Summer in Italy: Teaching English – Living Local – Solo Travel & Falling in Love

If you search the synonyms of 'experience', the following words crop up: action, involvement, maturity, participation, patience, practice, struggle and understanding. Last summer, after another breakup, I decided I needed to spend the summer away; I needed an experience. Something more than just the instant gratification of seeing the most places possible- which is highly individualistic. I wanted to invest in a collective identity. To integrate in a whole different context. To suffer through language barriers and cultural differences. To learn to adjust and restrain. To be able to quote Nick Miller and say “Maybe I don't have to do it that way when I get home.”

One problem: I had just less than £100 to my name.

I looked into summer work and that's how I came across the camp industry. Having already gained my TEFL certificate (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) the year before in Vietnam, I found I was eligible to teach English in camps across Europe even with the absence of a degree. While working at a summer camp, your board and food would be provided by a host family, the son or daughter of which would be a student at the camp. Therefore all you have to pay for are the flights. I had enough to just cover the costs of a single ticket. I'd worry about the return later.

I applied to positions in France with American Village, Germany with Sprach Camp, Spain with English Summer, and Italy with Lingue Senza Frontiere, The English Camp Company and BELL – Beyond English Language Learning.

I decided to go with BELL because they were able to offer me 4 two-week long camps (8 weeks total) while the others only 2 or 4 weeks. Each camp paid around $450 (£370). The first 3 camps were one after the other, following a week of training, from June 17^th to July 26^th. Then there were 3 weeks where no camps were running through lack of demand. The 4^th camp ran August 19^th to 30^th. Later on I was asked if I could do a 5^th camp at a private school, which I happily accepted. This ran straight after the 4^th camp from September 2^nd to 14^th.   

After the first 3 camps I had been given the opportunity to teach children ages 4 to 12 years old which had earned myself over a grand. I had lived locally across 3 different regions in towns I may not have otherwise visited (Teramo, Massa di Carrara, Baricella). I had experienced real insight into Italian life. I learnt to eat, speak and kiss like an Italiana- something a guide book can't teach. There are times of course when living in someone else’s home isn't always easy, but with struggle comes a new opportunity to learn and experience. Not sure if summer a camp is for you? Check out my post 8 Reasons you should be a Camp Counsellor/Tutor this Summer.

I used the entity of my earnings to fund the month of adventure that came after, saving just enough to get the train to my host family the Saturday before camp 4 started (which was later reimbursed by the company). I then used my final salary on a shopping spree in Bologna (where I was living with my host family), bought my flight ticket home, and put the rest towards a romantic weekend- my last weekend in Italy- with a special guy we will refer to as Mr Italy.

This passage sums up my trip perfectly, written by my beautiful friend Jessica (@jessicadiana - Instagram) who I met at camp, plus a couple additions from me:
 

Basil infused hands, crisp dry laundry hanging from the line. The explosion of encompassing jasmine. The sound of espresso cups clinking in the cafés into their tiny dishes. Extraordinary conversations with ordinary people. Biscuits for breakfast. Waking up to the sea and falling asleep to the breeze sneaking in through the window. Late sunsets and freezing ocean dives after heat exhausted days. Churches compelling enough to enter. Vanilla gelato melting onto your sticky fingers. Coconut granita, steam from fresh pasta, and arms wrapped tightly around your waist. Morning cappuccinos, and afternoon nutella sandwiches. Cliff dives, cold showers and wine after a hard days work. Long trains, longer walks, and laughs that are forever remembered.

