Gone Missing...
It's almost 10 in the morning, and I've been at work since 9 am. Today is the last day of our 10-day
intensive English course and no students have arrived yet. What is going on? Where have all the students gone?
Oh wow--two just came in!
Guess I'd better go teach.
-Jackie
Rieti and Province
Rieti, not so "dull" after allRowena was right! As she
mentioned in the comments below, we did indeed visit the province of Rieti, stopping over in little Greccio (Bethlehem's sister city) to visit the town where Saint Francis brought forward the tradition of the
presepio. In fact, driving near Rieti you can see the "largest presepio in the world," which is really just a few large statues placed in the opening of a cave. Spending the night in Greccio's main town (which is separate from its church and maybe has about 50 people living there total) and wandering its little alleyways and streets, we got to spend a little time relaxing. It was better than going to a city at all, really, and eating a delicious dinner at the only restaurant open cemented our feeling that we had come to the right place. Fnding our way to Rieti and the small village of
Castel di Tora the next day (on lake Turano in the southern part of the province) would further convince us--getting lost in Lazio was a perfect solution to the busy-ness of a hectic week.
I'll write more about this trip soon--but another hectic week is before me. I am busy working on ANOTHER blog for ANOTHER group of students (remember these
ten day intensive English courses that I'm always rambling on about? Well I'm smack in the middle of another one).
Please check out this group's blog--Lost in English--and help these kids learn! Comments, participation in memes, and just giving them encouragement as they struggle their way through this course (note that they wrote in their profile: "Pray for Us!")--anything is helpful. The blog is a great way for them to connect with the world of bloggers--but they only have a week to do it. Thanks!
-Jackie
Macerata Monday, and more
First off, I'm sure you've been losing sleep at night wondering, WHERE did Jackie and Antonello go on their weekend away? Well, we had a great weekend away, but we definitely didn't explore a typical touristy site (in fact, my guide book called the biggest town we saw "dull." They were mistaken). Instead we visited small towns and drove through beautiful countryside and mountains, all in the confines of one spectacular province. Here's a hint: ONE of the small towns is sister city to, get this:
Bethlehem and was the location of the first ever
presepio or Christmas nativity scene, put together by, who else? Saint Francis. No idea? Go check online and get back to me. (Don't worry--I'll post pictures soon, so don't lose any more sleep!)
In the meantime, here's the weekly Macerata Monday picture for your enjoyment. This time it's of the rooftops as seen from my English School's balcony, which has the luck of being situated right above the main square, with endlessly beautiful views in all directions. I've taken photos from here before
of the main square, and this instead faces out toward the church of San Filippo. San Filippo has been under construction for years--ever since I've been in Macerata--and only opens up a small chapel for worship. Luckily, the chapel is really quite stunning, but I'd love to see what the actual church looks like inside.
Have a great Monday if you can--it's raining here!
-Jackie
