da capo

I arrived in Milano a couple of days ago, but it has taken me a while to work up the gusto to start blogging. First of all, I had to decide on a name for this blog, which proved more difficult than I had anticipated. Secondly, up until today, I didn't really have anything to blog about. The flight was fine, I got here in one piece, no missing luggage, etc. It all seems rather dull. However, I suppose I should give a quick rundown of the past couple of days just for the sake of posterity.

I arrived at my first destination, Ostello La Cordata, at 7PM on Wednesday night. This is where I'll be spending the first two weeks of my time here in Milano. The hostel is very nice and very clean, and decently situated near the centro. I unpacked, answered some emails, and was asleep fairly quickly.

The next day (yesterday), I met with my tutor, Prof. Luviè, for the first time. We ran over some basics, including how to get to the high school, how I should dress (casually), the level of English I'll be teaching (fourth and fifth year), etc. The rest of the day was spent unpacking and napping.

Today was my first day at the school, and it went really well. I met all the English teachers, as well as the Preside of the high school. I taught three classes and got a general sense of what the material is like. Today consisted mostly of introducing myself and making sure the students don't walk all over me, but I also learned that my main task will be preparing the students for the Trinity Exam, which is a required exam for all students taking English in public schools (for you New Yorkers, it's the Italian equivalent of the Regents exam).

I don't teach again until Tuesday (also learned that I have a four day week! Wahoo!), so hopefully I will be taking a little side-trip to Bologna to find some long lost amici calabresi. Pictures to be posted asap (once I take some, that is).