Wednesday, April 3, 2013

THE YIN AND YANG OF IT ALL


                                                                     
 
I don't know why
I should know better
I've plenty of life experience to teach me...
and yet,
I am continually surprised by life in Italy.....

 

                                                                    THE POLE


See that pole across the road??  that's our telephone pole, yep,
the one that connects our land line and internet services...
OH...the ROAD?  it's a public road and our egress...

Soooo, two weeks ago we noticed a pole had fallen across the road--with lots and lots of wires entwined not only with each other but also the branches of the trees--wires cascading all the way down the hill.  So we called TeleCom Italia, the company that handles most of the fixed lines in Italy.  It was a Thursday...well, sir, it is Thursday, it'll be hard to get someone out before next week, Monday or Tuesday.  Monday comes, Tuesday follows, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday inevitably arrive, and you got it, no TeleCom Italia.  And the pole just hangs there...
 
                                       
 
 
 Yowee, look at those wires...inspires confidence, huh?
  Luckily, they're phone lines, not electrical wires and,
    miraculously, our phone and internet work!






 
If you look veeeery carefully, you'll see the cable amongst the branches...it's been there so long it looks like a branch!    >>>>




Two weeks have come and gone; several calls have been made
to TeleCom and they've promised to send someone out; we keep our fingers crossed the phone and internet continue to work; and life goes on...except for one LITTLE THING...

                                       Someone--a neighbor? TeleCom under cover of night? A wild boar?--
                                       has moved the pole to the right of the road to make our egress
                                       easier, if only we could drive UNDER the OVERHANGING WIRES!


Tomorrow it will have been 3 weeks since "the fall"...and the pole remains fallen.  So, we wait, and we call, and we wait, and....




THE PAEAN
 
 Is it appropriate to tip the shampoo girl?  Is it appropriate to tip at all?  Why is there so much graffiti on national treasures in this country?  (So many of the ruins are covered with it while remaining exposed to the elements--both natural and human.)  And, why is it Italians are fanatically fastidious about keeping their homes spotless, while trash overflows in the streets?  Or...when people, Italians, learn we are American, do they automatically assume we're "spoiled, rich snobs?"

I've been on the "other side" of the desk this last month and I've had several "I could have had a V-8" moments. I needed a place to ask the above questions without fear of insult or judgment, secure in the knowledge of receiving an honest answer.  And there is the heart of education....for when all is said and done, I trust Letizia, our Italian teacher, to be candid and tactful and forthright.  She answers my questions, provides information, directs my learning, excites my curiosity, challenges me.  True education goes beyond the subject matter, supplying the larger context and widening horizons.  (What a joy to have this opportunity!)

So here is my paean to all the teachers in my life.  The "ah-ha moment," the contagious excitement, the ignition of an idea are the fuel with which you help your students learn.  You have provided a safe haven, a larger world view, a kind word, a simple gesture, and a lifetime of experience to help guide your students.  Thank you.
 
Teaching is an honorable profession; I am proud to have been a part of it and to know so many dedicated professionals.




This is where it all begins...an empty, non-descript
room at  the Accademia Italiana in Ascoli Piceno
...a table, chairs, a white board, what more
would you want??? (or need?)




Add books, a teacher, a student or two,
Letizia and Gary
 studying the subjunctive.
some homework, and the non-descript
place fills with focus and dedication...


and our lives are richer for it.







            The challenges and the rewards continue.


 
 







 



2 comments:

  1. Haha! Sorry if I laugh but your sarcasm renders the painful and frustrating situation humorous. The pole represents peace of mind. The pole is relaxing. The tree represents brotherhood. The tree supports the pole. The pole is yin. The tree is yang. And you and Gary are... living in Italy, and loving it! Me too. -SS

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've read, reread and reread your paean to teachers and, quite honestly, my eyes are moist. Really, for I, too, am proud of having been a teacher, as corny as that sounds. And proud that my daughter is a teacher, and that my son is devoted to teaching in a more abstract way (as an astronomer). You're so right on: a room, a table, chairs and a white board, and some sort of magic happens if it's the right teacher. Thank you for inspiring me (retroactively) and for urging me to seek knowledge, safe havens and, above all, true friendship (that's you!).
    Gotta love the telephone pole episode-what would life me without the theater of the absurd???
    xLynne

    ReplyDelete