I ragazzi del South Eastern Regional College di Belfast – Indirizzo Infanzia, ci hanno inviato una bellissima lettera in cui fanno il bilancio della loro esperienza e soprattutto danno consigli ai futuri colleghi tirocinanti che accoglieremo dopo di loro. Non possiamo che ringraziarli per le parole nei nostri confronti. Thank you guys, it has been a pleasure welcoming you in Forlì, Emilia-Romagna and Italy!
This is a brief introduction into our journey and experiences since travelling from Belfast to Forli in Italy! We set off from Belfast as a group of 11 people on the 20th April on route to Italy!
Italy is a lot different from where we come from, as when it is sunny and warm in Italy everyone wears coats and scarves except us Northern Irish people, as we received many stares during our 2 week stay!
Our stay in Italy consisted of visiting Bologna, Florence, Rimini, San Marino and working in a range of schools working with children aged between 3- 16 years old. The schools here in Italy are different from ours as they have very little resources and technology as they still mainly use blackboards.
Italy is beautiful and if you are planning to travel to Italy, San Marino is a beautiful place for sight seeing as it is very historical and beautiful to walk and eat in. That has been our favourite place to visit. Getting on to the bus to travel back to Rimini from San Marino was awful due to it being a bank holiday which meant it was overcrowded, therefore the group got pushed about to get on the bus rather than queuing the way we are used to back home, however the issue was mostly tourists rather than Italians! Also please remember spending money as Italy can be expensive especially when traveling to main cities. But remember Italy is a beautiful place, so get out and embrace it!
Our least favourite thing about our trip to Italy was the food as it was too repetitive due to a very limited selection for us to choose from the menu, as we were only allowed to eat in the one restaurant for the fortnight. However, the service was perfecto!
We all enjoyed our placements and enjoyed working with the children. The staff were very welcoming and gave us the opportunity to plan and implement lessons which enabled us to step out of our comfort zone. However we wished to have had more time in these placements to gain more experience with the children and their culture.
Before we came we had limited language lessons however, we needed basic Italian to be able to communicate with the people who live here. It would be beneficial if when traveling to italy that you know some basic Italian words or phrases to ensure effective communication. We were also able to use Google translate to ensure we were using the correct words and phrases to communicate. So make sure you can access google translate when your out and about!
Bring a selection of very comfortable shoes that have been broken in and which can be alternated as plenty of walking is done throughout the duration of your stay.
The train and transport system very efficient and cost effective remember to validate your ticket by inserting into the machine and don’t try to sneak onto trains as you will get caught! If you don’t pay they’ll take you away…
Additionally if staying at Foresteria bring towels. Also there are no laundry facilities on site, however we were able to make use of laundry facilities in local launderettes.
If your traveling from England or N I. or Ireland look carefully to the left as traffic moves quickly and the bikes make very little noise! Watch out for those cyclists, as bikes are the choice of travel in Italy!
The staff at Uniser were fantastic and especially Viktorija who worked endlessly to ensure all our needs were met and enabled us to have a smashing time!
Arrivederci!
Hope you have an amazing time in Italy!
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