I can’t believe I am here. This morning I sat in bed and stared out the window of my hotel room in awe of the city’s beauty. It felt like I was in a dream. Today was full of firsts. We had a tour of the Rooney Family Center, which is a super old monastery that has been renovated into this beautiful campus that you could never get tired of staring at. My favorite part of the RFC was the tower that hovered over the city. It gave a grand panoramic view of Arezzo. We then went downstairs to go through camp orientation and have our first lecture with Dr. Cruise. Over the next week, PCS is aiding OU Arezzo in their summer camp for kids from the Arezzo community. I cannot wait to meet them tomorrow.
In Dr. Cruise’s lecture, we discussed the difference between service learning and community engagement and how these relate to our camp. Service learning uses community service with specific learning objectives to meet social needs. However, while our kids camp has some similarities to service learning, that is not our goal. Service learning implies that we are giving back. Community engagement is a more suitable term for what our kids camp is about. As PCS, we are engaging in a dialogue with the Arezzo community through this camp. Through this dialogue, we learn from one another. By doing this, we can give the kids an environment to practice their English and give them the confidence they need to be global citizens. To prepare for camp, I am going to get a good night of rest. This will help me be fully present at the camp and go in with a clear and calm mindset.
Italy Blog 2019 