July 8, 2011 - Sorrento!

Morning:

Today was just a chill day. A day to just relax after the beach and catch up on our work and sleep before going to Capri. After a breakfast consisting of all the same things as before (eggs, bacon, nutella, etc.), we all went off into our separate classes. The photography class went on a bus trip to Napoli to work on their assignment where they had to photograph urban decay and explore colour. They all found the city slowly being abandoned and falling into disrepair, just like the city of Valle du Sole in the book that the English class had to write and present for today. The seminars were presented by 4 groups, 3 of 5 one of 6, and were supposed to be 20 mins on either the themes, characterization, imagery and symbols in the book of Lives of the Saints. The history class continued to explore Ancient Rome, by watching a reenactment of a famous speech given by the Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar. The Italian class took Mr. Mastrandrea and Ms. Cescolini on a walking tour of Sorrento all done in Italian! They definitely embodied the true Italian tour guide role.

Afternoon:

Another Lunch spent wandering the streets of Sorrento, choosing from the vast number of Pizzerias and Gelaterias, that, despite, the crowded streets and numerous crazy motorists, are always relatively empty. All the students travel in a minimum group size of 3, disputing the best place to go for lunch. These disputes are often settled by simply trying a new place, which everyone agrees (at the time) was an improvement over any of the previous restaurants. The gelato is good everywhere, and despite being full, we always have room for a modest medium cup of the creamy treat. After lunch, students are free to travel the streets of Sorrento, go swim in the hotels pool or cool sea, or do work on a day such as this. Those who sit by the sea sunbathe

by the sea sunbathe and, if misfortune strikes, burn, Those who stay in the rooms and work are successful in their classes, and those in the streets of Sorrento? Those are the people who are getting souvenirs for their friends and family, so don't forget to drop a few hints in your next e-mail or phone call as to what you want!

Evening

By 5 o'clock the photography group had returned, and the English class was presenting their seminars. All the groups were told that they did well on their presentations by their teacher The Stokes. On a completely unrelated note Ms. Stokes was the first to receive a nickname on the trip. Anyway, After the presentations we had dinner, and the meals that were considered the best were the crepes stuffed with ham and cheese, and the chicken with french-fry-like potatoes. Again we were given the opportunity to go out, and now that the English students had presented their seminars, many did to continue the hunt for the best gelato (which in my opinion is nutella hands down). A few students stayed in, however, to contact their parents and watch a movie on a fellow students laptops, which especially fun when combined with junk food from the local grocery store. Generally, it was a great chill day that helped us all get ready for our transition to Rome!