Year 3...And So It Began

Here we are four weeks into the school year and I've never been busier at ASM. I arrived back to Milan just about 5 weeks ago now, the same day as our 17 new teachers arrived. This year I wasn't helping out with the Orientation committee, but I love helping others get situated and learn the ins and outs of living here so I tried to be involved and get to know them. I've been lucky to make some new friends and am excited to get to know them better in the coming months.

Here's the 2013-2014 ASM Staff!

All of our elementary teachers received a new Dell laptop this fall and, this, in combination with challenging them to start right away integrating technology, kept me running at full speed the first three weeks of school. I feel like things are finally starting to settle into place and that I'm able to start focusing on some of the other projects I'd like to see happen in our classrooms. We purchased a cart of Windows 8 tablets and I worked to introduce them to our students through an International Dot Day project. You can see our work on my school website.

In addition to all of the work craziness, a few of us thought it would be a good idea to start a book club. I had been attending an English speaking book club in the city, but wasn't loving the conversations or book selections, so this was the solution. We met this past week to talk about Hosseini's And the Mountains Echoed, which overall received high praise from our group.

Not much else is happening here, just life like everywhere else. We are planning a few trips for our upcoming long weekends...Brussels and Bruges, Belgium in October, an agriturismo outside Siena at the beginning of November, and Barcelona, Spain for Thanksgiving. I'm so excited for Barcelona. It's been on my list since my high school trip there dropped it off our itinerary.

Who's coming to visit this year? Southern Italy is still on my travel list, so I'd love to explore the region with some familiar faces!

But all is well here in Milan. So many have asked what I'm doing at the end of this year and the answer is fairly plain and simple. I just don't know. But, in the next few months a decision will have to be made.

Milan's Duomo...always beautiful!