Ciao, Casa Cares - May 31, 2015

Today I woke up with many mixed emotions. I’m looking forward to seeing my friends, family, and dog, but I am not ready to say goodbye to the amazing friends we met along the way. Ten days is not nearly enough time to get to know everyone at the institute as much as you would like and it sure makes it difficult to say goodbye. We leave from Florence tomorrow, so we needed to pack our bags and say our goodbyes to Casa Cares this morning. I posted two pictures below. The one on the left is from 20 days ago when we first arrived in Venice. The one on the right was this morning standing in front of Casa Cares. It’s amazing to think how much has changed in just 20 days. I can promise you all that we are leaving Italy with more than a few new hats and souvenirs. I am leaving with more confidence in myself and my ability to travel and adapt to new situations.

Venice- May 12

Casa Cares- May 31

After we said farewell to Casa Cares, we boarded the bus for the final time to head to Pisa and Lucca. When we arrived in Pisa, Dr. Paul took us to see Italy's largest Baptistry. Every half hour, a woman sings at a normal volume at the bottom of the dome. This truly illustrated how powerful this structure is, as her voice was amplified throughout the entire Baptistry. I posted a video below so you can hear just how amazing this was.

The Baptistry 

Inside The Baptistry

After we explored The Bapistry, we decided it was time to take the typical touristy pictures in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. We did not have an opportunity to climb to the top of the tower, but we did learn that only 15 people are allowed to climb to the top at one time. The tower was built in 1360, it stands 183 ft (7 floors) tall, and was designed by architect Bonanno Pisano. It's the smallest "tower" to achieve worldwide recognition!

Katie and Cara in front of the Tower

Mike, Cara, Anne-Claire, Katie, and Sydney

When we arrived in Lucca, the GSU crew got lunch together at a restaurant off the beaten path. It was great to sit down and debrief after an incredible three weeks. As counselors do, we talked about the group dynamics and what each of us would be bringing back with us to the States.

Dr. Michel, GiGi, Katie, & Cara in Lucca

After a delicious lunch, we got Gelato (again) and met up with our friends from University of Florida to rent bikes for an hour to ride along the walls of Lucca. While some of started singing songs from the Sound of Music, others took in the views and enjoyed our last hours with our new friends in Italy.

When it was time to get back on the bus to head back to Casa Cares, the GSU group started saying their goodbyes. The bus driver was kind enough to drive us to the train station. When the bus stopped, signalling it was time for us to get up and get off the bus, everyone on the bus started clapping. I couldn't have imagined a better way to say goodbye to our new friends. Matt and Emilie, who attended last year, and Ashley from UAB, got off the bus to hug each of us and wish us well. Plans were made to visit each other soon and the bus drove off. It was a lot harder than I imagined watching the bus drive away.

Cara riding a bike in Lucca

Mike, Sydney, and Katie riding bikes along the walls of Lucca

Counseling in Italy and Adventure Based Counseling - May 30, 2015

Casa Cares

Toscana

30 Maggio, 2015

My last day of presentations at Casa Cares was excellent! All 3 talks were quite helpful, informative and fun! I also had a great day of personal reflection and a very helpful discussion with Dr. Michel.

I felt privileged to attend a very clear, concise and entertaining talk by Dottore Eugenio Bacchini, an Italian counselor and educator. He explained the differences in the helping professions in Italy, which made it easier to understand why the Italian government has drawn strict lines between them.  Different education and training lead helping professionals down very divergent paths.  Psychologists are required to learn much more theory and can call what they offer “therapy”; whereas counselors do not need a degree in theory, but are educated “on the job”, and therefore counsel on a more present-focused and pragmatic level.  I asked Dott. Bacchini if counselors in Italy would refer someone with childhood trauma issues to a psychologist, and he answered, “Yes.”  He has done much to promote counseling as a profession in Italy, and though it took attacks from the psychological organizations, counseling programs and organizations have started to pull together as a body of like-minded professionals.

Our second offering was equally compelling and helpful.  Amy Kleine, an expatriate who works with hundreds of Syracuse University study-abroad students in Florence, gave a frank and disarming talk on her path to her career as a counselor in Italy.  Amy’s personal history gave me, and I believe some others in our group, encouragement to trust ourselves when we know something isn’t working for us, be it a relationship or a career path.  Her stories of helping kids who are very far from the comforts of home were compelling and helped me to understand on a deeper level my own desire to work with persons who are seeking to journey beyond their comfort zone as a way to know and develop themselves on a deeper level.  I have been in a discernment process over these last few weeks about major life decisions, and Amy’s talk was extremely helpful for me personally as well as professionally.

