special-ness.

Going our separate ways for camp!

The next day, we had to be up at the crack of dawn to leave for camp! We had all been split apart because the camps were located in different areas  all over northern Italy. Louise and I were off to Cremona with three other tutors and we were going to be in charge of a camp of about 60 children.

On the train to Cremona we put on our camp T shirts so that our host families who were waiting at the station would know who we were. It all got very real in that moment and I remember looking at Louise and saying "don't really fancy this anymore!" But we got on with it and soon fell into the arms of our host mothers as they waited excitedly for us on the platform!

To see how we got on living with a host family and at camp in Cremona, keep a look out for my next post :)

A presto!

Olivia xx

The Best Summer Ever | A Short Stay in Milan

Milano!

"I'm flying, Jack!"

EasyJet lovin'

As I mentioned in my introductory post this is part of a series of posts all about my wonderful summer trip abroad. This is the first of the series so where's better to start than the first city in Italy that I visited? After a slightly rocky flight, two pale and very excited English girls emerged into the Italian sunshine on August 11th in the rich and commercial city of Milano.

Excited!

Anxious Louise doesn't like flying!

Like the tourists that we were, we had printed off sheets and sheets from the hostel which gave some very unhelpful directions to the hotel. It states that when we arrived, we had to find a bus that would take us from the airport to the hotel which in itself was harder than it sounds! Once we were on an extremely sweaty bus that looked like it might take us in the right direction, I managed to find myself a nice spot to stand in with my two huge suitcases. Unfortunately, that spot happened to be the dodgy floor bit that moved every time the bus turned, and I ended up falling into many grumpy Italians who were not having any of it!

Once out of that nightmare bus episode, my friend and travelling companion Louise and I were stood like too little lost puppies on the edge of a very busy main road. There was only one thing for it: spending £££ on 3G to find the hotel, which turned out to be right round the corner but took us about an hour and a half to find in the midday heat. One word: sweaty.

Beautiful Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Our hotel, appropriately named RossoVino,  was very similar to a hostel, but it had private rooms. It was very reasonably priced and it provided a good base for us to explore the city. Each day we got the bus into the centre of Milan where you can find many beautiful sights to see, shops to cry in because you can't afford anything and possibly the best ice cream of your life (that is, until you go to Florence...). Now, I'm no historian, but anyone can appreciate the beauty of the many stunning pieces of architecture on display all around the city- my favourite was the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II as well as the mind-blowing Duomo.

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Amazing floor in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Unfortunately we didn't get to go inside the Duomo because firstly, it meant waiting outside in the scorching sunshine in the main piazza, and secondly because I had nothing to cover my bare legs and shoulders to be respectable enough to enter God's house. We saw plenty of other churches on the trip that almost made up for it though, I think....

Duomo

Aside from historical sights to see, we did enjoy many other sights. These mostly consisted of: the beautiful Abercrombie models who stand in the doorway of the shop; the best pistachio ice cream of my life, free red wine in a soup bowl, and more Abercrombie models. The ice cream was from a little shop in the Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele  II and I highly recommend it if you are ever passing by! One evening, Louise and I paid a little visit to ice cream heaven, then took a stroll through the Galleria out to the piazza of the Duomo. Some men were busking so beautifully and romantically that I remember thinking to myself "if I die in this moment, with this ice cream and this sound of the music and this beautiful view... I'll be happy." That's how damn good it was. 

This dude was awesome.

And then there's the Abercrombie models, whose golden torsos I longed to stroke SO BADLY but Louise wouldn't let me because it's "not politically correct". Thanks for that, Lou.. The free wine came about because a restaurant we ate at gave us a voucher for free wine so we went back the next night! It was quite a treat, to not spend money on something in such an expensive city. And also, because it was served in a bowl!!? 

                   

Best pistachio ice cream ever

Louise and her yummy vino e pane

Fizzy vino in a bowl

We spent the rest of the time exploring back streets, pizzerias, eating some questionable picnics on our hotel room bed, getting very lost and attempting to flirt with the cute receptionist. Thinking about it now, we definitely did not make the most of Milan. It rained for one or two days which put a stop to some of our plans which was a shame. We also wanted to check out the nightlife but were a little worried for our safety so we didn't attempt it! However, it was a nice place to visit to start off our trip and we managed to tick off some vital sights from our list.

Yes. Yes that is a whole cooked chicken. #picnic

YUM!

I must admit, when in Milan, I didn't really get the warm fuzzy feeling that I am used to getting when I visit Italy, and I reckon it's because I just loooove the countryside and rustic Italy so much. I hope that I can return to Milan and find some nice rustic areas a bit further outside perhaps, so that it isn't a no-go for the future! I'm sure there are some of these said areas; if you know of any then please let me know! Also make sure to follow me on Bloglovin for updates- the link is in the side bar :)

Pizza for breakfast 

Cheeky

I hope you enjoyed reading about my short stay in Milano. Keep your eyes peeled for my next post, in which I will tell you all about my trip to Cinque Terre which I promise you I am much more enthusiastic about because it was such an amazing place!

A presto!