My Itinerary

(With the help of Frommer's "Italy: day by day")

 
1. Campania (Sorrento, Amalfi, Ravello, Capri, Pompei, Mt Vesuvious & Naples)

6 nights

 

Exploring the ruins of a destroyed town. Watching the sun set and sharing wine with two Italians. Feeling at home in Ciao Toto's ristaurante. Racing to the ferry in Capri with new friends from the hostel. Spending the day with a family I met at a bus stop. Smoking on the platform. Climbing a volcano with a friendly Aussie. The Amalfi Coast bus ride. Searching for Gino Sorbillo for the best Neapolitan pizza. Bumping into the same family at dinner the next day and pulling up a chair. A shot of limoncello. Throwing my head under various fontanelle (small fountains) to cool down. Stamping the tickets. Stripping down to underwear and swimming in the Blue Grotto. Making friends with the waiter over an espresso at the bar. Taking a chairlift and admiring the views below. Donating blood for Italian children in a mobile clinic. Buying a bag of deep-fried aubergines for next to nothing. Taking a cheap and cramped overnight train to Sicilia...

The Start of my Solo Travel Across Italy: My First Hostel Experience: Sorrento (Sant'Agnello)

2. Western Sicily (Palermo, San Vito Lo Capo, Erice, Agrigento) 3 nights

Crispy hot arancini. Watching Sicilian teens have a dance-off in Mondello. Getting chatted up (and stalked) by a Palermitan. Delicious seafood and drinks with new Italian friends. Sunday at the Temples. Massage on the beach. Cable car to the castle of Zeus. Swimming in the warm turquoise sea. The kindness of strangers. Lunch with a stray cat. Horse-drawn carriage rides. Stargazing outside the hostel. The 3-hour bus ride East...

3. Eastern Sicily (Syracuse, Taormina) 2 nights

 More arancini. Exploring Ortigia Island. Night out with a couple Irish girls and their vodka. Looking for a bar and finding the ballet. Dinner on a budget. Staying up to 4am on the cubes with new friends. Girls in the bunk next to mine from the same home town as me. Jumping into crystal clear sea. Watching newly-wed couple walk hand in hand across Piazza del Duomo. Exploring the tiny side streets. Gazing out over the harbour. Being the only ones dancing. Getting kissed by Mr Italy. Scrapping plans to climb Mt Etna just to spend one more day with him...

4. Rome 3 nights

The Pantheon. Piazza Navona. Fiat's yellow, red, black. Castel Sant'Agelo. Touring the Vatican. The eternal pine-cone. Michelangelo. St Peter's Basilica. The Spanish Steps. Trevi fountain. Countryside views along Via Appia Antica. The underground world of the Catacombs. Vespa's colouring the road. Ivory covered bridge with a history. Campo de' Fiori and Trastevere. Exploring the Jewish Ghetto. Sitting in Capitoline Hill and people watching. Spending hours in the Roman Forum. Taking in the Colosseum. Staring in awe at the statue of Pieta. Trying to work out how the Indian busker levitates. Hydrating with free, ice-cold water from a nasone fountain. Almost crying in the Sistine Chapel. Taking time wandering around. Listening to fabulous street musicians. Buying art from a stall. Taking the train north to Firenza...

5. Florence 2 nights

Climbing 414 steps up Giotto's campanile. Queuing for the Uffizi for 3 hours. Taking in the beauty of the architecture. Making friends with a German busker. Being drawn for free by a street artist. Sitting down by the Palazzo Vecchio drinking a beer. Infatuated with David. Watching artists paint on the ground. Haggling for leather at Mercato di San Lorenzo. Taking a stroll over the Ponte Vecchio. Buying parma ham and dried porcini at the Mercato Centrale. Breathing in the river air. Train to Venice with under €100 left in my account...

6. Venice 3 nights

 

A bottle of red wine by the Grand Canal. Sipping a cappuccino in Piazza San Marco. Making friends on the beach with the guys selling beer and clothes. Taking a relaxing gondola ride with a couple new friends. Strolling through the Rialto markets. Taking a passeggiata (evening stroll) on the Zattere. Struggling through crowds for a view on the Ponte di Rialto. Running out of money! Looking out at the rough seas below and the sun sinking into the backdrop. Taking the time to sit in bed to read, reflect, and restore. Preparing for the next four weeks of camp.

“Please be a traveller, not a tourist. Try new things, meet new people, and look beyond what's right in front of you. Those are the keys to understanding this amazing world we live in.” Andrew Zimmern