For the 2017-2018 school year, the Travel Committee of S. Freud Private School chose Fort Lauderdale, a renowned city overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and located 40 km from Miami (Florida, USA), as the destination for the Study Trip - Language Internship.
The language internship took place from April 23 to May 3, 2018. Participants of the two-year and three-year students of the Computer Technology and Economic-Tourism Technical and Economic-Technical Addresses.
The planned formula for the stay was overnight stay in selected host families and intensive English language classes at Scuola TLA, "The Language Academy" which in 2017 was honored as one of the five best language schools for foreigners in the US. S. Freud School has signed an important agreement with TLA, which is also valid for the following years.
The chaperones of the Trip were:
Prof. Luz Maria Barranco - Prof. Letizia Marengon - Prof. Roberta Santoro - Prof. Luca Romani - Prof. Davide Summo - Dr. Daniele Nappo, Institute Legal Representative - Prof. Angelo Agresta, Education Coordinator - Dr. Laura Meazza, Education Director.
Students of clasae 3A Computer Science report the Journey.
The whole team was very close-knit and united and a combined with enthusiasm and dedication moments dedicated to teaching with fantastic recreational moments and visits to the wonderful attractions of the place.
"We left in the morning d Monday, April 23, 2018 from d Milan - Malpensa airport with American Airlines Direct Flight. We were scared but with a lot of curiosity about what we would find across the ocean. We did not all know each other because the study trip had been organized involving all the classes of the institute, from first to fifth. The chaperones began to call attention with the megaphone, and we all got ready with documents for all the boarding operations, worried that we had forgotten something. At the airport, everyone turned as we passed by because our sweatshirts did not go unnoticed: a continuous line at passports in fluorescent orange, backpack on our shoulders, and a typically Italian hubbub introduced our group, with no need for words.
At the start, it is worth remembering the reasons why we decided to go: all 80 of us had joined because we had trusted our teachers' proposal and because even the thought of being 5,000 miles from home made us tremble with anticipation. Many of us had never been to America, and during the flight the tension grew as Italy, from the infographic display, appeared farther and farther away.
Stepping off the plane we were greeted by muggy, humid weather, as after a heavy thunderstorm. Already from these first clues we were experiencing the difference of the spring we had left behind in Milan. We rode the bus all the way to Fort Lauderdale, observing the Miami skyline and the first arms of ocean.
Upon arrival at the school, TLA, we split up among our host families, who warmly welcomed us and then drove us to their respective homes.
They called us by name one by one and introduced themselves by taking our heavy suitcases, They were excited to welcome us ne showed us their home: so much was the surprise in seeing pool and eating the typical American dinner like barbecue, ribbons and hamburgers.
Already from the first totally American day we organized the time according to a time table which then in our days remained constant.
School started at 9:00 am until 12:45 pm with a break at 10:45 am. We would meet in front of the big fountain where teachers would take roll call and check to make sure no one got lost on the way or woke up!
In the classes, we were divided according to English levels, modulated according to the placement test. Classes were interactive and challenging, and the small number of students per classroom promoted learning. All classes covered the same topics but in different ways.
The teachers were very well organized so much so that they prepared not only videos and power points but also a course especially for us: the WOW (World Of Work). The lessons pertaining to this module allowed to broaden the perspective from just grammar to learning by doing i.e. acquiring the language through activities and not rules. In this way notions of sociopolitics and focus on the world of work, allowed for consolidation and deepening of language skills. At the end of the teaching hours Italian teachers or were given Miching University certificates that can be used to certify training credits.
In the afternoon, the Freud School's organizational activities were focused on discovering Fort Lauderdale and Florida.
Two days were devoted to the beach: water games, volleyball and soccer on the sand. It was an opportunity to get to know our classmates and make new friends with people we had never spoken to in school.
Already today, back in Milan the atmosphere at recess was different: we looked for each other and had snacks together.
On Friday the 27th we were scheduled to cruise on the Jungle Queen River Boat, but unfortunately a returned alarm tried to scupper our plans, forcing us to stay safely at school. In the evening, cruising the canals in front of the millionaires' houses, with incredible views we arrived at the heart of the Jungle where a typical dinner awaited us, amidst animals and tropical vegetation. We watched the entertainers' show dressed as Indians and then returned home ready to start the weekend.
On Saturday the 28th we were in Miami and toured it on a tour bus: Miami beach, Wynwoo Wall Street Art District and the Cuban area. There we met Mr. Redondo who with his daughter Victoria took us to a vantage point over Miami Bay to the Ermida della Caridad. He told us about his experience as a Cuban exile, and as he told his story, which was painful, his daughter was moved and we all sensed how difficult it must have been to run away from one's home to rebuild one's life.
In the evening we stayed in Miami to attend a Marlins baseball game. The stadium experience was a real spectacle, a spectacle within a spectacle, very different from Italian soccer games.
Two of us even managed to catch one of the balls in play, which ended up in the stands from being thrown too hard!
On Sunday 29 we divided the day into two "wild experiences." The first inside Everglades Park. Aboard seaplanes we waded into the marshes to see crocodiles and alligators in their natural habitat among herons and fish of all sizes.
We were accompanied by a ranger who knew how to stop at tactical points to explain the lay of the land and its peculiarities. We had to observe very well at the water's edge where, camouflaged among the logs, eyes emerged or in the backs of alligators.
We spent the afternoon devoted to shopping in the huge SawGrassMills mall. It is the size of a small town and has discounts on the biggest brands. It was hard not to take and run out of all the money our parents had left us conquered by bargains!
The last organized activity of the TLA school was instead, a visit to the University of St. Thomas in Miami. We entered the dorms, library and classrooms experiencing the life of an American campus. The entry requirements were explained to us, and at the university training in Florida, we asked many questions to better understand the differences from Italy and whether we would be eligible for selection.
After the busy afternoon we enjoyed volleyball and soccer games in the field where Ronaldo alle his team.
On the last evening, we asked the families to give us more time before going home so we could say goodbye to the ocean one last time.
After school, we went to the beach but unfortunately it was very windy and the lifeguard forbade us to swim. In front of the sea we then started to play ball games with the teachers and organize a flash mob until sunset.
Then tired and ferny we went back home to pack our suitcase, heavier than when we left. We also feel like our suitcases for all the memories and experiences we have accumulated in our hearts and minds and brought back to Italy ready to tell anyone who will be curious and notice our diversity!"
Discover our fotogallery!!! Click here !
Read the comments of the students and of their teachers about the TRIP!!
