No Surprise Here!

Surfing the web reading the news and, low and behold this revelation.....

The Associated Press: High school exams in Italy get failing grades

Usually, it's the student who fails an exam. In Italy, it's the exams that are getting failing grades for embarrassing errors that have already cost one education official her job.

Several mistakes were found in the English, ancient Greek and Italian exams high school students must pass before graduation.

The most error-riddled test was the English exam, given to students Thursday in vocational high schools, where foreign language courses are meant to prepare pupils for jobs in tourism.

In a text about a holiday villa in Namibia, wrong subject-verb agreements, awkward phrasing and misspellings like "budges" instead of "budgets" were found.

"I believe a waiter in Venice would use more adequate and correct English," Sergio Perosa, an Italian expert on American and English literature, wrote in the Corriere della Sera newspaper Friday.

Italy's new Education Minister Mariastella Gelmini vowed Friday that those responsible for the errors would be found and appropriate action taken against them.

And here I am giving Sarah a hard time about not studying enough, not pulling her weight....being - Approssimativo - basically not giving her best. What has she learned at Italian schools? This info doesn't make me feel good or so sure. 

Why Italians may find it tricky to master the English language - Times Online

The chief examiner of Italy’s equivalent of A levels has been dismissed over “grave errors” in examination papers, including an English test taken from a Namibian website that critics described as “almost incomprehensible” in places.

Students taking English as part of the maturita exam were given questions on an unlikely text: an online interview by a Yemeni journalist with the German-born owners of a resort at Swakopmund in Namibia. The text, provided for examiners by the State Tourism Institute, was entitled Feel of Home at Villa Wiese – Swakopmund Namibia, described as a “funky guest lodge”. It omits definite and indefinite articles and inverted commas, uses have when has is needed, spells budgets as budges and has only a passing acquaintance with good style.

And, then this....

Sarah reported that during her "Quarta Prova" - the forth standardized test all Italian students need to take - her math teacher went around the room correcting the work of the students and giving out the answers! Even against Sarah's protests - she didn't accept help. 

Sarah correctly pointed out, the teacher was worried the black fact that she didn't really do her job and teach would be out. AND on top of this, during the other exams, many of the Sarah's friends were openly cheating while the teachers were texting on their phones or reading the paper!  

Krista

PS. Sarah graduated Middle School with distinction and now she is onto bigger an better things. High School

Update

Susan asked below in the comment to School Daze, "How did it go?"

Well, it went. I didn't sit in and watch, apparently that is allowed and at the last minute Sarah wanted me to go. I didn't think that would be best to have mom hovering. But, Virginia's mom went and she reported that Sarah did fabulously! The teachers interrogated her for over 40 minutes - Sarah did most of the talking. Her powerpoint presentation didn't properly load onto her teacher's not up to date PC, but Sarah soldiered on. She got caught by one question - and it was a tough one and maybe not fair, but in a way a gift. Her art teacher, a frustrated and failed architect, asked her about the Twin Tower's design influences and rationalism and who was the father of modern architecture - correct answer - Le Corbusier. But poor Sarah couldn't remember.

This afternoon the results of the exams will be posted. 

I did sit in on Virginia's exam. She was very nervous and considering the gang from Lerma showed up just in time to watch outside the door, she did great. When she got stuck or made a mistake, she laughed it off and corrected herself. She had her teachers in the palm of her hand. Virginia is a very poised and graceful young lady.

After the exams, Sarah, Vi and the "Gang of 3" from Lerma headed to the beach for some fun in the sun after a morning of stress. Then for dinner all the kids came here. There was my Sarah sitting at the table with Vi, Julia, her brother Simone and Lorenzo - who gets nearly perfect marks at school and plays the piano too. They were loud, funny and you know - just normal kids enjoying each others company.  The Gang from Lerma are staying at Vi's until Sunday when they go back home to Lerma. 

After the kids devoured dinner, they banged on Anna's drums and played the piano they headed to the passagiata for an evening stroll. 

All I can say is Sarah is lucky to have such wonderful friends! 

A presto

Final Daze

Sarah set off this morning for her FINAL exam ever in middle school. Today she has her orals. Sarah needs to present herself in front of a "commission" of teachers, including the school principal, a nun, and an objective observer from another school. She needs to be prepared to be interrogated about all she has learned over the last 3 years. Yikes!

To narrow the scope of the exam, a few weeks back Sarah submitted a thesis if you will, of a chosen theme. Sarah chose the book "The Kite Runner", by Khaled Hosseini, and with that as a start she ran a thread though all her subject matter in school. She covered the history of Afghanistan - the War on Terror - the Taliban - the Soviet invasion etc, she spilled over into the geography of the surrounding region  - Iraq - Pakistan and art and even music, of course, religion, that was a no brainer. In my humble opinion, she did a great job and her thesis was well thought out and researched. Only thing, Sarah is not a liberal and is a very patriotic young lady and her teachers tend to lean hard to the left and are a bit... well...they just hate George Bush - period. They tried to steer her away from her chosen themes and into what they wanted her to present (their view) and Sarah wouldn't have any of it. She stuck to the facts. When she wanted to talk about the Taliban, Al Qaeda and September 11th as a catalyst for the War on Terror, they wanted her to present the Israeli - Palestinian conflict from the Palestinian's side. She wanted to use the Twin Towers as an example of modern Gothic design and she was told the towers weren't relevant. This battle went on and on all spring. When she presented her thesis the first time, her teachers jumped all over her and gave her a buono - low B grade. Only upside, she was able to argue in French and that teacher played fair. He asked to explain the divide between the American and French leading up to the invasion of Iraq - and she did in fluent French. He gave her a distinto - a high B grade. He might not have agreed, but Sarah will never know. He graded her on her work, he was a professional. 

