Sciopero

The word just gives me chills, as a tour guide. sciopero = strike. The Italians have a beautiful sense of this word. When in America, we hear the word "strike", it usually hints at "an indeterminable stoppage in productivity to prove the value of a service". It does have a similar idea here in Italy, but whereas a strike only ends when a union is appeased in America, groups have a strike day in Italy, then, when it's time to bargain, they show their effectiveness back on their giorno dello sciopero. Today is a transportation strike in Italy. Well, not for trains, but for all busses and metros. That means that at 9 PM last night, the metros in the major cities all stopped, and, after the morning and lunchtime rush hour (2 PM) today, the busses stopped. No real concern - they'll be going tomorrow, and we'll all be back in class and work, and the day will continue on. But they made their statement today.

This weekend was wonderful. On Saturday, some of us went to Arezzo to see the city. We visited the Chapel, the Duomo, the city park, the Fortezza, and viewed the frescoes of Piero del Francesco, which are infamous in the town. The weather was perfect for touring - clear, sunny day, but enough shade to keep comfortable. It was WAY fun for me - the first time to visit this very cute town. And there was an antiques market going on that day, which was fun for the kids. :)

Can I tell you how impressed I am with your kids' sense of adventure? Have I said it too many times? On Sunday, a group went out into the countryside and visited one of the many bath sites which are in Tuscany. In fact, they went to the SULPHUR baths. Took some bus travel and some walking, but they had a great time! This system is much like the baths at Hot Springs, but has the salutory aid which sulphur gives to your skin and pores. Needless to say, they all returned to their homestays on Sunday evening, only to all find their homestay families announce, "Yikes! You went to the sulphur baths!" And their classroom this morning did have a whiff of rotten eggs . . .

Because of the strike today, the kids didn't have any planned activity. Tomorrow is their last free day in Siena, where they can work on getting themselves together before our departure on Friday morning. All of the kids have been given a challenge for this week: They are to make a collection/collage of everything they are going to miss in Siena (whether by list, drawings, or digital camera). At dinner in Rome on Friday night, we'll present all of our collages, and vote on the best two, which I'll award with a treat on Saturday night. Considering the imagination of these kiddos, we'll have some great ones!

My husband has joined us for this week. He absolutely loves spending his one week off a year with the kids here in Italy, seeing how they have enjoyed the trip, and how they have become Italians. And I love having him here, getting to share this experience with him. Ah, the vacations of those married to teachers!

Wednesday will be the next blog entry. This week has various opportunities to the kids - it's the Chigiana (the music conservatory) music week, where they have concerts in various places throughout town; there are movies at the Fortezza every night; the Campo is beautiful as ever, and the weather perfect in the evenings. They're going to really enjoy their last few nights before our departure, and will have to make goodbyes with people with whom they have shared these past three weeks. What great memories we have from here!

a piu tarde,
Laura :)