Day 16: Thursday, May 22. I taught class today. Kim and Jake headed off to the surrounding area for some tourism. 

In addition to teaching class, a couple of the students asked me to travel with them to their churches. First I went with the student assigned to St. George. 

It's a short walk from AHA. Good thing, too, because when we went at about 3:30 it was closed and no one was around. When we returned about 5:00 we found the pastor preparing the church for 6 p.m. mass. He was very kind and quite happy to let the student video anything she wanted, including during mass (one student has been told not to record during mass). She had me ask if he would be willing to be interviewed on camera about the church's history. He responded that he has only been here for a year (the long time pastor died a year ago) and didn't know very much. He apologized for not speaking English, saying that he has been a humble country preacher all his life and never had need to learn another language. 

When I got back to AHA, two other students were waiting for me to go with them to Sacro Cuore (Sacred Heart). The student who had been assigned to it had already visited but was unable to speak with the priest because her Italian and his English were not great. When we got there he recognized her and came over to talk with us. I explained the project and what she wanted. He was very kind and also told her she could shoot anytime she wanted. He advised her that she might want to be there for noon mass on Sunday as that is when the children's choir sings. He lent her a book on the church's history, published for the centennial in 2009 (a relatively new church. St. George was built centuries earlier). I told him that she may not make it this weekend, but next weekend for sure. Fortunately there was a lot going on that she could shoot today. Today was the Feast of St. Rita, and she is one of the patrons of this church, so lots of women came bearing roses and requesting a blessing in front of the little side altar. Mass started at 6:30 (well attended for a daily mass) celebrated not by our friendly pastor but by what appeared to be an African immigrant priest. I was surprised such a traditional church would have an immigrant priest, but most of the Catholic church's grown has been in the Southern hemisphere in the last few decades. 

A note for my colleagues who want to do this program in future years: I have told my students that  am not as good a production teacher as some of my colleagues who could lead this program, but I have the language that they don't. That's been a real benefit. Anyone taking this field study next year needs to think of projects that won't require a translator. I thought churches, as inanimate objects, wouldn't require much Italian language skill, but the students think differently. 

Kim and Jake returned to town and the three of us did a "pizza walk" for dinner. Traditionally Italians stroll in the center of town between 6 and 8 p.m., known as the "passeggiata." We have modified it by stopping for pizza and gelato along the way. Jake and I got pizza at 4 stops and 2 for gelato (Kim couldn't eat as much pizza as we did, although she was all over the gelato). We tried to catch part of a concert in the square that was supposed to start at 9 p.m. By 9:30 it still hadn't started so Kim and I left Jake in the square to wait and headed home.