A large part of why families participate in a language exchange is not only to learn about a different culture but as well to learn a different language! Now, I hope no one gets intimidated when they read “15 hours worth of lessons every week.” The first thing that I thought was “what in the world am I going to teach someone else about English?!”

After arriving I was warmly welcomed by Julia, my adviser who will be helping me along with this program during my stay in Italy. First, she had explained to me that I would get some time to settle down and meet the family before having to worry about any lessons which was wonderful! I spent a whole weekend getting to know the traditions and general schedule of the family. That next Monday, Julia had come back to sit down and go over the overall program. This was wonderful because it answered many questions that sometimes you do not think of until they happen. For example, what time the family eats their meals or what time does everyone generally wake up. This got out of the way many questions like when can I shower, when should I be home for dinners with the family, and what time do the girls go to and come home from school. After figuring out all of these details, we moved onto talking about the lessons.

At first, I could see how many people might be shocked thinking, how am I going to all the sudden become an English teacher!? So, I figured that I could give some helpful tips on what I did to teach the family English and as well still set aside enough time to see the city!

First, it was important to understand where each family member was in their level of English and what their goals are. The mother, for instance, was very good with her business knowledge and was looking to learn more about the understanding of movies and lyrics because that is where she found herself most caught up. The two daughters wanted to work on speaking and some writing as well. The father wanted to overall improve his skills but used to be enrolled in English courses so had good knowledge of the language. After you understand what level everyone is at, you can start to build your lessons and decide how much time is needed with every member.

Two things that come in handy here are a daily planner and the internet. It was important to sit down with every member of the family and see when they would be available for their lessons. I had each of the girls do two lessons a week and the mother and I had more lessons since she had a very available schedule. Since the father was always very busy, I designated one dinner a week would be strictly spoken in English. This way, everyone could practice their skills and I would be there to help them if they struggled over any words. With this schedule detailed in my planner, I then had the time to write down all the sites that I wanted to see and what I wanted to accomplish while here in Italy!

Having a gelato and taking a picture by the beach in Liguaria.

Although it may seem like a lot of lessons, I had every Monday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday free and only had afternoon lessons on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday which left me MORE than enough time to get everything done that I had hoped! Now after you schedule when you will teach, you need to plan out what you will teach. I only had to take one night to set aside this information for our lessons and it shouldn’t take you any longer than that! This is when the internet came into great use, taking the family’s interests and mending them into a lesson. One daughter wants to be a movie director, so I looked up and created crossword puzzles, sentence scrambles, and guessing games that all dealt with words that related to this area. As well, for both of the girls I made a little board game. The different boxes consisted of questions to answers, tasks to do, or sentences to write. Things like these are interactive ways that the girls can improve their English skills

Overall, keep it simple and fun! I do not have a degree in teaching or anything of the sort, but helping someone improve their skills can be as simple as watching a movie together! So don’t worry about the lessons, you can use your everyday knowledge and put that into a plan to help the family. I think that overall the best part of being here for the family is that I’m always around to help them. So even if we aren’t sitting down for a lesson, just being around has helped them pick up many more words and phrases during this time.

I think that this language exchange truly fits me well because not only am I helping a family and building my resume for the future, but I am also learning so much! I have picked up many Italian words, and now can even answer some questions when asked to me in Italian! It is crazy how much 2 weeks of living in another country can do! I think that this is a great opportunity for many people and not to mention the price is unbeatable! As well, with only being here 2 weeks I have had many offers to stay with other families if I decide to come back to Italy and have even been offered summer positions working at English camps! It’s incredible how much this program has given to me!

My pictures show that I still have been able to get so much done in my free time; traveling to Liguria, two different castles, an orchestra, and many museums in just this past week! It makes me feel great that I am able to help this family improve their English skills, it is the least that I can do for all that they have done for me! So remember, you don’t have to be a teacher to help someone improve on their language skills. Keep it simple and fun and there is no doubt that it will be a great learning experience and life experience for you too.

Standing in the entrance of a castle where my host mother and father were married!

Hisashiburi desu! (It’s been a long time!) So much has happened since my last post. A week before school started in Japan, we celebrated hanami, a centuries old custom which literally means “flower viewing.”  Everyone carefully watches the blossom forecast. Ideally, when the blossoms are in full bloom, friends and family gather together and enjoy a picnic under the cherry blossom trees, or sakura. Sakura embodies many symbolic cultural interpretations, one being that of the samurai.  Just as a cherry blossom suddenly falls to the ground upon reaching its peak, so too would the samurai readily sacrifice himself in his prime, should he be called upon to do so.

For our picnic, Obaa-san prepared oden, a hot-pot stew made from various ingredients such as egg, tofu, daikon (white radish), and chikuwa (a tube-shaped fish cake), stewed in a soy-sauce flavored fish broth called dashi.