GiGi in the Garden

Our third presentation on Adventure-Based Counseling was offered by Emily Shaver and Ashley Myers, two masters candidates at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.  They gave us an exciting overview of how Adventure-Based Counseling can be effectively and attunedly incorporated into our work.  After a great Prezi, we went outside and while some of us took notes and videos, the majority of the group participated in two physically, relationally and cognitively challenging exercises.  The group dynamics were changing before our eyes, as some of the participants who had been somewhat reserved up to this point, started to emerge as leaders when they offered ideas on how to succeed as a group in both frustratingly challenging activities.  The closeness of the group also intensified during this hour: when it started, some of the participants did not want to touch others, but by the end, there was much more physical contact and cooperation between all those involved.  One of the most fun aspects of these exercises was watching the group, who may have been somewhat afraid to make mistakes at the beginning, start laughing at themselves and their errors in judgment and just continue to try to overcome their corporate struggles as an imperfect, but unified, group.  After the exercises, participants and observers were asked to comment on the experience, which was a great way for people to process this on a deeper level.  Some meaningful personal thoughts were discussed in the short processing time, as well as some observations about dynamics and the need for issues to be addressed to make the exercises more universally accessible or inviting.  

All of these presentations along with plenty of solitary time in the garden and group time on the patio made this an extremely important day for me.  I had time to journal, think, and then discuss my overall experience with Dr. Michel, which helped me process some of the intense feelings I had not only about the many  wonderful experiences I’d had, but also about the personally challenging issues I had been mulling over throughout my stay in Italy.  To have the leisure to talk with a very caring, attuned professor in an atmosphere that promotes peace and openness may have been the icing on the cake for me.

As my last post, I will add that the overall experience of A Counselor’s View of Italy is one that I would highly recommend.  The program is quite enriching and diverse! During our stay, we were offered so many wonderfully diverse topics and experiences that I truly got a very deep and rich feel for Tuscany and Italy.  The villa was absolutely lovely.  My bedroom (and even the bathroom!) had magnificent views of the Tuscan countryside. 

    

The food and wine offered at Casa Cares is both healthy and delicious, and mealtime could be a time of social growth and good discussion.  Most of the people I met, from Italy, the U.S., Senegal, Germany and many other beautiful lands, were kind, open and lovely.  The conversations, experiences and laughs I had with many of the participants and staff of Casa Cares, as well as with the volunteers and visitors there, were meaningful and enriching. The concert in the acoustically and visually amazing chapel offered by Antoinette Krieg on piano and Julien on saxophone brought tears of gratitude to my eyes, it was such a gift!!  

 

I hope that many others will be able to experience a trip to Casa Cares in the future to learn about counseling in Italy, about Tuscany, about Casa Cares and it’s magical atmosphere, about other counseling students and professors and mostly about themselves under the Tuscan sun! 

 

Prepos School of Counseling & Arezzo - May 29, 2015

We had an early morning today! We travelled to the Arezzo area to visit Prepos School of Counseling, and watched a presentation given by Dr. Lorzeno Barbagli. Of all the information provided and stories told, I would say people were most taken back by the differences in ethics and confidentiality between counselors in Italy and counselors in the United States. Dr. Barbagli shared a case in which he was told by his client to refrain from sharing what they talked about with the client’s son. However, Dr. Barbagli used his discretion and believed there would be a greater benefit if the client’s son knew, so he chose to disclose the information anyway. In the United States, this would (or rather, should) not occur unless the information told by the client fits into one of the limits of confidentiality. The main difference here is that counselors in the United States are bound by confidentiality, apart from select limitations such as risk of harm to self or others, whereas in Italy it seems the counselors are free to use their discretion. 

After the presentation we all had a traditional Tuscan lunch at a nearby restaurant. Italians like their courses. The meal started with a variety of meats and some sort of a bread salad (I think there was celery in it). Next was the pasta course, which was a thick noodle with wild boar sauce. I opted out of that one and went for the vegetarian option (thick noodle in pomodoro sauce). Meat and potatoes were next. We’ve all had conversations about what kind of meat it was, but nobody seems to have a clear idea. We’re thinking either rabbit or some sort of pork. 

After our meal we actually went into Arezzo, had a quick tour, and ventured out. Some of us still desperately needed to shop and get souvenirs, so we did that and had lots of luck! After the shopping was complete we were ready to sit, relax, and drink bellinis. Ciao!

