robinlouisevaughn'sTravel Journals

Venice, Burano, and Murano - [Insegnare in Italia]

Wed, 16 May 2012 09:35:26 PST

Venice, Italy, Wed, 16 May 2012
- for additional journal entries and more photos, visit my website www.abirdinthekitchen.com - The last time I was in Venice was during the winter. It was overcast, bone-chillingly cold, and all-together rather dreary. Surprisingly, that doesn’t really diminish the city’s splendor. There’s just something magical about Venice and I think it’s one of the must-see cities in Italy for any first-time...

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Campagna (Countryside) - [Insegnare in Italia]

Sun, 6 May 2012 07:01:30 PST

Ancona, Italy, Sun, 6 May 2012
Officially I’m now back in the United States – but according to this website I’ve still got several weeks of updating to do. The last month in Civitanova was simply so packed with traveling, visiting, and spending time with my host family and their friends that there simply wasn’t time to both edit photos and post updates. For the last day...

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Alberobello and Trulli Houses - [Insegnare in Italia]

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 02:07:19 PST

Brindisi, Italy, Tue, 17 Apr 2012
-To view the original post, additional journal entries, and more photos, visit www.abirdinthekitchen.com - Our second stop on the Easter weekend trip was in Alberobello in the region of Puglia. Alberobello is most famous for its large collection of trulli houses. A trullo house is a round dwelling with a conical top constructed from local materials – they are iconic...

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Bologna - [Insegnare in Italia]

Fri, 6 Apr 2012 01:37:02 PST

Bologna, Italy, Fri, 6 Apr 2012
-to view the original post, additional journal entries, and more photos visit www.abirdinthekitchen.com- I wasn’t really sure what to expect from Bologna before going. I didn’t really know a whole lot about the town aside from the extremely old university, that they’ve supposedly got some great food, and it’s not usually mobbed with tourists like Rome, Florence, an Venice. I admit,...

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Ancient Appian Way and Aqueducts Bike Tour - [Insegnare in Italia]

Mon, 2 Apr 2012 07:44:44 PST

Roma (Rome), Italy, Mon, 2 Apr 2012
My final day in Rome started with a bit of a headache left over from our Aussie-motivated wine extravaganza the night before. But, I had been looking forward to this bike tour for quite some time and I wasn’t about to miss out on it. Thankfully the shop, Top Bike Rentals and Tours, was only about 5 minutes away from my...

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Rome - [Insegnare in Italia]

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 08:14:06 PST

Roma (Rome), Italy, Fri, 30 Mar 2012
- For the original post, additional photos, and more journal entries, visit my personal website, www.abirdinthekitchen.com - Continuing along with the weekend trip to Rome… On Saturday morning I slept in because…well, I like sleeping in. My travel partner, fellow language tutor Zafiro, had never been to Rome before, so she got up early to visit the Vatican. I saw the...

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Positano and the Amalfi Coast - [Insegnare in Italia]

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:29:55 PST

Amalfi (southern Italy), Italy, Wed, 28 Mar 2012
- To view the original post, more photos, and additional journal entries, visit my personal website, www.abirdinthekitchen.com - Visiting the Amalfi Coast has long been on my list of things to do. Last year during my whirlwind tour of Western Europe I had a few days in Sorrento, the city after which the Amalfi Coast officially begins, and the Island...

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Visiting Pompeii - [Insegnare in Italia]

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 04:30:49 PST

Pompeii, Italy, Tue, 27 Mar 2012
- for photos of the trip and additional journal entries, please visit my personal website at www.abirdinthekitchen.com - The first time I went to Rome it didn’t go so well. After some morning sightseeing around the ancient sights and a trip to the Vatican, I ate some lasagna from a cafeteria-style restaurant (which are über-popular in Europe) and quickly descended...

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The Purpose of This Project - [Insegnare in Italia]

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 01:10:49 PST

Ancona, Italy, Tue, 20 Mar 2012
After last week’s adventure of teaching by myself for a the first time, I got another taste of that experience the following Wednesday – and again on Monday of this week (yesterday). There are several nasty sicknesses fluttering about the area and it seems like all the teachers and students are contracting at least one of them. I’ve managed to catch...

On Teaching in a Foreign Country and Surprises - [Insegnare in Italia]

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 08:35:09 PST

Ancona, Italy, Mon, 12 Mar 2012
Teaching is a unique profession that is both challenging and rewarding. I have a great deal of respect for the educators in our country, but I have never felt particularly inclined to become a teacher myself. When I decided I wanted to travel abroad for an extended period of time after finishing my undergrad work, I really wanted to get...

Second Host Family - [Insegnare in Italia]

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 12:26:52 PST

Ancona, Italy, Sun, 11 Mar 2012
- To see the original entry and to view additional posts about my stay in Italy, visit www.abirdinthekitchen.com - During my stay here in Italy I am with two families. I spent one month (5 weeks, actually) with a family in Montecosaro Scalo, and yesterday I moved in with my new family in Civitanova Marche. I will be with them...

Weekend Visit to Florence - [Insegnare in Italia]

Tue, 6 Mar 2012 02:47:24 PST

Florence, Italy, Tue, 6 Mar 2012
One of the benefits of the program in which I am participating is that they don’t work you to death. You work an average of 15-20 hours per week and the rest of the time is yours. I say that’s a pretty fair deal for room and board. Right now there are several of us in the Marche region working either...