The Japanese school year begins in April and ends in March. I bike thirty minutes to school everyday, rain or shine. All Japanese schools, both public and private, require a uniform that is unique to each school. My school has generously loaned me both a bicycle and a uniform, which can be quite expensive. Here we are on our first day, and no, we haven’t joined the navy; these are our winter school uniforms. Clearly, some students are very excited about their first day!

I am a “first year” (sophomore equivalent, even though I am a senior at home), a.k.a., year 1, class 8, student number 41 (ichi-nen hachi-kumi yonjuu ichi-ban). There are 40 students in my class, about 20 girls and 20 boys. Here is a picture of me with my friends Megu (Megumi) and Rika. Now that it’s gotten warmer, some of us have opted to wear our summer uniforms.

The first day of school, the other exchange students and I were asked to prepare a self-introduction for the entire 2^nd and 3^rd year classes. During the first school week, all the Japanese students have placements tests, so we exchange students, Aotea, Oliver, Camila and I, went to the library to prepare for our cultural presentation.

Even though we were all a bit nervous, our presentations were well received. After the introductory ceremony, many students enthusiastically waved to us and said, “Hello!” or “Ohayo!” (Good morning!). Some students even leaned outside their classroom windows to show their appreciation.

We occasionally have a half-day of school on Saturdays. On this day, my host sister, Momo-chan, the other three exchange students, and I went to the mall and ate takoyaki (fried dough with octopus).

Afterwards, we went shopping and did purikura, shortened for Purinto Kurabu (Print Club). This is a popular photo booth stall where you take silly photos with your friends, like Aotea and me. The photos are then printed into really cool stickers.

Thank you for all the comments, emails, and words of encouragement that I have been receiving from friends and relatives. It really means a lot to me. My host family has been so incredibly hospitable. I am having such a wonderful experience.

Spring smells exactly the same. That’s the biggest thing that has struck me so far these past couple of weeks. I traveled halfway around the world, and it’s all the same: the birds are chirping, the grass is growing and the ‘after the rain’ smell hangs permanently in the air. The only difference is that when you almost get hit by a car for paying too much attention to the smell of the air, and not enough to where you’re walking, the language that is yelled is Spanish, and not politely either.

I shouldn’t say that. The Spanish aren’t rude; just outspoken, which I’m learning to love. I’m learning to love a lot of things; the leisurely lifestyle, the almost claustrophobic narrow streets; even the millions of tiny yippy dogs that bark at absurd hours have become a familiar background noise. And I can definitely say that I do NOT miss the Regents exams.

Actually, in my grade (the equivalent of a sophomore if you weren’t aware), we don’t have any big end of the year tests. Sure, we probably have a big recap test (although it hasn’t been brought up so far), but there are no province or government-mandated exams. Score! So far this trimester, the tests that we have had have been few and far between, and easy too. Even our teachers have spring fever.

The days and weeks keep flying by (though amazingly not the hours of class.) All the people of Zafra promise that the famed heat is coming soon, after our two weeks of torrential rain. Based on the recent weather, I would have to believe them.

I’m truly sorry that I can’t offer more excitement than that which comes with talking about the weather, but I’m out of things to add. I’ve had an extraordinarily ordinary week within this extraordinarily un-ordinary experience, and while I’m all for adventure, I’m perfectly content to just be here as well.

Greenheart Travel exchange student, Zoey, seated front row, second from the left.

After an eventful week volunteering in Tanzania, I reflect upon the things I had expected and the things I have experienced during my introduction to Tanzanian life and the work I am doing. I had envisioned myself residing in a house full of volunteers from around the world and teaching elementary aged children in a small indoor classroom.

My reality is in no way less wonderful than my expectations, but it is very different. I am staying with a very nice family in the town of Usa River, just a bus ride away from the bustling city of Arusha. The father of the house is the founder of the orphanage where I am teaching. The organization also provides vocational classes for young women and micro-financing classes for widows. I am so grateful to be involved in such a virtuous community of people. Everyone whom I have met has been very nice, polite, and extremely welcoming! I am constantly greeted by “mambo!” to which I reply “poa!”

I walk a short 5 minutes to the orphanage in the mornings, I go home for the afternoons, and I return to see the children in the evenings. I am the only volunteer at the orphanage, so I am left alone with 11 of the young children for most of the mornings. I teach them English words, letters, numbers, greetings, and other simple things. They are always very enthusiastic, and they love when I show them something new or silly. When I allow them to play in the classroom, they ask me to draw for them; I am given an illustrated story book, and I must recreate the picture on their crumpled paper. They crowd around me saying, “Madame, madame! You draw this here!” The littlest things bring such happiness to these children!

When I return to them in the evenings, we simply play until their dinner is ready.  This is my favorite part of the day for many reasons. Although their meal times and sleeping arrangements are far from we Westerners are used to, they are grateful for everything that they are given. Their food is rudimentary, yet none is wasted and every bite is eaten with gusto. They must sleep 2, 3, or even 4 to a bed yet they do not complain. These children, who are spending their lives with neither a father or mother, give me hope. I believe that if they can find joy in their lives, then so can everyone.