Team 186 Arrives In Monopoli For Glorious Weeks In Italy

Today was our 1st full day in Monopoli. All of us were eager to begin our work in the high school, as we are the 186th team teaching in Italy. We began our orientation right after breakfast and Rita Marzano, the Italian professor who is our liaison in Monopoli, came to welcome us and to describe the work that we will be doing during the next two weeks. The students want to practice conversing in English and we will have the opportunity to assist various teachers with small groups of students each day. Phyllis continued the orientation with a power-point presentation on Monopoli and the surrounding area in this region of Puglia. She spoke about the philosophy and the objectives of Global Volunteers, as well as health and safety guidelines.

We identified the attributes of an effective team and defined five goals for our project:

• to experience and embrace the Italian culture

• to converse with and inspire young students

• to listen and share ideas

• to enjoy the adventure,

• to leave a good impression.

We ate lunch at the Hotel Vecchio Mulino.  In the evening, we walked to a nearby pizzera for dinner.

Tomorrow we begin!

Penned by Barbara

“Getting to know you; Getting to know about you; Getting to like you; Hoping that you like me”  ….Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II.

Shared by Patti