Day 24: Friday, May 30. I was frustrated by the projection system in class today. In this class I show a lot of videos. Usually we only watch 5-10 minutes of a documentary, but sometimes I will show as much as a half hour of some things. I try to use the videos as a way of getting students to think about style, approach voice, etc. I ask them to tell me what they like and don't like and try to get them in discussion. On a few occasions, we've actually had students disagree about what they like. For a teacher, that's the holy grail. I think a lot of learning goes on when that happens.

Today the internet worked fine but nothing I did could make the projection system work. I discussed the assigned reading with them, had them pair up to discuss their own projects, but we still finished a little short of the full two hours. I don't think they've missed out, though, given the number of unscheduled minutes of learning they've had (yesterday's visit to the basilica in Loreto, for example).

These church projects have all been different - most challenging. Today I went with a couple of students to Santa Maria della Pace. Kim came with me, as we have never been to this church. We got there just about the time it started pouring. The church has a covered porch (porticos) so we waited for the priest's arrival. The student had made an appointment to interview him. As we waited for the priest to arrive I noticed more people were arriving, then I saw that there was a funeral announcement. The student was not likely going to get an interview with the priest. When he did arrive, he said he didn't have a phone number to let the student know. In any event, he had arranged for a retiree, who was a lifelong member of the church, to meet the student for the interview. We went into a side room of the church and set up. Luigi was a very nice man who went into great detail. He even brought along some photos. The church we were in was built in 1956, but there had been a SM della Pace since 1325. It's named "della Pace" because the church was founded where the peace was agreed to between warring families from the hill towns of Macerata and Montelupone. The new church was built to accommodate the increasing number of parishioners, but it was a few years later when the 600+-year-old church was demolished to make room for a larger road to accommodate busses. That surprised me. I think of Italy as a place that preserves antiquity, but I guess there is a limit to what they will preserve. Luigi told the students that there was a historic marker only about 50 yards away. He offered to walk there with them, then drive them back to their hotel. He was extremely kind. His father had been custodian at the old church and I just think he appreciated being able to talk with someone about the old church of his youth that he obviously loved.

Kim and I walked back up the steep hill to town - not a long distance but a challenging walk. I had a little time before needing to meet the next couple of students at their church, so Kim and I engaged in one of my favorite Italy activities: we sat in a piazza and had a glass of wine. It was the first time we had done it in Macerata this trip!!

Met the next couple of students at Santa Maria della Porta. I went in to speak with the priest. This was the first time the priest said they could not record anything without first getting diocesan approval. I told him that I had students assigned to 15 different churches, and all of them were shooting without permission. He didn't care. He simply said that some people may look the other way, but the rules are the rules. He told us we could go to the diocesan office for permission, and that it shouldn't be a problem. But, it was Friday evening at 6:30 so the office would not open again until Tuesday (Monday is a holiday). Really a setback to the student, but there wasn't anything I could do.

Kim and I concluded the day by heading up to Santa Croce (Holy Cross), which has a celebration Wed - Sun. The road leading to the church as decorated.

There was a stage in front of the church and a whole area of carnival rides, stage, food, etc. behind. We arrived after 9 p.m. but they still hadn't started the rides. It was 10 p.m. before the rock band started, but this couple was performing when we arrived.