Making Mozzarella in Italia - [Insegnare in Italia]

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 12:28:40 PST

Ancona, Italy, Wed, 29 Feb 2012
There are few things more quintessentially Italian than Mozzarella cheese. It is so highly appreciated and desired that much of it even maintains a Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC), or protected geographical status in English. This is similar to Roquefort or Champagne – only products produced in that area and with a specific method and ingredients can be labeled as...

Carnevale - [Insegnare in Italia]

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:02:48 PST

Ancona, Italy, Fri, 24 Feb 2012
As many people know, we just ended the celebration of Carnevale here in Italy with Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday. Fat Tuesday is supposed to signify the last day of eating meat before the abstention of Lent (hence, carne-vale). Or, as it has come to be more popularly known in the US, a day of completely over-the-top excess before you...

Weekend #3 in Italy - [Insegnare in Italia]

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:38:44 PST

Ancona, Italy, Thu, 23 Feb 2012
-for additional journal entries go to www.abirdinthekitchen.com- The weekend was quite busy and I had a pretty good day teaching on Monday. Friday was pretty low-key after our busy day on Thursday and our cooking lesson that ran fairly late. I stayed at home and caught up on some American television for most of the day. It’s amazing how nice...

Sightseeing, Sun, and Prada! - [Insegnare in Italia]

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 01:13:50 PST

Ancona, Italy, Sun, 19 Feb 2012
Yesterday was definitely the type of day I had been looking forward to when I first decided to come to Italy The day started off well with four lovely classes with my students and a nice walk around Civitanova Alta with my English teacher. When we got home from school we had some delicious pizza that I bought on my walk with...

Second Day of Classes - [Insegnare in Italia]

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 03:18:08 PST

Ancona, Italy, Fri, 17 Feb 2012
My second day of classes went just as well as I expected it would. The vast majority of the students are very well-behaved and eager to learn. The rest are tolerable – aside from that one class yesterday. I think if that continues the way it’s going next time I see them on Monday, I might...

First Day in Class - [Insegnare in Italia]

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 07:07:34 PST

Ancona, Italy, Wed, 15 Feb 2012
Today was my first day in the classroom. It was…interesting. My teaching hours go from 8 am until 1 pm. Had I been writing this summary after my 12 pm class, I’d be glowing with pride and excitement about how amazing this experience is going to be and how incredibly lovely all the students are. And I still am…but it’s tempered...

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Civitanova Alta - [Insegnare in Italia]

Thu, 9 Feb 2012 01:53:05 PST

Ancona, Italy, Thu, 9 Feb 2012
Yesterday was probably the longest day I’ve had since arriving in Italy (aside from my marathon arrival gauntlet experience). Maria Carla and I looked at books covering nearly the entire Marche (mar-kay) region – photographs, descriptions, tourist information – any type of information you could imagine compiled about this area of Italy, we looked at it. After a couple hours of...

Day 3 - [Insegnare in Italia]

Tue, 7 Feb 2012 00:54:50 PST

Ancona, Italy, Tue, 7 Feb 2012
Sunday and today have been long days. Not because we have been doing very much, but simply because it takes a concerted amount of effort to communicate. Even in just the few days that I have already been here, however, both my host family and I are picking up on each others’ language quite well. I’m slowly...

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Day 2 - [Insegnare in Italia]

Mon, 6 Feb 2012 01:14:05 PST

Macerata, Italy, Mon, 6 Feb 2012
Any misgivings that I might have had yesterday about what I had gotten myself into while crazily rushing about Rome and getting onto strange buses thoroughly dissipated the moment I met my host family. They were waiting for me on the curb in Porto San Giorgio with open arms, literally, and warmly welcomed me into their lives. I realized just how...

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Just Getting There... - [Insegnare in Italia]

Sat, 4 Feb 2012 13:50:26 PST

Roma (Rome), Italy, Sat, 4 Feb 2012
As uneventful as my last trip to Europe was, this one has more than made up for it. I knew I was going to experience some difficulties in arriving at my final destination in Civitanova Marche. I didn’t expect it would be quite this complicated. First off, let’s talk about the wonder and joy that it is JFK airport. In what...

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Lesson Planning and PowerPoints - [Insegnare in Italia]

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 06:50:00 PST

Maryland, United States, Tue, 24 Jan 2012
I’ve just completed my first PowerPoint presentation for my students in Italy. I made it about Washington DC, and for several reasons: Apparently students in Italy learn about Washington DC so it should be at least a little familiar from their lessons. It’s our nation’s capital, so it’s obviously important. I wanted to include information on memorials and monuments...

Preparation for Departure - [Insegnare in Italia]

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:50:11 PST

Maryland, United States, Mon, 23 Jan 2012
-original post at www.abirdinthekitchen.com- In the past few days I have been very lucky to make contact with one of the teachers I’ll be working with while in Italy. I have to admit I’m more than a little relieved that she speaks excellent English. I’ve been studying Italian regularly, but I’m still at an extremely basic level....

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Buon Viaggio - [Insegnare in Italia]

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:35:08 PST

Maryland, United States, Sun, 22 Jan 2012
I'm planning on documenting my travels in Italy on my own website (www.abirdinthekitchen.com), but I think it makes sense to post the entries here as well. When I was researching trips to take last year I found it helpful to read other people's journals, so hopefully I can be just as helpful to someone else. -original post at www.abirdinthekitchen.com- I’ve always had...

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