After the practice oral, Sarah was a bit down about the reaction. I told her, just give them what they want without selling yourself out. You are not running for office or responsible for defending American policies. Get in there present your work and have fun. 

This morning Sarah dressed herself neat and clean, hair pulled back and was a bundle of nerves. I know she is prepared, she knows she is prepared, but, as Sarah so cleverly pointed out, you never can predict what the teachers will ask or if they will be objective. A hard lesson to learn at such a young age.

I will let you know the results as soon as we get her final grades!

Krista

Catching up

Sitting here, early in the morning, drinking my coffee - alone - silence in the house. Cat fed, Sarah off for an exam at school and most sadly, Anna and Sam on their way to the airport. Looking out the window, it is cloudy and dark, rain likely to start any moment. Great time to blog.

Anna is off to Finland for a week's adventure with her dad. Sadly, ehem ehem, Sarah and I are unable to join them. Sarah's final exams don't finish until Friday. Today, there is the Quarta Prova, from what I understand - and that is a stretch - the exam is a new standardized test for all exiting middle schoolers. Not really a grade for Sarah, but for her teachers and school. Tomorrow, she has her oral exams. Yikes. She will be first to go before the commission. There is a tradition of picking a letter out of a hat and then going on alphabetical order over two days. Because Sarah also has her conservatory exams this week and they conflict with school... she gets to go FIRST. Woo Woo. Actually, Sarah is quite happy about it. As she says, she just wants to get it over with and move on. That is my girl. 

Thursday she has her Violin exam in the morning, and Solfeggio in the afternoon. Immediately after that exam we rush home for her middle school results and final report card. Friday piano. When that is over, Sarah can finally relax and enjoy her summer vacation.  That is if summer ever arrives. So far. It hasn't. See that photo? That is me a week ago hiking in Sestri Levante - in a thunderstorm and heavy rain. Crazy. We haven't had a single nice warm weekend in weeks. Saying that, there hasn't even been a day worthy enough or warm enough to justify laying on the beach reading a book. 

On the bright side, there is always one, since we have been living in tropical conditions - heavy rain and warm weather, the hiking trails and hills behind Chiavari are abloom in wild flowers like I have never seen in the 8 years I have been living here. 

Tomorrow, fingers crossed, the weather is suppose to break and the sun is to shine. I hope the weathermen are not lying, I really need to work on my tan before we leave for New York.....  

10 more days to departure. 

Ready Dad?

Busy Week!

Goodness, last week was one of the busiest I have had since Christmas. Between the last day of school for the kids, report cards, Sarah's conservatory, running back and forth to Genoa EVERY day, I was too pooped to post!

So, let me catch up...

First things first. A belated Happy Birthday to my dear friend Carol B.!

Here she is celebrating her big 8-0h at Villa Spinola Thursday. The AIWC closed up business for the year and we helped Carol mark her 80th year on this earth with style. Between the cake, the spumante and all the warm wishes from some of her dearest friends, Carol was, dare I say, close to tears. 

Carol is one hell of a lady. I knew the first time I met her 8 years ago I would like her. She opened her mouth and out came that sharp New York wit - I felt like I was home!  She is a force in life and within the AIWC of Genoa. Without her, for sure the club would have fallen apart years ago. 

Tanti Aguri Carol! Ti volgia bene!

Krista

Happy Father's Day Pops!

Jack and his fish. I love this photo, can anyone see who resembles Grandpa?

Dad, I may have forgot today is father's day, in Italy its celebrated on March 19th the feast of St. Joseph's, but I didn't forget you, so your present will be packed in the luggage. The girls and I will be in NY in less than 2 weeks. I hope you are ready for the onslaught!

Just think, this is your 55th year being a dad! Woo Woo! Bet you didn't think about that way back when you were a young lad in the Navy.

Krista

Hazy lazy daze....

Lavagna

To cap off our weekend of doing basically nothing, Sam and I took a stroll from Chiavari to the port of Lavagna and sat on the rocks and stared out to the calm sea. After our fill of watching the fleet return after a long holiday weekend we continued on our walk.  We stopped by Silvia and Ian's on the way home and then we all went for a gelato. After dinner we played cards with Barbara and Enrico - and won. A relaxing calm weekend all and all. 

