This is my annual update. Honestly I think Facebook has pretty much made this unnecessary.

Kim and I started the year with Tony, our exchange student from Spain living with us. We ended it with Nicole, Joe and Riley living with us. I guess you just never know what the year will bring. Who knows next year?

Anthony and his family moved from the pacific northwest to the Kansas City area. They visited over Easter. It was the first time we had all been together since Joe and Nicole's wedding.

The major travel for the year was our Italy trip. Kim and I took 17 Ball State students to Italy for 5 weeks.

We landed in Rome and did a couple of days of tourism (even got to see former student Jason and his wife who also happened to be in Rome) before taking a charter bus to our "home base" of Macerata. We spent four weeks there while students worked on videos of local churches. If you want to watch some of the videos you'll find them here. On the way out of the country we did a couple of days of tourism in Florence. The students had 3, 3-day weekends where they could go touring on their own. Kim and I took advantage of one of the long weekends and celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary by visiting Polignano al Mare and Alborebello: two places we'd never been to.

We also had good fortune to have multiple guests visit us in Macerata. My brother Jim, cousin Cetta and her husband Stefano visited.

So did our friends Mark and Martha from Greece.

Kim's nephew Jake came for a whole week, and Kim had a fantastic time showing him all around (while I worked).

Make no mistake - we have a great time when we take students overseas, but anyone who thinks it's not work is nuts. For the first time, we had three students who needed medical attention.

We weren't back in the U.S. a week in June when Kim and I headed off on another trip. First we drove Tony to Indianapolis where he was traveling with other exchange students to Chicago for the long flight home. Tony stayed with a friend from his swim team while we were gone. We said our goodbyes and headed to St. Louis for the day to reunite with a whole bunch of Sipe family members.

We left there the next day and stopped at my bother Tony's house on the way down to south Florida. Of course we went to visit my mom, but we timed the trip to coincide with the South Broward High School Class of 1974 40-Year Reunion. 

I loved my high school years and cherish any opportunity to get together with the great people who were part of it. Kim is a saint for going along with me. Many of my friends have spouses who don't go. I mean, who wants to sit through a bunch of old people reminiscing about their lost youth?

Then at the end of July it was time for another great drive. First stop: Chicago for Fulbright meetings. I've gone past the Palmer House many times, but this was the first time I ever stayed there (thanks Fulbright). After two days there we drove west. We had lunch in Iowa with our old friends Jae and Gemma Park, my former BSU racquetball partner. We woke up at the Palmer House in Chicago and went to sleep at the Comfort Inn in York, Nebraska. Talk about a contrast! The next day we made it to visit our dear friends the Limbirds in Fort Collins, Colorado. Had a great time catching up. FoCo is great and I could easily live there. Somebody at Colorado State needs to retire so they can hire me.

Next it was a short drive to Denver to see Kim's sister Diane and her husband Steve. Plus we got to see their daughters, son-in-law and most important we finally got to meet their new and cutest addition Jamie.

They live in a downtown condo - walking distance to great food, museums and pot shops, but we never went in one. I did drive everybody crazy wanting to get a picture, though.

We left Denver and went to visit Anthony and his family in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. It was our first time seeing them in their new house.

We made a quick stop to visit Kim's sister Pat and Tom in St. Louis on our final leg home. All total we drove more than 2,500 miles in 17 days.

We even managed to get one last trip in before classes started - a 2 night retreat in Brown County, Indiana. We rented a "cabin" with Nicole and Joe, plus Joe's dad Sandy, and Sheila.

We returned to St. Louis for Thanksgiving. Kim's sister, Jacque, and Stuart were great hosts. It was a special treat for us, as Kim and I were able to be not only with Kim's family, but both our kids' families.

Kim and I have  gotten to visit several university campuses. I'm serving as a Fulbright Ambassador. I visit campuses to encourage faculty to apply. I tell them that if I can get selected twice, anybody can get a Fulbright. In 2014 we've visited the University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, Heidelberg, Franklin, Bowling Green, and Eastern Kentucky.

I welcome the chance to talk about Fulbright, but I also love getting to see other campuses.

It's been great having Nicole's family with us since August. What a blessing to be able to watch this guy grow. He turned one-year-old in Oct.

2014 was an eventful year, and 2015 promises to be every bit as exciting. We hope all our friends and family near and far have a great year. We'd love to be able to share it with you (virtually if need be, but in person would be even better).