Arezzo

New Perspectives, New Friends

The "forbidden" trail

Today was a day full of interesting and informative workshops! Our first lecture was called Social Determinants of Health presented by Dr. VanLoon. Judy Siegel then came and presented on Italian High Schools. Judy is an American and moved here 30 years ago to raise her family and continue her career as a teacher. My personal favorite presentation was called Global Perspective: Is ASCA doing enough? presented by Dr. Larry Tyson. Dr. Tyson is a counseling professor at UAB and came with so much great information, he even gave me a new perspective on the ASCA model! The ASCA model, for those of you who may not know consist of three components: social/emotional, academic, and college and career. Dr. Tyson, however, challenged us and asked us how schools in America are incorporating a global perspective in their school counseling programs. We were all at a loss. Some mentioned Black History Month in February, others mentioned the requirement to learn a different language in junior high and high school, but that was about all we could come up with. This lecture made helped me to re-evaluate my goals for my own school counseling program after I graduate and encouraged me to bring new ideas to my internship sites in the fall.

Enjoying wine after a nice long walk.

Today was a beautiful day and almost everyone spent the breaks between lectures outside (even though our WiFi was working! J) Our friend Mike found a path behind Casa Cares, so Ashley, Dustin, Sydney, Cara, Mike, and I explored that for a while before the wine lesson. We later found out that the path was actually forbidden to guests because of the steep steps. Oops!

Around 6pm the majority of the group joined Dr. Paul in the classroom for a lesson on Tuscan wines. Sydney, Cara, and I decided to take about an hour walk toward the town of Reggello. It was great to walk in the sunshine and enjoy the sites. We even met a dog along the way (see below). When we finally made it back to Casa Cares, the three of us had our own ‘wine tasting’ and shared a bottle of wine on the porch enjoying the beautiful view of Tuscany.

The very competitive volleyball game 

Tonight the professors went to a nice dinner and well… while the professors are away the students will play! Literally. Several of us spent time together at the top of the hill watching the sun set and watching a couple of others play an intense and competitive game of volley ball. Tonight was one of the first nights I really started to get to know the amazing people I was with.

Just another amazing view from Casa Cares

After volley ball, we went in the basement to play a game called fish bowl. Each person wrote a noun on a piece of paper and placed it into a basket. We split up into two teams and sat in a circle. Each round there was a specific rule we had to follow. The first round, we could use as many words as we needed to get our team to guess the noun that was on our piece of paper. When the basket was empty we totaled up our points and moved on to the next round. The second round, we had to get our team to guess the noun by saying only one word, the third round we could only make sounds, and the fourth we could only use gestures. I have never played this game before, but I can tell you this- I’m bringing it home to Chicago and introducing it to my friends! Some of the more memorable words that we had fun with were: Oscar Meyer, table, Pumba, lady, baby shark, taco, and Colorado (just to name a few). Imagine trying to get your team to guess Colorado by simply making a sound! You can imagine how much we laughed during this game.

Another great night at Casa Cares!

Making the Most of Florence - May 27, 2015

The GSU crew only had one day in Florence, but Dr. Michel helped us make the most of it! Usually on our day trips, a bus picks us up and takes us where we need to go. Today, however, we took a city bus to the train station and then took a train to Florence. Once we arrived in Florence, Dr. Paul gave us a quick walking tour of the city and we split up for breakfast. Cara, our two new friends, Mike and Sydney from University of Florida, Dr. Michel, and myself went to breakfast at a rooftop café! Our friend, Sydney, will be the first to tell you how much of a picky eater she is. So much so that she literally picked off the poppy seeds from her sandwich and shared them with a bird.

Once we (and the bird) finished breakfast, we met up with Dr. Paul and the rest of the crew to finish up our walking tour before going to see the Uffizi. I have to say, I am not much of an art person, but when we walked into the Uffizi I suddenly had a great appreciation for the amount of beautiful artwork that filled with walls and ceiling! Cara and I set out to see the Birth of Venus before we left and ironically it was the one of the first pieces of art we saw when we walked in. It was amazing to see amazing piece painted by Sandro Botticelli from 1486.

            

After about an hour in the Uffizi, Cara, Mike, Sydney and I got lunch at an outside cafe. We actually spent the majority of our lunch discussing the similarities and differences between UF and GSU's multicultural classes.

After lunch, the four of us decided to try this dessert called Gelato. Apparently it’s something similar to ice cream. Okay- I’m obviously kidding. By now, we had all had Gelato at least 15 times, but hey- when in Italy aren’t you suppose to eat Gelato every single day? I have to point out that the only reason we ate at this Gelato place was because of the amount of Gelato they had. The only thing better than Gelato you ask? Mountains of Gelato. 

