Fireworks in Naples: The Secret Uncovered

Ever since I arrived in Naples I’ve been aware of the crazy amount of fireworks that are let off in the city. Not a week goes by without me having heard at least one firecracker or rocket or whatnot. Sometimes you hear just a single firework, sometimes there is a whole display. I put this down the Neapolitans loving to celebrate. “Yay, SCC Napoli won!” “Yay, Happy Birthday!” “Yay it’s the weekend”. Although I did always find it odd that they are sometimes let off in the middle of the day. Why would you let off fireworks in the day time!?!?!

What I didn’t know was, these fireworks aren’t part of a celebration. They are a signal. When someone lets a firework off it means that the drug dealer is in the neighbourhood. I will leave you to dwell on that.

Isn’t a bit of an obvious signal? Surely the police know? Of course they do, but I’m sure you can guess who runs the drug dealing and why the police are “oblivious” to it.

BED BUGS!?!?!?!

Yesterday morning I woke up to find a very red bump on my leg. I was a little confused and guessed that maybe I had cut myself shaving a few days before and hadn’t noticed it. This morning I woke up to find a similar lump on my other leg. I’m pretty certain that it wasn’t there the day before. The original one is a quite itchy and I can’t help but worry that I have bed bugs!

(I know if any of my friends are reading this they are probably laughing at my usual hypochondria)

But seriously what else could it be? Mosquitoes? I just don’t know.

I need help with my addiction

When I first came to Italy I was addicted to buying shoes. A few months on and I find myself buying toiletries like there is no tomorrow. I now have at least 3 x the amount of bathroom products than I did when I arrived.

I went out yesterday to buy a book and instead came back with 35 euro worth of toiletries.

The worst thing is that I was supposed to buy shampoo but bought the conditioner and ended up going into an other shop to pick up the shampoo. AND when I got home I realised I bought the wrong hair mask. I wanted the one for dry hair but had bought the one for dark hair. I should have just stayed at home. What a fail of a shopping day.

(p.s. no I didn’t buy a book in the end)

Two pizzas in one week, feels like I’m back at uni

I finally met up with my friends again last night.

It was very spontaneous. I received a phone call at about 7.30pm asking me if I wanted to go round my friend’s house for dinner and then out after. I didn’t have any plans, apart from the weekly what a movie on a Friday night tradition, so I accepted the offer.

We ordered pizza, which was funny because my host mum had ordered pizza on Tuesday night. Although I’m living in the capital of pizza, I really haven’t eaten it that often so to eat it twice in one week seemed a little o.t.t and reminded me of when I’m at uni and end up eating Pizza for dinner, and then leftovers for lunch and dinner then next day all thanks to two for Tuesday at Dominoes. But I’m not complaining, and I had two different pizzas. On Tuesday it was margarita and last night D.O.C.

The funny thing was that her boyfriend decided to design his own pizza which consisted of ricotta cheese, ham and……………chips. I’m sorry, it’s ridiculous to put pineapple or sweet corn on a pizza, yet acceptable to have a bowl of French fries on the top. It did taste rather good though haha.

After dinner we went to another friend’s house for a bit and then we all got in the car to go to a bar. We drove to Bagnoli only find that the bar was shut. We waited outside the bar (in the car) for 30 minutes, because the others hadn’t arrived yet. In that time I fell asleep and they decided to take me home.

So that was my night last night. It wasn’t too exciting but better than staying at home. I’ve spent today trying to start a plan for Italian essay but I’m finding it hard to concentrate since I haven’t eaten any proper food all day. My host mum is in a weird mood today and she went out without leaving me anything to eat and has no come home without saying hello and gone straight onto the computer, so I’m 80% sure I’m not going to be getting any proper dinner either. I’m not gonna lie, I’m rather annoyed by this. 

EDIT: Almost forgot…They cut the pizza with SCISSORS!

I AM SO ANGRY

So today, after a weeks postponement we were supposed to be allocated our option units for next year.  Well once again they haven’t met their deadline and I am really really really flipping angry!

They have had an extra week to sort this out, a whole week! How much time do they need!

But what makes me really angry is that fact that we have received no email or apology or news on what is going on. Basically they have gone off home and we won’t hear from them until Monday at the earliest! And on Monday it will just be them letting us know when they will be “ready”.

I’m sorry but I go to one of the best universities in the world and yet their office staff cannot meet a single deadline! It’s a joke, seriously a joke. My boyfriend goes to the ex-poly in the same city and he has never had this problem. SOME HEADS NEED TO ROLE!

Last day at school.

I can’t believe how fast the last 14 weeks have gone. It seems like just last month a was walking in the historical centre of Naples with my mentor listening to her warning me about the pupils and school.

Today was a day of mixed emotions. Firstly a day of sadness. Knowing that this would be the last time I see the students, the teachers, enter the school…..did choke me a little. It was a of hyperactivity and silliness. Although the school year doesn’t finish until next week, most of the pupils will take the week off (it appears school isn’t as compulsory here in Italy as it is back home) so everyone had those pre-summer holiday jitters. It was very contagious and made the classes very enjoyable. And finally it was a reflective day. I spent a lot of time reflecting on my experience in the school. Although I was often sat in class bored, I view the experience as positive. I was bored only because I didn’t have much responsibility. My job was to sit in the room and occasionally interrogate the children or read a passage aloud. The times when I actually got to substitute the absent teachers were a lot more fun. But what has made my time at the school so positive is that I realised how much I’d love to be a teacher. Everyday that I sat there staring at the clock, I was itching to have my own classroom, my own teachers desk, my own register…and so on. In the last 14 weeks I have analysed and evaluated all of the different teaching techniques and approaches so that when it is my time to play teacher I can make sure that I can be the best. Because of that I really feel that I’ve got a lot out of this experience. Enjoying your placement is one thing, but actually learning from it is definitely better.

I wrote the teachers some small letters to express my gratitude and to wish the pupils luck in their studies and summer exams. I stupidly forgot to bring the letter for the headmaster, and I didn’t manage to catch one of the English teachers today so I will give those letters to my mentor when I see her tomorrow. The letter to my mentor was the easiest to write because I didn’t need to think of what to write. Everything I wrote to her came straight from the heart because she has been fantastic. Before I came to Italy I really didn’t like her. She was ridiculously unhelpful and vague. She would take weeks to reply to my emails and even then she would dodge my questions or answer “I don’t know”. My friend from uni did her Comenius placement during the winter term and her mentor was much more active during the summer holidays. She phoned her up, found her accommodation without my friend even asking, gave her tons of information. Fast forward almost a year and her mentor turned out to be the b*tch from hell and mine ended up being the most generous, caring woman in the whole of Naples. I have a lot of thank her for. She has not just been my mentor but a great friend.

So I now have 4 weeks free before I fly back home. They are pretty much going to be spent writing my Italian essay, with a weeks break when my boyfriend comes to visit on the 4th June. I can tell that the time is going to fly by and before I know it I will be back in the UK. It’s very strange. Unbelievable in fact.

That awkward moment when…

Your pupil is wearing the same t-shirt as you.

Damn I <3 NY tee.