Luca, 6, Riley, 1 and Matteo 3 Christmas Eve 2014

Day 29: Wednesday, June 4. I was asked to help with some more video subtitling/translation, so I got to the office before 9 to meet with a student. Class today was at 11 a.m. Yesterday it was at 12. The last two days this week it will be at 10. The erratic schedule has been to accommodate the University of Oregon students. Their 10 week term ends this week, just days before our 5 week term does. They had finals yesterday and today. They also had 12 credits (Italian, Art History and 2 food and sustainability classes) while the majority of my students were taking only 3 credits (about 1/3 of them are taking an additional 3 credits of individually-negotiated independent study). It was easier for us to work around their schedule. Surprisingly, not a single student has been late or missed a class with the excuse that the variable schedule was the cause. Overall they have been extremely responsible.

This note is for whichever of my colleagues takes the group to Italy next year: it is infinitely easier if we come at a time when no other groups are here. As I said the schedule has not been burdensome, but it is definitely easier if you are the only game in town. I remember a class last week where we had the main classroom and Oregon had scheduled class at the same time. There is another, smaller classroom with no projection capabilities that they were planning to use. I must've had 5 different Oregon students walk into my class before realizing it was not their class. Some of them arrived as much as 10 minutes late. I made some disparaging remark about how arriving to class on time must not matter in Oregon.

We struggled through class without projection capability today. I worry for Friday when we have to watch all the videos so they may grade each other.

After class I planned to meet with Kim and our Greek guests for lunch at Trattoria da Ezio. It was to be our last time eating there this trip. As usual it was a splendid meal and I'm glad that the Greeks thought so, too. My cousin and her husband went with us 6 years ago, and he wanted to return while he was here, but they just happened to be closed those days. I know I've mentioned them before. This time I got my picture taken with the chef. She is quite a character. I'll have to add the photo at another time as the laptops are all unavailable and my iPad doesn't accept an SD card. Sounds like a TV commercial. In any event, here's an article recently about a guy coming to Macerata to work with an learn from her for his latest book. He was a student in the program 13 years ago. He published a book about the coffee scene in Portland and his blog, "On the Marche" (clever title - wish I had thought of it) tells about what he's doing.

After lunch I helped a couple of students buy jewelry. A number of churches here have silver hearts that have been given in thanks "PGR" - Per Grazie Ricevute (For Graces Received). A couple of students wanted mementos. It took us a couple of tries but we found a shop that had very inexpensive ones. After that, I was off to another church to meet up with a student. This was the one who had sought the permission from the diocese. With permission in hand we went, and the priest was very cordial. All went fine. I had to leave at 6:15 to meet Kim to translate at a sort of pharmacy/orthopedics shop. They have a doctor who comes in to see people - free - to help them decide what sorts of orthopedics they need. She did a rather long exam/discussion with Kim (couldn't believe her medical history) and finally selected some inserts for her shoes (she came in complaining of foot pain). At one point the doctor asked Kim her weight. I had to turn around so that Kim could sign the answer. In 33 years of marriage I have never been allowed to know.

Not sure if other blog entries will happen now or next week. We leave early Sunday morning for Florence, then to catch our flight home out of Rome.

Day 28: Tuesday, June 3. This was a rough day.

We had a major problem today. I brought three laptops with me for editing. I plug one into the projection system each day to watch portions of documentaries. Today, somehow, it seems the computer screen stopped functioning. The computer was still visible through the projection system, and the computer screen is not fried as it still "lights," but it is no longer possible to see anything on it. I asked for help from any of the Mac users in the class, and one or two tried, but none were able to restore it. Rebooted several times, but that didn't do it (that's about the extent of my expertise).

This was a major blow. Fifteen packages need to be edited by Friday. Instead of 3 computers to do it, we're now down to two. Actually, one or two have their own laptops with editing software so it's not really quite as bad as that, but it has put a major crimp in the schedule.

The frustration level has definitely risen. We talked in class today. The biggest frustration from the students is the fact that I didn't contact each of their churches in advance to pave the way for them. That is absolutely a fair criticism. Neither Filiberto or I thought we'd need to. Churches are open daily to the public. People go in the all the time to take pictures and video. One of my reasons for choosing churches as the subject matter was because they were prominent, easily accessible, and didn't care whether people spoke Italian or not. I visited churches with students if possible every time I was asked. There were some times I couldn't because I was visiting a different church with another student, or the times I went out of town. Some students asked for assistance several times, and others never asked. That's pretty normal. I will accept that I should have contacted their churches for them in advance. They need to accept that they did not start working soon enough. Many assumed it would be a one-day shoot and they'd be done. You don't get three college credits for a one day shoot. One of the students suggested in class that I need to tell students to start working right away.