Cara, GiGi, and I then met up to visit the David at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze. We were all pleasantly surprised to learn that we could take pictures of him (without the flash of course). What an incredible opportunity this was! The three of us spent about 30 minutes sitting and talking, before Cara and I were ready to head out. GiGi decided she “needed more time with David” so Cara and I set off to do some shopping before meeting the group at the train station to head back to Casa Cares. 

            

Tonight was one of the first nights it was warm enough to walk up to the volleyball court on the hill and watch the sunset. The pictures truly do not do it justice. 

Mindful Day at Casa Cares - May 26, 2015

Mindful Day at Casa Cares

Toscana, Italia

26 Maggio, 2015

 

I have the privilege of blogging about two of the more personally transformative “lectures” during our stay (I use quotes because both of these events were as interactive as possible)?

In the morning we took a walk out to the organic garden or small farm at Casa Cares with Giordano, the Mindful-Farmer-in-Residence (my title for him) in order to take in with all our senses the holistic goodness of life teeming around us.  Before we took a 5-minute silent, solitary, mindful walk around the garden, we heard about Giordano’s philosophy, which was explained to us in such an honest and caring way that it brought tears to my eyes and hope to my soul.  He used to fight for the rights of people against abusive powers by standing in opposition in ways that he came to realize just added more pain to the world.  Then he took a leap of faith into literally “tending his own garden” (not Giordano’s words, but those of Voltaire from his political novel, Candide). 

To Giordano, to bring life to his world in a way that would not just temporarily “fix” a problem, but would have a long-lasting positive impact on the earth and on untold numbers of generations, was the better way.  We learned about and then witnessed his deep respect for the natural cycle of life, his love of the community that gathers to help each other bake bread, garden and enjoy togetherness, and his peacefulness in the world he inhabits.  

Giordano and his daughter, Dora

There was such a calming of the soul throughout his presentation that I just had to take more time every day after this to mindfully wander around the grounds and breathe deeply.    

Dr. Michel then treated us to an interactive afternoon presentation which helped us to understand more deeply how our culture impacts how we interact with others.  So as not to give too much away, I will just say that we played cards and found out a lot about ourselves in the interactions and processing afterward.  We also spent some time talking about our strengths, our self-awareness and the Johari Window, which focuses us on how well integrated we are in our lives and relationships.  Dr. Michel’s approach to “teaching” allowed for us to be active participants in this workshop, which I, as well as many others, found to be a very positive, transformative and FUN experience. 

Dr. Michel -Culture, Talents, & Strengths

One of the topics that was most interesting to me was that of group dynamics.  Our GSU group was small; only 3 of us traveled to Italy this year.  There were 2 groups larger than ours, and several individual persons from other programs and stages in life who had bravely come alone to be part of a larger group.  By this day, some of us were starting to feel the normal tension between groups and some of the normal emotions around being out of our comfort zone. 

 Dr. Michel’s workshop gave us the opening to talk about how we were feeling, as we were sipping wine in the gathering room before dinner.  What we found after this, was that we all started being more mindful of each other and how our own insular behavior was affecting individuals and the group.  There was a discernable shift in the interactions, and that evening I felt like we were starting to become a community.   

Italy Participants enjoying a Meal

Some of us noticed our new friend missing at dinner, and set out together to search for her down the curvy road she had taken to town.  She made it back safely (because she stopped a car and asked for a ride!), but she told me later that the fact that we had cared enough to go look for her changed how she was perceiving her experience.  Dr. Michel had prepared us well to see ourselves and each other much more mindfully, and from that moment forward, it felt like that was in the atmosphere at Casa Cares.

Siena - May 25, 2015

Lunch in Siena at the Piazza del Campo (where twice annually a crazy and dangerous horse race decides which neighborhood is victorious), was a welcomed pause in a fabulously rich and interesting day! We first toured the magnificent Basilica di San Domenico, where we viewed, among many fascinating symbols and relics, Sta. Caterina’s thumb (!).  

Counselor's View of Italy Participants in Siena

 Then we made our way up many steps to il Duomo di Siena is remarkably ornate and almost too overwhelmingly beautiful decked out in black and white marble, ornate stone “carpets” and a library full of Renaissance works of art so vivid, they look like they were painted yesterday!

