23/04/2018
While Milan is now in the middle of the night.
We arrive in Miami, hearts awake and faces tired.
A 10-hour flight and it was worth it:
Movies, ice cream and the stuffed pizza.
Now that the ocean from the bus we see on the horizon.
We are sure that in America we will leave our footprints.
We are ready! #keepintouch #freudgoestoflorida #weareinMiami #letstart
@ Fort Lauderdale, Florida
24/04/2018
FREUD'S DIARY day 1: "Questions on the horizon"
The horizon is wide open from the very first day: new eyes, new thoughts echo through the school hallways. Questions, curious ones, press upon us from the time we meet after breakfast, to the long march on Las Olas Boulevard, surrounded by palm trees and luxury yachts as, step by step, we approach the ocean.
Why do Americans display so many flags? Why do they exaggeratedly love air conditioning? I'm getting a sore throat! Why did they decide to host these families for us? Would I have done that? Why does the coke in the supermarket have a thousand flavors different from ours? Why can Americans carry guns but not drink alcohol in public? Is it physically? So many differences from us Europeans! Why do we conceive of dinner in one way and they in another?
All these whys chiseled the day, like precious embroidery.
They are simple questions, spontaneous and of the dough of curiosity and living life that is awakened, these days, in each of the 80 students and also in the chaperones.
In the late afternoon, question after question, we arrived in front of the windy blue expanse of the deep ocean. With our eyes filled with that beauty here is where the last absurdity is taken away: so...why am I here?
What a blessing! What a gift!
25/04/2018
FREUD'S DIARY, day 2 :"Teachers are not to be touched"
Today, April 25, 2018, the day began with meeting at school for class. English surrounded us: first the teacher's voice and then our speeches, a text to read and a video to listen to. Stepping out onto the stairs to finally go to eat, one of us said a little in amazement, "I'M FORGETTING ITALIAN!" After such a statement there was really a need to go to the cafeteria to refresh and rest. The calmness, however, was short-lived; we were pawing our way to the beach! So after eating, we took the bus and, arriving at Las Olas beach, pulled out our swimsuits and towels. But can 80 Italian guys, in Florida, remain quiet in front of the splendor of the ocean? No, the quiet did not last long, especially for the female teachers.... Here's what happened: since we had split into two groups to catch the bus, we are way too many for one bus, some professors arrived later and hot, they lay down under the palm trees. But according to you, they could have slept in front of the sea???? Snooping around, when we learned of the professors' willingness not to bathe immediately, we took immediate action. The day ended with some free time, music, ball games and drinks in a coconut.
P.S. No teacher was mistreated, for complaints please contact web support www.iprofessorinonsitoccano.it.
Alessio
26/04/2018
FREUD'S DIARY,day 3: " Our study trip continues". As we did every morning, we gathered in front of the school to start the day together. The teachers greeted us with the daily roll call after which, at 9:00 a.m., we started classes until 1:00 p.m. The lectures were interesting: we were asked about our future so we could find out a little more about ourselves.
I would like to become a computer scientist. I recounted that as a child I wanted to be a firefighter while now, slowly, I am discovering that my passion is programming! I would like to become a good programmer: my dream is to join Ubisoft, a major American company. I realized from talking to my American teachers, with the specific questions they were asking me that, at Freud, a technical institute, I took my direction and I see my future clearer.
My partner, Omar, said he would like to be a soccer player and he knows it will be difficult. I thought it's really nice to have a dream! I understand here, comparing myself with others, that more than deciding who to be in the future, what profession I will do, I have to see what will happen. I never imagined I would be here in Florida learning English...and who knows what this experience will bring me!
MORE THAN DECIDING YOU HAVE TO LOOK!
After school ended, we went to eat at First baptism church, the place we now know well because every day it welcomes us for lunch. After eating chicken, beans and salad we immediately headed to the beach and from there the fun began: little games of beach soccer and beach volleyball in which our team was incredible. Finally, after lots of ocean diving and good music, the afternoon flew by. So, after catching up with everyone, we returned to our host families by a somewhat different means than the bus, namely the "caddy" a little 9-seater car that took us to the bus terminal.
Many greetings from Omar, Simone e Matteo.
27/04/2018
FREUD'S DIARY, day 4:"Can you face a storm?"
I was entrusted to write about what struck me today, April 27, 2018. I decided not to recount the whole day but only the afternoon and evening because they were mind-blowing! After returning from the cafeteria, for the first time we still had class in the afternoon for the WOW (Word Of Work) project, designed especially for us to introduce us to the world of work: how to write a CV? What do I want to do when I grow up? What are the channels I can use? In a rush, we reached our classes looking forward to finishing our afternoon classes right away to go on an excursion on the Jungle Queen River Boat.