This morning I visited the diocesan offices with a student to seek permission to record in his church. Of all of the students, he was the only one who was told by the priest that he was required to have permission from the diocese. Of course he told us that when we went there on Friday evening, so we couldn't go until today (Monday was a holiday). Add to that the fact that today was the day a new bishop was named for the Macerata diocese (causing a lot of activity in the offices) and our visit was a little - shall we say less of a priority. I met the student at 9 when they opened. We went from one office to another finding where we needed to be. Between internet problems, a pregnancy keeping the person we really should have gotten the permission from out of the office, and the frantic activity surrounding the impending announcement it was a mess. After a while things were figured out, but it would be a while. The guy took my phone number and said he would call back to let me know when the permission was ready. We left and about a half hour later he called. I went back and he asked a series of questions (name, phone, email, date of birth, place of birth, etc). I got the form. The student now has a great souvenir, suitable for framing, of his introduction to church bureaucracy.

This evening I met up with a student at his church to talk with his priest. He had wanted to go last Friday but I was already booked by two other students. He was gone for the weekend so it had to be today. I wondered why he didn't bring a camera along with him, but those were all booked, so he had to come one day to ask, then return the next day to shoot.

One more thing: today I spent more than 3 hours helping a student translate an interview he did with someone about his church. He had about 40 minutes of interview and I helped him to subtitle it. We didn't finish by the time I had to leave to meet up with the above-mentioned student.

By the time I got back to the apartment I was pretty much wiped out. I hadn't had lunch and I hadn't had much time that wasn't occupied - plus the devastation of the computer crash. I downed a beer and ate a bunch of peanuts even before Kim had dinner ready. She had taken the Greeks to a couple of spots today.

Day 27: Monday, June 2. Today was a legal holiday in Italy - Republic Day! The students had no classes, and no one had asked me to shoot, or translate, or go to a store, so I had a holiday, too.

Filiberto had invited me to bring my brother, cousin and her husband over to his house for coffee before they left town. I was happy to do so. I like bringing together disconnected pieces of my world. Rather than try to tell them how to get there (even though they have in-dash navigation) I told them I would meet them at the gas station when they were ready and drive with them there. Kim walked down and met us there. The meeting went about as planned - between the seven of us there were no silences, and several instances of talking over each other. We enjoyed the view and the company until they decided they needed to get on the road.

We had left our Greek friends back at the apartment. We rejoined them for a lazy day. Kim of course went overboard with lunch. I am worried because we leave the apartment in less than a week and we have a enough leftovers for a lot more than that. Our Greek guests took a nap. We played some cards, which we did with them when we were in Greece five years ago. Then we decided we would take a slow walk toward the center. We had to be sure not to overdo it with older guests. In spite of our caution Marc tired and wanted to stop, which we did. He had suggested taking a cab back but with the holiday, we didn't see any. Kim and Martha walked back to get the car and come pick us up while we waited.

Having the car brought everyone renewed energy. We drove into the old town (no restrictions on the holiday) and found a convenient place to park. We walked a short and, more importantly, level path to a cafe in a square where we sat and had wine/tea/Coke. The sun was setting and it was beginning to get a little chilly, so we moved to a different cafe located closer to a smaller nearby square where there was to be a 9 pm (stated time, meaning 9:30) band concert and sat inside. The door was open so we could hear. We didn't stay all that long then headed home.

Day 26: Sunday, May 31. I had to meet a student this morning at 7:50 a.m. It seems he could never find the church he was assigned open. We had used up all the closest churches by this point, so on Friday I told him I would take the bus with him so he could find a new one. On Saturday I got an idea to let him instead do a piece on closed churches and the restoration process. I emailed him to call me, but since he never did I met him at the bus stop. Despite my having spent months in this town in previous years, I walked the wrong way and instead of being early arrived right on time. I told him my plan and I showed him some sites while he shot. I left him to go to 9 am mass at the cathedral. I sat in the back so he could drop the gear off with me. I was to meet another student at 10 am who was planning to interview the priest at the cathedral. We weren't able to do the interview until 10:30 but did get what he needed.

