Yesterday, May 22, we spent the day visiting the schools in Ariccia.  The two schools we visited were The Bernini Primary School which is children ages 6 to 10, and then also the James Joyce High School.  Once we were at the primary school we were able to observe some of the classroom activites that the children particpated in during the day.  When we got to the high school we were spilt into groups and were able to have conversations with individuals who were either in their 1st or 4th year of high school.  Everyone we spoke to was excited to practice their English and to have the oppurtunity to ask questions.  We also attempted to speak Italian but had much more difficultly than they did speaking a different language.
After visiting the schools we hosted our first aperitivo function at the palace.  When we were done visiting the schools we each came back to prepare our dish for later that night.  Many of the students created a traditional Italian aperitivo dish to serve to each other and our guest.  Some of the dishes included bruschetta, nutella and fruit, olive dip, and different selections of meats.  Other students brought Italian pastries and dessert dishes that they found at the local surrounding stores, such as pound cakes, and wine cookies, (some of the foods you can see in the picture above).  After the food was prepared and ready to be served, everyone within the palace got themselve ready for the night.  Our guest started to show up around 7:30 PM and the mingling began between each of our guest and ourselves.  There were many guest invited, some of the guest that were invited we had previous interactions with, some we were meeting for the first time.  We had a special surprise as the Prince of Begium showed up to our aperitivo as a guest.  As soon as the guest started to arrive, our food started to dissappear.  The food each of us created and/or brought was a hit and by the end of the night the food was almost completely gone.  Our event was successful in meeting local members of the Ariccia community.
By: Christine Schwartz