Being asked to breathe as little as possible in this small but wonderful space in order to preserve these works was a little disconcerting, but knowing what humidity can do to the color, I happily complied.  My lunch companions, Cara, Katie, Sydney and Mike went in search of gelato as I remained nestled at the restaurant and sipped my Brunello. I suddenly heard in the distance a very non-Italian sound: bagpipes. There was a wedding party strolling along to Scottish music played by a kilt-clad piper! Could this day get much more interesting

GiGi, Katie, Cara, & Dr. Michel in Siena

The Italian Schools, Sex Trafficking, Vallombrosa, and Ristorante Archimede - May 24, 2015

Today we had two lectures AND an outing. This was the first day doing both, so needless to say it was quite a long and fun day. Our first lecture was about the Italian school system. I found the information about the differences between public and private schools to be particularly interesting. It seems that public school have difficulty with access to resources, much like in the United States. What amazed me was the lack of professional support. For example, the presenter explained that there may be one principal who supervises 4-6 different schools. Therefore, it is not likely that a teacher is able to consult with a principal or send a child down to the principal’s office because nine times out of ten, he or she is not at their school. It was unfortunate to hear that there are no school counselors in Italy. The presenter explained that there might be a psychologist for students, teachers, and families to consult with one morning a week for two hours. Apparently next week there is an election that could benefit the public school system, so I am excited to hear what happens! 

Katie, Dr. Michel & Nancy Bailey

The second talk was about sex trafficking and prostitution. The women that presented were government employees who worked to ensure the health of the women and men working on the streets. It was obvious how much passion the ladies had for their career, and they were incredibly knowledgeable. They explained that they approach the individuals in a soft manner, and provide condoms and resources to get their health checked.

Kety Bonci & Mada Gavra - Trafficking of Women

After the talks we took a bus to Vallombrosa. Some people chose to hike, others chose to eat pastries and gelato. Katie and I both got pastries, while Gigi took the hike! There was a gorgeous monastery and we were able to observe 30 minutes of the evening mass. There were no pictures allowed in the monastery, which we thought was a form of respect to the people who attend regularly. Although we could not understand the words of the preacher, it was still a very holy experience.

Our final event of the evening was a big group dinner at Ristorante Archimede. I lost track of how many courses there were in the meal, but some of the delicacies were: mushroom risotto (my favorite), pasta with wild boar sauce, spinach ravioli, chicken, and beef. We ended the meal with cake and grappa, which is a very strong alcoholic beverage. The rest of the evening was spent chatting and playing games at Casa Cares. Until next time! 

Enjoying Dinner at Ristorante Archimede

Cara, Katie, Dr. Michel & GiGi at Ristorante Archimede

Greve, Chianti and San Gimignano - May 23, 2015

Bonjourno! Today we visited Greve, Chianti and San Gimignano. I have to say, even a rainy day in Tuscany is gorgeous. We visited the local market in Greve, Chianti, which I would compare to a flea market. They sold everything from underwear to wine bottle openers. I bought some delicious fresh fruit, including strawberries, peaches, and also got a great price on some walnuts!

Weekly Market in Greve

Weekly Market in Greve

Weekly Market in Greve

We had yet another delicious meal at the market. Gigi ordered gnocchi with pesto and a caprese salad. Katie and I ordered Tuscan vegetable soup, and our new friend from Florida ordered spaghetti carbonara. We all split a side of fries…because even in Italy we cannot avoid delicious fried food. Gigi indulged in the chianti…because when in Chianti, why not?  Speaking of wine, there was also a beautiful wine tasting shop in the town. In order to taste the wines, we needed to put money on a “debit” card and swipe for each taste. The wines ranged from .60 euro a taste to 2,00 euro a taste. Neither Katie nor I tried the wines because we were busy shopping for fruit, but Gigi did and fell in love with a chianti and a brunello (which unfortunately broke on the hill at Casa Cares…wah wah. RIP yummy wine). 

Group Snapshot in the Wine Tasting Room in the Chianti Region

Cara, Katie, & Dr. Michel in the Chianti Region

After Greve, we all went back onto the bus and traveled to San Gimignano. San Gimignano had a grocery store that resembled Jewel-Osco, so we were finally able to stock up on shampoo and conditioner! That may not sound exciting, but believe us, it was! Katie was able to find a small wedding gift for her brother and his fiancée. 

Apparently San Gimignano has a knack for torture museums. Katie and I visited one and it was right out of The Addams Family. As we entered there was creepy music playing, and the entire museum was full of dimly lighted stone rooms that had a dampness to them. Basically the museum included replications of all of the old-time torturous ways they used to kill people who committed crimes. I would say the two most gruesome were flaying and death by animals. In flaying, the victim was pinned up by his/her hands and feet, and their limbs were flayed open. Death by animal is exactly what it sounds like. The victim was thrown into a cage with wild dogs or lions and eaten to death. It was only 10 euro to get in, and worth every euro! We spent the whole time either saying “ew” or “COOL”.  Here are some of the best photos from the museum.