Unfortunately, alas, the first setback awaited us: the weather conditions were not at all on our side, despite the fact that the day had started with sunshine. A twister, a small tornado, was scaring everyone in Fort Lauderdale, and we absolutely could not leave school until the warning had passed.
By this time it was almost five o'clock, and although so many people were asking, we just couldn't venture out there in that bad weather. We trusted the teachers who told us to be calm, the weather was not up to them but they would do everything they could to keep us from missing the boat. I noticed that they really cared about taking us, and they were ready to brave even a tropical storm! So, with a modicum of luck and a lot of organization, we managed to arrive safely and on time at the dock. The sun amazingly started to shine and we had a whole part of the boat. We sailed through the canals among princely villas and luxurious boats while the speaker described to us who lived there and all the riches. There was even Beckham's house.
We finally arrived on a small island in the middle of the jungle: there were little monkeys, parrots and alligators! We widened our eyes-we had never seen anything like it! Immediately we were called by people dressed as Indians in colorful costumes and served us dinner in a large thatched hut! Then the show began with dancing, magicians and flaming flashlights.
While we were watching the show the tropical thunderstorm resumed very strong, perhaps more so than before-I had never seen one like it!
Tired, grateful and happy we returned home. Unforeseen events did not stop us; in fact, together we can face even a storm.
Yonas
28/04/2018
FREUD'S DIARY, day 5 "A day in Miami"
The weekend started with a late morning get-together to get some rest from the intense school and sea days of the previous days. The rendezvous was at 11:30 a.m. to take the two private buses to MIAMI. Besides us 85 was the guide who would explain what we would see.
First stop Miami Beach with explanation of how Miami and Miami Beach are two separate cities and how Miami is divided internally into Downtown, Beaside, Miami Beach into North Beach, Middle Beach and South Beach. Arriving in South Beach we made a short stop to see beach and refresh ourselves. We could not stop any longer because the day was still full of surprises. The Second stop, in fact, was just a few miles away: Wynwood Walls Street Art District, the neighborhood dedicated to art, just redeveloped by a major businessman, Goldman who called artists to get involved and exhibit their work, installations or murals that are updated every 3 months. When we return in the future we will not see the same works! There is also a real contemporary art museum of up-and-coming artists who have also remembered Italy in their works with the wasp, a painting by Sophia Louren and even a part of the Moscova district of Milan.
Next, we went to the Cuban neighborhood called Little Havana a colorful and folklore-filled neighborhood where they speak purely Spanish, here we actually got to have lunch and rest at Domino's Park. A nice gentleman with his daughter recognizing the group of Italians inside Mc Donald's at the inter goal approached us and asked if Professor Letizia Marengon was in our group. Professor Santoro immediately realized that this gentleman was Mr. Redondo with his daughter, a close friend of Professor Marengon who had planned to spend time with them knowing their history. Mr. Redondo and his daughter gave us of their time to tell us their story while we were able to admire the most beautiful spot to see the bay of Miami, the Eremita de la Caritad. The gentleman, Jose Redondo told us about him and his family who had to flee Cuba because of the dictatorship that had taken everything from them, making them experience very hard times. Having nothing left in Miami they started their lives from scratch Now, with his family, he lives in Miami where he is a psychologist.
After thanking Mr. Redondo and his daughter Victoria, we headed to the Marlins Park baseball stadium where a very long and intense game between the Miami Marlins and the Rockets awaited us. The stadium was a unique experience because, as it is a very long game, there are moments with music and moments when you have to stand out for the cameras to catch you on camera or yell to calculate the highest amount of decibels. More like a baseball game than a show, in fact, each player has his own graphics representing him for when he bats. Unfortunately, we were not able to finish the game due to time and curfew time at home. Nonetheless, our friends Omar El Sayed and Lidia Quercia got a unique and unforgettable souvenir: two balls that made it all the way to the stands for two missed shots.
As I am writing this diary I am on the super bus going to the Everglades a swampy nature park where there are alligators, but that will be for today's diary.
Niccolò
29/04/2018
FREUD'S DIARY, day 6: "Crocodile and showcases: Wild America"
There is no rest on Sunday during the study trip either! Rather, it is an opportunity to discover even more unexplored areas of Florida where the wilderness has remained!
Early in the morning, still a little sleepy, we went to the Everglades: a large swamp an hour's bus ride from Fort Lauderdale. We boarded boats called hydroboats that move on the water's edge, propelled by a massive fan. The ranger accompanying us made us wear caps because otherwise the noise would have been too loud.