After that the plan for the day was to drive to Assisi. My cousin, her husband, my brother and I were in one car and Kim went with our friends from Greece in the other. Both cars had gps so we didn't feel the need to travel via caravan. It was much better that way. The gps took us the back roads. It was probably the most direct route but not one for someone who is uncomfortable on small mountain roads (you should go back and read my post about driving in Slovenia 6 years ago). In any event our car reached Assisi well ahead of the others (as I expected). We were able to visit the church of  Santa Maria degli Angeli before they even got to Assisi. SMdA is a 400 year old church built to enclose the area where Francis began his work. It even includes a small 9th century church in the center.

We then proceeded up the hill to the town where we found a parking space. The other car then pulled in right next to us! After a beer and a sandwich we were ready to head to the main church, the Basilica of St. Francis. It's a steep hill and only local cars are allowed. The people in our car walked up while the people in the other car took a cab. We all pretty much made the visit on our own. The basilica is really two churches, upper and lower, with the tombs of Francis and his friends below. The church is well known for the Giotto frescoes - as well as its massive size. This picture is really only of the upper church. Note the background people (near the door) to get the relative size.

Kim's group pretty much spent their entire time at the Basilica. You can see her pictures on Facebook.

Our group continued down the street lined with shops. It's very touristic, but at least no one comes up to you wanting you to come in their shop. At least they have a little decorum. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon on a holiday weekend, so the place was packed. We made our way to the Basilica of St. Clare. Her remains are there, but most people come to see the Franciscan cross. There are reproductions is crosses all over the world (our St. Francis in Muncie has one), but the original is in a side chapel at St. Clare. This is the cross that spoke to Francis and told him "rebuild my church." We didn't make it to St. Damian, the other significant church where the Franciscan cross was originally located and where Clare had her convent. We headed back to Macerata, this time opting to go via a longer but quicker route. 

We went up the street from our apartment for dinner to Nuovo Paradiso, our neighborhood restaurant. 

Day 25: Saturday, May 30. Today was going to be a bit of a challenge. Two different sets of guests were arriving. My brother, in Italy for two weeks, is driving down from Bologna with my cousin and her husband. Also, the couple from whom we rented our apartment in Greece in 2009 were coming to Italy for a wedding, and planned a visit with us for a few days before. We were thrilled both sets of guests were coming, but a little concerned about how to juggle both. 

First, though, I had to work. I was to meet one of the students at his church at 8:45 a.m. He had arranged interviews with a couple of people and I was to be there to translate. The shoot went quite well, but it took a very long time. After a fair amount of set up time, the guy who was answering questions gave at least a 5 minute answer to each question. After a long time, we only had 11 minutes of battery power to do the second interview (thankfully). We don't have all the extra gear we would have in the U.S. (like back up batteries). 

My brother and cousin had a hotel room in the city center, so when they called in the late afternoon to tell me they were soon to arrive at the hotel, I went to meet them. We then walked back to the apartment. The Greeks took a wrong road and were a little later arriving. That was fine, except Kim walked to meet them where they should have come into town had they taken the road we expected. There were a lot of cell phone calls back and forth until finally they connected. 

I'm cheating - these pictures are actually from the next day, but at least I can introduce the characters in this play. 

These are our Greek friends Mark and Martha.

My brother (L) my cousin Cetta and her husband Stefano. 

When everyone was finally at the apartment (well after 9 p.m.) we ate the ton of food that Kim had spent much of the day preparing: eggplant, involtini made from turkey, peppers, olives, salamis, cheeses, asparagus, bread, tomatoes with mozzarella and basil, a kind of cheesecake with lemon curd.... let it suffice to say that 7 people ate all they wanted and there was still plenty left. The biggest challenge was the fact that our apartment is only set up for 2-3 people, so plates and silver were limited. 

My brother and cousin were confident that they could find their way back to their hotel without any problem so I didn't walk them back (after midnight). Got to bed later than I'm used to, but I survived. 

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. 

Day 23: Thursday, May 29. Our final Marche excursion took us to three destinations - two really - one was more of just a brief stop.

We loaded up the bus at 8:15 to head first to Loreto, only about 20 miles away. Loreto is home to an important basilica, built around the house of the Virgin Mary. I know what you're thinking: she was from Nazareth, not Italy.

