First days of school. . .

Today, I finally had some real interaction with the students of the school.  They have been arriving since Saturday, so I've seen them around (they live in the same building, so that was inevitable), but this was the first formal meetings of any kind.

We started the day with a Tutor breakfast.  Each teacher in the school has 8-10 tutees, who they help and advise during their two years in the school.  I think this is SUCH a good thing for the students, especially here, where many of them are literally half a world away from their families.  I had to prepare breakfast for 9 students (somehow Tom ended up leaving for the States just in time to miss this one).

We went around the table and talked about how we ended up at the college.  It was amazing to me to hear the variety of backgrounds, and what the students were and were not saying about their experience getting here.  One of my tutees came to me almost in tears because she learned that she wasn't allowed to keep her own food in the refrigerator (for safety reasons).  She had brought her favorite cheese from Denmark for breakfasts and she really wanted to be able to eat it because it reminded her of home.  I couldn't possibly tell her I was going to throw it out!  Instead, I now have a block of Danish cheese in my fridge and I am looking forward to tasting some tomorrow morning when she comes to get some for breakfast.

Another girl from Uganda talked about how her teacher told her every day about the college, and that she should apply, and how nervous she was when she did apply because the opportunities are so great here compared to her home country, and so many people apply and so few get in.  She was pretty quiet throughout the rest of the breakfast, but she beamed when she talked about how lucky she was to be here.  Seeing her smile and knowing that this experience will change the course of her life reminds me how lucky I have been over the course of my life.  That sounds cliche, but it's really true.  I am so looking forward to getting to know her, and all of my tutees, better over the course of this year.

We also had an opening assembly, placement testing, and meetings with residence groups today.  Without question, my favorite part of the day, and of this Italy adventure to date, was having those 9 students crowded around our small dining room table (without enough chairs) in our empty apartment talking about the journeys they took to get here.  Classes don't start until next Tuesday, but there are plenty of other formal and informal events planned between now and then.  I look forward to the regular schedule that classes will offer (semi-regular due to a tumbling block) but right now I'm pretty happy just to be around students again.