Mrs. Stubbs's English Blog: Final Week of Semester One

Bongiorno! I had such a wonderful break, and I hope everyone else did, as well. My son and his school choir sang for the Pope - twice - and we were able to hear him three times. I wandered all over Rome for seven days, and then spent the eighth day in Assisi. Now the question is: how soon can I go back? It was fabulous! Here are a few pictures from a fraction of my trip:

Sitting atop the Spanish Steps, looking out over Rome.

Inside the Colosseum

The St. Francis of Assisi Choir, in front of a statue of - who else - St. Francis of Assisi. This was outside the San Giovanni in Laterno Basilica, Rome.

A concert with our choir and St. Vincent de Paul, Houston - in Sant'Eustachio, Rome.

Roma at night.

The Pantheon

Fontana di Trevi

An Egyptian obelisk - Piazza Navona

Piazza Navona - they used to fill it with water for sea battles, then they used it for gladiators and chariot races. Today it's a fantastic piazza for people watching!

The Sistine Chapel. We had a private tour at night with a 45-minute guide through the panels. One of the highlights of my trip.

The Forum - the original Ancient Rome.

Fireworks at New Years. It was fantastic! Nothing organized, just fireworks shooting off from every direction: from the ground, from the rooftops, people were singing, lanterns were flying - I loved it! Spontaneous joy! This was the view from my balcony.

New Year's Day - St. Peter's at about 5:30 A.M.

The families of the choirs were led in the back way to St. Peter's Basilica. Crowds, crowds, crowds; security, security, security.

The choirs lined up separately to be led into the Basilica. About 6,000 kids from all over the world sang for the New Year's Day Mass.

When the Swiss Guards arrive, you know the Pope is near. There are only 150 Swiss Guard - total - and they're highly trained operatives, despite their silly uniforms.

Pope Francis opening the mass. Despite the selfie sticks, I could see him clearly.

Pope Francis concluding mass.

The altar of St. Peter's - New Years Day.

St. Peter's Square with the masses waiting for the Papal Blessing.

Eating our New Year's Day meal at our favorite restaurant - Bistrot Tratorria - Rome

Assisi - despite the rain and fog - the first of our trip - it was beautiful!

A private mass in a chapel of the Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi. Since our parish is called St. Francis of Assisi, it was like going home. So special!

A night view of the Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi.

I think I got about four hours of sleep a night, but it was so worth it. This is just a fraction of what we did and saw. It was the trip of a lifetime, and one I will treasure forever.

So coming back was a bit of a shock! I'm still getting used to the time zone difference. About 6:00 I want to fall asleep, and then wake up by 3:00 or 4:00. This weekend has helped. I actually made it to 5:30, so hopefully this week I'll be back to normal.

After I got back, my classes finished watching Much Ado About Nothing and turned in the worksheets. Then we began reviewing for the semester exam. On Wednesday they had time and guidance for "St. Lucy's"; on Thursday they worked on "Cask of Amontillado"; on Friday we played Kahoot.It to review Romeo and Juliet. So here's the schedule for this coming week:

Monday - we will review and work on the Preposition Unit and Grammar
Tuesday - they will learn to type one of their papers in MLA format
Wednesday - they will finish typing their papers in MLA format; final questions about the exam will be addressed
Thursday - objective portion of the final exam - they all have a guide for what's on it
Friday - written portion of the final exam

I hope everyone had a great break. Hopefully everyone is rejuvenated and we're ready to finish the semester! Have a wonderful week - Ciao!