It seems that Christians about 800 years ago worried that the place might be destroyed by non-believers and so they moved it to a safer place. Legend said it was brought by angels, but it was the Angelli family that financed the Crusade to save relics. The structure is now protected by a marble enclosure inside the church. Inside the marble box is Mary's house (no pictures allowed).

The structure has been tested and is from the correct time and place.

After visiting the inside of the basilica, we went to see the outside - fortified to prevent invasions by pirates (only a couple of miles from the Adriatic). This is a favorite spot for a class photo each time I've been here. 

After we loaded up the bus we took another short drive, this time to Sirolo, a sea town. As we drove along we saw lots of places setting up umbrellas, chairs, etc. Monday is a holiday here, so lots of people will see this 3-day weekend as the start of summer. The stop was just so people could take pictures - a scenic park above the sea, with Mount Conero nearby. We can actually see Conero from Macerata, but this was a much closer view. 

Unfortunately we were delayed leaving because some in the group decided to try to descend from the terrace to the beach below - my wife among them. It is very steep, and much harder to do than they realized. Getting down was one thing, but getting back up was a real challenge. One of the students was really struggling and was rather embarrassed by it. Of course I was frustrated that because they chose to go down there, the others who stayed put were made to wait. 

Off to lunch. I remember this meal from six years ago. I told the students that the pasta would be a handmade pappardelle (wide egg pasta) with a pork sauce. I didn't tell them the pork was wild boar until after they ate it. They all liked it. A few were grateful that I didn't say anything until later, but most said they would have been open to trying it. 

Then it was time for Frasassi Caves. No photography is allowed inside the caves, so you'll just have to click on the website and see the pictures there. A few of the students asked me the reason for the restriction. I told them that my cynical view was that it made it so visitors would have to buy postcards, DVDs, etc. 

It was after 7 p.m. when  we got back to Macerata. Kim and I had a dinner appointment at 8:30. We were invited to go to our favorite Macerata restaurant by the visiting professor from U of Oregon and his family. Galen is here teaching for 10 weeks. His students are studying food and sustainability. We had a nice dinner and conversation. Galen, Karen and their two children had a complete meal while Kim and I weren't really hungry after our big lunch so we ate less. Of course I still had a homemade pasta :)

Day 22: Wednesday, May 28. After waking up and dealing with the student's medical issue the night before, Kim and I didn't wake up and get out as early as we would have liked this morning. Today's class was scheduled 11-1, which meant I needed to be in the office at 10 (I keep an hour of office hours before and after class). I wasn't able to spend time with Kim at the Wednesday market. Once again, this is an image from the web.

Inside the city walls there are vendors of all kinds. We always buy produce from the same guys. 

Two of the students asked me to go with them today to speak with people at their churches. At 3:30 I went with one student to Misericordia, one of the churches the class had visited the day before. I went and spoke first with the sacristan, a very friendly retired guy who took us to see the priest. The priest was a bit gruff but said she could record up until 5 p.m. and then would have to quit, as people would start arriving at 5:20 for the 5:30 rosary. Each church has been different. This priest wants no recording during services. At another church the priest invited the student to the front of the church during the mass. I was then off to another church to meet up with a couple of students. I encourage you to click the link for Santa Maria Delle Virgini. The church may have been built centuries ago but it is modern in many ways, including the fact that they stream their masses. I spoke to a couple of people who very kindly said recording was no problem, including mass, as long as the students didn't walk in front of people during services. Besides having been built almost 500 years ago, the church is notable for having a painting by Tintoreto, a well-known Renaissance painter.

What would have been a pretty successful afternoon for the student who was assigned the church was instead pretty awful. It seems he lost his iPhone on the bus going to the church. We contacted the bus company and the drivers on that route, but no one had found it. To be sure someone did find it - they just didn't turn it in. This same student had left an expensive pair of sunglasses on our excursion bus the previous week. He was able to get those back (it was a charter - no one else got on it before we notified the driver) and I told him he needed to put 50 cents in a poor box in church in thanksgiving. When he said he lost his phone I asked if he had made a donation and he said he hadn't. He was beginning to wonder if there might be a correlation. I told him that I thought if God punished everyone for not being thankful enough, we would all be in serious trouble. 