Krista

  

Festa della Repubblica

Today is a holiday in Italy, Festa della Republica, or the birth of the Italian Republic. Meaning... another long weekend, crowds everywhere and colossal traffic jams. There will be a big parade in Rome and lots of military displays. Think 4th of July in America minus the family around the BBQ and you get the picture. 

Yesterday Sam, Anna and I ventured to Santa Margherita planning to hike to Portofino and yes, we were a bit daft. After fighting the traffic and not finding a spot for the mini, we turned around defeated. Got back to Chiavari and started to hike in the hills behind us only to be rained on. We ended up at home where upon we ate our picnic lunch at the kitchen table. After, Anna went out cruising Chiavari with her friend and Sam and I watched a movie. A day of bad planning and a wasted morning left us with a lazy Sunday afternoon. What were we thinking? We can hike to Portofino just about any time we want, why did we chose to do go during a holiday weekend? 

So, it is more of the same sloth today. Weather is lousy and there is really nothing to do. Sam is once again banging on the drums, Anna is watching a movie and I am writing. Sam spent the morning trying to get our old camcorder to play on the TV. No luck. But it was sweet to sort of see Sarah babbling away as a toddler and me heavily pregnant with Anna. Even Anna had to admit, Sarah was a cute little girl. Since we were heady on nostalgia, I broke out the old photos to show Anna that she was also a very cute baby. Where did the time go? 

Anna has a big practice this afternoon for her theater group's performance this Wednesday evening. I saw a rehearsal the other day. May I say that it is surreal to see your American daughter up on a stage with all her Italian friends reciting lines on cue. Who would have ever thought? My shy little girl who hardly spoke a word till she was 4, up on stage talking Italian. How did we get to this point? If you told me 10 years ago I would be raising my family in Italy, I would of said you were nuts. 

School and the girls' activities, thank god, are winding down and the summer plans are all set. Only 25 more days and we are out of here! New York here we come. Ready Dad? 

Krista

 

Jammin

Here I am chatting to Alessio the guy I buy my daily fruit and veg from. Strange as it may seem to all you living in the more temperate part of the world, i.e. NORTH, strawberry season is over in Italy. He is making me an offer I cannot refuse - I couldn't resist that line - 3 flats of super ripe strawberrys for only 10 euro. How could I say no? I thought of all those jars I have been saving that no one seems to want. I will put them to use. 

Back to trash talkin I am adding this photo of all the trash the market produced yesterday. This is a daily market - Monday - Saturday. Just think of how it must pile up on a weekly basis at whatever landfill it goes to. I know I mentioned it way back when I first started blogging, but it deserves to said once more, this all gets THROWN AWAY!
Anyway. After I got my strawberries home, thank you Sam for carrying them, I set out to hull clean and boil away. I have never made jam before but that didn't stop me. After about a couple of hours of labor I had over 20 jars of jam! I will confess that some batches set better than others... but hey, you have to start somewhere.

Lost in Translation

Not growing up in Chiavari does set one up for social ignorance. Friday night Sam and I went out to an inauguration of a friend of a friend's restaurant.  As usual the information about the event was thin, but I thought, well dress up it is Friday night. I chose wisely for this was the social event of the weekend.  The restaurant, "A Casa Mia a Mare" is located in "Skipper" which used to be the "disco" way back when, was for a long time, then as those things go Skipper faded away as the crowd moved on to new and other exciting places. Well. Not anymore. The place has been made into a thoroughly modern hip lounge/restaurant complete with a sushi bar! The inauguration was invitation only and all the beautiful people of Sestri, Lavagna and Chiavari where invited - if you could believe it Sam and I too. There was press, photographers and well - Buzz. I must say, Italians sure do know how to make an event "exclusive", chic and you feel like a star. I felt as if I was at a Hollywood premier yet the atmosphere was, under the all the glitz, more like a high school reunion. Thing was, Sam and I didn't go to that high school. We had fun, yet there was that awkward feeling that one can get when you are watching people more than connecting with them. I suppose that is one way of describing what I feel like living Italy and not being fluent with the language. You tend to listen more than speak. Watch more than participate. A bit on the outside.

After we caught up with our friends from Chiavari and got tired of fighting to get to the free food and drink, trust me, Italians just don't do buffets well. No one queues and you have to push your way to the front - think bread line in a war zone -  we went home. Sorry no photos. I didn't even think to bring the camera. Who knew? 

Krista

Anna Update

Sitting here at my desk relaxing on a Sunday evening after a busy couple of days. After catching up on the news and surfing the web - Sam is banging on Anna's drum kit - I thought I would catch up my blogging.

By the way... 

A big thanks to all of you who stop by the Adventure, it makes me feel loved and bit guilty when I don't keep up on posting.

Anna update:

Anna is just about back to her old self, minus more than 2 kilos or 4.4 pounds. Her appetite is not quite back to "normal" but, I am not so sure that is a negative. Anna actually looks good and maybe she realizes that eating more than Sam does is not a good thing for a growing teenager. Huge bonus was going back to school with her "war story" of vomit and high fevers. I never can get around this silly competition on how high your fever was. And Anna liked all the compliments and jealousy about getting so "thin". Teenage girls!

A presto!