Day 5: Sunday, May 11: Kim and I went to 9 a.m. mass at Santa Croce (Holy Cross), the closest church to our apartment. We were among the youngest in attendance. I did actually see one kid in church, but he may have been there with his grandpa. The music was all a cappella, so my suspicion is that families attend a later mass. There were also folding chairs set up in addition to the normal pews, so I also surmised that other masses may be better attended, because they weren't needed at 9 a.m. After mass we stopped in a nearby shop for coffee/tea and pastry. We stood at the counter and ate like locals.

We met up with the students at their hotel at 10:15. The program for the day was to walk them to the classroom so they could see the route. A few had actually gone out exploring the previous evening and had found their way to the center of town. Filiberto provided us all with maps and bus passes so we're ready to go wherever and however. What would normally be a 20 minute walk took somewhere around an hour, partly because we needed to stop along the way to explain things, partly because we stopped so students could take pictures, and partly because 17 students walking together just takes longer than one person walking. I advised them not to go out alone, but I also told them that they probably don't want to walk around town as a group of 17 either.

We took the students to lunch at the student cafeteria just to show them how it is done. In the U.S. I told the students that the most economical way to eat would be at the student cafeteria, where a full meal is only 5 Euros (just under $7). Like most institutional food, it's not great but it's a pretty good deal. I certainly wouldn't eat all my meals there but would likely eat a good number there to economize. It turns out the majority of the students aren't going to go that route. It's their choice. After lunch we did some more walking around so they could get their bearings. It just happened to be flea market Sunday, a once-a-month chance to buy old stuff.

Sunday's dinner was our "welcome to Macerata" meal. Filiberto had arranged for us to have dinner at Trattoria da Ezio - my favorite restaurant in all of Italy. Normally closed Sunday night, they were open just for us. It's not a big place (23 of us pretty much filled it) but all the pasta is hand made daily. Mirella (who with her husband Giovanni and their son Marco own and work the place) is not only a wonderful cook - she's also quite a character.  

I was pleased that every single one of them liked it. We have some picky eaters in the group but even they were quite happy. I told them that this was probably the best meal they would have on the trip, and a couple were sorry that we didn't put it off to the end because now everything else will fall short. It's not really in their price range, but several plan to treat themselves at least once before we leave. 

Today was Mother's Day, and thanks to my brother Jack I was able to Skype with my 95-year-old Italian mom back in Florida. 

Day 6: Monday, May 12: Once again Filiberto and I met the students at their hotel for a walking orientation. We went around their neighborhood showing them restaurants, bar/cafes, grocery stores, etc. We had already shown them the closest laundromat yesterday. Once they had the lay of the land, we took them on a bus toward the classroom. The program provides a monthly bus pass for them so they can take the bus to and from class, but they also have the opportunity to explore. Filiberto suggested that in their free time they might just want to take a bus to some neighborhood they haven't been and to walk around. In less than a week, I'm betting I can predict who will and won't try doing that. In fairness I'm not sure how daring I would have been at 20 or 21. I've taught overseas a number of times but never did a study abroad program myself as a student. 

Kim and I did a "pizza walk" for lunch, and so did several of the students. A number of places in town sell pizza by the slice. It's made on cookie sheets so the slices are rectangular and there is a tremendous variety of toppings. Different shops do it differently so if you get a slice at one place it's only natural that you would go somewhere else to get something different. You can walk around town and look in shop windows as you eat or just stay in the shop (not like a restaurant with tables and chairs - just a small counter area). 

After the break we had another discussion with the students, telling them some additions to their schedules. Students asked me about things, like how much farther we will walk or when they will pay their room deposits and I just have to tell them that I don't know. I learned on my previous visits that things will happen when they happen and there's no point trying to know ahead of time. Unfortunately it sometimes causes problems. Today the schedule said we would finish our walking tour at 6:30 p.m., so Kim and I planned to meet up then. I didn't know, however, that Filiberto had planned for the tour to end at their hotel (he walked them back showing them a shortcut), so Kim was in the center of town and I was almost to our apartment. Fortunately Filiberto and Angelica met there and drove back to the offices, where I met Kim. We walked back to the apartment, stopping to buy wine and some produce. We had our first meal in the apartment: 

bread, salami, cheese, peppers, pears, olives and wine may not be a very elaborate meal, but you would be hard pressed to eat better.