I neglected to mention in the post for Day 21 the short tour Filiberto did for the students in the afternoon. We spent about 3 1/2 hours walking in town at 4 sites. I didn't have a camera with me so the following four photos are from the web. We went to the main cathedral

the church of Santa Maria della Misericordia

The Sferisterio (the outdoor opera theatre, which was first constructed in the 19th century as an athletic venue for a game that was a kind of cross between tennis and handball)

but by far, the most popular stop of the day was to climb to the top of the city's clock tower to get a view of the town, and all the way to the Adriatic. The tower is accessible only by appointment. Filiberto had made the arrangements but got a call from them earlier in the day saying they would cancel because of the weather conditions. We had had some "iffy" weather earlier, but by the time we stopped at the tower at 5 p.m. it was no problem. Up we went. 

Besides my own fear of being up there, I was probably just as fearful of the way some of the students were not afraid, almost leaning over the rail. I tried not to watch them. 

Day 21: Tuesday, May 27. I think one or two of the students may have been a little startled today when I told them that we would be on a plane headed home in exactly two weeks. That, more than anything else, may have been the reason for the flurry of activity. All three cameras are checked out pretty much all week. I am "checked out," too. Students reserve my time if they want me to go with them to their churches, usually serving as a translator.

Kim and I were awakened at 12:30 a.m. (this is officially the next day, but I'm including it here) by a phone call from one of the students. It seems his roommate was having stomach pain, with episodes of vomiting and diarrhea. We both dressed quickly and headed for the hotel, a few blocks' walk from our apartment. We tried calling Filiberto's cell phone but gone no answer. The student and a few others were on the couches in the lobby. Kim went over to talk with them and get more info, while I went to the hotel desk to speak with the night manager. He was prepared to call an ambulance but I suggested we call Filiberto. He tried the office number (which I knew would do no good) and his cell number, finally getting an answer on his house phone. He had left his cell phone in the other room when he went to bed. Had I been clear-headed, I would've thought to call his home phone, too, but I don't have the number saved on my cell phone, like I do his number.

In any event, his advice was to call the on-call doctor. It seems there is always one available on rotation. The desk clerk called and about 10 minutes later a young woman with a black bag arrived. The clerk gave us a meeting room where she could examine him and I stayed to translate. She gave him a shot for the nausea, which seemed to work almost immediately, and a prescription for anti-diarrheal medicine, which she said he should fill only if he needs it after a night's sleep. She also gave him some pills for fever/pain (acetaminophen or something similar, I'm guessing). He went back to bed, and Kim and I walked back to our apartment to do the same.

That makes three students out of 17 now who have had to see doctors for medical issues (one of those three had to be seen twice). Study abroad teachers do more than just teach. Spouses of study abroad teachers, though not paid, also are part of the staff. I'm sure others may not be as good as Kim when it comes to helping with the students, but having her here is a tremendous help.

Day 20: Monday, May 26. Sleeping in the trullo was quite comfortable. As I mentioned previously, being below ground helped keep it cool, but the concrete is also naturally cool. In summer I suspect they become rather unpleasant from the heat.

Like so many places in Italy parking was a challenge, so we never moved the car until we were ready to leave town. We walked down the street to the cafe where our breakfast was provided, then some more walking around and taking of pictures. We had three sites in mind: the oldest of the existing trulli is Casa D'Amore, from 1797, the town's cathedral, and the largest authentic trullo - a two-story structure owned by a wealthy family.

The town is nothing if not one big photo op. The cathedral is a newer structure - for Italy - celebrating its bicentennial this year. 

The two-story trullo didn't necessarily look different from the outside, but the fact that there was an upstairs bedroom made it unique. We toured the inside, which certainly was not as nice as our hotel room, but interesting nonetheless. 

Kim had wanted to make one more stop in the nearby town of Locorotondo, known to be picturesque.  We found the town just fine thanks to the gps (great investment), but couldn't find the views we had seen online. I was getting nervous about the time, so we headed back. We made it to the car rental place in Macerata less than an hour before closing time. In fact, we were just 5 minutes away when we got a call from the rental place checking on us. Despite the fact that the car had no cruise control, it was a great deal. We took the bus back to town, stopped for a couple of groceries and had dinner in our apartment. Happy to be "home" after a long but enjoyable trip. 

Day 19: Sunday, May 25. We woke early. Breakfast at the B&B was 9-10 a.m. so we started out by walking around a little bit before. For 8 a.m. on a Sunday there appeared to be a lot of walkers, joggers, and fishermen along the walkway.

I saw lots of people fishing, from boats and from the shore, but didn't see many reeling anything in.