Olivia x

The best summer ever! | Introduction

Now, this post is slightly/ very overdue, and perhaps not the best time to write it on the approach to Christmas! However, I didn't want to rush this part of my blogging journey because it includes the biggest physical journey that I personally have taken in my life so far. That makes it sound like I climbed Mt Kilimanjaro or something (like my awesome dear friend Becki did, which I certainly DID NOT), however I really want to tell you all about the best summer of my life so far! 

The best gelato in Florence! (please excuse background swearing)

As you may have read in my About Olivia post, you will know that I am in love with all things Italian. Over the next few weeks I aim to post several pieces on my trip. Splitting up the posts into the places that I visited so that it has some kind of structure, but here I will just give you a little intro as to what I did.

This summer, I spent six weeks travelling the beautiful landscapes of ITALIA! Louise, who is my good friend from University accompanied me as we travelled to a few different regions of Italy for recreational purposes as well as for work. We had both been accepted to work for a children's summer camp company for a few weeks so we thought we would make the most of our time there and do some travelling before and after our duties. We met some amazing people and created unforgettable memories on our journey, and I'm really excited to share it with you :)

Our awesome journey took us to the commercial city of Milan, the beautiful and historic national park area of Cinque Terre, sunny Sanremo on the Italian Riviera, the musical city of Cremona, the most heart-capturing city I have visited- Florence, and last but certainly not least, the stunning countryside of Le Marche where I celebrated my 21st birthday with my parents.

Watch this space to ensure you hear all about my brilliant experiences working abroad, teaching, travelling, staying in hostels, eating shed loads of gelato and pasta and generally just having a blast!

A presto!

Olivia x

11 things that tell you you're a University student

1. You find yourself communicating with your parents more than you did whilst at home.

2. You go home for the weekend and realise how damn hungry you are.

3. Occasionally  you take extra toilet roll from restaurant/club/pub toilets because you and your flatmates cannot afford to buy more until the next student loan payment hits your account.

4. You walk around in dark clothes for two weeks while your white washing slowly accumulates to a full load.

5. You meticulously compare bacon prices throughout each supermarket.

6. Dominos pizza is your most frequently rung telephone number.

7. You feel no shame in not brushing your hair for a few days (or weeks) because it is simply too much energy.

8. Mum's pre-made meals are on the menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner for as long as they last.

9. Owning an NUS card means that that you can visit Topshop again because you're making savings, of course.

10. You have a 'quiet night in' and become more inebriated than if you went out, then throw up into your flatmates underwear drawer and miss all your lectures the next day.

11. Procrastination takes you to lengths you never thought you'd go to (see picture)

Playing dress-up with my friend Louise's crazy wardrobe.

So, there it is! If you didn't already know you were a uni student then you sure should know now! Do you agree??

A presto!

Olivia x

University life: studying, partying, making memories.

Each year, hundreds of thousands of bright eyed students flock to University in order to start their degrees, have a load of fun and make some great friends. Last September, that person was me leaving my teary- eyed mother as she handed me over to my new, excited flatmates as we began our university lives.... with a trusty pint of snakebite!

When choosing my accommodation for University I had a lot of choice about where to stay and how much money I wanted to spend on it. I think that most people, like me, automatically wanted  to live in Halls with their own en-suite bathroom, however these are usually the most expensive ones. After weighing up all the options, I decided to choose accommodation that I never thought I would go for, however I am so happy with my choice now. My flat housed 26 people and 7 bathrooms which I was dubious about at first but very early on it proved to be absolutely fine! 

The great thing, (and also the downfall) about this accommodation was that I was catered for, which meant that I had all of my meals cooked for me. This is very handy when you have lots of work to do, you are really hungover, or if you simply can't be bothered! It can also be very bad if you are trying to watch what you eat, or just if you want a bit more variety in your food choices. Overall, I would highly recommend accommodation like this because it really brings you and your flatmates together. Most of my flatmates and I ate dinner together every day which was lovely, even if they did sing happy birthday to me every day for the whole of first year as a joke!

Freshers week/fortnight provides a great few days of partying for all freshers. It is a brilliant way to meet new people and bond with your flatmates. I have found that many of the friends that I made during freshers were my friends for the rest of the year and hopefully in the future too. Everyone is more forgiving and open during freshers so do not be afraid to really open yourself up to new people during this time.

After freshers you have to do a little bit of studying though. How unfortunate! Remember the real reason you are at University, but at the same time as long as it isn't getting in the way of your studies, go and have some fun! First year was created for this reason- so that crazy young people can get it out of their system- and seriously, it works! I think that without first year and its perk of not counting towards your final degree grade, so many more people would be in big trouble. Or is that just me? Damn those £1 Jagerbombs....

I have just completed my first year and even though I am happy with my good grade, I would advise others not to bust a gut in first year and to have a good balance between work and play because I can already feel the pressure of the coming years mounting! The grade you achieve during first year does not contribute to your overall grade, so go and have fun and make up for those nights in second and third year that you can't make out!

Some of my flatmates and I playing dress-up

Good luck to all you freshers for the upcoming term! I hope I have been of some help.

Disclaimer: above is all my views and I am not to blame if you party too hard.

A presto!

Olivia x