We waded through the stagnant waterways, faster and faster, and saw alligators and crocodiles swimming peacefully with only their eyes or part of their backs visible, blending in with the large branches of the dense vegetation. Some of us were very good at spotting them and leaned out of the boat as far as we could, others were frightened by the dangerous animals.
In the depths we saw large fish of all kinds passing by, while herons weighed all around.
After the safari in the heart of the Everglades, a ranger took us to an arena where he introduced us to a python he was holding on his shoulders and 3 crocodiles, the most intelligent reptile in the world. The bravest ones then picked up a baby crocodile, trained, and took a picture with it!
After a snack of fried crocodile, we went to the famous SawGrassMills outlet, as big as a neighborhood, where we got gifts for us and for our parents and siblings waiting for us at home! There were so many people there and we were moving fast attracted by the amazing deals, you had to be a little wild and cunning like crocodiles to grab the best items!
We are going back to Italy in a few days, but we would like to stay here a little longer!!
Alessandro
30/04/2018
FREUD'S DIARY, day 7: "St Thomas University"
The TLA school organized a visit to St. Thomas University in Miami. It is a very large campus where we were able to be freshman for a day, walking through the large park surrounding the facility and discovering the inside of the building. Marco Pinna, the director of TLA explained to us that for an American boy, the campus becomes his new home. He who arrives finds himself, for the first time perhaps, out there in the world away from the watchful eye and advice of his parents, much like we have during these ten days. The campus, then, is made to welcome and receive each one with care: rooms-just like in the TV shows-, possibility to prepare dinner and lunch in one's own kitchen, cafeteria, shop, library, and above all lots of greenery and playgrounds where one can train and rest from school duties. Like true freshmen, we sat at the desks in the large lecture hall where, at the end of the summer, all the best students who have proven they have what it takes for a brilliant career gather, ready to begin. We went back with our memories to one of our early days, empathizing with the curiosity, expectation and fear for the future that is slowly approaching and demanding that we no longer be children by giving credit to what we have chosen for aptitude and passion. Will I like the professors? Will I do well away from home? Will I pass the exams? Will I be too homesick? Will I find a real friend? From Marco's words and the questions he was slowly asking us, we too sensed that there is something great awaiting us in which we can express all of ourselves, without fear, maybe even across the ocean. Dream big was often repeated to us by one of our teachers in the USA!
Everything here is valued: great sportsmen and women have major scholarships to live through college, and those with talent can be chosen on the best teams. We decided, for the moment, to devote ourselves to that: saying goodbye to Marco we went to play on the big courts on campus. Beach volleyball, rugby and soccer on the lawn that usually sees the team of....Luis Nazario da Lima Ronaldo train!!!!
Prof.ssa Marengon
02/05/2018
FREUD’S DIARY, day 9: “Last Day of School”
Last day of school. We are now at the end of the line. Today is May 2 and it is cloudy in Fort Lauderdale. Breakfast, quick to catch the bus, let's hope we don't miss it, because here in the U.S. if anything doesn't work very well it's the transportation sector. We arrive at the school, some are already sitting there listening to music, some are dancing, the teachers are waiting for us. We go in, up the stairs as usual. Today I'm down in the dumps because it's the last day I'm going up these stairs, I'm going to miss them a lot, because I've had some wonderful days here. We have class, as usual, the teacher is really good, she makes us talk a lot and we see a lot of movies. Today the topic is Apple.
At 12:50 we leave the class, I'm hungry, we go to the cafeteria for lunch. Lasagna with meat sauce, chicken and contento. Nothing compared to my mom's lasagna, but I make seconds because it's still very good. I sit with my usual classmates, having a lot of fun with them even if they sometimes overdo it. How nice that our Italian profs serve us food!
Today at 2 p.m. we have to be back in school, so they invite us not to linger too long. We chat a little, clear the table and go. Back to school, everything goes smoothly. I learned how to say "beach" and "shit" without confusing it with other words, which would sound like swear words in English. But not only that, I have learned so much and I am really happy with what I have done. We have the afternoon off, some professors accompany us to the beach, but it's windy and they don't allow us to get wet. But we stay there, sharing the last pleasant moments of companionship and sharing. Some play ball in the sand, others enjoy some dancing. Others have gone to do their last shopping, some to the mall, some to the little beachfront stores.
Back home, we have return today at 7 pm. Last dinner with the American family. We chat a bit, I try to divert my thoughts, tomorrow we leave again, but what remains in me is an ocean of emotions and feelings that I had never felt until now. I try to speak a few more words in English, I will never stop thanking the family who welcomed me is made available their home and their time.
We spend the evening by the pool, at 10:30 p.m. we go to bed. I pack my suitcase, bring with me a wagonload of memories, and many souvenirs for friends and family.