Breakfast at the B&B was a real treat. Italian breakfasts are not traditionally very much - often coffee and a pastry. The owner showed up at about 9 with a bag full of stuff. Everything was fresh, and most home made/grown. She had picked the strawberries and cherries from her garden this morning (not the pineapple or kiwi, though). Her husband, a pastry chef, made the assortment of pastries. 

After breakfast we went back to the historic center of town for more relaxing strolls (some shopping) and went to mass at the historic cathedral, dating back to 1295. We just happened to be there for First Communion Sunday. May is traditionally the month for first communions, but traditions vary widely. Our home church does them individually rather than in a group. Dress codes vary. This church did it the old fashioned way, with all the kids dressed in white. Some of the girls were even wearing the traditional "halo" of small flowers like my mom wore almost 90 years ago. After mass the kids and the priest joined hands in the piazza out front. 

We lucked out. This was the day in Italy that most wineries were open for visitors. We decided that we would visit the one located at our destination for the day, only about 30 minutes away. We visited Albea Winery where we sampled four different wines and toured their wine museum. 

The main point of this day was to visit Alberobello, a UNESCO-protected historic site. The main attraction there is the Trulli (singular - Trullo), concrete structures with conical roofs. Most of the structures are not terribly old by Italian standards - only 100 years or so. Sone of them are a couple of hundred years old, although the construction does date back a little before that. But because of their distinctiveness they draw people from all over the world.

We saw tourists from USA, UK, Germany, France, Japan and China. I'm sure there were others, too. The "experience" was actually being able to stay in a trullo. A number of them have been converted into B&Bs. We thought ours had been decorated quite nicely and had all the amenities of home.

Ours happened to be below ground. Not all are. We didn't mind, as the room was cool without even turning on the air conditioner. 

The town itself is a lesson for entrepreneurs. In the mid-20th century it was run down and falling apart. People were leaving the impractical structures behind and opting for modern places. One guy decided to buy up a bunch of them, fix them up, and rent them out as rooms to tourists. As a result, the whole town is one big tourist attraction. Frankly I liked it less than our day in Polignano al Mare. This place had more merchants inviting you into their shops, telling you they had the finest stuff, etc. None of that happened at Polignano al Mare. One woman whose shop we stopped in told us all kinds of bad things about the winery we had visited: they were not local people, but "northerners" who had bought the winery, and they bring wine in from other parts of Italy, making it not authentic (thus making it less quality than the wine she wanted to sell us). 

I'll conclude with a few more photos from the day. I'm glad we went, I'm glad we can say we stayed in a trullo, but I never feel the need to return. 

Kim's intent in taking this photo was to show the roofs, but I hope you can see the throng of tourists on this "main" street with all sorts of shops. 

Day 18: Saturday, May 24. This is the official halfway mark of our journey. We have completed 17 days, and we return home in 17 more days.

This was a huge day. Kim and I arose early to drive Jake to the Bologna airport so he could catch his flight back to Manchester. We had to leave about 5:30 a.m. I made sure to get him in the correct line for check in, then Kim and I were off (about 8:30 a.m.) headed down the east coast of Italy. It was a long drive, but fortunately there was not a lot of traffic or road construction, so it went pretty smoothly. We were able to arrive in Polignano al Mare at a decent hour. It's a great place located right on the coast, with big rock cliffs dropping into the sea.

We stayed in a very nice B&B just about a 10 minute walk outside the city center. A couple owned and operated a brand new place (open since January) with just 3 guest rooms. The place was clean, nice, and the hospitality was fantastic. I hate to admit that the who reason we went to P al M was an online photo we had seen of a restaurant in a cave looking out on the sea. 

Our hostess told us it was expensive, and the food used to be good but the quality has fallen off. We opted instead for good food. 

The town was a perfect place to celebrate our anniversary, even if it was a day late. We walked around enjoying the sights and sounds. I was really surprised to find so many English speakers in this part of Italy. I was told that in recent years, people from the UK and Ireland have begun to come now that there are daily flights to Bari (the provincial capital nearby). In spite of all the tourists, it really didn't feel bad. No shopkeepers trying to pull you into their shops, or restauranteurs trying to show you their menus. I'll just let a few pictures tell the story. 

We had to stop for an afternoon snack :)

Perhaps the most famous son of Polignano al Mare was Domenico Modugno, most famous for the song he sang in the late 1950s, Volare (in Italy it's called "Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu").